Drivers of Ethical Behavior Disruption among Drugstore Retailers: An Investigation on Customers' Perspective

In any retail store, it is necessary to maintain ethical behavior by the retailers by providing accurate information to the customer about the usefulness and side effects of the product, not inducing people in an unethical way to the customer so that the retailer can attract the attention of the customers. In addition, the dishonest behavior of drugstore retailers may lead to a massive health crisis in the community. Considering the novelty and significance of this issue, the current study aims to analyze the ethical behavior disruption of drugstore retailers. Quantitative research design has been utilized to analyze drugstore retailers' ethical behavior disruption from the viewpoint of consumers. A structured questionnaire was delivered to 219 customers using a convenient sampling technique. The PLS-SEM was utilized for data analysis. It is identified that the independent variables like easy access to antibiotics, charging higher prices, and selling expired medicine are responsible for the disruption of the ethical behavior of the drugstore retailers. In conclusion, it is noteworthy that the drugstore retailers in Bangladesh are not maintaining ethical behavior towards the customers, which is unacceptable. The paper strives to assist policymakers, particularly the Ministry of Health, in formulating strategies to combat the unethical practices of drugstore sellers in Bangladesh. Furthermore, future research might be conducted from the standpoint of different retailers.