Ethical sensitivity in consumers’ decision-making: The mediating and moderating role of internal locus of control

Jean-François Toti, Mbaye Fall Diallo and Richard Huaman-Ramirez

Journal of Business Research, 2021, vol. 131, issue C, 168-182

Abstract: Ethical behavior has been a topic of increasing research interest, but only a few studies have examined ethical decision-making through a holistic consideration of ethical consumption. In this paper, we empirically establish the relationship between consumers’ ethical sensitivity (CES), ethical judgment and ethical consumption behaviors (ECB). We also examine the mediating and moderating role of internal locus of control (iLOC) in these relationships, a key factor that could explain individuals’ behaviors but has never been explored through a holistic approach to ethical consumption behavior. Based on data from 684 consumers and a structural equation model, our findings empirically support part of the Hunt-Vitell and Kotler-Zaltman theories, i.e., CES has a direct and positive effect on both ethical judgment and ECB, and ethical judgment positively impacts ECB. Moreover, while iLOC mediates the relationship between CES and ECB, its moderating role is significant only in the relationship between ethical judgment and ECB. This contributes to a better understanding of consumer ethics, with several implications for ethical brand management, at the same time opening up new research avenues for further investigation.

Keywords: Consumer’s ethical decision-making; Ethical sensitivity; Ethical consumption; Ethical judgment; Locus of control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296321002071
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:131:y:2021:i:c:p:168-182

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.03.045

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Business Research is currently edited by A. G. Woodside

More articles in Journal of Business Research from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().