IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v113y2013i1p61-79.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Spiritual Well-Being and Materialism in Determining Consumers’ Ethical Beliefs: An Empirical Study with Australian Consumers

Author

Listed:
  • Rafi Chowdhury
  • Mario Fernando

Abstract

A survey was conducted to investigate the relationship of Australian consumers’ lived (experienced) spiritual well-being and materialism with the various dimensions of consumer ethics. Spiritual well-being is composed of four domains—personal, communal, transcendental and environmental well-being. All four domains were examined in relation to the various dimensions of consumers’ ethical beliefs (active/illegal dimension, passive dimension, active/legal dimension, ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension and ‘doing good’/recycling dimension). The results indicated that lived communal well-being was negatively related to perceptions of the active/illegal dimension and the passive dimension and was positively related to perceptions of the ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension and the ‘doing good’/recycling dimension. Lived personal well-being was negatively related to perceptions of the active/illegal dimension and was positively related to perceptions of the ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension and the ‘doing good’/recycling dimension. Lived transcendental well-being was negatively related to perceptions of the passive dimension, the active/legal dimension and the ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension. Lived environmental well-being was negatively related to perceptions of the active/legal dimension and the ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension. The findings also indicated that materialism was positively associated with perceptions of actively benefiting from illegal actions, passively benefiting at the expense of the seller, actively benefiting from questionable but legal actions and benefiting from ‘no harm, no foul’ actions. Public policy implications of the findings and opportunities for future research are discussed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Rafi Chowdhury & Mario Fernando, 2013. "The Role of Spiritual Well-Being and Materialism in Determining Consumers’ Ethical Beliefs: An Empirical Study with Australian Consumers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(1), pages 61-79, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:113:y:2013:i:1:p:61-79
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1282-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-012-1282-x
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-012-1282-x?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. Stephan Meier & Alois Stutzer, 2008. "Is Volunteering Rewarding in Itself?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 75(297), pages 39-59, February.
    2. Dirk Boehe & Luciano Barin Cruz, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Product Differentiation Strategy and Export Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(2), pages 325-346, February.
    3. Mario Fernando & Rafi Chowdhury, 2010. "The Relationship Between Spiritual Well-Being and Ethical Orientations in Decision Making: An Empirical Study with Business Executives in Australia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 211-225, August.
    4. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Karl Pajo & Louise Lee, 2011. "Corporate-Sponsored Volunteering: A Work Design Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(3), pages 467-482, March.
    8. Smith, Adam, 1759. "The Theory of Moral Sentiments," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number smith1759.
    9. Scott Vitell & Megan Keith & Manisha Mathur, 2011. "Antecedents to the Justification of Norm Violating Behavior Among Business Practitioners," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 163-173, June.
    10. Belk, Russell W, 1985. "Materialism: Trait Aspects of Living in the Material World," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 12(3), pages 265-280, December.
    11. Helmut Schneider & John Krieger & Azra Bayraktar, 2011. "The Impact of Intrinsic Religiosity on Consumers’ Ethical Beliefs: Does It Depend on the Type of Religion? A Comparison of Christian and Moslem Consumers in Germany and Turkey," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 319-332, August.
    12. Long-Chuan Lu & Chia-Ju Lu, 2010. "Moral Philosophy, Materialism, and Consumer Ethics: An Exploratory Study in Indonesia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(2), pages 193-210, June.
    13. Scott Vitell, 2009. "The Role of Religiosity in Business and Consumer Ethics: A Review of the Literature," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(2), pages 155-167, November.
    14. Richins, Marsha L & Dawson, Scott, 1992. "A Consumer Values Orientation for Materialism and Its Measurement: Scale Development and Validation," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 19(3), pages 303-316, December.
    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. Oylum Korkut Altuna & F. Müge Arslan & A. Ercan Gegez & Özge Sýðýrcý, 2016. "Development of a Scale on e-Consumers’ Attitudes towards Ethically Questionable Online Behaviors," Bogazici Journal, Review of Social, Economic and Administrative Studies, Bogazici University, Department of Economics, vol. 30(1), pages 99-134.
    2. Rafi Chowdhury & Mario Fernando, 2014. "The Relationships of Empathy, Moral Identity and Cynicism with Consumers’ Ethical Beliefs: The Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(4), pages 677-694, November.
    3. Elodie Gentina & L. J. Shrum & Tina M. Lowrey, 2018. "Coping with Loneliness Through Materialism: Strategies Matter for Adolescent Development of Unethical Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 103-122, September.
    4. Ryoo, Yuhosua & Sung, Yongjun & Chechelnytska, Inna, 2020. "What makes materialistic consumers more ethical? Self-benefit vs. other-benefit appeals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 173-183.
    5. Elodie Gentina & L. J. Shrum & Tina M. Lowrey & Scott J. Vitell & Gregory M. Rose, 2018. "An Integrative Model of the Influence of Parental and Peer Support on Consumer Ethical Beliefs: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem, Power, and Materialism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 1173-1186, July.
    6. Manuel Tejeda, 2015. "Exploring the Supportive Effects of Spiritual Well-Being on Job Satisfaction Given Adverse Work Conditions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 173-181, September.
    7. Ricky Y. K. Chan & Piyush Sharma & Abdulaziz Alqahtani & Tak Yan Leung & Ashish Malik, 2024. "Mediating Role of Cultural Values in the Impact of Ethical Ideologies on Chinese Consumers’ Ethical Judgments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 191(4), pages 865-884, May.
    8. Barbara Culiberg, 2015. "The Role of Moral Philosophies and Value Orientations in Consumer Ethics: a Post-Transitional European Country Perspective," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 211-228, September.
    9. Juelin Yin & Lixian Qian & Anusorn Singhapakdi, 2018. "Sharing Sustainability: How Values and Ethics Matter in Consumers’ Adoption of Public Bicycle-Sharing Scheme," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 313-332, May.
    10. Jelena Spanjol & Leona Tam & Vivian Tam, 2015. "Employer–Employee Congruence in Environmental Values: An Exploration of Effects on Job Satisfaction and Creativity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(1), pages 117-130, August.
    11. Rafi M. M. I. Chowdhury, 2018. "Religiosity and Voluntary Simplicity: The Mediating Role of Spiritual Well-Being," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 149-174, September.
    12. Gaston-Breton, Charlotte & Lemoine, Jérémy E. & Voyer, Benjamin G. & Kastanakis, Minas N., 2021. "Pleasure, meaning or spirituality: Cross-cultural differences in orientations to happiness across 12 countries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1-12.
    13. Rayco Rodríguez Reyes & Sergio Gallego García & Manuel García García, 2018. "Applying the Viable System Model to an Organization with CSR Goals: The Case of a Charity Organization," European Journal of Economics and Business Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 4, ejes_v4_i.
    14. Dora E. Bock & Jacqueline K. Eastman & Kevin L. Eastman, 2018. "Encouraging Consumer Charitable Behavior: The Impact of Charitable Motivations, Gratitude, and Materialism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 1213-1228, July.
    15. Syahrul Hezrin Mahmud & Marhana Mohamed Anuar* & Muhammad Abi Sofian Abdul Halim & Azizul Yadi Yaakop, 2019. "The Influence of Self Care on Mindful Consumption Behaviour," The Journal of Social Sciences Research, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 5(1), pages 94-100, 01-2019.
    16. Toti, Jean-François & Diallo, Mbaye Fall & Huaman-Ramirez, Richard, 2021. "Ethical sensitivity in consumers’ decision-making: The mediating and moderating role of internal locus of control," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 168-182.
    17. Kumju Hwang & Hyewon Kim, 2018. "Are Ethical Consumers Happy? Effects of Ethical Consumers' Motivations Based on Empathy Versus Self-orientation on Their Happiness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 579-598, August.
    18. Marcelo Vinhal Nepomuceno & Michel Laroche, 2017. "When Materialists Intend to Resist Consumption: The Moderating Role of Self-Control and Long-Term Orientation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 467-483, July.
    19. Rafi M. M. I. Chowdhury, 2017. "Emotional Intelligence and Consumer Ethics: The Mediating Role of Personal Moral Philosophies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 527-548, May.
    20. Bakir, Aysen & Gentina, Elodie & de Araújo Gil, Luciana, 2020. "What shapes adolescents’ attitudes toward luxury brands? The role of self-worth, self-construal, gender and national culture," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).

    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. Denni Arli & Fandy Tjiptono, 2014. "The End of Religion? Examining the Role of Religiousness, Materialism, and Long-Term Orientation on Consumer Ethics in Indonesia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 385-400, September.
    2. Rafi M. M. I. Chowdhury, 2018. "Religiosity and Voluntary Simplicity: The Mediating Role of Spiritual Well-Being," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 149-174, September.
    3. Elodie Gentina & L. J. Shrum & Tina M. Lowrey & Scott J. Vitell & Gregory M. Rose, 2018. "An Integrative Model of the Influence of Parental and Peer Support on Consumer Ethical Beliefs: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem, Power, and Materialism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 1173-1186, July.
    4. Mortimer, Gary & Fazal-e-Hasan, Syed Muhammad & Grimmer, Martin & Grimmer, Louise, 2020. "Explaining the impact of consumer religiosity, perceived risk and moral potency on purchase intentions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    5. Abhijit Patwardhan & Megan Keith & Scott Vitell, 2012. "Religiosity, Attitude Toward Business, and Ethical Beliefs: Hispanic Consumers in the United States," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 61-70, September.
    6. Barbara Culiberg, 2015. "The Role of Moral Philosophies and Value Orientations in Consumer Ethics: a Post-Transitional European Country Perspective," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 211-228, September.
    7. Oylum Korkut Altuna & F. Müge Arslan & A. Ercan Gegez & Özge Sýðýrcý, 2016. "Development of a Scale on e-Consumers’ Attitudes towards Ethically Questionable Online Behaviors," Bogazici Journal, Review of Social, Economic and Administrative Studies, Bogazici University, Department of Economics, vol. 30(1), pages 99-134.
    8. Rafi M. M. I. Chowdhury, 2017. "Emotional Intelligence and Consumer Ethics: The Mediating Role of Personal Moral Philosophies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 527-548, May.
    9. Chun-Chen Huang & Long-Chuan Lu, 2017. "Examining the Roles of Collectivism, Attitude Toward Business, and Religious Beliefs on Consumer Ethics in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(3), pages 505-514, December.
    10. Nazia Adeel & Chris Patel & Nonna Martinov-Bennie & Sammy Xiaoyan Ying, 2022. "Islamic Religiosity and Auditors’ Judgements: Evidence from Pakistan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 551-572, August.
    11. Millissa F. Y. Cheung & W. M. To, 2021. "The Effect of Consumer Perceptions of the Ethics of Retailers on Purchase Behavior and Word-of-Mouth: The Moderating Role of Ethical Beliefs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(4), pages 771-788, July.
    12. Dora E. Bock & Jacqueline K. Eastman & Kevin L. Eastman, 2018. "Encouraging Consumer Charitable Behavior: The Impact of Charitable Motivations, Gratitude, and Materialism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 1213-1228, July.
    13. Chan, Christopher & Ananthram, Subramaniam & Thaker, Keyur & Liu, Yi, 2022. "Do religiosity and ethical principles influence ethical decision-making in a multi-faith context? Evidence from India," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 772-785.
    14. Elodie Gentina & Carole Daniel & Thomas Li-Ping Tang, 2021. "Mindfulness Reduces Avaricious Monetary Attitudes and Enhances Ethical Consumer Beliefs: Mindfulness Training, Timing, and Practicing Matter," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(2), pages 301-323, October.
    15. Ricky Y. K. Chan & Piyush Sharma & Abdulaziz Alqahtani & Tak Yan Leung & Ashish Malik, 2024. "Mediating Role of Cultural Values in the Impact of Ethical Ideologies on Chinese Consumers’ Ethical Judgments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 191(4), pages 865-884, May.
    16. Scott J. Vitell & Robert Allen King & Katharine Howie & Jean-François Toti & Lumina Albert & Encarnación Ramos Hidalgo & Omneya Yacout, 2016. "Spirituality, Moral Identity, and Consumer Ethics: A Multi-cultural Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 147-160, November.
    17. Komal Nagar & Vishab Pratap Singh, 2021. "Modelling the Effects of Materialism, Ethics and Variety-Seeking Behaviour on Counterfeit Consumption of Young Consumers," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 22(4), pages 996-1009, August.
    18. 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.
    19. Selma Kalyoncuoglu & Begum Sahin, 2017. "Moderating Role of Materialism in the Effect of Perceived Value on Purchase Intention of Counterfeits of Luxury Brands," International Journal of Marketing Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(4), pages 76-88, August.
    20. Ryoo, Yuhosua & Sung, Yongjun & Chechelnytska, Inna, 2020. "What makes materialistic consumers more ethical? Self-benefit vs. other-benefit appeals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 173-183.

    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:kap:jbuset:v:113:y:2013:i:1:p:61-79. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.