Culture and Consumer Ethics

Disparity in consumer ethics reflects cultural variations; these are differences in the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes one culture from another. This study explores the differences in consumer ethics across cultural dimensions using Hofstede??s (in Culture??s consequences: international differences in work-related values, Sage, Beverly Hills, 1980) model (collectivism, masculinity, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance) and Muncy and Vitell (in J Bus Res 24(4):297?C311, 1992) consumer ethics model (i.e., illegal, active, passive, and no harm). This is the first study to empirically explore consumer ethics using these two major constructs. Seven hundred sixty one African American consumers were used to test the four major hypotheses developed in this study. Current research has revealed that there are significant differences in ethics between consumers who score high and consumers who score low on Hofstede??s four cultural dimensions. In general, this research revealed that consumers who score high on collectivism, high on uncertainty avoidance, low on masculinity, and low on power distance scales reject questionable activities more than consumers who score low on collectivism, low on uncertainty avoidance, high on masculinity, and high on power distance. This study should prove valuable to international marketers because the Hofstede cultural model allows managers to identify differences in consumer ethics across different cultures and thus provides a theoretical base for designing effective marketing strategies.     

Religiosity and Consumer Ethics

This article presents the results of an exploratory study that investigated the role that religiosity plays in determining consumer attitudes/beliefs in various situations regarding questionable consumer practices. Two dimensions of religiosity – intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness – were studied. Results indicated that an intrinsic religiousness was a significant determinant of consumer ethical beliefs, but extrinsic religiousness was not related to those beliefs.Scott J. Vitell is Phil B. Hardin Professor of Marketing at the University of Mississippi. He received his Ph.D. in Marketing from Texas Tech University. His recent publications have appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Retailing, the Journal of Business Ethics and the Journal of Consumer Marketing, among others. E-mail: svitell@bus.olemiss.edu Joseph G.P. Paolillo is a Professor of Management in the School of Business at the University of Mississippi. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, Eugene in Organization and Management. His publications have appeared in the Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Human Relations, Group and Organization Studies, The Accounting Review, Journal of Advertising and Journal of Business Ethics, among several others. E-mail: jpaolillo@bus. olemiss.edu Jatinder J. Singh is a Ph.D. student in marketing at the University of Mississippi. He received his masters from Punjab Technical University, India. He has coauthored a paper published for the American Marketing Associations winter Educators Conference, 2004.     

论墨子的消费伦理思想

作为墨家的代表人物,墨子有其独特而深刻的消费伦理思想,主要体现在"节用"的消费行为规范方面。墨子兼顾功利主义与节俭主义的经济伦理思想,对构建现代市场经济条件下的新型消费伦理,培养节俭之美德,有着重要的借鉴意义。     

Economics of Consumer Protection: Contributions and Challenges in Estimating Consumer Injury and Evaluating Consumer Protection Policy

Journal of Consumer Policy - The author examines the role of economics in consumer protection, drawing from her experience at the U. S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has a dual mandate to...     

从国际消费维权角度分析中国消费维权

中国消费者维权是国际消费者维权的一部分,中国消费者维权应该借鉴国际消费者维权的经验。在消费者处于弱势地位的时候,消费维权应该在完善消费者权益保护制度入手来进行,从而使得我国消费者权益保护和国际接轨。     

消费文化的伦理话语

消费文化的伦理话语是消费社会的生活观念与社会关系在文化审美上的表现。作为消费社会的价值立法文本与阐释系统,其伦理内容主要表现为：文化经验的感觉主义表情;文化审美的享乐主义崇拜;生活实践的功利主义诉求。具体来说,感觉主义表现了消费文化文本的客体伦理构成;享乐主义言说着消费文化的主体伦理反应;功利主义则揭示了消费文化的伦理实体与基本价值范式。     

网络营销策略:消费者行为黑箱与客户满意度

电子商务的快速发展给网络营销提供了商业平台,同时也要求网络营销采取面向客户关系、网络营销成本与风险管理以及提升客户满意度等方面的营销策略。在分析网络营销特性基础上,通过对消费者行为模式和购买过程以及消费者行为黑箱分析,提出了相应网络营销策略。最后指出,网络营销应结合传统营销策略、虚实结合、差异营销,“一对一”客户交流等措施,以提升网络客户满意度。     

An Assessment of Consumer Protection and Consumer Empowerment in Costa Rica

The present exploratory study aims to describe and assess Costa Rica’s regime for protecting and empowering consumers. As the general framework, this study used research conducted in the USA, in Europe—specifically studies conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) partners—and studies sponsored by the European Union (EU) in Central America. This paper, however, is not intended to provide an exhaustive analysis or to answer all questions and issues related to consumer protection in Costa Rica; rather, it is to identify the main components of the consumer protection framework, its strategies, consumer redress mechanisms, remedies, and consumer protection challenges faced by the country. The last section outlines a conclusion and presents recommendations for improvement.     

论反垄断法中的消费者福利保护——以知识经济为背景

消费者福利一直是反垄断法保护的对象。在知识经济时代,反垄断法受到了前所未有的挑战,将保护消费者福利明确定位为反垄断法的终极目的与核心价值,有针对性的制定微观制度与政策,是传统反垄断法因应知识经济时代的必然选择。     

消费者增权理论与我国消费者权益保护法的完善

消费者增权理论是近年来西方社会科学领域关注的热点问题之一,在消费者增权理论中,信息供给型增权和制度供给型增权是两种主要模式。我国现阶段的消费模式和消费者权益保护实践表明,制度供给型消费者增权可以更好地保护消费者利益。所以,从消费者增权理论出发,完善消费者权益保护法律体系,是增进消费者利益保护和实现消费和谐的重要举措。     

基于完善我国消费者权益保障制度的思考——兼评《消费者权益保护法》

为更好的保护消费者合法权益,规范市场主体生产经营行为,构建和谐的消费关系,我国消费者权益保障制度应当与时俱进,大胆吸纳公益诉讼制度;进一步优化完善商品召回制度;承认"职业打假人"的法律地位;强化消费者协会的职能;才有助于在全社会营造出商业诚信文化氛围,最终成为扩大内需,拉动经济持续增长的内在动力。     

Consumer Protection Law in Cuba

Journal of Consumer Policy - The authors address the origins and evolution of consumer law in Cuba and the influence of European Union consumer law on development in Cuba. The transition from the...     

政府规制与消费者保护

政府规制是保护消费者利益的根本方式。本文主要通过制度分析来探讨我国消费者保护运动中政府规制的绩效及其影响,从改善政府规制规制绩效的制度建设角度提出改进措施,以期促进消费者保护与消费和谐的实现。     

Rectifying Consumer Protection Law and Establishing of a Consumer Court in Indonesia

Journal of Consumer Policy - In 2001, Indonesia established the Consumer Dispute Resolution Body (CDRB) based on the instruction of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) in 1999 to provide consumers...     

Consumer safety in Greece: An analysis of the Consumer Protection Act 1991

In September 1991 the Greek Consumer Protection Act No. 1961 was enacted. Chapter 2 of this Act establishes a legal framework for product safety. This framework has the dual aim of securing deregulation in the Greek market while maintaining effective consumer protection. This paper analyses the main features of this framework and demonstrates its inadequacies. It also investigates the extent to which these inadequacies could jeopardise an effective protection of consumers' interests. The paper concludes by emphasising that effective protection of consumers can only be achieved by supporting the general safety requirement with adequate accident-surveillance systems, mechanisms for investigation of risks, unambiguous risk-assessment criteria, creation of a comprehensive set of supporting standards that offer a high level of protection, effective control of the safety of products by the authorities, and real possibilities for consumer organisations to participate in the whole process.

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Zusammenfassung Die Sicherheit des Verbrauchers in Griechenland: eine Analyse des Verbraucherschutzgesetzes von 1991 Im September 1991 trat das griechische Verbraucherschutzgesetz in Kraft. Kapitel 2 des Gesetzes führt einen rechtlichen Rahmen für die Sicherheit von Produkten ein. Dieser Rahmen verfolgt das Ziel der Deregulierung auf dem griechischen Markt bei zugleich wirksamem Verbraucherschutz. Der Beitrag analysiert die wesentlichen Aspekte dieses Rahmens und stellt seine Schwächen dar. Er prüft, inwieweit diese Schwächen einem wirksamen Verbraucherschutz entgegenstehen können, und hebt hervor, da\ wirksamer Verbraucherschutz nur durch Stärkung der allgemeinen Sicherheitsbestimmungen erreicht werden kann. Dafür sind erforderlich ein angemessenes Unfallüberwachungssystem, Regelungen für die Untersuchung von Risiken, eindeutige Kriterien für die Bewertung von Risiken, die Entwicklung umfassender Kriterien zur Gewährleistung eines hohen Schutzniveaus, die wirksame Kontrolle der Produktsicherheit durch die Behörden, sowie für die Verbraucherorganisationen die faktische Mitwirkungsmöglichkeit an der gesamten Entwicklung.

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George Argiros, a member of the Athens Bar Association, is at present researching in the field of EC Law and Consumer Protection at the University of Leicester, Faculty of Law, Leicester LE1 7RH, U.K.     

An Empirical Investigation of Japanese Consumer Ethics

One of the gaps in the current international marketing literature is in the area of consumer ethics. Using a sample drawn from Japanese consumers, this study investigates these individuals' reported ethical ideology and their perception of a number of different ethical situations in the realm of consumer behavior. Comparisons are then made across several demographic characteristics. The results reveal differences which provide theoretical support for expanded research in the area of cross-cultural/cross-national consumer ethics and highlight the need for managers to consider possible differences in the ethical behavior of consumers when entering a new international market. In addition, this study extends current knowledge in international marketing ethics by utilizing a research design and survey instruments similar to previous studies on consumer ethics.     

Consumer Ethics: The Role of Religiosity

This article presents the results of a study that investigated the role that religiosity plays in determining consumer attitudes/beliefs regarding various questionable consumer practices. Additionally, other personal factors were examined including idealism, relativism, consumer alienation and selected demographics such as income and age. All of these constructs were examined as antecedents of consumer ethical beliefs. The results of a post hoc analysis indicated that religiosity was a significant determinate of both idealism and relativism, and since idealism and relativism determine consumer ethical beliefs, religiosity is a significant indirect determinate of consumer ethical beliefs.     

Developments in Consumer Protection in India

This paper surveys the major developments in the field of consumer protection in India since 1984, when the statutory provisions for regulating unfair trade practices were incorporated for the first time.Among the developments described in the paper is the strengthening of provisions for consumer protection through amendments to the Act regulating restrictive and monopolistic trade practices (the MTRP Act). Public-sector undertakings and co-operative societies have been brought within the purview of the Act, and consumers have obtained the right to participate in inquiry proceedings before the MRTP Commission.Consumers and their associations have been given the right to seek redress of grievances arising out of the violation of certain pieces of legislation, including the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, was enacted in order to provide speedy and inexpensive redress of consumers' grievances. Redress can now be sought before any consumer court also for negligence or deficiency in medical services.The Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986, has strengthened the measures for the standardisation and quality control of manufactured goods.A Consumer Welfare Fund has been set up to provide financial assistance to voluntary consumer organisations and for the general development of consumer movement in the country. A spurt in voluntary consumer organisations in different parts of the country can also be observed.Other developments include the establishment of a separate Department of Consumer Affairs in the Union Government and the setting up of a Consumer Product Testing Laboratory.     

《消费者权益保护法》修订中的金融消费者保护问题

我国金融业的发展,对金融消费者保护提出了新的要求.金融服务领域的消费者保护问题,成为最近<中华人民共和国消费者权益保护法>修订无法回避的内容.修订工作应充分考虑这种制度需求,在立法宗旨完善、消费者概念界定、保护范围扩展、政府责任强化等方面完善相关规则,促进金融消费者保护机制的完善.     

Materialism and Consumer Ethics: An Exploratory Study

As the issue of marketing's social responsibility grows in significance, the topic of materialism surfaces. While many marketing efforts encourage materialism, the materialism that is encouraged may have negative societal effects. An understanding of the effects of materialism on individuals, families, society, etc., is important in evaluating whether or not it is socially irresponsible for marketers to encourage materialism. However, the adequate empirical work has not yet been done on the overall effects of materialism. The current paper asks and addresses one important empirical question in this area. Do consumers who are more materialistic have different ethical standards than those who are not? Empirical evidence is presented which would indicate that materialism is negatively correlated with people's higher ethical standards as consumers. The implications for this in understanding social responsibility are discussed.