Political ideology and fair-trade consumption: A social dominance orientation perspective

Purchasing fair-trade products can contribute to poverty eradication and social equality by promoting sustainable production. However, some consumers resist purchasing fair-trade products. This research replicates previous research findings that political ideology affects consumers’ preference for fair-trade products (Usslepp, et al., 2021), but we provide a novel psychological mechanism and identify two boundary conditions. Specifically, across five studies, we showed that conservative (vs. liberal) consumers are less likely to purchase fair-trade products (Studies 1a & 1b) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) can explain the relationship (Study 2). We also ruled out other potential mechanisms including emotional, motivational, and psychological factors. Further, we showed that when fair-trade product consumption is associated with feeling superior to others, conservative consumers express higher preferences for fair-trade products. Our findings have implications for marketers and policymakers in promoting fair-trade products, bridging the attitude-behavior gap, and building an equitable society.