Change in the Business Ethic in Bazaa; Case of Study: Bazaaris of the Babul City

Given the important status of market, attempts have been made in this paper to study the changes in the business ethic in the market and the factors affecting it. Changes in the business ethic refers to change in the commitment to the rules of business ethic based on Islam in a period of sixty years. The theoretical framework employed for this paper include those of Durkheim, Weber and modernization theory. The necessary data were collected through explorative deep interview and the data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The participants included 36 interviewees from four generations of businessmen who were engaged in retail selling in the city of Babul in 2015. The findings of the research indicate that changes at the cultural level have gradually caused the prevalence of materialism and enhanced the society’s expectations level. Also the decline in the connections of the Bazaaris with the mosque led to low religious knowledge and weakness in commitment to some aspects of religiosity. On the other hand, the weakening master-apprentice training system, weakening the role of the institution of religion in teaching the business ethic, along with undesirable performance of vocational organizations, have created disorder in the process of professional socializations of the new entrants of workforce. On the side of these changes, the undesirable economic conditions along with increase in the social disorderliness have reduced the sensitivity of the businessmen to commitment to business ethic.