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The Impact of Sustainable Sourcing on Customer Perceptions: Association by Guilt from Scandals in Local vs. Offshore Sourcing Countries

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  • Claire Veit

    (School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, Tongersestraat 53, 6211 LM Maastricht, The Netherlands)

  • Wim Lambrechts

    (Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, Open University of The Netherlands, P.O. Box 2960, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands)

  • Lieven Quintens

    (School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, Tongersestraat 53, 6211 LM Maastricht, The Netherlands)

  • Janjaap Semeijn

    (School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, Tongersestraat 53, 6211 LM Maastricht, The Netherlands)

Abstract

This study analyzes whether customer perceptions towards sustainability are affected by a company’s country of origin and sourcing strategies. This study builds upon the literature regarding customer interest in sustainable products. It adds the country of origin to the link between customer and company, and analyzes if and how customer perceptions change when they are introduced to a sustainability scandal, hence analyzing possible ‘association by guilt’. It compares their reactions to offshore scandals and to local scandals, therefore taking psychic distance as an important variable into consideration. Customer perceptions of company sustainability was found to have an impact on purchasing behavior. Findings show that perceptions are influenced by psychic distance. Furthermore, companies should take into account the risk of association by guilt when developing their global sourcing strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire Veit & Wim Lambrechts & Lieven Quintens & Janjaap Semeijn, 2018. "The Impact of Sustainable Sourcing on Customer Perceptions: Association by Guilt from Scandals in Local vs. Offshore Sourcing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-18, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2519-:d:158640
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    Cited by:

    1. María E. Aguilar-Fernández & José Ramon Otegi-Olaso, 2018. "Firm Size and the Business Model for Sustainable Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-27, December.
    2. György Kovács & Béla Illés, 2019. "Development of an Optimization Method and Software for Optimizing Global Supply Chains for Increased Efficiency, Competitiveness, and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-28, March.
    3. Cees J. Gelderman & Jos Schijns & Wim Lambrechts & Simon Vijgen, 2021. "Green marketing as an environmental practice: The impact on green satisfaction and green loyalty in a business‐to‐business context," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 2061-2076, May.
    4. Wim Lambrechts & Semen Son-Turan & Lucinda Reis & Janjaap Semeijn, 2019. "Lean, Green and Clean? Sustainability Reporting in the Logistics Sector," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-23, January.
    5. Marlies van Tilburg & Harold Krikke & Wim Lambrechts, 2022. "Supply Chain Relationships in Circular Business Models: Supplier Tactics at Royal Smit Transformers," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-24, October.
    6. Joost de Haan-Hoek & Wim Lambrechts & Janjaap Semeijn & Marjolein C. J. Caniëls, 2020. "Levers of Control for Supply Chain Sustainability: Control and Governance Mechanisms in a Cross-Boundary Setting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-22, April.
    7. Patchara Phochanikorn & Chunqiao Tan, 2019. "A New Extension to a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model for Sustainable Supplier Selection under an Intuitionistic Fuzzy Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-24, September.
    8. Xuedong Liang & Xianli Zhao & Min Wang & Zhi Li, 2018. "Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Sustainable Supply Chain Financing Decision Based on Triple Bottom Line Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-17, November.

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