Role of Socio-Cultural Capital and Country-Level Affluence in Ethical Consumerism

Verma Prikshat (), Parth Patel (), Sanjeev Kumar (), Suraksha Gupta () and Ashish Malik ()
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Verma Prikshat: Central Queensland University
Parth Patel: Australian Institute of Business
Sanjeev Kumar: Sohar University
Suraksha Gupta: University of the Arts
Ashish Malik: Currently at Queen’s Business School, Queen’s University of Belfast

Journal of Business Ethics, 2024, vol. 191, issue 4, No 3, 697-711

Abstract: Abstract So far, most ethical consumerism research has been contained within Western countries, thus limiting our understanding of the concept in emerging markets. Given the call for extending empirical-based knowledge for a better understanding of peculiarities, dynamics and country-level variations (i.e. social, cultural) in the context of ethical consumerism in emerging markets, this research cross-examines the interactive nature of individual- and country-level predictors of ethical consumerism in emerging and developed markets, employing a multilevel approach. At the individual level, we posit that ethical consumerism is motivated by social and cultural capital. In contrast, at the contextual level, we choose country-level affluence as an influential factor that might impact the relationship between socio-cultural capital and ethical consumerism. The study uses the International Social Survey Programme’s (ISSP) 2014 citizenship module data set (including 34 countries) for investigating individual-level predictors (of social and cultural capital). The GDP per capita data from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Economic Outlook database was used to examine the cross-level interactions between individual-level predictors and country-level affluence. The findings suggest that social and cultural capitals positively influence ethical consumerism in emerging and developed markets. Further, country-level affluence moderates the relationship between socio-cultural capital and ethical consumerism for both markets. However, cultural capital proved to be a stronger predictor of ethical consumerism as country-level affluence increases. The research findings highlight meaningful cross-country-level interactions that help further understand the basis of ethical consumerism from a global perspective.

Keywords: Ethical consumerism; Socio-cultural capital; Country-level affluence; Emerging and developed markets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05662-7

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