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@PHDTHESIS{Dieckmann:993781,
author = {Dieckmann, Philipp},
othercontributors = {Wentzel, Daniel and Salge, Torsten-Oliver},
title = {{E}thical consumption in a changing world - quantitative
research on enabling responsible product choice},
school = {Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen},
type = {Dissertation},
address = {Aachen},
publisher = {RWTH Aachen University},
reportid = {RWTH-2024-08971},
pages = {1 Online-Ressource : Illustrationen},
year = {2024},
note = {Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen
University; Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische
Hochschule Aachen, 2024},
abstract = {The world today is characterized by unprecedented levels of
consumerism. Globalization and the emergence of the Internet
have created highly competitive markets with a seemingly
infinite variety of goods and services. These ubiquitous and
almost limitless opportunities for consumption can be
regarded as an achievement of modern capitalist societies.
However, the resulting prosperity has not benefited all
members of society equally. The growth of supply chains has
also contributed to the exploitation of workers in
developing countries and many producers are at the mercy of
the unpredictable price trends of a global market. Rising
consumption also puts a strain on the environment and the
climate. More than ever, it is up to informed consumers to
reward or sanction corporate actions and demand voluntary
commitments to ethical business practices. However, while
most consumers profess a willingness to consider the social
and environmental consequences of their consumption, they
often fail to translate their ethical attitudes into
behavior. Whereas one might assume that individuals are
simply too selfish to follow through on their good
intentions when faced with consequential decisions, it can
also be argued that consumers often find themselves in
situations that are not optimal for facilitating the
expression of ethical values. They may be compromised in
their ability to consider the distress of others during a
stressful shopping trip, in the wrong mindset to consider
high-level concerns in a concrete buying situation, or feel
alienated by products marketed to certain consumer segments.
This dissertation addresses these issues in three research
projects aimed at identifying mechanisms that prevent
consumers from enacting their ethical intentions. Paper I
addresses how stress influences ethical product choice.
Drawing on literature on prosocial behavior under stress, it
is argued that stress increases individuals’ propensity to
focus on their own interests and well-being. Therefore,
preference for ethical products promoted on attributes
benefitting others, such as fair wages for farm workers, is
proposed to be reduced. This effect is hypothesized to be
mediated by increased selfishness. Three studies are
conducted to test the proposed model. The results provide
consistent support for the negative impact of stress on
ethical product choice and inform recommendations for
designing shopping experiences and public policy to
facilitate ethical consumption. In Paper II, it is
investigated how and why ethical product choice differs
between online and in-store shopping environments. Drawing
on construal level theory, it is argued that products are
psychologically distant in online shopping, which is
expected to increase the importance of high-level
considerations in decision-making, i.e. the ethical
implications of a purchase. The proposed mediation model is
tested in two experiments. While the proposed indirect
effect through psychological distance is found, a total
effect of shopping scenario on product choice is only
observed when the price between ethical and conventional
product options is held constant. The results are discussed
against previous literature on CLT and implications for
online and multichannel retailing are derived. In Paper III,
two approaches to positioning meat substitute products are
compared to promote vegetarian and vegan consumption
options. It is hypothesized that the common practice of
naming meat substitutes in analogy to meat, e.g. “Veggie
Steak”, may be detrimental to the large group of consumers
who are not attempting to reduce their meat intake. It is
argued that for these consumers, analogically named
substitutes elicit feelings of renunciation and cognitive
dissonance by evoking a comparison to the analogous meat
product. In two experiments, it is demonstrated how the
described mechanisms can be circumvented by using names that
are independent of preexisting meat products but rather
highlight the product’s ingredients or method of
preparation, such as “Seitan Fry”. The results are
interpreted in light of previous literature on nudging
vegetarian food choices and implications for marketing meat
substitute products are discussed. The findings of this
dissertation improve understanding of the discrepancy
between intentions and behavior in ethical consumption.
Managerial and societal implications are derived to enable
consumers to act on their ethical intentions and to inform
how to break existing stereotypes that hinder the adoption
of sustainable product alternatives.},
cin = {812310},
ddc = {330},
cid = {$I:(DE-82)812310_20140620$},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)11},
doi = {10.18154/RWTH-2024-08971},
url = {https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/993781},
}
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