Sense and sensibility: The impact of visual and auditory sensory input on marketplace morality

Gergana Y. Nenkov, Maureen Morrin, Virginie Maille, Tracy Rank-Christman and May O. Lwin

Journal of Business Research, 2019, vol. 95, issue C, 428-441

Abstract: In a series of studies, we demonstrate that moral judgment is impacted by sensory input experienced during the product evaluation process due to its impact on mental construal level. We find that seeing or hearing a product while evaluating it elicits more concrete thought, which entails the consideration of contextual factors and extenuating circumstances, and hence leads to moral leniency. Importantly, we show this phenomenon holds only among consumers who possess a flexible moral mindset, which makes them more inclined to consider contextual factors when making moral judgments. This work is the first we are aware of to demonstrate systematic effects of visual and auditory sensory input on marketplace morality, as well as the moderating role of moral mindset. Implications and areas for future research are discussed.

Keywords: Moral judgment; Marketplace morality; Ethical consumer decisions; Sensory input; Construal level; Moral mindset (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296318303606
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:95:y:2019:i:c:p:428-441

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.047

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 ().