Understanding the Consumer Inferences Concerning the Business Ethical Bases in Chinese Milk Scandal

Structured Abstract: Purpose: Even with a comprehensive set of legislation in place in China against food safety, a number of well-known food scandals that deteriorating the public image of Chinese foods were found. A scandal involving adulterated milk in China in 2008 caused significant morbidity and mortality. Thousands of infants were reported to have become ill, and six died. The scandal involved one of the major Chinese manufacturers of milk-based products, which allegedly adulterated its products by adding melamine. This paper is about the Chinese customer’s perception of the milk companies during the milk scandal in 2008. Design/ methodology/ approach: Content analysis was conducted on a sample of 3710 messages concerning the Chinese milk scandal that were posted on a popular online discussion portal hosted in China between July 2008 and July 2010. Findings: The analysis of qualitative data obtained over the online messages, none of which was contradicted by either theory or previous empirical studies. The study also identified that Chinese milk companies' reputation damage was the result in the scandal. Originality/ value: Developing and nurturing appropriate business ethics within a corporate culture is not a simple and straightforward process. The distinctive contribution of the study is to provide a comprehensive discussion of predictors of leniency in attitudes towards the Chinese milk scandal; in this regard, the study is the first-ever qualitative study of this issue in China. It is suggested that that such a comprehensive model will provide possible strategies for enhancing ethical business decision-making in China.