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The Impact of Communicating Sustainability and Ethical Behaviour of the Cosmetic Producers: Evidence from Thailand

Author

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  • Hiroko Oe

    (The Business School, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK)

  • Yasuyuki Yamaoka

    (Faculty of Society and Industry, The Open University of Japan, Chiba 261-8586, Japan)

Abstract

Purpose—This study aims to demonstrate the antecedent factors of consumers’ cosmetics purchasing behaviour in the emerging market of Thailand from the perspective of sustainability. Specifically, the study aims to quantitatively analyse the impact of three hypothesised antecedents of consumer behaviour: product quality, communicating sustainability, and ethical business behaviour. Methodology—A quantitative methodology is applied in the study, which collects survey data from Thailand. This study focuses on two cosmetic brands in Thailand, a domestic brand and an international brand. The total 800-sample dataset was analysed using Structural Equation Modelling to validate a conceptual model with measurements of three antecedent factors: quality, ethical behaviour, and communication sustainability. Findings—It is found that ‘ethical behaviour of the producers had a non-significant impact for all samples and the ‘domestic brand’, whereas communicating sustainability had a significant impact in all sample cases. The proposed measurement scales present a practical and pioneering tool for assessing consumer responses and behaviour towards cosmetic brands. The set of scales will also help cosmetics marketers to appraise their strategic planning and monitor their progress toward creating and identifying consumer loyalty to cosmetics brands via producers’ ethical behaviour and CSR messaging. Originality—The global market and inter-stakeholder communications have greatly changed the way people perceive, behave towards, and react to business suppliers. The understanding of consumer brand loyalty in the cosmetics industry and the business strategies focused on the impact of communicating sustainability with ethical behaviour remain limited, especially in the context of the emerging market. This research contributes to filling this gap with empirical analyses.

Suggested Citation

  • Hiroko Oe & Yasuyuki Yamaoka, 2022. "The Impact of Communicating Sustainability and Ethical Behaviour of the Cosmetic Producers: Evidence from Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-20, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:2:p:882-:d:723781
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ghazali, Ezlika & Soon, Pat Chen & Mutum, Dilip S. & Nguyen, Bang, 2017. "Health and cosmetics: Investigating consumers’ values for buying organic personal care products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 154-163.
    2. Jesús J. Cambra‐Fierro & J. Alfredo Flores‐Hernández & Lourdes Pérez & Guadalupe Valera‐Blanes, 2020. "CSR and branding in emerging economies: The effect of incomes and education," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2765-2776, November.
    3. Yung-Hsin Lee & Shui-Lien Chen, 2019. "Effect of Green Attributes Transparency on WTA for Green Cosmetics: Mediating Effects of CSR and Green Brand Concepts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-15, September.
    4. Jahn, Johannes & Brühl, Rolf, 2019. "Can bad news be good? On the positive and negative effects of including moderately negative information in CSR disclosures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 117-128.
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    Cited by:

    1. Camelia Grădinaru & Daniel-Rareș Obadă & Ioan-Alexandru Grădinaru & Dan-Cristian Dabija, 2022. "Enhancing Sustainable Cosmetics Brand Purchase: A Comprehensive Approach Based on the SOR Model and the Triple Bottom Line," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-22, October.
    2. José Magano & Manuel Au-Yong-Oliveira & Bruna Ferreira & Ângela Leite, 2022. "A Cross-Sectional Study on Ethical Buyer Behavior towards Cruelty-Free Cosmetics: What Consequences for Female Leadership Practices?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-15, June.
    3. Camila Kolling & José Luis Duarte Ribeiro & Donato Morea & Gianpaolo Iazzolino, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility and circular economy from the perspective of consumers: A cross‐cultural analysis in the cosmetic industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1226-1243, May.

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