IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/aumajo/v28y2020i3p42-49.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sharing is (not) caring? The interactive effects of power and psychological distance on tolerance of unethical behavior

Author

Listed:
  • Paramita, Widya
  • Septianto, Felix
  • Winahjoe, Sari
  • Purwanto, B.M.
  • Candra, Ika Diyah

Abstract

Despite the tremendous growth of Airbnb, various media have reported ethical misconduct occurring within the Airbnb context by both hosts and users. The current research seeks to examine the interactive effects of power (high vs. low) and psychological distance (close vs. distant) to explain individual tolerance of unethical behavior across two experimental studies for the case of Airbnb. Specifically, we propose that when an individual (i.e., an Airbnb host or user) feels powerless (vs. powerful), that individual will show a low level of tolerance to unethical behavior and tend to judge the ethical behavior more harshly. However, the effect of power will only emerge in the psychologically close condition (e.g., a host judging a host's unethical behavior), but not in the psychologically distant condition (e.g., a host judging a user's unethical behavior). Further, we establish that this interactive effect is mediated by feelings of empathy.

Suggested Citation

  • Paramita, Widya & Septianto, Felix & Winahjoe, Sari & Purwanto, B.M. & Candra, Ika Diyah, 2020. "Sharing is (not) caring? The interactive effects of power and psychological distance on tolerance of unethical behavior," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 42-49.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aumajo:v:28:y:2020:i:3:p:42-49
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ausmj.2019.12.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S144135821930237X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ausmj.2019.12.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Loewenstein, George, 1996. "Out of Control: Visceral Influences on Behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 272-292, March.
    2. Marko Pitesa & Stefan Thau, 2013. "Compliant sinners, obstinate saints: How power and self-focus determine the effectiveness of social influences in ethical decision making," Post-Print hal-00814614, HAL.
    3. Karen Page Winterich & Kelly L. Haws, 2011. "Helpful Hopefulness: The Effect of Future Positive Emotions on Consumption," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 38(3), pages 505-524.
    4. Marko Pitesa & Stefan Thau, 2013. "Compliant sinners, obstinate saints: How power and self-focus determine the effectiveness of social influences in ethical decision making," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-00814614, HAL.
    5. David Dubois & Derek D. Rucker & Adam D. Galinsky, 2010. "The Accentuation Bias: Money Literally Looms Larger (and Sometimes Smaller) to the Powerless," Post-Print hal-00621067, HAL.
    6. Irina Cojuharenco & Francesco Sguera, 2015. "When Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking Matter for Ethical Judgment: The Role of Time Hurriedness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 717-725, September.
    7. Jennifer Mencl & Douglas May, 2009. "The Effects of Proximity and Empathy on Ethical Decision-Making: An Exploratory Investigation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 201-226, March.
    8. Lerner, Jennifer & Han, Seunghee & Keltner, Dacher, 2007. "Feelings and Consumer Decision Making: Extending the Appraisal-Tendency Framework," Scholarly Articles 37143006, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    9. Rico Pohling & Danilo Bzdok & Monika Eigenstetter & Siegfried Stumpf & Anja Strobel, 2016. "What is Ethical Competence? The Role of Empathy, Personal Values, and the Five-Factor Model of Personality in Ethical Decision-Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 449-474, September.
    10. Verhaert, Griet A. & Van den Poel, Dirk, 2011. "Empathy as added value in predicting donation behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 1288-1295.
    11. David Dubois & Derek D. Rucker & Adam D. Galinsky, 2010. "The Accentuation Bias: Money Literally Looms larger to the Powerless," Post-Print hal-00701816, HAL.
    12. Greenacre, Luke & Akbar, Skye, 2019. "The impact of payment method on shopping behaviour among low income consumers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 87-93.
    13. Jatinder J. Singh & Nitika Garg & Rahul Govind & Scott J. Vitell, 2018. "Anger Strays, Fear Refrains: The Differential Effect of Negative Emotions on Consumers’ Ethical Judgments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 235-248, August.
    14. Derek D. Rucker & Miao Hu & Adam D. Galinsky, 2014. "The Experience versus the Expectations of Power: A Recipe for Altering the Effects of Power on Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(2), pages 381-396.
    15. Derek D. Rucker & Adam D. Galinsky & David Dubois, 2012. "Power and consumer behavior: How power shapes who and what consumers value," Post-Print hal-00724231, HAL.
    16. Jean-Noël Kapferer, 2001. "[Re]Inventing the Brand - Can Top Brands Survive the New Market Realities ?," Post-Print hal-00786823, HAL.
    17. Andranik Tumasjan & Maria Strobel & Isabell Welpe, 2011. "Ethical Leadership Evaluations After Moral Transgression: Social Distance Makes the Difference," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(4), pages 609-622, April.
    18. Derek D. Rucker & Adam D. Galinsky, 2008. "Desire to Acquire: Powerlessness and Compensatory Consumption," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 35(2), pages 257-267, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xin, Benlu & Zhu, Chengfeng & Septianto, Felix, 2022. "The effects of mixed emotional appeals in leveraging paradox brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 266-275.
    2. Narwal, Preeti & Rai, Shivam, 2022. "Individual differences and moral disengagement in Pay-What-You-Want pricing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 528-547.
    3. Ngo, Liem Viet & Nguyen, Thi Nguyet Que & Tran, Nam The & Paramita, Widya, 2020. "It takes two to tango: The role of customer empathy and resources to improve the efficacy of frontline employee empathy," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    4. Septianto, Felix & Ye, Sheng & Northey, Gavin, 2021. "The effectiveness of advertising images in promoting experiential offerings: An emotional response approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 344-352.
    5. Starr, Richard G. & Zhu, Andrew Q. & Frethey-Bentham, Catherine & Brodie, Roderick J., 2020. "Peer-to-peer interactions in the sharing economy: Exploring the role of reciprocity within a Chinese social network," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 67-80.
    6. Japutra, Arnold & Septianto, Felix & Can, Ali Selcuk, 2022. "Feeling grateful versus happy? The effects of emotional appeals in advertisements on self-made products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Khalil, Mary & Khan, Saira & Septianto, Felix, 2020. "Effects of power and implicit theories on donation," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 98-107.
    8. Lang, Bodo & Botha, Elsamari & Robertson, Jeandri & Kemper, Joya A. & Dolan, Rebecca & Kietzmann, Jan, 2020. "How to grow the sharing economy? Create Prosumers!," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 58-66.
    9. Paramita, Widya & Purnomo, Boyke R. & Virgosita, Risa & Wibowo, Amin, 2022. "Small is beautiful: Insights from the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions on layoff decision in micro and small enterprises," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 18(C).
    10. Lim, Weng Marc, 2020. "The sharing economy: A marketing perspective," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 4-13.
    11. Paramita, Widya & Zulfa, Naila & Rostiani, Rokhima & Widyaningsih, Yulia A. & Sholihin, Mahfud, 2021. "Ethics support through rapport: Elaborating the impact of service provider rapport on ethical behaviour intention of the tourists," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    12. Northey, Gavin & Brodie, Rod, 2020. "Leveraging the power of the sharing economy," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 1-3.
    13. Sands, Sean & Ferraro, Carla & Campbell, Colin & Kietzmann, Jan & Andonopoulos, Vasiliki Vicki, 2020. "Who shares? Profiling consumers in the sharing economy," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 22-33.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li Yan & Hean Tat Keh & Xiaoyu Wang, 2021. "Powering Sustainable Consumption: The Roles of Green Consumption Values and Power Distance Belief," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 499-516, March.
    2. Koo, Jayoung & Im, Hyunjoo, 2019. "Going up or down? Effects of power deprivation on luxury consumption," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 443-449.
    3. Septianto, Felix & Kemper, Joya A. & Chiew, Tung Moi, 2020. "The interactive effects of emotions and numerical information in increasing consumer support to conservation efforts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 445-455.
    4. Wei, Chuang & Liu, Maggie Wenjing & Keh, Hean Tat, 2020. "The road to consumer forgiveness is paved with money or apology? The roles of empathy and power in service recovery," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 321-334.
    5. Hwang, YooHee & Shin, Joongwon & Mattila, Anna S., 2018. "So private, yet so public: The impact of spatial distance, other diners, and power on solo dining experiences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 36-47.
    6. Sunyee Yoon & Hyeongmin Christian Kim & Vicki MorwitzEditor & Simona BottiAssociate Editor, 2018. "Feeling Economically Stuck: The Effect of Perceived Economic Mobility and Socioeconomic Status on Variety Seeking," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 44(5), pages 1141-1156.
    7. Danielle J Brick & Gràinne M Fitzsimons & Tanya L Chartrand & Gavan J Fitzsimons & Gita JoharEditor & Sharon ShavittAssociate Editor, 2018. "Coke vs. Pepsi: Brand Compatibility, Relationship Power, and Life Satisfaction," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 44(5), pages 991-1014.
    8. Veronica L. Thomas & Kendra Fowler & Christina Saenger, 2020. "Celebrity influence on word of mouth: the interplay of power states and power expectations," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 105-120, March.
    9. Lu Yang & Yuhuang Zheng & Rui Chen, 2021. "Who has a cushion? The interactive effect of social exclusion and gender on fixed savings," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 1398-1415, December.
    10. Schaerer, Michael & du Plessis, Christilene & Yap, Andy J. & Thau, Stefan, 2018. "Low power individuals in social power research: A quantitative review, theoretical framework, and empirical test," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 73-96.
    11. Mengmeng Xu & Hongyan Jiang & Huimin Tan, 2023. "Can power predict consumers’ preferences for aesthetic products? The moderating role of locus of control," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 575-589, December.
    12. Khalil, Mary & Khan, Saira & Septianto, Felix, 2020. "Effects of power and implicit theories on donation," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 98-107.
    13. Choi, Woo Jin & Park, JaeHong & Yoon, Ho-Jung, 2018. "Your gift choice for your boss versus your subordinate would not be the same: The interplay of power and giver-receiver role on consumers' gift preferences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 1-7.
    14. Steven J. Stanton & Crystal Reeck & Scott A. Huettel & Kevin S. LaBar, 2014. "Effects of induced moods on economic choices," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 9(2), pages 167-175, March.
    15. Bhukya, Ramulu & Paul, Justin, 2023. "Social influence research in consumer behavior: What we learned and what we need to learn? – A hybrid systematic literature review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    16. Wang, Yajin, 2022. "A conceptual framework of contemporary luxury consumption," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 788-803.
    17. Ivan Barreda-Tarrazona & Ainhoa Jaramillo-Gutierrez & Daniel Navarro-Martinez & Gerardo Sabater-Grande, 2014. "The role of forgone opportunities in decision making under risk," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 167-188, October.
    18. Eesha Sharma & Punam A. Keller, 2017. "A Penny Saved Is Not a Penny Earned: When Decisions to Earn and Save Compete for Consumer Resources," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 64-77.
    19. Yilin Lan & Wanyi Guan & Yunda Qiu & Wankun Hu & Aitao Lu & Yue Wu & Linyu Zhang & Pingfang Song & Lu Wang, 2016. "The Effect of Money Attitude on Money Perception on Size, Number, and Weight," Journal of Social Economics, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 3(4), pages 185-197.
    20. Bill McEvily & Akbar Zaheer & Darcy K. Fudge Kamal, 2017. "Mutual and Exclusive: Dyadic Sources of Trust in Interorganizational Exchange," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(1), pages 74-92, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:aumajo:v:28:y:2020:i:3:p:42-49. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/australasian-marketing-journal/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.