Abstract
Macromarketing has traditionally accounted for the influences of political, social, technological, legal, and economic forces on marketing. Equally powerful and prevalent, the ethical and equitable expectations resident in the environment have more typically been addressed at the more granular level of relationships. Here, the authors introduce these factors as a priori, macro-level environmental influences shaping consumer expectations for ethicality and the equitability of the exchange environment at the macro level. Empirical examination of the insurance industry reveals that consumers' expectations arising outside of the contractual realm govern perceptions of actual or anticipatory exchange equitability, including the rationalization of otherwise unethical acts and their normative standing. The more complete model addresses the interplay of the macro-and consumer-level variables contributing to the perpetuation of a socially sanctioned, dysfunctional relationship.