IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v69y2016i8p2697-2710.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ethically minded consumer behavior: Scale review, development, and validation

Author

Listed:
  • Sudbury-Riley, Lynn
  • Kohlbacher, Florian

Abstract

This paper details the development and validation of a new research instrument called the ethically minded consumer behavior (EMCB) scale. The scale conceptualizes ethically minded consumer behavior as a variety of consumption choices pertaining to environmental issues and corporate social responsibility. Developed and extensively tested among consumers (n=1278) in the UK, Germany, Hungary, and Japan, the scale demonstrates reliability, validity, and metric measurement invariance across these diverse nations. The study provides researchers and practitioners with a much-needed and easy-to-administer, valid, and reliable instrument pertaining to ethically minded consumer behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Sudbury-Riley, Lynn & Kohlbacher, Florian, 2016. "Ethically minded consumer behavior: Scale review, development, and validation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 2697-2710.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:69:y:2016:i:8:p:2697-2710
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.11.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296315005998
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.11.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lora Reed & Deborah Vidaver-Cohen & Scott Colwell, 2011. "Erratum to: A New Scale to Measure Executive Servant Leadership: Development, Analysis, and Implications for Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(3), pages 507-508, July.
    2. 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.
    3. Lee, Eun Mi & Park, Seong-Yeon & Rapert, Molly I. & Newman, Christopher L., 2012. "Does perceived consumer fit matter in corporate social responsibility issues?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 1558-1564.
    4. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    5. Roberts, James A., 1996. "Will the real socially responsible consumer please step forward?," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 79-83.
    6. David Ralston & Allison Pearson, 2010. "The Cross-Cultural Evolution of the Subordinate Influence Ethics Measure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(1), pages 149-168, September.
    7. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Katja Brunk, 2012. "Un/ethical Company and Brand Perceptions: Conceptualising and Operationalising Consumer Meanings," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(4), pages 551-565, December.
    9. Gwang-Suk Kim & Grace Lee & Kiwan Park, 2010. "A Cross-National Investigation on How Ethical Consumers Build Loyalty Toward Fair Trade Brands," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(4), pages 589-611, November.
    10. Bert Scholtens & Lammertjan Dam, 2007. "Cultural Values and International Differences in Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 273-284, October.
    11. Roberts, James A., 1996. "Green Consumers in the 1990s: Profile and Implications for Advertising," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 217-231, July.
    12. Witkowski, Terrence H. & Reddy, Sabine, 2010. "Antecedents of ethical consumption activities in Germany and the United States," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 8-14.
    13. Scott Vitell & Jatinder Singh & Joseph Paolillo, 2007. "Consumers’ Ethical Beliefs: The Roles of Money, Religiosity and Attitude toward Business," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 73(4), pages 369-379, July.
    14. Carrington, Michal J. & Neville, Benjamin A. & Whitwell, Gregory J., 2014. "Lost in translation: Exploring the ethical consumer intention–behavior gap," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 2759-2767.
    15. Gleim, Mark R. & Smith, Jeffery S. & Andrews, Demetra & Cronin, J. Joseph, 2013. "Against the Green: A Multi-method Examination of the Barriers to Green Consumption," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 44-61.
    16. Muncy, James A. & Vitell, Scott J., 1992. "Consumer ethics: An investigation of the ethical beliefs of the final consumer," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 297-311, June.
    17. Jeffery Bray & Nick Johns & David Kilburn, 2011. "An Exploratory Study into the Factors Impeding Ethical Consumption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 98(4), pages 597-608, February.
    18. Pat Auger & Timothy Devinney, 2007. "Do What Consumers Say Matter? The Misalignment of Preferences with Unconstrained Ethical Intentions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 76(4), pages 361-383, December.
    19. Marylyn Carrigan & Caroline Moraes & Sheena Leek, 2011. "Fostering Responsible Communities: A Community Social Marketing Approach to Sustainable Living," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(3), pages 515-534, May.
    20. Leonardo Becchetti & Marco Costantino, 2010. "Fair Trade in Italy: Too Much ‘Movement’ in the Shop?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(2), pages 181-203, April.
    21. Kyoko Fukukawa & Christine Ennew, 2010. "What We Believe Is Not Always What We Do: An Empirical Investigation into Ethically Questionable Behavior in Consumption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(1), pages 49-60, February.
    22. Veronika Andorfer & Ulf Liebe, 2012. "Research on Fair Trade Consumption—A Review," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(4), pages 415-435, April.
    23. Ping, Robert Jr., 2004. "On assuring valid measures for theoretical models using survey data," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 125-141, February.
    24. Ailawadi, Kusum L. & Neslin, Scott A. & Luan, Y. Jackie & Taylor, Gail Ayala, 2014. "Does retailer CSR enhance behavioral loyalty? A case for benefit segmentation," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 156-167.
    25. Bodo Schlegelmilch & Magdalena Öberseder, 2010. "Half a Century of Marketing Ethics: Shifting Perspectives and Emerging Trends," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 1-19, April.
    26. Vermeir, Iris & Verbeke, Wim, 2008. "Sustainable food consumption among young adults in Belgium: Theory of planned behaviour and the role of confidence and values," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 542-553, January.
    27. Jae-Eun Kim & Kim Johnson, 2013. "The Impact of Moral Emotions on Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns: A Cross-Cultural Examination," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(1), pages 79-90, January.
    28. Lora Reed & Deborah Vidaver-Cohen & Scott Colwell, 2011. "A New Scale to Measure Executive Servant Leadership: Development, Analysis, and Implications for Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(3), pages 415-434, July.
    29. Auger, Pat & Devinney, Timothy M. & Louviere, Jordan J. & Burke, Paul F., 2010. "The importance of social product attributes in consumer purchasing decisions: A multi-country comparative study," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 140-159, April.
    30. Lopez, Tará Burnthorne & Babin, Barry J. & Chung, Christina, 2009. "Perceptions of ethical work climate and person-organization fit among retail employees in Japan and the US: A cross-cultural scale validation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(6), pages 594-600, June.
    31. Eleni Papaoikonomou & Mireia Valverde & Gerard Ryan, 2012. "Articulating the Meanings of Collective Experiences of Ethical Consumption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 15-32, September.
    32. Webb, Deborah J. & Mohr, Lois A. & Harris, Katherine E., 2008. "A re-examination of socially responsible consumption and its measurement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 91-98, February.
    33. Schwarz, Norbert, 2003. "Self-Reports in Consumer Research: The Challenge of Comparing Cohorts and Cultures," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 29(4), pages 588-594, March.
    34. Steenkamp, Jan-Benedict E M & Baumgartner, Hans, 1998. "Assessing Measurement Invariance in Cross-National Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 25(1), pages 78-90, June.
    35. Agnes Hofmeister-Toth & Agnes Neulinger, 2011. "Generational differences in consumption patterns in Hungary," International Journal of Economics and Business Research, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 3(1), pages 118-130.
    36. Yuh-Jia Chen & Thomas Tang, 2006. "Attitude Toward and Propensity to Engage in Unethical Behavior: Measurement Invariance across Major among University Students," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 69(1), pages 77-93, November.
    37. Wing Chow & Yang Chen, 2012. "Corporate Sustainable Development: Testing a New Scale Based on the Mainland Chinese Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(4), pages 519-533, February.
    38. Diamantopoulos, Adamantios & Schlegelmilch, Bodo B. & Sinkovics, Rudolf R. & Bohlen, Greg M., 2003. "Can socio-demographics still play a role in profiling green consumers? A review of the evidence and an empirical investigation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 56(6), pages 465-480, June.
    39. Ulf Liebe & Veronika A. Andorfer & Patricia A. Gwartney & Jürgen Meyerhoff, 2014. "Ethical Consumption and Social Context: Experimental Evidence from Germany and the United States," University of Bern Social Sciences Working Papers 7, University of Bern, Department of Social Sciences.
    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. Wintschnig, Bea Alexandra, 2021. "The Attitude-Behavior Gap – Drivers and Barriers of Sustainable Consumption," Junior Management Science (JUMS), Junior Management Science e. V., vol. 6(2), pages 324-346.
    2. Camilla Barbarossa & Patrick Pelsmacker, 2016. "Positive and Negative Antecedents of Purchasing Eco-friendly Products: A Comparison Between Green and Non-green Consumers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 229-247, March.
    3. Paolo Antonetti & Stan Maklan, 2014. "Feelings that Make a Difference: How Guilt and Pride Convince Consumers of the Effectiveness of Sustainable Consumption Choices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 117-134, September.
    4. Micael-Lee Johnstone & Lay Tan, 2015. "Exploring the Gap Between Consumers’ Green Rhetoric and Purchasing Behaviour," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 311-328, December.
    5. Erifili Papista & Athanasios Krystallis, 2013. "Investigating the Types of Value and Cost of Green Brands: Proposition of a Conceptual Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(1), pages 75-92, June.
    6. Marie Schill & Delphine Godefroit-Winkel & Mbaye Fall Diallo & Camilla Barbarossa, 2019. "Consumers’ intentions to purchase smart home objects: Do environmental issues matter?," Post-Print hal-02091348, HAL.
    7. Smirti Kutaula & Alvina Gillani & Diana Gregory-Smith & Boris Bartikowski, 2024. "Ethical Consumerism in Emerging Markets: Opportunities and Challenges," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 191(4), pages 651-673, May.
    8. Hsiu-Hua Chang & Long-Chuan Lu, 2019. "Actively Persuading Consumers to Enact Ethical Behaviors in Retailing: The Influence of Relational Benefits and Corporate Associates," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(2), pages 399-416, May.
    9. Schill, Marie & Godefroit-Winkel, Delphine & Diallo, Mbaye Fall & Barbarossa, Camilla, 2019. "Consumers’ intentions to purchase smart home objects: Do environmental issues matter?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 176-185.
    10. Catherine Janssen & Joëlle Vanhamme, 2015. "Theoretical Lenses for Understanding the CSR–Consumer Paradox," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(4), pages 775-787, September.
    11. Kyriakos Riskos & Paraskevi (Evi) Dekoulou & Naoum Mylonas & George Tsourvakas, 2021. "Ecolabels and the Attitude–Behavior Relationship towards Green Product Purchase: A Multiple Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-22, June.
    12. Sue Hornibrook & Claire May & Andrew Fearne, 2015. "Sustainable Development and the Consumer: Exploring the Role of Carbon Labelling in Retail Supply Chains," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 266-276, May.
    13. Roberta Sebastiani & Francesca Montagnini & Daniele Dalli, 2013. "Ethical Consumption and New Business Models in the Food Industry. Evidence from the Eataly Case," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 473-488, May.
    14. Yanyan Chen & Dirk C. Moosmayer, 2020. "When Guilt is Not Enough: Interdependent Self-Construal as Moderator of the Relationship Between Guilt and Ethical Consumption in a Confucian Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(3), pages 551-572, January.
    15. Volker Lingnau & Florian Fuchs & Florian Beham, 2019. "The impact of sustainability in coffee production on consumers’ willingness to pay–new evidence from the field of ethical consumption," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 65-93, April.
    16. Jean-Louis Pernin & Didier Tagbata & Andréas Eriksson, 2017. "From attitude to fair product purchasing behaviour: what are the contributions of peripheral attitudes and behaviours? [De l’attitude au comportement d’achat de produits équitables : quels apports ," Post-Print hal-03540156, HAL.
    17. Elena Kossmann & Mónica Gómez-Suárez, 2018. "Decision-making processes for purchases of ethical products: gaps between academic research and needs of marketing practitioners," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 15(3), pages 353-370, September.
    18. Alex Hiller & Tony Woodall, 2019. "Everything Flows: A Pragmatist Perspective of Trade-Offs and Value in Ethical Consumption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(4), pages 893-912, July.
    19. Ragna Nilssen & Geoff Bick & Russell Abratt, 2019. "Comparing the relative importance of sustainability as a consumer purchase criterion of food and clothing in the retail sector," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(1), pages 71-83, January.
    20. 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.

    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:eee:jbrese:v:69:y:2016:i:8:p:2697-2710. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    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.