Coping with multiple identities related to meat consumption

Global meat consumption poses a threat to environmental sustainability and human health. Therefore, moral and health‐related norms connected to eating meat are changing and consumers experience conflicts when choosing between meat and nonmeat options in various situations. To achieve a better understanding of the nature of these conflicts and how consumers cope with them, we study identities related to meat consumption and how they are organized. Identity theories are used as the lens to address the self‐relevance of meat to consumers. Thirteen Danish consumers shared how and why they ate, reduced, or avoided meat in a food‐based photo‐diary and in‐depth interviews, supported by a visualization approach, developed from self‐brand connection methods. Three higher‐order identities (pragmatic idealist, ethical foodie, and healthy hedonist) emerged, governing the consumption, reduction, or avoidance of different meat categories. Identity conflicts between health, moral (e.g., animal welfare), and hedonic concerns were present, but also identity stigma. Coping mechanisms include change of salience and changing patterns of meat consumption. Campaigners promoting a reduction in meat consumption and developers of alternative protein foods can use these insights to target identities and facilitate conflict resolutions. However, more research is needed on how generalizable results are.     

Veganism: Theory of planned behaviour,ethical concerns and the moderating role of catalytic experiences

The growing movement of veganism culture is drawing increasing scientific attention but falls short of an empirical investigation to examine antecedents and catalytic experiences for maintaining vegan diets. An integrated theoretical framework is proposed using the Theory of Planned Behaviour Model (TPB) and includes ethical concerns to investigate the interrelationships. Comparisons are also made by adopting the strength of high and low ethical catalytic experiences of each consumer group to identify moderating results. The proposed conceptual model was tested using Structural Equation Modelling from the responses of 478 vegan consumers. Results indicate that the TPB factors exert positive effects on the buying intention and ethical concerns mediate the relationship between attitudes and intention, as well as between PBC and intention, however, social norms did not impact ethical concerns.While consumers experiencing high catalytic experience had no significance, low catalytic experience consumers showed an inverse significant moderating relationship on PBC and maintaining vegan diets. Whereas the relationship for ethical concerns influencing the intention to buy vegan foods was significant and positive for the high catalytic experienced consumer, but not significant for the low catalytic experienced consumer. The moderating results for social norms were not significant on ethical concerns for the high catalytic experienced consumer but were negatively significant for the low catalytic experienced consumers indicating that the effect of peer pressure increase, results in a decline for ethical considerations.These findings offer strong theoretical and practical implications by contributing to the understanding of consumers’ behavioural intention to undertake vegan diets and extending our knowledge for formulating retail strategies to effectively tailor their offerings for this consumer segment.     

Determinants of Regular and Occasional Consumers' Intentions to Buy Organic Food

This study analyzes the impact of ethical motivations, food safety and health‐related concerns on purchasing intentions of habitual and less frequent consumers of organic food. A sample of 291 subjects was surveyed through a paper‐and‐pencil questionnaire and classified either as “regular” or “occasional” purchasers of organic food according to their buying frequency. Results show different determinants of intention for the two groups of subjects: ethical motivations affect the purchase intentions of regular consumers, whereas food safety concerns influence the purchase intentions of occasional consumers. Implications are discussed.     

Identity,self‐concept and young women’s engagement with collaborative,sustainable fashion consumption models

It is clear from extant theory that fashion consumption is intrinsically bound to self‐concept and social identity. As such, many individuals over consume in pursuit of ideal identities, particularly in periods of heightened awareness of identity development, such as their youth. This study thus takes one group of fashion over‐consumers, young females, and seeks to identify core motivations towards and barriers for collaborative consumption of clothing and fashion products, though the lens of self‐identity and social interaction. The study adopts a theory of planned behaviour approach, using in‐depth interviews to examine norms of behaviour in fashion consumption and develops a conceptual model for understanding of how these individuals construct a fashion identity within the social contexts of four alternative forms of consumption (renting, borrowing, swapping and purchasing second‐hand). Furthermore, the study examines perceived barriers to participation in these four alternative fashion consumption forms. The study finds that social and ethical implications of sustainable consumption behaviour are the least likely motivators towards engagement with collaborative fashion consumption models within this group, and that opportunities for individual identity expression are the most sought after benefits of such engagement. This research contributes to the literature regarding sustainability issues generally, in the context of fashion consumption, and deepens one’s understanding of young female consumers’ willingness to participate in sustainable consumption actions.     

When are Consumers Motivated to Connect with Ethical Brands? The Roles of Guilt and Moral Identity Importance

This research adds to the growing literature on what draws consumers to ethical brands. Findings from three studies demonstrate that guilt motivates consumers to connect with ethical brands, especially those consumers with high levels of moral identity importance (MII). Specifically, Study 1 finds that consumers report stronger self‐brand connections (SBCs) with an ethical brand when they feel guilty (vs. control). Study 2 finds that guilt particularly motivates consumers with high MII to report stronger SBCs with an ethical (vs. unethical) brand. In turn, these strong connections lead to increased intentions to purchase the ethical brand. Finally, Study 3 finds evidence for the proposed motivation‐based process explanation by showing that high MII consumers’ propensity to connect with ethical brands when feeling guilty (vs. control) is attenuated when these consumers are first given the opportunity to donate to a charitable cause to alleviate their guilt. Overall, the findings suggest that ethical brands can foster strong connections with and elicit higher purchase intentions from consumers seeking ways to alleviate their guilt.     

“A healthy outside starts from the inside”: A matter of sustainable consumption behavior in Italy and Pakistan

The aim of this research is to determine people's motives when purchasing organic food and how these motives are moderated by price sensitivity and ethical concerns in a cross-cultural setting. A highly structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from 673 Italian and 594 Pakistani consumers, using the convenience sampling technique. Based on the etic research approach, the measurement invariance tests were performed, and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that environmental concerns and health-consciousness are significant predictors of subjective norms and purchase attitudes among Italian consumers. Food safety concern proved the strongest predictor of purchase attitude and perceived behavioral control among Pakistani consumers. The results also confirm the moderating role of ethical concerns and price sensitivity in buying organic food in both cultures. In terms of originality, this study fills significant gaps in the literature, particularly regarding the roles of attitude, behavioral control, and subjective norms in consumer buying motives and purchasing intentions in cross-cultural studies but more importantly, the results validate that consumer concerns across the globe are related to the Sustainability Development Goals and the U.N. 2030 agenda, which aptly provides a blue print for the development and developmental goals and concerns across nations.     

Sustainable clothing: challenges,barriers and interventions for encouraging more sustainable consumer behaviour

Research with consumers has revealed limited awareness of the sustainability impact of clothing (Goworek et al., 2012). Semi‐structured interviews conducted with a range of experts in sustainable clothing to increase understanding of the challenges for sustainable clothing revealed that a focus on sustainability alone will not drive the necessary changes in consumers’ clothing purchase, care and disposal behaviour for three reasons: (i) clothing sustainability is too complex; (ii) consumers are too diverse in their ethical concerns and (iii) clothing is not an altruistic purchase. The findings identify the challenges that need to be addressed and the associated barriers for sustainable clothing. Interventions targeting consumers, suppliers, buyers and retailers are proposed that encourage more sustainable clothing production, purchase, care and disposal behaviour. These interventions range from normalizing the design of sustainable clothing and increasing the ease of purchase, to shifting clothes washing norms and increasing upcycling, recycling and repair.     

Being “in Control” May Make You Lose Control: The Role of Self-Regulation in Unethical Leadership Behavior

In the present article, we argue that the constant pressure that leaders face may limit the willpower required to behave according to ethical norms and standards and may therefore lead to unethical behavior. Drawing upon the ego depletion and moral self-regulation literatures, we examined whether self-regulatory depletion that is contingent upon the moral identity of leaders may promote unethical leadership behavior. A laboratory experiment and a multisource field study revealed that regulatory resource depletion promotes unethical leader behaviors among leaders who are low in moral identity. No such effect was found among leaders with a high moral identity. This study extends our knowledge on why organizational leaders do not always conform to organizational goals. Specifically, we argue that the hectic and fragmented workdays of leaders may increase the likelihood that they violate ethical norms. This highlights the necessity to carefully schedule tasks that may have ethical implications. Similarly, organizations should be aware that overloading their managers with work may increase the likelihood of their leaders transgressing ethical norms.     

Voluntary simplicity and the ethics of consumption

The increased levels of consumption that have accompanied our consumer‐oriented culture have also given rise to some consumers questioning their individual consumption choices, with many opting for greater consumption simplicity. This link between consideration of actual consumption levels and consumer choices is evident among a group of consumers known as ethical consumers. Ethical consumers consider a range of ethical issues in their consumer behavioral choices. Particularly prevalent is voluntary simplification due to concerns for the extent and nature of consumption. Through the presentation of findings from two qualitative studies exploring known ethical consumers, the relationship of consumer attitudes to consumption levels, and how these attitudes impact approaches to consumer behavior, are discussed. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An assessment of ethical obligation and self‐identity in ethical consumer decision‐making: a structural equation modelling approach

Research has supported the addition of ethical obligation and self‐identity to models of consumer decision‐making in ‘ethical’ contexts. The particular placement of ethical obligation and self‐identity within a model of ethical consumer decision‐making remains unclear. Are these measures an antecedent to attitude or behavioural intention? This paper presents findings from a large scale survey of ethical consumers that explores, through structural equation modelling, the specific placement of these measures within a validated model of ethical consumer decision‐making, which uses the theory of planned behaviour as an initial framework. This research is examined within the ‘ethical’ context of fair trade grocery purchasing. (Fairly traded products are those purchased under equitable trading agreements, involving co‐operative rather than competitive trading principles, ensuring a fair price and fair working conditions for the producers and suppliers.)     

Preference for green packaging in consumer product choices – Do consumers care?

In this paper, consumer environmental choice is studied by analysing the relative importance of green packaging when compared with other relevant product attributes. The empirical study is based on a choice‐based conjoint analysis of preferences for functional drink products of a sample of 330 consumers using these products. Our choice‐based approach on environmental behaviour brings new insights to previous research, which predominantly relies on attitude models. Results indicate that consumers differ in their preferences for packaging, brand, price and convenience of use of daily products. In addition, various distinctive consumer segments can be identified on the market. Contrary to several previous studies, we found that the largest consumer segment, one‐third of consumers, favoured environmentally labelled packaging as the most important criteria in their choice. The findings emphasize the increasing importance of ethical and environmental dimension in product choices. We also propose that the attention in environmental consumer research should be shifted from general attitude studies towards the study of actual product choices.     

Ethical claims and labelling: An analysis of consumers' beliefs and choice behaviours

Abstract

Although consumers' growing interest in ethical consumption has been well-documented, their understanding of specific claims, and the link between their stated concerns and behaviour, has not. Using a framework from systematic-heuristic and behaviour modification theory, this study explored consumers' understanding of varied ethical claims and a specific eco-label, and then estimated the effect these stimuli had on their choice behaviours. In-depth interviews revealed a strong interest in environmental and social attributes but considerable scepticism about specific claims. However, a choice modelling experiment found ethical attributes nevertheless influenced respondents' choices. Two distinct clusters whose views and choice behaviours differed markedly existed: one was primarily price-driven and the other more responsive to specific claims. Discrepancies between the qualitative and quantitative studies appear attributable to differences in information processing; many consumers respond strongly to heuristics, even though they believe themselves sceptical of the claims these communicate. The findings raise important policy questions about the scientific basis of many ethical claims, since consumers were strongly influenced by these, despite their views to the contrary.     

Fashion sensitive young consumers and fashion garment repair: Emotional connections to garments as a sustainability strategy

Where clothing consumption has continued to rise around the world, a deeper understanding of how and why garments are disposed of is critical in regard to addressing the issue of textile waste by consumers. The purpose of this study was to explore the garment management processes of young, fashion sensitive consumers, examining their disposal behaviours as well as motivations towards garment end‐of‐life extension through maintenance or repair of damaged fashion clothing. A survey of 161 South Korean young consumers (18–34 years) was conducted, utilizing a fashion sensitivity scale to measure impact on unsustainable garment disposal practices and garment repair behaviour. Further, general recycling behaviour of these individuals was examined, as linked to garment repair propensity. Results indicate that fashion sensitive consumers dispose of garments more rapidly, and with less ethical consideration. However, these same consumers are motivated to repair items that support their fashion identity. The study contributes some useful insight into encouraging garment life extension practise among heavy consumers of fashion, thus extending what is known about fashion garment disposal in the sustainability context.     

Positioning Strategies for Animal-Friendly Products: A Social Dilemma Approach

Many consumers express concerns about the welfare of animals in agriculture, but often refrain from purchasing animal-friendly alternatives that address their concerns. To support consumers in making choices in line with their values and attitudes, this study approaches consumer animal-friendly product choice as a dilemma between maximizing the buyer's self-interest and maximizing societal interest. To address this social dilemma, we developed and tested positioning strategies that reinforce the animal welfare label with complementary consumption values (functional, emotional, social, and epistemic). The results from a choice experiment with Dutch chicken meat shoppers showed that two strategies—emotional and epistemic—effectively increase consumer value perceptions. These insights imply that animal-friendly products positioned to invoke emotion or curiosity drive consumers towards animal-friendly product choices, and that these strategies are most effective for consumers who base their choice solely on maximizing either self-interest or societal interest.     

Ethical selving in cultural contexts: fairtrade consumption as an everyday ethical practice in the UK and Germany

Fairtrade consumers, by enacting their political and moral concerns through consumer choice, are at the same time constructing themselves as ethical selves. I will argue that they can only do so by drawing on cultural contexts. While fairtrade is instituted in supranational organizations and acts on a global level, there are still differences on a national level. On the basis of an Anglo‐German study, this paper seeks to map out the cultural contextualization of fairtrade consumption on both a supranational and a national level. The paper identifies the framing role of global consumer culture and an implicit ethics of equitability inscribed in capitalist practices of exchange and specifies how these play out differently in Germany and the UK. In both cases, there are strong references to sovereign consumer choice, and expectations of equitability in commodity exchange have been found. But while, in the British case, there is more emphasis on individual choice and taste, German fairtrade consumers seem to follow more what they perceive as an authoritative discourse. And, while British respondents envisaged the relation to be achieved with producers along the lines of a business relationship, German respondents conceptualized it more as a paternalistic employment relation between fairtrade organizations and producers. Differences will be explained in terms of distinctive consumer cultures, national moral economies and colonialist histories. I will argue that the two national settings not only offer different opportunities and challenges in terms of market success but also pose distinct ethical questions for fairtrade marketers.     

The ethical underpinnings of nonmaterialistic values and voluntary simplicity behavior in the United States

Many scholars agree overconsumption is a serious ethical problem because of its adverse effects on the environment. This multimethod article uses two studies to explore the ethical underpinnings of two related consumer expressions of anticonsumption: nonmaterialism, which refers to not placing importance on material goods, and voluntary simplicity, which refers to reducing consumption behavior. Study 1 employs Structural Equation Models of secondary U.S. data and finds that nonmaterialism and voluntary simplicity have unique ethical underpinnings: Nonmaterialism is positively associated with an ethical ideology focused on universal rules and principles while voluntary simplicity is associated with an ethical ideology focused on the consequences of one's actions. Because engagement in voluntary simplicity can reduce overconsumption, Study 2 identifies which specific other-oriented environmental concerns increase voluntary simplicity and for whom. An online experiment indicates that concerns about contributing to landfill waste and depleting natural resources induce voluntary simplicity for those who base their decisions on consequentialist ethical ideologies and concerns about contributing to climate change increases voluntary simplicity across consumers. These findings contribute to the discussion on anticonsumption by delineating key anticonsumption constructs, identifying messages to effectively reduce consumption behavior, and identifying consumers who are most likely to respond to such appeals.     

The Effect of Consumer Multifactorial Gender and Biological Sex on the Evaluation of Cross‐Gender Brand Extensions

Introducing cross‐gender brand extensions—masculine or feminine brands that extend to the opposite gender—is a growing trend on the marketplace, though not always a successful one. This research examines the effect of consumer multifactorial gender and biological sex on consumers’ evaluation of cross‐gender brand extensions. The influence of gender role attitudes is demonstrated: consumers with traditional gender attitudes are significantly more reluctant to accept these extensions than consumers with more liberal attitudes. Hence the extensions have a negative impact on the subsequent attitude of the former group toward the parent brand, contrary to their effect on more egalitarian consumers. No significant impact of the consumer's biological sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation is identified. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings for the development of cross‐gender brand extensions are discussed.     

Neuromarketing: Ethical Implications of its Use and Potential Misuse

Neuromarketing is an emerging field in which academic and industry research scientists employ neuroscience techniques to study marketing practices and consumer behavior. The use of neuroscience techniques, it is argued, facilitates a more direct understanding of how brain states and other physiological mechanisms are related to consumer behavior and decision making. Herein, we will articulate common ethical concerns with neuromarketing as currently practiced, focusing on the potential risks to consumers and the ethical decisions faced by companies. We argue that the most frequently raised concerns—threats to consumer autonomy, privacy, and control—do not rise to meaningful ethical issues given the current capabilities and implementation of neuromarketing research. But, we identify how potentially serious ethical issues may emerge from neuromarketing research practices in industry, which are largely proprietary and opaque. We identify steps that can mitigate associated ethical risks and thus reduce the threats to consumers. We conclude that neuromarketing has clear potential for positive impact on society and consumers, a fact rarely considered in the discussion on the ethics of neuromarketing.     

Culture,consumption and choice: towards a conceptual relationship

Abstract Manufacturers and retailers are continually extending the geographical scope of their activities, and the degree of acceptance by local consumer cultures is integral to the success or failure of their operations. It is, therefore, important that cultural influences on consumption behaviour are fully conceptualized and understood. Central to this understanding is a need to address how consumers prioritize their own principles and set them against other criteria, bringing these to bear in the process of choosing particular products. This paper attempts to address the paucity of research in this respect by attempting to integrate areas of literature on culture, consumption and product choice. These relationships are explored through a simple conceptual framework, which is then used to discuss the influence of culture on one particular type of behaviour —‘ethical consumption’— the degree to which consumers prioritize their own ethical concerns when making product choices. The paper concludes by highlighting the general implications of the framework for research.     

Work Engagement and Machiavellianism in the Ethical Leadership Process

Leaders who express an ethical identity are proposed to affect followers’ attitudes and work behaviors. In two multi-source studies, we first test a model suggesting that work engagement acts as a mediator in the relationships between ethical leadership and employee initiative (a form of organizational citizenship behavior) as well as counterproductive work behavior. Next, we focus on whether ethical leadership always forms an authentic expression of an ethical identity, thus in the second study, we add leader Machiavellianism to the model. For Machiavellian leaders, the publicly expressed identity of ethical leadership is inconsistent with the privately held unethical Machiavellian norms. Literature on surface acting suggests people can at least to some extent pick up on such inauthentic displays, making the effects less strong. We thus argue that the positive effects of ethical leader behavior are likely to be suppressed when leaders are highly Machiavellian. Support for this moderated mediation model was found: The effects of ethical leader behavior on engagement are less strong when ethical leaders are high as opposed to low on Machiavellianism.