An Integrative Model of the Influence of Parental and Peer Support on Consumer Ethical Beliefs: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem, Power, and Materialism

Elodie Gentina, L. J. Shrum, Tina M. Lowrey, Scott J. Vitell () and Gregory Rose
Additional contact information
Elodie Gentina: SKEMA Business School – Université de Lille
L. J. Shrum: HEC Paris
Tina M. Lowrey: HEC Paris - Marketing
Scott J. Vitell: University of Mississippi - School of Business Administration
Gregory Rose: Washington State University - Department of Information Systems

No 1291, HEC Research Papers Series from HEC Paris

Abstract: What causes adolescents to develop consumer' ethical beliefs? Prior research has largely focused on the negative influence of peers and negative patterns of parent-child interactions to explain risky and unethical consumer behaviors. We take a different perspective by focusing on the positive support of parents and peers in adolescent social development. An integrative model is developed that links parental and peer support with adolescents' self-worth motives, their materialistic tendencies, and their consumer ethical beliefs. In a study of 984 adolescents, we demonstrate support for a sequential mediation model in which peer and parental support is positively related to adolescents' self-esteem and feelings of power, which are each associated with decreased materialism as a means of compensating for low self-worth. This reduced materialism is, in turn, associated with more ethical consumer beliefs.

Keywords: Ethics; Adolescent consumers; Materialism; Self-esteem; Power; Peer support; Parental support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2018-08-20
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ure
Note: This is a pre-print of an article published in Journal of Business Ethics. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3137-3
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ebg:heccah:1291

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3235207

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