The Mediating Role of Anticipated Guilt in Consumers’ Ethical Decision-Making

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The Mediating Role of Anticipated Guilt in Consumers’ Ethical Decision-Making

Author Info

S. STEENHAUT ()
P. VAN KENHOVE ()

Abstract

In this paper we theorize that the anticipation of guilt plays an important role in ethically questionable consumer situations. We propose an ethical decision-making framework incorporating anticipated guilt as partial mediator between consumers’ ethical beliefs (anteceded by ethical ideology) and intentions. In a first study we compared several models using structural equation modeling and found empirical support for our research model. A second experiment was set up to illustrate how retailers may apply these new insights to prevent consumers from taking advantage. Results showed that enhancing the anticipation of guilt (by making the interpersonal consequences of the unethical act more salient) increased consumers’ ethical intentions, controlling for ethical beliefs. Together these two studies may have important theoretical and managerial contributions.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration in its series Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium with number 06/370.

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Length: 34 pages
Date of creation: Feb 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:rug:rugwps:06/370

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

NEP-ALL-2006-06-10 (All new papers)
NEP-CBE-2006-06-10 (Cognitive & Behavioural Economics)

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Bozinoff, Lorne & Ghingold, Morry, 1983. "Evaluating guilt arousing marketing communications," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 243-255, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Kristof De Wulf & Patrick Van Kenhove & Sarah Steenhaut, 2003. "The relationship between consumers unethical behavior and customer loyalty in a retail environment," Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School Working Paper Series 2003-17, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School. [Downloadable!]
Other versions:
- P. Van Kenhove & K. De Wulf & S. Steenhaut, 2003. "The Relationship between Consumers’ Unethical Behavior and Customer Loyalty in a Retail Environment," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 03/167, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. [Downloadable!]
Simonson, Itamar, 1992. " The Influence of Anticipating Regret and Responsibility on Purchase Decisions," Journal of Consumer Research: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(1), pages 105-18, June.
Strutton, David & Vitell, Scott J. & Pelton, Lou E., 1994. "How consumers may justify inappropriate behavior in market settings: An application on the techniques of neutralization," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 253-260, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Richins, Marsha L, 1997. " Measuring Emotions in the Consumption Experience," Journal of Consumer Research: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(2), pages 127-46, September.
Escalas, Jennifer Edson & Stern, Barbara B, 2003. " Sympathy and Empathy: Emotional Responses to Advertising Dramas," Journal of Consumer Research: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(4), pages 566-78, March.
Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)

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