that, because it does interact with other members of the supply chain and is thus exposed to a firm’s external environment, may be under considerable pressure to depart from accepted norms of behavior and ethics set by the firm Osborn and Hunt, 1974; Ferrell and Gresham, . 1985 . Further, unethical practices by purchasing managers might influence production performance and ultimately a firm’s overall competitiveness if, for example, buyers purchase substandard inputs from suppliers in exchange for kickback