Ethics: the physician–pharma dyad in India Meenakshi Handa & Anupama Vohra & Vinita Srivastava Received: 26 July 2012 / Accepted: 9 October 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012 Abstract The study examines the attitudes among physicians regarding acceptance of gifts, sponsorships, and drug samples in response to marketing efforts of pharma- ceutical companies in India. The research also attempts to study physicians’ percep- tions of the Medical Council of India (MCI) guidelines on the code of conduct for pharmaceutical marketing practices and the influence of these guidelines on physi- cians’ actions. A structured questionnaire was developed for collecting primary data regarding exposure of physicians to promotional tools and physicians’ attitudes and practices with regard to various professional ethical issues. One thousand physicians from private and government hospitals located in a metropolitan area were approached personally or through email for getting the questionnaire filled. A total of 189 completed and usable questionnaires could be obtained which is a response rate of approximately 20 %. Respondents in the study indicate being offered samples, sponsorship, and gifts by pharmaceutical companies with a frequency of at least once a month. Thus, many pharmaceutical firms are not following the code of conduct issued by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. of India. Further, though almost all physicians report being aware of the guidelines issued by the MCI, yet as many as 69 % of the sample admitted to be accepting gifts and sponsorships offered by the pharmaceutical firms. Educational programs were found to be influencing physician prescription behavior to a greater extent when compared with gifts. Frequency of offers made for gifts and sponsorships were found to be dependent upon physicians’ practice (number of prescriptions written) and the type of hospital they are associated with (private or government). The study focuses on sensitive yet critical ethical issues related to the promotional practices of pharmaceutical firms in India and physicians’ Asian J Bus Ethics DOI 10.1007/s13520-012-0025-5 M. Handa University School of Management Studies, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, India A. Vohra Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi, India V. Srivastava (*) Department of Management Studies, Institute of Technology and Science, Ghaziabad, UP, India e-mail: 2011vinita@gmail.com