Why People Don’t Take their Concerns about Fair Trade to the Supermarket: The Role of Neutralisation

This article explores how neutralisation can explain people’s lack of commitment to buying Fair Trade (FT) products, even when they identify FT as an ethical concern. It examines the theoretical tenets of neutralisation theory and critically assesses its applicability to the purchase of FT products. Exploratory research provides illustrative examples of neutralisation techniques being used in the FT consumer context. A conceptual framework and research propositions delineate the role of neutralisation in explaining the attitude-behaviour discrepancies evident in relation to consumers’ FT purchase behaviour, providing direction for further research that will generate new knowledge of consumers’ FT purchase behaviour and other aspects of ethical consumer behaviour.     

Ethical Decision Making in Fair Trade Companies

This paper reports on a study of ethical decision-making in a fair trade company. This can be seen to be a crucial arena for investigation since fair trade firms not only have a specific ethical mission in terms of helping growers out of poverty, but they tend to be perceived as (and are often marketed on the basis of) having an "ethical" image. Eschewing a straightforward test of extant ethical decision models, we adopt Thompson's proposal for a more contextualist understanding rooted in ethnographic data. Our findings suggest that the fair trade mission of the firm is experienced as an over-riding ethical claim, which is often invoked to justify potentially ethically questionable decisions. Moreover, decision precedents emerge which can mean that the decision process is bypassed or hurried through. Finally we provide evidence that the significance of these precedents, and indeed, even moral intensity itself, could be actively shaped and constructed by organization members to support different, even shifting, conceptions of what is a morally acceptable decision for a fair trade company to make.     

The Dynamics of Fair Trade as a Mixed-form Market

This article analyses the Fair Trade sector as a “mixed-form market,” i.e., a market in which different types of players (in this case, nonprofit, co-operative and for-profit organizations) coexist and compete. The purposes of this article are (1) to understand the factors that have led Fair Trade to become a mixed-form market and (2) to propose some trails to understand the market dynamics that result from the interactions between the different types of players. We start by defining briefly Fair Trade, its different dimensions (including the “fair” quality of the products) and its organizational landscape, focusing on the distinction between the pioneer “Alternative Trading Organizations” and the second-mover companies. Then, we recall the theoretical emergence factors for each type of organization (nonprofit, co-operative and for-profit) and apply these emergence factors to the context of Fair Trade. This analysis allows us to capture the specificities of each type of operator with regard to Fair Trade and, thus, to have a better understanding of the dynamics in the sector. Such dynamics includes competition, but also conflict and partnership. Our analysis includes elements on ethical imitation, consumers’ behaviors, effects on welfare and the role of the government.     

Consumers' Attitudes Toward Labelling of Ethical Products: The Case of Organic and Fair Trade Products

This article aims to investigate the factors that influence consumer attitudes to use labelling information in purchasing organic and Fair Trade products and to verify if labelling is a valid tool of direct shopping aid to consumers, with a view to derive inferences that may contribute to better strategic and tactical marketing decisions. A quantitative survey with a sample of 300 consumers living in south Italy was conducted to explore consumers' knowledge and attitudes toward labelling of organic and fair trade products. Data generated in this way were submitted to exploratory and segmentation analysis. The results indicate significant differences in consumer attitudes and behavior for ethical products and show the importance of new variables, other than demographics characteristics, that can influence the purchasing behavior and label information use.     

An Exploration of Consumer Attitudes and Purchasing Patterns in Fair Trade Coffee and Tea

This study aims to understand the consistency between attitudes toward ethical brands and consistency with the respondents’ recent purchase behavior. A study of 202 respondents was carried out in order to observe consistency between claimed ethical attitudes and self-reported purchase behavior across three product categories. Panel data (n = 8000) was utilized to provide a large sample on which a duplication of purchase analysis could be conducted. Results suggest many consumers claim to have ethical attitudes, but their reported purchases suggest their behavior is not consistent. Consumers who purchase fair trade brands are just as likely to purchase other, non–fair trade brands.     

国内商品贸易与居民消费水平——最终消费品及中间品流通的支撑作用

构建商品自由流通的国内统一市场能够增进消费者福祉。在地区间市场开放的条件下，对于有大量商品销往外地的地区而言，其中相应产业应具有较强的竞争力，且该商品在当地的消费市场应更为发达；而当一个地区特定产业的生产规模较小时，外地商品流入将对当地的居民消费产生支撑作用。进一步地，以中间品流通为基础的国内价值链分工能够提升产品竞争力,表现为大量商品外销的地区中交通运输、批发零售等流通行业活动的中间投入需求较大。以全国31个省2007、2012年投入产出表及经济运行数据为基础构建计量模型进行实证分析，结果印证了上述地区间商品贸易与居民消费水平间的关系机制。由此可以说明，促进地区间最终商品和中间品市场整合对于提升居民消费具有积极意义。     

Fair Trade: Three Key Challenges for Reaching the Mainstream

After nearly 20 years of work by activists, fair trade, a movement establishing alternative trading organizations to ensure minimal returns, safe working conditions, and environmentally sustainable production, is now gaining steam, with increasing awareness and availability across a variety of products. However, this article addresses several major remaining challenges: (a) a lack of agreement about what fair trade really means and how it should be certified; (b) uneven awareness and availability across different areas, with marked differences between some parts of Europe and North America that reflect more fundamental debates about distribution; (c) larger questions about the extent of the potential contribution of fair trade to development under the current system, including limitations on the number and types of workers affected and the fair trade focus on commodity goods.     

An Exploration of Opportunities for the Growth of the Fair Trade Market: Three Cases of Craft Organisations

Businesses that maintain ethical standards have an advantage in the marketplace based on the increasing interest of consumers in products that have a social and ethical component. Fair trade organisations that adopt environmental, social and ethical principles in trading are in a good position to make the most of this growing interest in the market. However, it is unclear whether fair trade organisations are taking full advantage of emerging market opportunities for ethically traded products. This research explores this issue by describing the business strategies of three fair trade organisations that import and sell craft goods into Western countries and evaluates them in the context of this growing market. The research findings indicate that in order to remain in business, fair trade craft organisations have had to adopt better business practices in recent years, improving quality, customer service and product offerings to customers. However, growth appears to be limited, as distribution remains focused on a small, niche market. This paper explores the distribution strategies of two fair trade commodity organisations that are successfully reaching a wider customer base, demonstrating that fair trade products have a unique selling advantage in the mainstream marketplace. In conclusion, fair trade craft organisations are not exploiting this market opportunity to the degree they should and will need to explore wider distribution and alternative business strategies to expand their market share.Debora Randall completed her Masters of Management at Massey University, in Auckland, New Zealand. She is currently using her interests in business and community development to work towards practical economic solutions to poverty. She is living in Vancouver, Canada where she is working on a number of community economic development initiatives.     

A Model for Fair Trade Buying Behaviour: The Role of Perceived Quantity and Quality of Information and of Product-specific Attitudes

In a sample of 615 Belgians a model for fair trade buying behaviour was developed. The impact of fair trade knowledge, general attitudes towards fair trade, attitudes towards fair trade products, and the perception of the quality and quantity of fair trade information on the reported amount of money spent on fair trade products were assessed. Fair trade knowledge, overall concern and scepticism towards fair trade, and the perception of the perceived quantity and quality of fair trade information, influence buying behaviour directly and indirectly through product attitudes. Interest in fair trade products, price acceptability and product liking have a significant impact on fair trade buying behaviour. Product interest is the most important variable influencing buying behaviour. Implications for the campaigns of governments and for the marketing strategy of fair trade organisations are offered.     

Fair trade and global cognitive orientation: a focus on Spanish fair trade consumers

In the past few years, there has been an increase in the ‘ethical consumer’, characterized by more reflexive values like solidarity, social responsibility, multiculturalism and ecology. This idea has found support in the appearance and development of proposals like fair trade, along with others, such as responsible consumption, the recycling business or sustainable development. In a parallel way, also during the past few years, various analysts have pointed out that the phenomenon of globalization is changing not only the aspect of the world but also our way of perceiving it, which is progressively becoming a ‘global orientation’. In the framework of these two tendencies, this paper examines the extent to which ‘global orientation’ is also a characteristic of consumers of fair trade products. The paper presents a two‐phase exploratory study. The first phase, of a quantitative nature, showed the greater global orientation of Spanish consumers of fair trade products, and it obtained a typology of them. This typology showed, however, that not all the clusters of consumers of fair trade products have a high global orientation, which reveals that the relationship between this dimension and the consumption of fair trade products is not a direct, straightforward one. The subsequent qualitative study examined the components of this global orientation in each of the three clusters where the consumption of fair trade products was the highest. The results showed that the purchase of fair trade products is influenced by the ‘global orientation’ of the consumer, although other factors, such as a sense of social responsibility and trust in international non‐governmental organizations, can condition this influence.     

对人类消费行为的再认识

随着人口的不断增长与人类进入大规模消费的时代 ,全球资源、环境与生态问题日益突出。对于中国这个拥有 13亿人口的大国来说 ,要保证社会经济的可持续发展 ,不仅要严格地控制人口增长 ,而且还需要从经济发展、生态平衡、社会发展等多个角度重新审视我们的消费行为 ,给予消费正确的价值判断 ,并在实现可持续消费的问题上达成共识     

Responding Destructively in Leadership Situations: The Role of Personal Values and Problem Construction

This study explored the influence of personal values on destructive leader behavior. Student participants completed a managerial assessment center that presented them with ambiguous leadership decisions and problems. Destructive behavior was defined as harming organizational members or striving for short-term gains over long-term organizational goals. Results revealed that individuals with self-enhancement values were more destructive than individuals with self-transcendence values were, with the core values of power (self-enhancement) and universalism (self-transcendence) being most influential. Results also showed that individuals defined and structured leadership problems in a manner that reflected their value systems, which in turn affected the problem solutions they generated.     

居民消费、国际贸易与广东经济增长

文章通过区分进口与出口,结合我国二元经济特征,分析了国际贸易与居民消费之间的关系,通过广东1979~2006的数据实证分析得出,进、出口变动是居民消费变动的原因,出口对居民消费、特别是农业居民消费的影响要大于进口,而对于非农业居民消费而言,进口的作用要大一些;农业居民消费对出口的影响要大于非农业居民消费,而非农业居民消费对进口的影响要大于农业居民消费。     

贸易开放、人力资本与中国能源消耗

文章从贸易开放对中国能源消耗产生的影响这一基本问题出发,将人力资本纳入分析视角,研究了贸易开放、人力资本对中国能源消耗的直接效应和交互效应。利用中国2001-2012年30个省份的统计数据,运用固定效应回归模型和面板门槛回归模型进行了实证研究,结果表明：贸易开放对能源消耗的直接效应呈倒“U”型曲线关系,即在贸易开放水平较低时,提高贸易开放水平将增加能源消耗量并提高能源消耗强度;当贸易开放水平较高时,提高贸易开放水平反而能促使能源消耗量和能源消耗强度降低。人力资本对能源消耗的直接效应显著为负,提高人力资本要素积累将促进地区经济增长从物质资本驱动型向人力资本驱动型转变。贸易开放与人力资本对能源消耗的交互效应在人力资本处于较高的门槛区间时显著为负,说明贸易开放在人力资本较高的地区将促进该地区专业化生产节能降耗的人力资本密集型产品,从而降低地区能源消耗量并提高能源利用效率。     

The Fair Trade Idea: Towards an Economics of Social Labels

The concept of Fair Trade is applied to the marketing of a variety of goods. In recent years it has met a continually increasing interest among consumers. Different Fair Trade organizations are trying to accomplish an improvement in working and living conditions in developing countries by means of Fair Trade certificates and by paying a price markedly above world market standard. This is meant to lead to the attainment of basic social standards, especially in agricultural production. The article deals with how Fair Trade works and whether the social aims can be achieved by the application of this trade concept. Our main result is that even though efficiency of redistribution through the Fair Trade institutions is lower than through traditional relief organizations, the Fair Trade concept provides an additional incentive to support better living conditions in the Third World. Moreover, it provides a stimulus for producers to reorganize the production process in a socially more acceptable manner even when this is not rewarded by the Fair Trade company.

我国国际贸易结构变化对能源消费影响的敏感性分析

本文基于投入产出分析法中影响力系数的研究思想,提出了"能源消费影响力系数"的概念,运用1992年、1997年和2002年投入产出表中的数据,计算了各进出口部门净出口每增加一单位,通过投入产出的连锁反应最终导致我国能源消费总量的增加数量,得出了对我国能源消费具有重要影响的关键性的进出口部门,以及这些部门单位进出口额的变化对我国能源消费的影响程度。其中,在对能源强度的计算中,借鉴了投入产出混合价值模型(Input-output Model in Hybrid Units)的计算方法。     

The political motivations of ethical consumers

Consumer‐driven labelling schemes such as Fairtrade and the Forest Stewardship Council, are based upon several assumptions of consumer decision making and behaviour. This study aimed to test the validity of some of these assumptions, including the belief that consumers are acting ‘on behalf’ of workers and communities in economically developing countries by supporting fair and ethical trade. It examines the political motivations underlying ethical consumption, such as its relationship to other forms of political activism, reasons behind high purchase frequency and how existing values interact with consumption choices. Drawing upon the results of a series of six focus groups with 58 participants and a nationally representative panel‐based survey of 1014 Australian consumers, this paper argues that many of the factors involved in consumer decision making are inconsistent with the assumptions made by private economic governance schemes in attempting to harness consumer power, calling into question the effectiveness and legitimacy of such schemes. However, by tailoring the marketing strategies to different types of consumers, along with suppliers and retailers, these schemes can potentially increase their effectiveness.     

The Purpose of Trade Union Values: An Analysis of the ACTU1 Statement of Values

This paper uses the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) statement of union values as its point of departure to explore the purpose and role of trade union values. Specifically, the paper questions whether the role of values is purely symbolic, serving as a guide to unions, or whether values have a broader role. Furthermore, the paper questions the scope of the ACTU statement, which is currently based on the public work of unions. In conducting this analysis, union values are compared to the broader human values; moreover, the scope of the document is assessed against the historic activity and behaviour of unions as represented in extant union theory. Subsequently, the paper uses the emerging role of union values to critique the ACTU statement, concluding that while this statement makes a valuable contribution to union practice and debate, it can be extended to encompass other, more private areas of union activity.     

中欧贸易对双方经济和就业的影响分析

本文考虑到中欧贸易的特点,分别利用中国反映加工贸易的非竞争型投入产出模型和欧盟一般非竞争型投入产出模型,分析了2002年和2007年中欧贸易对中国和欧盟增加值和就业的影响;利用结构分解技术(SDA)分析了其随时间的变化的原因。分析发现中欧贸易对中国增加值和就业的总体拉动作用要远大于对欧盟增加值和就业的拉动,其对增加值的拉动效率却小于欧盟,另外双边贸易对中国增加值的拉动效率随时间而提高,但对中国就业和欧盟增加值和就业的拉动效率则在不断降低。文章同时对中欧贸易顺差进行了重新审视,发现利用出口增加值方法,中欧贸易顺差减少了9%-10%。     

基于促进消费公平的财政支出结构优化研究

居民消费公平直接影响社会公平与经济公平的实现,对我国社会的和谐发展有着重要意义。通过对财政分类支出与城乡间、地区间居民消费支出差距的关系进行实证研究,本文提出,1980-2010年期间经济建设支出有利于缩小城乡之间和地区之间居民消费差距;共享发展支出长期不均衡发展扩大了城乡之间和地区之间的消费差距;行政服务支出只是城乡居民消费差距扩大的重要原因,而与地区间消费差距的形成无关。因此,需进一步优化我国财政支出结构,促进居民消费公平的实现。