IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v166y2020i1d10.1007_s10551-019-04121-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Feeling Good by Doing Good: A Selfish Motivation for Ethical Choice

Author

Listed:
  • Remi Trudel

    (Boston University)

  • Jill Klein

    (Melbourne Business School
    University of Melbourne)

  • Sankar Sen

    (Baruch College CUNY
    Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University)

  • Niraj Dawar

    (University of Western Ontario)

Abstract

This paper examines the question of why consumers engage in ethical consumption. The authors draw on self-affirmation theory to propose that the choice of an ethical product serves a self-restorative function. Four experiments provide support for this assertion: a self-threat increases consumers’ choice of an ethical option, even when the alternative choice is objectively superior in quantity (Study 1) and product quality (Study 2). Further, restoring self-esteem through positive feedback eliminates this increase in ethical choice (Studies 2 and 3). As an additional test of the robustness of our results, a final study examined the effect of self-threat on choice in a field setting (Study 4). The findings indicate that ethical purchases are not just altruistic. They hold purposeful individual value and can help in the self-restorative process. Implications for managers making decisions regarding investment in ethical product features are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Remi Trudel & Jill Klein & Sankar Sen & Niraj Dawar, 2020. "Feeling Good by Doing Good: A Selfish Motivation for Ethical Choice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 39-49, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:166:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-019-04121-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-019-04121-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-019-04121-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-019-04121-y?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. 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.
    2. Rosellina Ferraro & Baba Shiv & James R. Bettman, 2005. "Let Us Eat and Drink, for Tomorrow We Shall Die: Effects of Mortality Salience and Self-Esteem on Self-Regulation in Consumer Choice," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(1), pages 65-75, June.
    3. Patrick Pelsmacker & Wim Janssens, 2007. "A Model for Fair Trade Buying Behaviour: The Role of Perceived Quantity and Quality of Information and of Product-specific Attitudes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 75(4), pages 361-380, November.
    4. Pat Auger & Timothy Devinney & Jordan Louviere, 2007. "Using Best–Worst Scaling Methodology to Investigate Consumer Ethical Beliefs Across Countries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 70(3), pages 299-326, February.
    5. Fournier, Susan, 1998. "Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 24(4), pages 343-373, March.
    6. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    7. Michal Carrington & Benjamin Neville & Gregory Whitwell, 2010. "Why Ethical Consumers Don’t Walk Their Talk: Towards a Framework for Understanding the Gap Between the Ethical Purchase Intentions and Actual Buying Behaviour of Ethically Minded Consumers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(1), pages 139-158, November.
    8. Leilei Gao & S. Christian Wheeler & Baba Shiv, 2009. "The "Shaken Self": Product Choices as a Means of Restoring Self-View Confidence," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 36(1), pages 29-38, June.
    9. Rebecca Walker Reczek & Julie R Irwin & Daniel M Zane & Kristine R Ehrich & Mary Frances LuceEditor & Darren DahlEditor & Page MoreauAssociate Editor, 2018. "That’s Not How I Remember It: Willfully Ignorant Memory for Ethical Product Attribute Information," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 45(1), pages 185-207.
    10. Paharia, Neeru & Vohs, Kathleen D. & Deshpandé, Rohit, 2013. "Sweatshop labor is wrong unless the shoes are cute: Cognition can both help and hurt moral motivated reasoning," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 81-88.
    11. Sen, Sankar & Gurhan-Canli, Zeynep & Morwitz, Vicki, 2001. "Withholding Consumption: A Social Dilemma Perspective on Consumer Boycotts," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 28(3), pages 399-417, December.
    12. Claudia Townsend & Sanjay Sood, 2012. "Self-Affirmation through the Choice of Highly Aesthetic Products," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(2), pages 415-428.
    13. Brendl, C Miguel & Markman, Arthur B & Messner, Claude, 2003. "The Devaluation Effect: Activating a Need Devalues Unrelated Objects," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 29(4), pages 463-473, March.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    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. Ali Tezer & Matthew Philp & Anshu Suri, 2024. "The greenguard effect: When and why consumers react less negatively following green product failures," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(5), pages 1513-1530, October.
    2. Girardin, Florent & Bezençon, Valéry & Lunardo, Renaud, 2021. "Dealing with poor online ratings in the hospitality service industry: The mitigating power of corporate social responsibility activities," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    3. Joëlle Vanhamme & Adam Lindgreen & Gülen Sarial-Abi, 2023. "Luxury Ethical Consumers: Who Are They?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 805-838, March.
    4. Athanasios Polyportis & Lise Magnier & Ruth Mugge, 2023. "Guidelines to Foster Consumer Acceptance of Products Made from Recycled Plastics," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 939-952, June.
    5. Mainardes, Emerson Wagner & Coutinho, Ananda Raquel Silva & Alves, Helena Maria Batista, 2023. "The influence of the ethics of E-retailers on online customer experience and customer satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    6. Ryoo, Yuhosua & Kim, WooJin, 2023. "Price-ethicality association: When price discounts inhibit ethical purchasing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    7. Daniel Belanche & Luis V. Casaló & Carlos Flavián & Alfredo Pérez-Rueda, 2021. "The role of customers in the gig economy: how perceptions of working conditions and service quality influence the use and recommendation of food delivery services," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 15(1), pages 45-75, March.
    8. Grappi, Silvia & Bergianti, Francesca & Gabrielli, Veronica & Baghi, Ilaria, 2024. "The effect of message framing on young adult consumers’ sustainable fashion consumption: The role of anticipated emotions and perceived ethicality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(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. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Michal Carrington & Andreas Chatzidakis & Helen Goworek & Deirdre Shaw, 2021. "Consumption Ethics: A Review and Analysis of Future Directions for Interdisciplinary Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 215-238, January.
    4. Lianne Foti & Avis Devine, 2019. "High Involvement and Ethical Consumption: A Study of the Environmentally Certified Home Purchase Decision," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-11, September.
    5. Veronika Andorfer & Ulf Liebe, 2012. "Research on Fair Trade Consumption—A Review," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(4), pages 415-435, April.
    6. Cristina Longo & Avi Shankar & Peter Nuttall, 2019. "“It’s Not Easy Living a Sustainable Lifestyle”: How Greater Knowledge Leads to Dilemmas, Tensions and Paralysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 759-779, February.
    7. Veronika A. Andorfer & Ulf Liebe, 2014. "Do Information, Price, or Morals Influence Ethical Consumption? A Natural Field Experiment and Customer Survey on the Purchase of Fair Trade Coffee," University of Bern Social Sciences Working Papers 6, University of Bern, Department of Social Sciences.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Nieves García-de-Frutos & José Manuel Ortega-Egea & Javier Martínez-del-Río, 2018. "Anti-consumption for Environmental Sustainability: Conceptualization, Review, and Multilevel Research Directions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 411-435, March.
    11. Vera Herédia-Colaço & Rita Coelho do Vale & Sofia B. Villas-Boas, 2019. "Does Fair Trade Breed Contempt? A Cross-Country Examination on the Moderating Role of Brand Familiarity and Consumer Expertise on Product Evaluation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 737-758, May.
    12. 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.
    13. Andrée Marie López-Fernández, 2020. "Price sensitivity versus ethical consumption: a study of Millennial utilitarian consumer behavior," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(2), pages 57-68, June.
    14. Alain d’Astous & Amélie Legendre, 2009. "Understanding Consumers’ Ethical Justifications: A Scale for Appraising Consumers’ Reasons for Not Behaving Ethically," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(2), pages 255-268, June.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. Sarah Bayer & Henner Gimpel & Serkan Sarikaya, 2019. "Bank customers’ decision-making process in choosing between ethical and conventional banking: a survey-based examination," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 89(6), pages 655-697, August.
    18. Andrée Marie López-Fernández, 0. "Price sensitivity versus ethical consumption: a study of Millennial utilitarian consumer behavior," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-12.
    19. 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.
    20. Daniel G. J. Kuchinka & Szilvia Balazs & Marius Dan Gavriletea & Borivoje-Boris Djokic, 2018. "Consumer Attitudes toward Sustainable Development and Risk to Brand Loyalty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-25, March.

    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:166:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-019-04121-y. 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.