- DOI: 10.1362/1469347012569896
- Corpus ID: 8289381
Consumer Behaviour: a Literature Review Consumer Behaviour: a Literature Review Consumer Behaviour: a Literature Review Consumer Behaviour: a Literature Review
- Moneesha Pachau
- Published 1 September 2001
65 Citations
Consumer behaviour research: jacquard weaving in the social sciences.
- Highly Influenced
Behavioural psychology, marketing and consumer behaviour: a literature review and future research agenda
Consumer confusion: a test of the behavioural perspective model, influence factors on consumer decisions: a quasi-experiment with brands of sustainable products, a critique of the progress of etourism technology acceptance research: time for a hike, sojourner consumer behaviour:the influence of nostalgia, ethnocentrism, cosmopolitanism and place attachment.
- 11 Excerpts
Role of consumer personality and involvement in understanding customer experience
Signs and symbols in the retail landscape: a semiotic marketing perspective on consumer behaviour and purchase intentions, the impact of cognitive-affective content on advertising messages in consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions : the dual cognitive-affective model (dmac), an exploratory study on consumer-object relationship of iphone, 135 references, positioning alternative perspectives of consumer behaviour.
- Highly Influential
Science and interpretation in consumer research: a radical behaviourist perspective
Scholarly traditions and european roots of american consumer research, dimensions of consumer expertise, on method in consumer research: a critical relativist perspective, consumer research, interpretive paradigms and methodological ambiguities, what consumer research is, humanistic inquiry in marketing research: philosophy, method, and criteria, attitude-behavior relations: a theoretical analysis and review of empirical research., postmodernism, marketing and the consumer, related papers.
Showing 1 through 3 of 0 Related Papers
Consumer awareness and sustainability-focused value orientation as motivating factors of responsible consumer behavior
- Original Paper
- Published: 13 September 2016
- Volume 11 , pages 959–991, ( 2017 )
Cite this article
- Anja Buerke ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5896-748X 1 ,
- Tammo Straatmann 2 ,
- Nick Lin-Hi 3 &
- Karsten Müller 2
15k Accesses
112 Citations
Explore all metrics
Consumers are put in the driver seat on the road to a sustainable development. Following a consumer-centric approach, this paper explores the dimensionality and the antecedents of responsible consumption from a psychological perspective. Concerning the dimensionality, the study proposes that responsible consumption should comprise a societal as well as an individual dimension. The data (N = 339) supported this two-dimensional approach, differentiating between societal responsibilities of consumers (doing good) and consumers’ responsibilities for their personal well-being (doing well). Moreover, the results indicate that both consumer awareness and sustainability-focused value orientation have a direct positive influence on responsible consumer behavior. In addition, the hypothesized mediating role of consumer awareness is confirmed, with mediations for societal or personal responsible consumer behavior by the respective consumer awareness dimension. Consequently, it is crucial for organizations to flank their sustainable offers with appropriate communication activities in order to motivate consumers to engage in more responsible consumption.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this article
Subscribe and save.
- Get 10 units per month
- Download Article/Chapter or eBook
- 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
- Cancel anytime
Price excludes VAT (USA) Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.
Instant access to the full article PDF.
Rent this article via DeepDyve
Institutional subscriptions
Similar content being viewed by others
Antecedents of Environmentally and Socially Responsible Sustainable Consumer Behavior
Sustainability Marketing Strategies: How Self-Efficacy and Controllability can Stimulate Pro-Environmental Behaviors for Individuals: An Abstract
Psychological Barriers to Environmentally Responsible Consumption
Explore related subjects.
- Medical Ethics
Anderson JC, Gerbing DW (1988) Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and recommended two-step approach. Psychol Bull 103(3):411–423
Article Google Scholar
Antil JH (1984) Socially responsible consumers: profile and implications for public policy. J Macromark 4(2):18–39
Astley WG, Zammuto RF (1992) Organization science, managers, and language games. Organ Sci 3(4):443–460
Auger P, Devinney TM, Louviere JJ, Burke PF (2008) Do social product features have value to consumers? Int J Res Mark 25(3):183–191
Bagozzi R, Yi Y (2012) Specification, evaluation, and interpretation of structural equation models. J Acad Mark Sci 40(1):8–34
Balderjahn I, Buerke A, Kirchgeorg M, Peyer M, Seegebarth B, Wiedmann K-P (2013) Consciousness for sustainable consumption: scale development and new insights in the economic dimension of consumers’ sustainability. AMS Rev 3(4):181–192
Bamberg S, Hunecke M, Blöbaum A (2007) Social context, personal norms and the use of public transportation: two field studies. J Environ Psychol 27(3):190–203
Bansal P (2002) The corporate challenges of sustainable development. Acad Manag Executive 16(2):122–131
Bardi A, Schwartz SH (2003) Values and behavior: strength and structure of relations. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 29(10):1207–1220
Bearden WO, Netemeyer RG, Teel JE (1989) Measurement of consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence. J Consum Res 15(4):473–481
Bearden WO, Hardesty DM, Rose RL (2001) Consumer self-confidence: refinements in conceptualization and measurement. J Consum Res 28(1):121–134
Beaudoin P, Lachance MJ (2006) Determinants of adolescents’ brand sensitivity to clothing. Fam Consum Sci Res J 34(4):312–331
Benson MH, Craig RK (2014) The end of sustainability. Soc Nat Resour 27(7):777–782
Bentler PM (1990) Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychol Bull 107(2):238–246
Bentler PM, Chou C-P (1987) Practical issues in structural modeling. Sociol Methods Res 16(1):78–117
Berg L (2007) Competent consumers? Consumer competence profiles in Norway. Int J Consum Stud 31(4):418–427
Berger IE, Corbin RM (1992) Perceived consumer effectiveness and faith in others as moderators of environmentally responsible behaviors. J Public Policy Mark 11(2):79–89
Google Scholar
Beschorner T, Mueller M (2007) Social standards: toward an active ethical involvement of businesses in developing countries. J Bus Ethics 73(1):11–20
Bowie N (1991) New directions in corporate social responsibility. Bus Horiz 34(4):56–65
Brinkmann J, Peattie K (2008) Consumer ethics research: reframing the debate about consumption for good. Electron J Bus Ethics Organ Stud 13(1):27–31
Caruana R, Chatzidakis A (2014) Consumer social responsibility (CnSR): toward a multi-level, multi-agent conceptualization of the ‘Other CSR’. J Bus Ethics 121(4):577–592
Caruana R, Crane A (2008) Constructing consumer responsibility: exploring the role of corporate communications. Organ Stud 29(12):1495–1519
Castaldo S, Perrini F, Misani N, Tencati A (2009) The missing link between corporate social responsibility and consumer trust: the case of fair trade products. J Bus Ethics 84(1):1–15
Chartrand TL (2005) The role of conscious awareness in consumer behavior. J Consum Psychol 15(3):203–210
Cheung GW, Lau RS (2008) Testing mediation and suppression effects of latent variables: bootstrapping with structural equation models. Organ Res Methods 11(2):296–325
Cleveland M, Kalamas M, Laroche M (2012) ‘It’s not easy being green’: exploring green creeds, green deeds, and internal environmental locus of control. Psychol Mark 29(5):293–305
Cohen MJ (1992) A Power Primer. Psychol Bull 112(1):155–159
Cohen MJ (2007) Consumer credit, household financial management and sustainable consumption. Int J Consum Stud 31(1):57–65
Connolly J, Prothero A (1998) Sustainable consumption: consumption, consumers and the commodity discourse. Consum Mark Cult 6(4):275–291
Creyer EH, Ross WT Jr (1997) The influence of firm behavior on purchase intention: do consumers really care about business ethics? J Consum Mark 14(6):421–432
De Groot JIM, Steg L (2007) Value orientations and environmental beliefs in five countries. Validity of an instrument to measure egoistic, altruistic and biospheric value orientations. J Cross Cult Psychol 38(3):318–332
De Groot JIM, Steg L (2008) Value orientations to explain beliefs related to environmental significant behavior. How to measure egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric value orientations. Environ Behav 40(3):330–354
DeVincenzo MH, Scammon D (2015) Principle-based consumption communities: exploring the meanings derived from socially conscious consumption practices. J Public Policy Mark 33(2):143–155
Diamantopoulos A, Schlegelmilch BB, Sinkovics RR, Bohlen GM (2003) Can socio-demographics still play a role in profiling green consumers? A review of the evidence and an empirical investigation. J Bus Res 56(6):465–480
Dickinson RA, Carsky ML (2005) The consumer as economic voter: an economic perspective on ethical consumer behaviour. In: Harrison R, Newholm T (eds) The ethical consumer. Sage, London, pp 25–36
Chapter Google Scholar
Diefendorff JM, Silverman SB, Greguras GJ (2005) Measurement equivalence and multisource ratings for non-managerial positions: recommendations for research and practice. J Bus Psychol 19(3):339–425
Dittmar H (2005) Compulsive buying—a growing concern? An examination of gender, age, and endorsement of materialistic values as predictors. Br J Psychol 96(4):467–491
Dodou D, de Winter J (2014) Social desirability is the same in offline, online, and paper surveys: a meta-analysis. Comput Hum Behav 36:487–495
Du S, Bhattacharya CB, Sen S (2007) Reaping relational rewards from corporate social responsibility: the role of competitive positioning. Int J Res Mark 24(3):224–241
Dunlap RE, Van Liere KD, Mertig AG, Jones RE (2000) New trends in measuring environmental attitudes: measuring endorsement of the new ecological paradigm: a revised NEP scale. J Soc Issues 56(3):425–442
Elkington J (1997) Cannibals with forks: the triple bottom line of 21st century business. Capstone Publication, London
Ellen PS, Wiener JL, Cobb-Walgren C (1991) The role of perceived consumer effectiveness in motivating environmentally conscious behaviors. J Public Policy Mark 10(2):102–117
Escrig-Olmedo E, Muñoz-Torres MJ, Fernández-Izquierdo MA, Rivera-Lirio JM (2014) Lights and shadows on sustainability rating scoring. RMS Rev Manag Sci 8(4):559–574
Evan WM, Freeman RE (1988) A stakeholder theory of the modern corporation: kantian capitalism. In: Beauchamp T, Bowie N (eds) Ethical theory and business. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, pp 75–84
Eyal T, Sagristano MD, Trope Y, Liberman N, Chaiken S (2009) When values matter: expressing values in behavioral intentions for the near versus distant future. J Exp Soc Psychol 45(1):35–43
Falck O, Heblich S (2007) Corporate social responsibility: doing well by doing dood. Bus Horiz 50(3):247–254
Fornell C, Larcker DF (1981) Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. J Mark Res 18(1):39–50
Fraj E, Martinez E (2007) Ecological consumer behaviour: an empirical analysis. Int J Consum Stud 31(1):26–33
Gamerschlag R, Möller K, Verbeeten F (2011) Determinants of voluntary CSR disclosure: empirical evidence from germany. RMS Rev Manag Sci 5(2–3):233–262
Gleim MR, Smith HG, Andrews D, Cronin JJ Jr (2013) Against the green: a multi-method examination of the barriers to green consumption. J Retail 89(1):44–61
Gupta S, Ogden DT (2009) To buy or not to buy? A social dilemma perspective on green buying. J Consum Mark 26(6):376–391
Haase M (2008) Customer integration and beyond: towards a business economic-ethical theory of the firm. Z für Wirtsch- und Unternehm 9(1):129–152
Habermas J (1990) Moral consciousness and communicative action. MIT Press, Cambridge
Hansen U, Schrader U (1997) A modern model of consumption for a sustainable society. J Consum Policy 20(4):443–469
Haws KL, Bearden WO, Nenkov GY (2012) Consumer spending self-control effectiveness and outcome elaboration prompts. J Acad Mark Sci 40(5):695–710
Haws KL, Winterich KP, Naylor RW (2014) Seeing the world through GREEN-tinted glasses: green consumption values and responses to environmentally friendly products. J Consum Psychol 24(3):336–354
Hediger W (2000) Sustainable development and social welfare. Ecol Econ 32(3):481–492
Höffe O (1993) Moral als Preis der Moderne: Ein Versuch über Wissenschaft, Technik und Umwelt (morality as the price of modernity: an approach to science, technics and environment). Suhrkamp, Frankfurt
Hu L, Bentler PM (1999) Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Struct Equ Model 6(1):1–55
Hunecke M, Blöbaum A, Matthies E, Höger R (2001) Responsibility and environment: ecological norm orientation and external factors in the domain of travel mode choice behavior. Environ Behav 33(6):830–852
Hurst M, Dittmar H, Bond R, Kasser T (2013) The relationship between materialistic values and environmental attitudes and behaviors: a meta-analysis. J Environ Psychol 36:257–269
Iacobucci D, Saldanha N, Deng X (2007) A meditation on mediation: evidence that structural equations models perform better than regressions. J Consum Psychol 17(2):139–153
Jackson T (2005) Live better by consuming less? Is there a ‘Double Dividend’ in sustainable consumption? J Ind Ecol 9(1–2):19–36
Kasser T, Ahuvia A (2002) Materialistic values and well-being in business students. Eur J Soc Psychol 32(1):137–146
Kinnear TC, Taylor JR, Ahmed SA (1974) Ecologically concerned consumers: who are they? J Market 38(2):20–24
Kishton JM, Widaman KF (1994) Unidimensional versus domain representative parceling of questionnaire items: an empirical example. Educ Psychol Meas 54(3):757–765
Klöckner CA, Blöbaum A (2010) A comprehensive action determination model: toward a broader understanding of ecological behaviour using the example of travel mode choice. J Environ Psychol 30(4):574–586
Koenig-Lewis N, Palmer A, Dermody J, Urbye A (2014) Consumers’ evaluations of ecological packaging—rational and emotional approaches. J Environ Psychol 37:94–105
Kormos C, Gifford R (2014) The validity of self-report measures of proenvironmental behavior: a meta-analytic review. J Environ Psychol 40:359–371
Kotler P (2011) Reinventing marketing to manage the environmental imperative. J Mark 75(4):132–135
Kotler P, Armstrong G (2011) Principles of marketing, 14th edn. Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River
Kuckertz A, Wagner M (2010) The Influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions—investigating the role of business experience. J Bus Ventur 25(5):524–539
Kuhn T (1970) the structure of scientific revolutions, 2nd edn. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Lee SY, Carroll CE (2011) the emergence, variation, and evolution of corporate social responsibility in the public sphere, 1980–2004: the exposure of firms to public debate. J Bus Ethics 104(1):115–131
Lin-Hi N, Mueller K (2013) The CSR bottom line: preventing corporate social irresponsibility. J Bus Res 66(10):1928–1936
Little TD, Cunningham WA, Shahar G, Widaman KF (2002) To parcel or not to parcel: exploring the question, weighing the merits. Struct Equ Modeling 9(2):151–171
Macdonald EK, Uncles MD (2007) Consumer savvy: conceptualisation and measurement. J Mark Manag 23(5–6):497–517
Macho S, Ledermann T (2011) Estimating, testing, and comparing specific effects in structural equation models: the phantom model approach. Psychol Methods 16(1):34–43
Martínez-Ferrero J, García-Sánchez I (2015) Is corporate social responsibility an entrenchment strategy? Evidence in stakeholder protection environments. RMS Rev Manag Sci 9(1):89–114
McDonald S, Oates C, Thyne M, Alevizou P, McMorland L-A (2009) Comparing sustainable consumption patterns across product sectors. Int J Consum Stud 33(2):137–145
Meadows DH, Meadows DL, Randers J, Behrens WW III (1972) The limits to growth: a report for the club of Rome’s project on the predicament of Mankind. Universe Books, New York
Minton AP, Rose RL (1997) The effects of environmental concern on environmentally friendly consumer behavior: an exploratory study. J Bus Res 40(1):37–48
Mohr LA, Webb DJ, Harris KE (2001) Do consumers expect companies to be socially responsible? The impact of corporate social responsibility on buying behavior. J Consum Aff 35(1):45–72
Murphy PE, Öberseder M, Laczniak GR (2013) Corporate societal responsibility in marketing: normatively broadening the concept. AMS Rev 3(2):86–102
Nath B (2008) A heuristic for setting effective standards to ensure global environmental sustainability. Environ Dev Sustain 10(4):471–486
Nilsson J (2008) Investment with a conscience: examining the impact of pro-social attitudes and perceived financial performance on socially responsible investment behavior. J Bus Ethics 83(2):307–325
Nordlund AM, Garvill J (2003) Effects of values, problem awareness, and personal norm on willingness to reduce personal car use. J Environ Psychol 23(4):339–347
Nunnally JC, Bernstein IH (2006) Psychometric theory, vol 3. McGraw-Hill, New York
Obermiller C (1995) The baby is sick/the baby is well: a test of environmental communication appeals. J Advert 24(2):55–70
Obermiller C, Spangenberg ER (1998) Development of a scale to measure consumer skepticism toward advertising. J Consum Psychol 7(2):159–186
Obermiller C, Spangenberg ER, MacLachlan DL (2005) Ad skepticism: the consequences of disbelief. J Advert 34(3):7–17
Olson EL (2013) It’s not easy being green: the effects of attribute tradeoffs on green product preference and choice. J Acad Mark Sci 41(2):171–184
Pedersen ER, Neergaard P (2006) Caveat Emptor—let the buyer beware! environmental labelling and the limitations of ‘Green’ consumerism. Bus Strategy Environ 15(1):15–29
Pepper M, Jackson T, Uzzell D (2009) An examination of the values that motivate socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviours. Int J Consum Stud 33(2):126–136
Pezzey J (1992) Sustainability: an interdisciplinary guide. Environ Values 1(4):321–362
Phipps M, Ozanne LK, Luchs MG, Subrahmanyan S, Kapitan S, Catlin JR, Gau R et al (2013) Understanding the inherent complexity of sustainable consumption: a social cognitive framework. J Bus Res 66(8):1227–1234
Porter ME, Kramer MR (2006) The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Bus Rev 84(12):78–92
Porter ME, Kramer MR (2011) Creating shared value: how to reinvent capitalism—and unleash a wave of innovation and growth. Harvard Bus Rev 89(1/2):62–77
Preacher KJ, Hayes AF (2008) Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behav Res Methods 40(30):879–891
Prothero A, Dobscha S, Freund J, Kilbourne WE, Luchs MG, Ozanne LK, Thøgersen J (2011) Sustainable consumption: opportunities for consumer research and public policy. J Public Policy Mark 30(1):31–38
Remund DL (2010) Financial literacy explicated: the case for a clearer definition in an increasingly complex economy. J Consum Aff 44(2):276–295
Roberts JA (1996) Green consumers in the 1990s: profile and implications for advertising. J Bus Res 36(3):217–231
Schaefer A, Crane A (2005) Addressing sustainability and consumption. J Macromark 25(1):76–92
Schaltegger S, Wagner M (2011) Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation: categories and interactions. Bus Strategy Environ 20(4):222–237
Schwartz SH (1994) Are there universal aspects in the structure and contents of human values? J Soc Issues 50(4):19–45
Schwartz SH, Bilsky W (1987) Toward a psychological structure of human values. J Pers Soc Psychol 53(3):550–562
Shaw D, Newholm T (2002) Voluntary simplicity and the ethics of consumption. Psychol Mark 19(2):167–185
Sheth JN, Sethia NK, Srinivas S (2011) Mindful consumption: a customer-centric approach to sustainability. J Acad Mark Sci 39(1):21–39
Singhapakdi A, Vitell SJ, Rallapalli KC, Kraft KL (1996) The perceived role of ethics and social responsibility: a scale development. J Bus Ethics 15(11):1131–1140
Solomon MR, Bamossy GJ, Askegaard ST, Hogg MK (2013) Consumer behaviour—a european perspective, 5th edn. Pearson Education, Harlow
Steg L, Vlek C (2009) Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: an integrative review and research agenda. J Environ Psychol 29(3):309–317
Steg L, Bolderdijk JW, Keizer K, Perlaviciute G (2014) An integrated framework for encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: the role of values, situational factors and goals. J Environ Psychol 38:104–115
Steiger JH (1990) Structural model evaluation and modification: an interval estimation approach. Multivar Behav Res 25(2):173–180
Stern PC (2000) Toward a coherent theory of environmentally significant behavior. J Soc Issues 56(3):407–424
Stern PC, Dietz T, Kalof L (1993) Value orientations, gender, and environmental concern. Environ Behav 25(5):322–348
Stern PC, Dietz T, Abel TD, Guagnano GA, Kalof L (1999) A value-belief-norm theory of support for social movements: the case of environmentalism. Hum Ecol Rev 6(2):81–97
Stichweh R (1992) The sociology of scientific disciplines: on the genesis and stability of the disciplinary structure of modern science. Sci Context 5(1):3–15
Straughan RD, Roberts JA (1999) Environmental segmentation alternatives: a look at green consumer behavior in the new millennium. J Consum Mark 16(6):558–575
Sudbury-Riley L, Kohlbacher F (2016) Ethically minded consumer behavior: scale review, development, and validation. J Bus Res 69(8):2697–2710
Tanner C, Wölfing Kast S (2003) Promoting sustainable consumption: determinants of green purchases by swiss consumers. Psychol Market 20(10):883–902
Thøgersen J (1999) The ethical consumer. Moral norms and packaging choice. J Consum Policy 22(4):439–460
Thøgersen J (2000) Psychological determinants of paying attention to eco-labels in purchase decisions: model development and multinational validation. J Consum Policy 23(3):285–313
Thøgersen J (2005) How may consumer policy empower consumers for sustainable lifestyles? J Consum Policy 28(2):143–177
Thøgersen J (2014) Unsustainable consumption. Eur Psychol 19(2):84–95
Thøgersen J, Ölander F (2002) Human values and the emergence of a sustainable consumption pattern: a panel study. J Econ Psychol 23(5):605–630
Titus PA, Bradford JL (1999) Reflections on consumer sophistication and its impact on ethical business practice. J Consum Aff 30(1):170–194
UNCED (1992) Agenda 21 and the UNCED proceedings. Oceana Publications, New York
Urien B, Kilbourne W (2011) Generativity and self-enhancement values in eco-friendly behavioral intentions and environmentally responsible consumption behavior. Psychol Mark 28(1):69–90
Uusitalo O, Oksanen R (2004) Ethical consumerism: a view from Finland. Int J Consum Stud 28(3):214–221
Valor C, Carrero I (2014) Viewing responsible consumption as a personal project. Psychol Mark 31(12):1110–1121
Vandenberg RJ, Lance CE (2000) A review and synthesis of the measurement invariance literature: suggestions, practices, and recommendations for organizational research. Organ Res Methods 3(1):4–70
Webb DJ, Mohr LA, Harris KE (2008) A re-examination of socially responsible consumption and its measurement. J Bus Res 61(2):91–98
Weigold A, Weigold IK, Russell EJ (2013) Examination of the equivalence of self-report survey-based paper-and-pencil and internet data collection methods. Psychol Methods 18(1):53–70
Wells VK, Ponting CA, Peattie K (2011) Behaviour and climate change: consumer perceptions of responsibility. J Mark Manag 27(7–8):808–833
West SG, Finch JF, Curran PJ (1995) Structural equation models with nonnormal variables: problems and remedies. In: Hoyle RH (ed) Structural equation modeling: concepts, issues, and applications. Sage, Thousand Oaks, pp 56–75
Wooliscroft B, Ganglmair-Wooliscroft A, Noone A (2014) The hierarchy of ethical consumption behavior: the case of New Zealand. J Macromark 34(1):57–72
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987) Our common future. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Zavestoski S (2002) The social-psychological bases of anticonsumption attitudes. Psychol Market 19(2):149–165
Zhao X, Lynch JG, Chen Q (2010) Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: myths and truths about mediation analysis. J Consum Res 37(2):197–206
Download references
Acknowledgments
We thank the anonymous reviewers for their careful reading of our manuscript and their insightful comments and suggestions.
Author information
Authors and affiliations.
SVI-Endowed Chair of Marketing, esp. E-Commerce and Cross-Media Management, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Jahnallee 59, 04109, Leipzig, Germany
Anja Buerke
Work and Organizational Psychology, and Cross-Cultural Business Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Osnabrueck, Seminarstraße 20, 49074, Osnabrueck, Germany
Tammo Straatmann & Karsten Müller
Chair of Business and Ethics, University of Vechta, Driverstraße 22, 49377, Vechta, Germany
Nick Lin-Hi
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Corresponding author
Correspondence to Anja Buerke .
Additional information
A. Buerke and T. Straatmann have contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.
Appendix: Scales
Dimension | Items |
|---|---|
- | |
Environmental | I deliberately try to avoid products that cause environmental damage |
I mostly buy environment-friendly products (e.g. with an organic label) | |
When I have the choice between two similar products, I always take ecological aspects into consideration | |
Social | I try to buy fairly traded products (e.g. with a fair-trade label) |
I strictly avoid purchasing from companies that are known for bad working conditions for their employees | |
I deliberately try to buy products from companies that are considered to be socially responsible | |
Economic | I prefer to buy products from companies for which sustainability is more important than short-term profit |
If a company treats its customers unfairly, I will prefer to buy from others | |
When making a purchase, I consider whether the company treats other market participants (e.g. competitors, suppliers) fairly | |
- | |
Physical | When I am shopping, I do my best to avoid products that are harmful to my health |
I am willing to pay a price premium for healthier products | |
I always take care of my health when buying a product | |
Socio-psychological | I try to make purchases in a way in which I do not afterwards resent the time I invested in doing so |
I try my best to make purchases in a way that does not strain my personal relationships | |
I always take care that my personal well-being does not depend on what I buy and own | |
Financial | When I am shopping, I always pay attention to my financial limits |
I try to check contracts carefully for hidden risks | |
I compare different products and providers to find the best offer for me | |
- | |
Environmental | I think it is more important to save environmental resources than to be able to consume a lot |
It is important to me to learn something about the ecological advantages and disadvantages of a product | |
In my opinion, it is reasonable that consumers have to pay higher prices for products that cause environmental damage | |
Social | In my opinion, acting socially responsibly should be the foundation for all managerial decisions |
From my point of view, companies have a special social responsibility beyond making profits | |
Sustainability is, in my opinion, more important for society than economic growth | |
Economic | Personally, I think it is very important that companies act in an ethically correct manner |
It really bothers me if I find out that a company treats its employees unfairly | |
I think that firms have a responsibility to treat their customers always in a fair way | |
| |
Advertising | Consumers should invest a lot of time in order to gather product information independently from advertising’s influence |
Consumers should become more aware that a product’s benefits might be exaggerated in advertising | |
Consumers should always make an effort to distinguish between reality and promises made in advertisements | |
Price | Every consumer should be careful not to be misled to buy something too quickly by the feeling of getting a good bargain |
Consumers should check very carefully if the price–performance ratio of bargain offers is really good | |
Consumers should give greater consideration to the potential disadvantages of a bargain offer | |
Promotion/sales | It is especially important for consumers to become more aware of being often influenced by sales techniques |
Consumers must better keep in mind that marketing activities are aimed at selling as many products as possible | |
Consumers should pay a lot more attention to what sales tricks are used, for example, in supermarkets | |
Consumers have to make themselves more aware of how their buying behavior is influenced by others | |
- | |
Environmental | What every single consumer buys largely determines the extent of a nation’s environmental problems |
The efforts of every single consumer contribute significantly to reducing environmental pollution | |
When making a purchase, every consumer is always participating in the decision on whether the environment is preserved for the future | |
Social | Every consumer supporting socially responsible companies fundamentally contributes to the social conditions of society |
Every single consumer can significantly influence society by purchasing products from socially responsible companies | |
Every consumer buying fairly traded products (e.g. with a fair-trade label), is substantially contributing to a more social society | |
Economic | The purchase behavior of every single consumer has a great effect on the working conditions for a company’s employees |
Whether companies always treat their employees fairly strongly depends on the purchase decisions that every single consumer makes daily | |
The buying behavior of every single consumer determines whether companies treat other market participants (e.g. competitors, suppliers) fairly | |
- | |
Physical | The own buying behavior has a central influence on personal health |
Every consumer can make an important contribution to physical well-being with his or her own buying behavior | |
For one’s own health, it is especially important to think about the purchase of products | |
Socio-psychological | The individual buying behavior plays an important role in the development and fostering of friendships and social networks |
The own buying behavior strongly influences personal relationships | |
With one’s buying behavior, one can fundamentally influence one’s own happiness in life | |
Financial | The buying behavior of consumers is crucial for the individual financial situation |
By regulating their buying behavior, consumers can effectively avoid their own financial problems | |
The individual buying behavior strongly influences whether one can get by with one’s income | |
Rights and permissions
Reprints and permissions
About this article
Buerke, A., Straatmann, T., Lin-Hi, N. et al. Consumer awareness and sustainability-focused value orientation as motivating factors of responsible consumer behavior. Rev Manag Sci 11 , 959–991 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-016-0211-2
Download citation
Received : 29 February 2016
Accepted : 29 August 2016
Published : 13 September 2016
Issue Date : October 2017
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-016-0211-2
Share this article
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
- Consumer awareness
- Multiple mediation model
- Responsible consumer behavior
- Sustainability
- Sustainability-focused value orientation
JEL Classification
- M31 Marketing
- Q01 Sustainable development
- Find a journal
- Publish with us
- Track your research
COMMENTS
Abstract. This article examines the relationship between consumer s' awareness and knowledge to effective consumers'. behaviors. This study employs survey technique to meas ure three variables ...
Consumer rights awareness claims information to be passed and made known to customers of various goods, products and services what a customer needs that is aimed at ensuring consumer rights and the smooth flow of honest information in the market. Awareness is essential to take right decision at right time by the customer.
Abstract. The objective of the paper is to bring spotlight on literature related to consumer attitude and purchase intention. The Paper attempts to identify and segregate factors which are vital and critical antecedents to formation of consumer attitude consequently "Intention to purchase".
Therefore, brand awareness is a critical factor that directly impacts consumer decision-making and purchase intentions (Moisescu, 2009; Rowley, 2008 . Solid content directed at the target audience ...
A critical study of literature available on the issues pertaining to consumer movement is made here. This covers various aspects related with genesis, growth, problems and future of consumer movement, awareness of consumer regarding consumer movement, problems faced by consumers and various dimensions of Consumer Protection Laws. Consumer Movement
Based on literature review six key thematic areas were identified in CB research of early stage of the pandemic: Environmental Factors, Social Media CB and Business Strategies, Personal and ...
To examine the content of consumer behavior literature, trace its evolution, and identify the main streams of research over time, a content analysis was first performed on the articles focusing on consumer behavior. Helgeson et al. (1984) classified 32 years of consumer behavior literature from selected journals and proceedings. As there did ...
Abstract: Awareness denotes the knowledge about a particular problem or issue. Here, awareness of the rights. of consum ers m ean the le vel of knowledge abou t various rights of co nsumers and th ...
2. Literature review, research hypotheses and conceptual framework 2.1. Theory of planned behaviour This study is underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Thus, the relationships between consumer rights awareness, and consumer attitude and purchase intention can be explicated by
I Consumer AwarenessCHAPTER 18. ess• IntroductionThe twentieth centlll"y has been the centlll. y of 'the consumer'. I have put quotation marks round the term because it has been used in many different ways by m. ny different people. In this book we ha\'e adopted a largely psychological perspective on consumer behaviour, but the consllmer has ...
In order to develop a framework for the study consumer behaviour it is helpful to begin by considering the evolution of the field of consumer research and the different paradigms of thought that have influenced the discipline. As described in this article, a set of dimensions can be identified in the literature, which can be used to characterize and differentiate, the various perspectives on ...
The purpose of this literature review is to system-atically review consumer behavior research over a 12-year period in five major journals in the field. Such an examination of diverse research in this discipline allows for identification of shifts and changes in a longitudinal manner.
Consumers are put in the driver seat on the road to a sustainable development. Following a consumer-centric approach, this paper explores the dimensionality and the antecedents of responsible consumption from a psychological perspective. Concerning the dimensionality, the study proposes that responsible consumption should comprise a societal as well as an individual dimension. The data (N ...
This study employed a scoping review as a method to map the existing literature on content marketing and its effect on online consumer behavior in a structured and comprehensive way. Scholars often use a scoping review to identify a gap in knowledge, clarify concepts, review a body of literature, or review a complex topic that has not yet been ...
Consumer Perceptions of Sustainable Products: A Systematic. Literature Review. Mark Anthony Camilleri, Livio Cricelli 2, * , Roberto Mauriello and Serena Strazzullo. Department of Corporate ...
Brand awareness refers to the extent to which customers are able to recall or recognise a brand. Brand awareness is a key consideration in consumer behavior, advertising management, brand ...
2.1. Theory of planned behaviour. This study is underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Thus, the relationships between consumer rights awareness, and consumer attitude and purchase intention can be explicated by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, Citation 1985).According to Ishak and Zabil (Citation 2012), knowledge plays a critical role in influencing human decisions or behaviour.
Literature review Brand awareness Brand awareness can be presented and described as the consumer's ability to recognize or recall a brand name from a logo in different situations [1]. In the early research of Hoyer and Brown, published in 1990, it was noted that, when awareness was present, consumers were more likely
A systematic literature review provides a comprehensive overview of the whole literature studied. From this knowledge, a systematic literature review has been undertaken from the period of 2016 to 2021 based on 65 articles from the ABDC journal to fetch relevant research themes, methodology, theories, variables, antecedents and consequences and ...
An IBM consumer survey (Gyimesi & Viswanathan, 2011) similarly found that 45% of the surveyed drivers had little to no understanding of electric vehicles. Federal incentives in the United States amount to up to $7,500 per electric vehicle, and additional state incentives typically amount to more than $2,000.
The literature review furthermore suggests that socio-demographic data play an important role in ethical consumption: For instance, the later the education path is completed, the higher is the probability that ... The survey results complement the picture drawn by means of the literature review. With respect to consumer awareness, for instance ...