Moral Disengagement, Neutralization Techniques, and (Un)ethical Consumer Behaviour
Year: 2021
Type: conference-paper
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Although prior research has separately utilised the theory of moral disengagement (Bandura et al. 1996) and techniques of neutralization (Sykes and Matza 1957) to examine consumers’ (un)ethical consumption, research has not examined how these constructs are interrelated in relation to consumer ethics. A survey of 436 US consumers was conducted to identify the relationships among locus of control (chance), trait cynicism, moral disengagement, and neutralization techniques in the context of ethical consumer behaviour. The findings demonstrate that moral disengagement and neutralization techniques are separate constructs that sequentially mediate the negative effects of locus of control (chance) on ethically minded consumer behaviour. However, trait cynicism had no direct or indirect effects on ethical consumer behaviour. This research addresses the gap in the moral psychology literature on the relationships between moral disengagement and neutralization techniques and the gap in the consumer psychology literature on their joint effects on ethical consumer behaviour.
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7058324182