Precursors of Unethical Behavior in Global Supplier Management

SUMMARY A review of the literature suggests that unethical practices in buyer‐supplier relationships are related to two broad categories of antecedents: (1) internal, organizational characteristics and (2) external, interorganizational characteristics. The author examines how these two sets of factors affect unethical behavior that may occur in the relationships of U.S. purchasing managers and their non‐U.S. suppliers, through a combination of focus group and individual interviews and a mail survey that employs a dyadic methodology.