IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aes/jetimm/v1y2024i2p31-50.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Consumer Self-Identity, Emotions, Ethical Beliefs, and Authenticity about Ethical Purchasing of Consumer Goods for a Circular Economy Model

Author

Listed:
  • Vasiliki LEMONIDOU

    (Hellenic Open University)

  • George SPAIS

    (Hellenic Open University)

Abstract

We examine how consumers' feelings of guilt and their ethical beliefs—precisely idealism and relativism—impact their purchasing decisions related to Greece's Circular Economy Model (CEM). By focusing on customer satisfaction and engagement, we aim to understand better how consumers interact with sustainable products within the circular economy, building upon Burke and Reitzes' (1981) Self-Identity Theory (SIT). Additionally, we explore how consumer authenticity influences the relationships between moral beliefs, guilt, and ethical purchasing behavior. A structured online questionnaire was distributed via Google Forms to address three research objectives. It included nine demographic and six structured questions. A convenience sample of 371 respondents from Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, and Heraklion, consisting of Hellenic Open University students and coworkers buying eco-friendly products, participated. Statistical analysis tested seventeen research hypotheses, supporting eleven, rejecting five, and yielding inconclusive evidence for one. The study reveals a nonlinear positive association between ethical beliefs and three key factors: ethical purchasing behavior, purchase intention, and adopting sustainable consumer practices. Additionally, a linear positive relationship exists among adopting sustainable consumer behaviors, ethical purchasing behavior, and ethical purchase intention. The connections between ethical beliefs and the adoption of sustainable consumer practices, as well as those between ethical beliefs and ethical purchase intention, are influenced by consumer authenticity. The findings of this study have critical theoretical, research, managerial, and practical implications for academics and marketing managers, supporting the initial assumptions.

Suggested Citation

  • Vasiliki LEMONIDOU & George SPAIS, 2024. "Consumer Self-Identity, Emotions, Ethical Beliefs, and Authenticity about Ethical Purchasing of Consumer Goods for a Circular Economy Model," Journal of Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 1(2), pages 31-50, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:aes:jetimm:v:1:y:2024:i:2:p:31-50
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.etimm.ase.ro/RePEc/aes/jetimm/2024/JETIMM_V02_2024_109.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rita Yi Man Li & Yi Lut Li & M. James C. Crabbe & Otilia Manta & Muhammad Shoaib, 2021. "The Impact of Sustainability Awareness and Moral Values on Environmental Laws," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-26, May.
    2. Muhammad Waqas & Zalfa Laili Binti Hamzah & Noor Akma Mohd Salleh, 2021. "Customer experience: a systematic literature review and consumer culture theory-based conceptualisation," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 71(1), pages 135-176, February.
    3. Chiou‐Fong Wei & Chang‐Tang Chiang & Tun‐Chih Kou & Bruce C Y Lee, 2017. "Toward Sustainable Livelihoods: Investigating the Drivers of Purchase Behavior for Green Products," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(5), pages 626-639, July.
    4. Donelson Forsyth & Ernest O’Boyle & Michael McDaniel, 2008. "East Meets West: A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Cultural Variations in Idealism and Relativism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(4), pages 813-833, December.
    5. Khan, Sarah & Abbas, Muhammad, 2023. "Interactive effects of consumers’ ethical beliefs and authenticity on ethical consumption and pro-environmental behaviors," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    6. Bei Wang & Alina M. Udall, 2023. "Sustainable Consumer Behaviors: The Effects of Identity, Environment Value and Marketing Promotion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-14, January.
    7. Kirchherr, Julian & Reike, Denise & Hekkert, Marko, 2017. "Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 221-232.
    8. Muhammad Yaseen Bhutto & Mussadiq Ali Khan & Myriam Ertz & Haowei Sun, 2022. "Investigating the Role of Ethical Self-Identity and Its Effect on Consumption Values and Intentions to Adopt Green Vehicles among Generation Z," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, March.
    9. Nils Magne Larsen & Valdimar Sigurdsson & Jørgen Breivik & Asle Fagerstrøm & Gordon R. Foxall, 2020. "The marketing firm: Retailer and consumer contingencies," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(2), pages 203-215, March.
    10. Mostaghel, Rana & Chirumalla, Koteshwar, 2021. "Role of customers in circular business models," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 35-44.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carlos F. A. Arranz & Caleb Kwong & Vania Sena, 2023. "The effect of consumption and production policies on circular economy business models: A machine learning approach," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(4), pages 1089-1104, August.
    2. Kutaula, Smirti & Gillani, Alvina & Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Christodoulides, Paul, 2022. "Integrating fair trade with circular economy: Personality traits, consumer engagement, and ethically-minded behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 1087-1102.
    3. Rodríguez-Espíndola, Oscar & Cuevas-Romo, Ana & Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Díaz-Acevedo, Natalie & Albores, Pavel & Despoudi, Stella & Malesios, Chrisovalantis & Dey, Prasanta, 2022. "The role of circular economy principles and sustainable-oriented innovation to enhance social, economic and environmental performance: Evidence from Mexican SMEs," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    4. Alyahya, Mansour & Agag, Gomaa & Aliedan, Meqbel & Abdelmoety, Ziad H., 2023. "A cross-cultural investigation of the relationship between eco-innovation and customers boycott behaviour," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    5. Sohal, Amrik & De Vass, Tharaka, 2022. "Australian SME's experience in transitioning to circular economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 594-604.
    6. Arijit Bhattacharya & Shefali Srivastava & Abhijit Majumdar, 2024. "Circular supply chains in manufacturing—Quo vadis? Accomplishments, challenges and future opportunities," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4397-4423, July.
    7. Constantinescu Raluca & Muntean Denisa-Roxana, 2022. "Circular economy: adopting new green trends in marketing for a sustainable consumer experience based on Internet of Things," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 16(1), pages 1447-1455, August.
    8. Naveen Virmani & Prateek Saxena & Rakesh D. Raut, 2022. "Examining the roadblocks of circular economy adoption in micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) through sustainable development goals," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 2908-2930, November.
    9. Lukas Alexander Benz, 2022. "Critical Success Factors for Circular Business Model Innovation from the Perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Claudia Arias & Javier Bernardo Cadena Lozano & Miguel Angel Bello Bernal, 2024. "The Role of Value in Extending the Lifetime of Products: An Analysis of Perceived Value and Green Consumption Values on Pro-Circular Behaviors of Repair and Reuse," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-26, February.
    11. Chirumalla, Koteshwar & Reyes, Lizbeth Guerrero & Toorajipour, Reza, 2022. "Mapping a circular business opportunity in electric vehicle battery value chain: A multi-stakeholder framework to create a win–win–win situation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 569-582.
    12. Mostaghel, Rana & Oghazi, Pejvak & Lisboa, Ana, 2023. "The transformative impact of the circular economy on marketing theory," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    13. Pina Puntillo, 2023. "Circular economy business models: Towards achieving sustainable development goals in the waste management sector—Empirical evidence and theoretical implications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 941-954, March.
    14. Tina Wiegand & Martin Wynn, 2023. "Sustainability, the Circular Economy and Digitalisation in the German Textile and Clothing Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-30, June.
    15. Roberta De Angelis & Robert Morgan & Luigi M. De Luca, 2023. "Open strategy and dynamic capabilities: A framework for circular economy business models research," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4861-4873, November.
    16. Rafi M. M. I. Chowdhury, 2019. "The Moral Foundations of Consumer Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 585-601, September.
    17. German Arana‐Landin & Waleska Sigüenza & Beñat Landeta‐Manzano & Iker Laskurain‐Iturbe, 2024. "Circular economy: On the road to ISO 59000 family of standards," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1977-2009, May.
    18. Marianne Kuhlmann & Catharina R. Bening & Volker H. Hoffmann, 2023. "How incumbents realize disruptive circular innovation ‐ Overcoming the innovator's dilemma for a circular economy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 1106-1121, March.
    19. Abdulmajeed Almadhi & Abdelhakim Abdelhadi & Rakan Alyamani, 2023. "Moving from Linear to Circular Economy in Saudi Arabia: Life-Cycle Assessment on Plastic Waste Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-22, July.
    20. Hu, Xueyue & Wang, Chunying & Elshkaki, Ayman, 2024. "Material-energy Nexus: A systematic literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Circular Economy Model; Ethical Beliefs; Self-conscious Emotions; Ethical Purchase Intention; Consumer Authenticity; Ethical Purchase Behavior; Adoption of Sustainable Consumption Practices.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing
    • M39 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Other

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aes:jetimm:v:1:y:2024:i:2:p:31-50. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Lucian Onisor (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aseeero.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.