“Beyond the Attitude-Behaviour Gap: Novel Perspectives in Consumer Ethics”: Introduction to the Thematic Symposium

Excerpt

Research into the ethical, sustainable, green and socio-political aspects of consumption has grown considerably since the 1990s. As Belz and Peattie (2009) suggest, however, perhaps the most consistent finding within this burgeoning literature has been inconsistency between what people say (or express via attitudes, values etc.) and what they actually do—the so-called “attitude-behaviour” and “intention-behaviour” gaps (e.g., Bray et al. 2011; Carrigan and Attalla 2001; Carrington et al. 2010; Chatzidakis et al. 2007; De Pelsmaker et al. 2005; Nicholls and Lee 2006). For instance, Young et al. (2010) observe that an estimated 30 % of consumers indicate concern about environmental issues, yet only 5 % translate this concern into action. Narrowing the gap between ethical consumption “attitudes/intentions” and actual consumption “behaviour” represents a challenge of practical and theoretical significance in light of the variety of top down and bottom up actors currently seeking to “mobilise the consumer” (Barnett et al. 2010) towards positive environmental and socio-economic outcomes. …