Objective

The objective of this study is to investigate the evolution process of unethical practices in the sales environment. The focus is on describing the role of key actors, activities and events in this evolution process in context of Pakistani pharmaceutical industry.

Methodology

This qualitative study is mainly using narrative approach which is ideal to explore any complex process phenomenon. A theoretical sampling and a snowballing technique have been used to identify sales and marketing professionals as informants for 17 interviews. The micro stories of informants are combined into a macro story at the level of the industry, supported with various secondary data.

Findings

Our findings reveal that unethical practices in the sales environment evolve in a sequential and partly overlapping process, with four identifiable stages: Early development, chain reaction, adaptation, and revision. We describe the key characteristics and triggering events for each stage and indicate that interaction between business and other network actors is the potential mechanisms for the spread of unethical practices.

Contribution

The study provides understanding of the evolution process and the role of specific events and actors in shaping unethical practices in the sales environment. It extends existing knowledge of sales ethics by studying unethical practices as socially constructed evolving phenomena. The study also sheds light on the dark side of business relationships. Our findings reveal that unethical practices in the sales environment evolve through interaction and relationships with both company-internal and external actors over time.