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Cited by 891Environmental Sustainability in BusinessConsumer behavior in food and healthEthics in Business and Education

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 67 of the 67 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

An Exploratory Study into the Factors Impeding Ethical Consumption

Open access
Bray, Jeffery, Johns, Nick, Kilburn, David·2011·Journal of Business Ethics
DOI 10.1007/s10551-010-0640-9
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Abstract

Although consumers are increasingly engaged with ethical factors when forming opinions about products and making purchase decisions, recent studies have highlighted significant differences between consumers’ intentions to consume ethically, and their actual purchase behaviour. This article contributes to an understanding of this ‘Ethical Purchasing Gap’ through a review of existing literature, and the inductive analysis of focus group discussions. A model is suggested which includes exogenous variables such as moral maturity and age which have been well covered in the literature, together with further impeding factors identified from the focus group discussions. For some consumers, inertia in purchasing behaviour was such that the decision-making process was devoid of ethical considerations. Several consumers manifested their ethical views through post-purchase dissonance and retrospective feelings of guilt. Others displayed a reluctance to consume ethically due to personal constraints, a perceived negative impact on image or quality, or an outright negation of responsibility. Those who expressed a desire to consume ethically often seemed deterred by cynicism, which caused them to question the impact they, as an individual, could achieve. These findings enhance the understanding of ethical consumption decisions and provide a platform for future research in this area.

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Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Anniss, E.: 2003, ‘Sweatshops vs. Goldmines of Expertise’, Financial Times, Main section, 1st Edition, December 13.
  2. Hines, C. and A. Ames: 2000, ‘Ethical Consumerism - a Research Study Conducted for the Co-operative Bank’, London, Mori.
  3. Howard, M. and B. Nelson: 2000, ‘What the Progress of Ethical Consumerism in the 1990 s Tells us About the Prospects of the 21st Century’, London: Co-operative Bank/The Future Foundation.
  4. Macalister, T.: 2007, Ethical Household Spending has Doubled, but Only £6 a Year is on Green Energy, Guardian News and Media, November 30, Green Business, Online Edition, http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/apr/23/supermarkets.food1 .
  5. Sanfilippo, D.: 2007, My Sustainable T-Shirt, (Pesticide Action Network, London).
  6. Singhapakdi, A. and S. J. Vitell: 1991, ‘Selected Factors Influencing Marketers Deontological Norms’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 19(1), 37–42. · DOI
  7. Webster, K.: 2000, Environmental Management in the Hospitality Industry (Cassell, London).

Cited by

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Metadata

Authors
Bray, J., Johns, N., & Kilburn, D.
Affiliations
Bournemouth University (GB)
Corresponding author
Johns, Nick
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Business Ethics
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2010-08-26
Volume
98
Issue
4
Pages
597-608
ISSN
  • 0167-4544 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-0697
DOI
10.1007/s10551-010-0640-9
OpenAlex
W2021067430
Cited by
891
References
67
Citations by year
2026: 32 · 2025: 64 · 2024: 72 · 2023: 68 · 2022: 74 · 2021: 88 · 2020: 97 · 2019: 71 · 2018: 70 · 2017: 54 · 2016: 53 · 2015: 53 · 2014: 43 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 16
FWCI
49.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
  • public-domain
  • www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Business Ethics (publishedVersion)
  • Bournemouth University Research Online (Bournemouth University) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Environmental Sustainability in Business
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Consumer behavior in food and health
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Ethics in Business and Education
Keywords
ethical consumption, purchase behaviour, moral maturity, consumer cynicism, post-purchase dissonance, consumer guilt, ethical decision-making

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