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Reducing Ingroup Bias in Ethical Consumption: The Role of Construal Levels and Social Goodwill

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2019

Diego Costa Pinto Open the ORCID record for Diego Costa Pinto [Opens in a new window] ,
Adilson Borges ,
Márcia Maurer Herter  and
Mário Boto Ferreira
Diego Costa Pinto
Affiliation:
NOVA Information Management School
Adilson Borges
Affiliation:
NEOMA Business School
Márcia Maurer Herter
Affiliation:
Universidade Europeia
Mário Boto Ferreira
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa
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Abstract:

Business ethics research has long been interested in understanding the conditions under which ethical consumption is consistent versus context-dependent. Extant research suggests that many consumers fail to make consistent ethical consumption decisions and tend to engage in ethical decisions associated with ingroup (vs. outgroup) identity cues. To fill this gap, four experiments examine how construal levels moderate the influence of ingroup versus outgroup identity cues in ethical consumption. The studies support the contention that when consumers use concrete construal to process information, they will focus on ingroup cues and make ethical consumption decisions that are aligned with ingroup biases. However, when consumers use abstract construal, they will act more consistently with their inner goals rather than focusing on ingroup and outgroup cues. Social goodwill, which indicates desires to give back to society, is identified as mediating the effects. The findings have important implications for ethical consumption and social influence literature.

Keywords

construal level theoryethical consumptionidentity cuesingroup biassocial influence
Type
Article
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , January 2020 , pp. 31 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2019 

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