IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jouret/v92y2016i2p204-217.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

When Should Private Label Brands Endorse Ethical Attributes?

Author

Listed:
  • Bodur, H. Onur
  • Tofighi, Maryam
  • Grohmann, Bianca

Abstract

This article examines to what extent and under what circumstances product-related ethical attributes (i.e., attributes that reflect concern about social and environmental issues) influence evaluations of retailers’ private label brands (PLBs). Two experiments show that ethical attributes enhance PLB evaluations in the presence of extrinsic cues signaling high quality (i.e., high price). In the context of extrinsic cues signaling low quality (i.e., low price), PLBs do not benefit from offering an ethical attribute. This effect is mediated by consumers’ product quality perceptions. A third experiment replicates the positive effect of ethical attribute presence on PLB evaluations in the context of high retailer reputation, and shows a moderating effect of consumers’ resource synergy beliefs. These findings suggest that PLBs benefit from offering ethical attributes in the context of higher-priced PLBs or higher retailer reputation.

Suggested Citation

  • Bodur, H. Onur & Tofighi, Maryam & Grohmann, Bianca, 2016. "When Should Private Label Brands Endorse Ethical Attributes?," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 204-217.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jouret:v:92:y:2016:i:2:p:204-217
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2015.11.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022435915000810
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretai.2015.11.001?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. H. Bodur & Ting Gao & Bianca Grohmann, 2014. "The Ethical Attribute Stigma: Understanding When Ethical Attributes Improve Consumer Responses to Product Evaluations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 167-177, June.
    2. Robert L. Steiner, 2004. "The Nature and Benefits of National Brand/Private Label Competition," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 24(2), pages 105-127, March.
    3. Gerard J. Tellis & Fred S. Zufryden, 1995. "Tackling the Retailer Decision Maze: Which Brands to Discount, How Much, When and Why?," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(3), pages 271-299.
    4. Sethuraman Raj, 2003. "Measuring National Brands' Equity over Store Brands," Review of Marketing Science, De Gruyter, vol. 1(1), pages 1-28, August.
    5. Guido Berens & Cees Riel & Johan Rekom, 2007. "The CSR-Quality Trade-Off: When can Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Ability Compensate Each Other?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 233-252, September.
    6. Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1986. "Price and Advertising Signals of Product Quality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 796-821, August.
    7. Gilles Laurent & Pierre Chandon & Brian Wansink, 2000. "A Benefit Congruency Framework of Sales Promotion Effectiveness," Post-Print hal-00458440, HAL.
    8. Anthony D. Miyazaki & Dhruv Grewal & Ronald C. Goodstein, 2005. "The Effect of Multiple Extrinsic Cues on Quality Perceptions: A Matter of Consistency," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(1), pages 146-153, June.
    9. Auger, Pat & Devinney, Timothy M. & Louviere, Jordan J. & Burke, Paul F., 2008. "Do social product features have value to consumers?," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 183-191.
    10. Rao, Akshay R & Monroe, Kent B, 1988. "The Moderating Effect of Prior Knowledge on Cue Utilization in Product Evaluations," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 15(2), pages 253-264, September.
    11. LAURENT, Gilles & CHANDON, Pierre & WANSINK, Brian, 2000. "A benefit congruency framework of sales promotion effectiveness," HEC Research Papers Series 698, HEC Paris.
    12. Volpe, Richard, 2011. "The Relationship Between National Brand and Private Label Food Products: Prices, Promotions, Recessions, and Recoveries," Economic Research Report 262234, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    13. Sethuraman Raj, 2003. "Measuring National Brands' Equity over Store Brands," Review of Marketing Science, De Gruyter, vol. 1(1), pages 1-28, August.
    14. Carlos J. Torelli & Alokparna Basu Monga & Andrew M. Kaikati, 2012. "Doing Poorly by Doing Good: Corporate Social Responsibility and Brand Concepts," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 38(5), pages 948-963.
    15. Neeraj Arora & Ty Henderson, 2007. "Embedded Premium Promotion: Why It Works and How to Make It More Effective," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(4), pages 514-531, 07-08.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Julia Freybote & Lihong Qian, 2017. "Corporate real estate, stock market valuation and the reputational effects of eco-certification," Journal of Property Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(3), pages 163-180, July.
    2. Hsin-Hui Lin & Hsien-Ta Li & Yi-Shun Wang & Timmy H. Tseng & Ya-Ling Kao & Min-Yi Wu, 2017. "Predicting customer lifetime value for hypermarket private label products," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(4), pages 619-635, July.
    3. Cong Pan, 2020. "Competition between branded and nonbranded firms and its impact on welfare," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 87(2), pages 647-665, October.
    4. Choi, Sunhee & Duhan, Dale F. & Dass, Mayukh, 2023. "The influence of corporate social responsibility appeals (CSRAs) on product sales: Which appeal types perform better?," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 115-135.
    5. Fuduric, Morana & Varga, Akos & Horvat, Sandra & Skare, Vatroslav, 2022. "The ways we perceive: A comparative analysis of manufacturer brands and private labels using implicit and explicit measures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 221-241.
    6. Keller, Kristopher O. & Dekimpe, Marnik G. & Geyskens, Inge, 2022. "Adding budget and premium private labels to standard private labels: Established empirical generalizations, emerging empirical insights, and future research," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 5-23.
    7. Paydas Turan, Ceyda, 2021. "What's inside matters: The impact of ingredient branding on consumers' purchasing behaviours in services," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    8. Katie Kelting & Adam Duhachek & Kimberly Whitler, 2017. "Can copycat private labels improve the consumer’s shopping experience? A fluency explanation," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(4), pages 569-585, July.
    9. Hanna Górska-Warsewicz & Sylwia Żakowska-Biemans & Maksymilian Czeczotko & Monika Świątkowska & Dagmara Stangierska & Ewa Świstak & Agnieszka Bobola & Julita Szlachciuk & Karol Krajewski, 2018. "Organic Private Labels as Sources of Competitive Advantage—The Case of International Retailers Operating on the Polish Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-28, July.

    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. H. Bodur & Ting Gao & Bianca Grohmann, 2014. "The Ethical Attribute Stigma: Understanding When Ethical Attributes Improve Consumer Responses to Product Evaluations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 167-177, June.
    2. Ji Wu & Haichuan Zhao & Haipeng (Allan) Chen, 2021. "Coupons or Free Shipping? Effects of Price Promotion Strategies on Online Review Ratings," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(2), pages 633-652, June.
    3. Katja H. Brunk & Cara Boer, 2020. "How do Consumers Reconcile Positive and Negative CSR-Related Information to Form an Ethical Brand Perception? A Mixed Method Inquiry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 443-458, January.
    4. Nicole Koschate-Fischer & Katharina Wüllner, 2017. "New developments in behavioral pricing research," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(6), pages 809-875, August.
    5. Buil, Isabel & de Chernatony, Leslie & Martínez, Eva, 2013. "Examining the role of advertising and sales promotions in brand equity creation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 115-122.
    6. Noble, Stephanie M. & Griffith, David A. & Weinberger, Marc G., 2005. "Consumer derived utilitarian value and channel utilization in a multi-channel retail context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(12), pages 1643-1651, December.
    7. Fetai Besnik & Sadiku-Dushi Nora & Ismaili Raman, 2017. "Measuring the Impact of Extrinsic Cues on Consumers’ Purchasing Decision for Food Products," Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, Sciendo, vol. 62(3), pages 33-46, December.
    8. Sloot, Laurens M. & Verhoef, Peter C., 2008. "The Impact of Brand Delisting on Store Switching and Brand Switching Intentions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 84(3), pages 281-296.
    9. Guyt, Jonne, 2015. "Consumer choice models on the effect of promotions in retailing," Other publications TiSEM c310f652-d725-4764-aac7-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    10. Robinson, Stefanie & Wood, Stacy, 2018. "A “good” new brand — What happens when new brands try to stand out through corporate social responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 231-241.
    11. Mimouni Chaabane, Aida & Pez, Virginie, 2017. "“Make me feel special†: Are hierarchical loyalty programs a panacea for all brands? The role of brand concept," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 108-117.
    12. Bombaij, Nick, 2021. "Effectiveness of loyalty programs," Other publications TiSEM 095c506d-5b5c-4ea3-9b41-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    13. Panzone, Luca A., 2022. "Conditional Promotion With A Costly Reward: An Evaluation Of A Campaign To Motivate Consumption Of Fruit And Vegetables," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322058, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Mukherjee, Amaradri & Jha, Subhash & Smith, Ronn J., 2017. "Regular Price $299; Pre-order Price $199: Price Promotion for a Pre-ordered Product and the Moderating Role of Temporal Orientation," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 201-211.
    15. Bauer, Johannes C. & Kotouc, Alexander J. & Rudolph, Thomas, 2012. "What constitutes a “good assortment†? A scale for measuring consumers' perceptions of an assortment offered in a grocery category," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 11-26.
    16. Polo, Yolanda & Sese, F. Javier & Verhoef, Peter C., 2011. "The Effect of Pricing and Advertising on Customer Retention in a Liberalizing Market," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 201-214.
    17. Suwelack, Thomas & Hogreve, Jens & Hoyer, Wayne D., 2011. "Understanding Money-Back Guarantees: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Outcomes," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 462-478.
    18. Guillaume Le Borgne & Lucie Sirieix & Sandrine Costa, 2014. "Food waste and promotions," Working Papers hal-01140919, HAL.
      • Le Borgne, G. & Sirieix, L. & Costa, S., 2014. "Food waste and promotions," Working Papers MoISA 201405, UMR MoISA : Montpellier Interdisciplinary center on Sustainable Agri-food systems (social and nutritional sciences): CIHEAM-IAMM, CIRAD, INRAE, L'Institut Agro, Montpellier SupAgro, IRD - Montpellier, France.
    19. Wagner, Tillmann & Rudolph, Thomas, 2010. "Towards a hierarchical theory of shopping motivation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 415-429.
    20. Byun, Kyung-Ah (Kay) & Duhan, Dale F. & Dass, Mayukh, 2020. "The preservation of loyalty halo effects: An investigation of the post-product-recall behavior of loyal customers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 163-175.

    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:jouret:v:92:y:2016:i:2:p:204-217. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing .

    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.