Written by Do you patronize companies whose ethical values mirror your own?
Do you consider environmental impact when purchasing a product or service?
Last week, we discussed how green marketing can cater to different cultures.
In this same vein, the research we’re looking at this week identifies ways in which cultural values influence ethical consumption.
But first, let’s define what ‘ethical consumption’ actually is.
What is ‘Ethical Consumption’?
The study itself defines ethical consumption as involving
“the rational use of resources, consideration of environmental impacts, and assertion of consumer rights in modern consumption patterns. Ethical consumption embodies social responsibility that is driven by an individual’s conscience and broader ethical consciousness.”
“the rational use of resources, consideration of environmental impacts, and assertion of consumer rights in modern consumption patterns. Ethical consumption embodies social responsibility that is driven by an individual’s conscience and broader ethical consciousness.”
In other words, your dollar is a vote cast on the way you’d like the world to be.
The Study
Engaging 938 subjects who were invited to participate in an online survey, this study unraveled the impact of diverse cultural orientations on two distinct dimensions: eco-friendly and socioeconomic-oriented consumption.
Researchers asked themselves how vertical individualism, vertical collectivism, horizontal individualism, and horizontal collectivism might shape ethical consumption patterns?
Through text messages and emails, they reached out to individuals pre-registered with a marketing research company, tapping into the diverse perspectives of consumer panels.
The study set out to examine the relationships between cultural values and ethical consumption in order to understand consumer behaviors.
Findings
The findings, revealed through structural equation modeling with EQS 6, painted a distinctive picture.
Vertical individualism emerged as a silent observer, having no statistically significant effect on eco-friendly consumption.
This suggests that cultures emphasizing autonomy through competition and personal achievement may not align with eco-friendly ethical consumption.
In contrast, horizontal individualism, horizontal collectivism, and vertical collectivism positively impacted both eco-friendly and socioeconomic-oriented consumption.
HI, with its focus on uniqueness and social equality, and VC, emphasizing sacrifice for group purposes, were associated with a propensity for consuming natural diets.
HC, valuing equality and social harmony, also played a significant role in fostering eco-friendly consumption.
The study also highlighted the positive correlation between ethical consumption behaviors and consumer happiness.
Specifically, cultures with strong HC tendencies exhibited robust eco-friendly ethical consumption behavior, indicating a link between cultural values and happiness.
VC, HI, and VI cultures were also associated with eco-friendly consumption, though to varying degrees.
The study concludes by emphasizing the diversity within cultural frameworks, cautioning against oversimplifying a country’s culture into individualist or collectivist categories.
It advocates for the utility of the two-dimensional cultural framework in understanding cultural diversity.
Success Across Cultures 