IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v156y2019i2d10.1007_s10551-017-3616-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How and When Retailers’ Sustainability Efforts Translate into Positive Consumer Responses: The Interplay Between Personal and Social Factors

Author

Listed:
  • Dianne Hofenk

    (EDM)

  • Marcel Birgelen

    (Radboud University Nijmegen)

  • Josée Bloemer

    (Radboud University Nijmegen)

  • Janjaap Semeijn

    (Open University of the Netherlands)

Abstract

This study aims to address how (through which mechanisms) and when (under which conditions) retailers’ sustainability efforts translate into positive consumer responses. Hypotheses are developed and tested through a scenario-based experiment among 672 consumers. Retailers’ assortment sustainability and distribution sustainability are manipulated. Retailers’ sustainability efforts lead to positive consumer responses (e.g., improved store evaluations) via two underlying mechanisms: consumers’ identification with the store (personal route) and store legitimacy (social route). The effects of sustainability efforts are strengthened if consumers have personal norms favoring shopping at environmentally friendly stores. Remarkably, when controlling for moderation by personal norms, social norms weaken the effects. The findings show that traditional marketing mix elements provide opportunities for retailers to improve their organizations’ bottom line and positively affect consumer (and societal) well-being. This study helps retailers decide whether or not to invest in and communicate about sustainability. Past research has shown the clear potential for positive consumer responses to firms’ sustainability efforts, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms and the conditions under which such responses take place. This study advances theory by examining personal and social factors as mediators and moderators of the retailers’ sustainability efforts–consumer responses relationship.

Suggested Citation

  • Dianne Hofenk & Marcel Birgelen & Josée Bloemer & Janjaap Semeijn, 2019. "How and When Retailers’ Sustainability Efforts Translate into Positive Consumer Responses: The Interplay Between Personal and Social Factors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(2), pages 473-492, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:156:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-017-3616-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-017-3616-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-017-3616-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-017-3616-1?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. Shlomo Sher, 2011. "A Framework for Assessing Immorally Manipulative Marketing Tactics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 97-118, August.
    2. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    3. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Mark Groza & Mya Pronschinske & Matthew Walker, 2011. "Perceived Organizational Motives and Consumer Responses to Proactive and Reactive CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(4), pages 639-652, September.
    5. Scott Vitell, 2015. "A Case for Consumer Social Responsibility (CnSR): Including a Selected Review of Consumer Ethics/Social Responsibility Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(4), pages 767-774, September.
    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. Rajesh Kumar & T. K. Das, 2007. "Interpartner Legitimacy in the Alliance Development Process," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(8), pages 1425-1453, December.
    8. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    9. Lichtenstein, Donald R. & Netemeyer, Richard G. & Maxham, James G., 2010. "The Relationships Among Manager-, Employee-, and Customer-Company Identification: Implications For Retail Store Financial Performance," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 85-93.
    10. C. Bhattacharya & Daniel Korschun & Sankar Sen, 2009. "Strengthening Stakeholder–Company Relationships Through Mutually Beneficial Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 257-272, April.
    11. Noah J. Goldstein & Robert B. Cialdini & Vladas Griskevicius, 2008. "A Room with a Viewpoint: Using Social Norms to Motivate Environmental Conservation in Hotels," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 35(3), pages 472-482, March.
    12. Xinshu Zhao & John G. Lynch & Qimei Chen, 2010. "Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths about Mediation Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(2), pages 197-206, August.
    13. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    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. Hae-Ryong Kim & So-Yeon Yoon, 2020. "How to Help Crowded Destinations: Tourist Anger vs. Sympathy and Role of Destination Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-15, March.
    2. Hasanzade, Vüsal & Elshiewy, Ossama & Toporowski, Waldemar, 2022. "Is it just the distance? Consumer preference for geographical and social proximity of food production," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    3. Wang, Xing-Xin & He, Ai-Zhong, 2022. "The impact of retailers’ sustainable development on consumer advocacy: A chain mediation model investigation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. Xisi Yang & Anja Weber & Anna-Katharina Grimm, 2022. "The effects of green consumer empowerment in advertising on corporate evaluations and purchase intention: the case of organic food," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(6), pages 1877-1909, August.
    5. Barbara Culiberg & Hichang Cho & Mateja Kos Koklic & Vesna Zabkar, 2023. "The Role of Moral Foundations, Anticipated Guilt and Personal Responsibility in Predicting Anti-consumption for Environmental Reasons," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(2), pages 465-481, January.
    6. Xue, Jiaqi & Qian, Liping & Cai, Jingang & Jiang, Xiuling, 2024. "Seeking stability or change? Retailers’ organizational legitimacy, strategic orientation and cross-channel integration," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    7. Nick Lin-Hi & Marlene Reimer & Katharina Schäfer & Johanna Böttcher, 2023. "Consumer acceptance of cultured meat: an empirical analysis of the role of organizational factors," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(4), pages 707-746, May.
    8. M. De Souza & G.M. Pereira & Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour & C.J. Chiappetta Jabbour & L.R. Trento & M. Borchardt & L. Zvirtes, 2021. "A Digitally Enabled Circular Economy for Mitigating Food Waste: Understanding Innovative Marketing Strategies in the Context of an Emerging Economy," Post-Print hal-04275962, HAL.
    9. de Souza, Michele & Pereira, Giancarlo Medeiros & Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & Trento, Luiz Reni & Borchardt, Miriam & Zvirtes, Leandro, 2021. "A digitally enabled circular economy for mitigating food waste: Understanding innovative marketing strategies in the context of an emerging economy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    10. Vadakkepatt, Gautham G. & Winterich, Karen Page & Mittal, Vikas & Zinn, Walter & Beitelspacher, Lauren & Aloysius, John & Ginger, Jessica & Reilman, Julie, 2021. "Sustainable Retailing," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 62-80.
    11. Ebenezer Laryea & Amin Hosseinian-Far & Simon Derrick, 2023. "Climate Justice Implications of Banning Air-Freighted Fresh Produce," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-18, November.
    12. Kathrin Monika Buhmann & Josep Rialp-Criado & Alex Rialp-Criado, 2024. "Predicting Consumer Intention to Adopt Battery Electric Vehicles: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-24, February.
    13. Elizabeth A. Minton & Soo Jiuan Tan & Siok Kuan Tambyah & Richie L. Liu, 2022. "Drivers of Sustainability and Consumer Well-Being: An Ethically-Based Examination of Religious and Cultural Values," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 167-190, January.

    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. 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.
    2. Arne K. Albrecht & Gianfranco Walsh & Simon Brach & Dwayne D. Gremler & Erica Herpen, 2017. "The influence of service employees and other customers on customer unfriendliness: a social norms perspective," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(6), pages 827-847, November.
    3. Mark Anthony Camilleri, 2017. "Corporate sustainability and responsibility: creating value for business, society and the environment," Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 59-74, September.
    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. Wells, Victoria.K. & Taheri, Babak & Gregory-Smith, Diana & Manika, Danae, 2016. "The role of generativity and attitudes on employees home and workplace water and energy saving behaviours," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 63-74.
    6. Henri Kuokkanen & William Sun, 2020. "Companies, Meet Ethical Consumers: Strategic CSR Management to Impact Consumer Choice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(2), pages 403-423, October.
    7. Schaefers, Tobias & Falk, Tomas & Kumar, Ashish & Schamari, Julia, 2021. "More of the same? Effects of volume and variety of social media brand engagement behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 282-294.
    8. Kuckertz, Andreas & Wagner, Marcus, 2010. "The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions -- Investigating the role of business experience," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 524-539, September.
    9. Ibrahim Elshaer & Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Mansour Alyahya & Ahmed Abu Elnasr, 2021. "The Impact of Religiosity and Food Consumption Culture on Food Waste Intention in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, June.
    10. 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.
    11. Avery, Derek R. & McKay, Patrick F. & Volpone, Sabrina D. & Malka, Ari, 2015. "Are companies beholden to bias? The impact of leader race on consumer purchasing behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 85-102.
    12. Tamer Ayad & Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Ibrahim A. Elshaer, 2022. "University Incubator Support and Entrepreneurial Intention among Tourism Graduates: Mediating Role of Personal Attitude," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, December.
    13. Tsarenko, Yelena & Ferraro, Carla & Sands, Sean & McLeod, Colin, 2013. "Environmentally conscious consumption: The role of retailers and peers as external influences," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 302-310.
    14. Ardion D. Beldad & Colin T. Seijdel & Menno D. T. Jong, 2020. "Managing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Together: The Effects of Stakeholder Participation and Third-Party Organization (TPO) Endorsement on CSR Initiative Effectiveness," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(4), pages 225-240, November.
    15. Roh, Taewoo & Seok, Junhee & Kim, Yaeri, 2022. "Unveiling ways to reach organic purchase: Green perceived value, perceived knowledge, attitude, subjective norm, and trust," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    16. Corrie Mazereeuw-van der Duijn Schouten & Johan Graafland & Muel Kaptein, 2014. "Religiosity, CSR Attitudes, and CSR Behavior: An Empirical Study of Executives’ Religiosity and CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 437-459, September.
    17. Wolter, Jeremy S. & Bacile, Todd J. & Smith, Jeffery S. & Giebelhausen, Michael, 2019. "The entitlement/forgiveness conflict of self-relevant and self-neutral relationships during service failure and recovery," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 233-246.
    18. Zhang, Honglei & Yang, Yang & Zheng, Chunhui & Zhang, Jie, 2016. "Too dark to revisit? The role of past experiences and intrapersonal constraints," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 452-464.
    19. Uzhegova, Maria & Torkkeli, Lasse & Saarenketo, Sami, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility in SMEs: Implications on Competitive PerformanceDate submitted: October 12, 2017Revised version accepted after double blind review: December 15, 2018," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 30(2-3), pages 232-267.
    20. Mwesiumo, Deodat & Glavee-Geo, Richard & Olsen, Kjetil Magnus & Svenning, Geir Arne, 2021. "Improving public purchaser attitudes towards public procurement of innovations," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

    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:156:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-017-3616-1. 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.