Skip to main content
Log in

What Will Consumers Pay for Social Product Features?

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The importance of ethical consumerism to many companies worldwide has increased dramatically in recent years. Ethical consumerism encompasses the importance of non-traditional and social components of a company's products and business process to strategic success – such as environmental protectionism, child labor practices and so on. The present paper utilizes a random utility theoretic experimental design to provide estimates of the relative value selected consumers place on the social features of products.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aaker, J.: 1997, ‘Dimensions of Brand Personality’, Journal of Marketing Research 34(3), 347–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aaker, J. and D. Mahaeswaran: 1997, ‘The Effect of Cultural Orientation on Persuasion’, Journal of Consumer Research 24(4), 315–328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abratt, R. and D. Sacks: 1988, ‘The Marketing Challenge: Towards Being Profitable and Socially Responsible’, Journal of Business Ethics 7, 497–508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ajzen, I. and M. Fishbein: 1980, Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior (Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NY).

    Google Scholar 

  • AsiaWeek: 2001, ‘Fair Pay’, 27(1).

  • Bhate, S. and K. Lawler: 1997, ‘Environmentally Friendly Products: Factors That Influence Their Adoption’, Technovation 17(8), 457–465.

    Google Scholar 

  • CAFOD: 1998, ‘Views from the South, Conference Report on Ethical Trade’, September, http://www. cafod.org/uk/policyviews.htm.

  • Calder, B., L. Phillips and A. Tybout: 1981, ‘Designing Research for Application’, Journal of Consumer Research 8(3), 197–207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calder, B.: 1982, ‘The Concept of External Validity’, Journal of Consumer Research 9(4), 240–244.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christie, R. and F. L. Geis: 1970, Studies in Machiavellianism (Academic Press, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Click, J.: 1996, ‘New Business Standards Focus on Human Rights’, HRMagazine 41(6), 65–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crane, A.: 2001, ‘Unpacking the Ethical Product’, Journal of Business Ethics 30, 361–373.

    Google Scholar 

  • Economist: 1999, ‘Business Ethics: Sweatshop Wars’, 27 February, 68–69.

  • Edmonds, E. and N. Pavcnik: 2002, ‘Does Globalization Increase Child Labor? Evidence from Vietnam’, Working paper No. 8760, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, K. A. and R. B. Freeman: 2001, ‘White Hats or Don Quixotes? Human Rights Vigilantes in the Global Economy’, Working paper No. 8102, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erdem, T. and J. Swait: 1998, ‘Brand Equity as a Signaling Phenomenon’, Journal of Consumer Psychology 7(2), 131–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, G.: 1996, ‘It Isn't Black and White’, Far Eastern Economic Review 159(10), 54–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folkes, V. S. and M. A. Kamins: 1999, ‘Effects of Information About Firms' Ethical and Unethical Actions on Consumers' Attitudes’, Journal of Consumer Psychology 8(3), 243–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fullerton, S., K. B. Kerch and H. R. Dodge: 1996, ‘Consumer Ethics: An Assessment of Individual Behavior in the Market Place’, Journal of Business Ethics 15(7), 805–814.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrett, D. E.: 1986, ‘Consumer Boycotts: Are the Targets Always the Bad Guys' Business and Society Review (Summer), 17–21.

  • Glendon, M. A.: 1998, ‘Propter Honoris Respectum: Knowing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’, Notre Dame Law Review 73(5), 1153–1190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, L. D. and G. E. Fryxell: 1988, ‘An Empirical Study of the Predictors of Corporate Performance: A Multi-Dimensional Analysis’, Journal of Business Ethics 7(12), 951–959.

    Google Scholar 

  • Louviere, J. J., D. A. Hensher and J. D. Swait: 2000, Stated Choice Methods: Analysis and Applications (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Luh, S. S.: 2001, ‘Nike Factories Accused of Intimidating Workers’, Asian Wall Street Journal (17 May).

  • Luzar, E. J. and K. J. Cossé: 1998, ‘Willingness to Pay or Intention to Pay: The Attitude-Behavior Relationship in Contingent Valuation’, Journal of Socio-Economics 27(3), 427–444.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manrai, L. A., A. K. Manrai, D. N. Lascu and J. R. Ryans Jr.: 1997, ‘How Green-Claim Strength and Country Disposition Affect Product Evaluation and Company Image’, Psychology and Marketing 14(5), 511–537.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marymount University Center for Ethical Concerns: 1999, ‘The Consumers and Sweatshops’, November, http://www.marymount.edu/news/ garmentstudy/overview.html.

  • Miller, C.: 1997, ‘Marketers Weigh the Effects of Sweatshop Crackdown’, Marketing News 31(10), 1, 19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osterhus, T. L.: 1997, ‘Pro-Social Consumer Influence Strategies: When and How Do They Work?’, Journal of Marketing 61(4), 16–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitts, R. E., J. K. Wong and D. J. Whalen: 1991, ‘Consumers' Evaluative Structures in Two Ethical Situations: A Means-End Approach’, Journal of Business Research 22(2), 119–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranjan, P.: 2001, ‘Credit Constraints and the Phenomenon of Child Labor’, Journal of Development Economics 64, 81–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rest, J.: 1983, ‘Morality’, in P. H. Mussein (series ed.), and J. Flavell and E. Markman (vol. eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology: Vol. 3. Cognitive Development, 4th Edition (Wiley, New York), pp. 556–629.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rest, J.: 1984, ‘The Major Components of Morality’, in W. Kurtines and J. Gerwitz (eds.), Morality, Moral Behavior, and Moral Development (Wiley, New York), pp. 24–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rest, J.: 1986, Moral Development: Advances in Research and Theory (Praeger, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rest, J., L. Edwards and S. Thoma: 1997, ‘Designing and Validating a Measure of Moral Judgment: Stage Preference and Stage Consistency Approaches’, Journal of Educational Psychology 89(1), 5–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rest, J., D. Narvaez, M. J. Bebeau and S. J. Thoma: 1999, Postconventional Moral Thinking: A Neo-Kohlbergian Approach (Lawrence Erlbaum Press, Mahwah, NJ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, J. A.: 1996, ‘Will the Real Socially Responsible Consumer Please Step Forward?’, Business Horizons 39(1), 79–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shrum, L. J., J. A. McCarty and T. M. Lowrey: 1995, ‘Buyer Characteristics of the Green Consumer and Their Implications for Advertising Strategy’, Journal of Advertising 24(2), 71–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. S. and A. C. Copetas: 1998, ‘Former Chinese Prisoner Claims Adidas Balls Were Made in Prison’, Wall Street Journal (26 June).

  • Sriram, V. and A. M. Forman: 1993, ‘The Relative Importance of Products' Environmental Attributes: A Cross-Cultural Comparison’, International Marketing Review 10(3), 51–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teoh, S. H., I. Welch and C. P. Wazzan: 1999, ‘The Effect of Socially Activist Investment Policies on the Financial Markets: Evidence from The South African Boycott’, Journal of Business 72(1), 35–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoma, S. J., J. Rest and R. Barnett: 1986, ‘Moral Judgment, Behavior, Decision Making, and Attitudes, in J. Rest (ed.), Moral Development: Advances in Theory and Research (Praeger, New York), pp. 133–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • rep.html.

  • Whalen, D. J., R. E. Pitts and J. K. Wong: 1991, ‘Exploring the Structure of Ethical Attributions as a Component of the Consumer Decision Model: The Vicarious Versus Personal Perspective’, Journal of Business Ethics 10(4), 285–293.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Auger, P., Burke, P., Devinney, T.M. et al. What Will Consumers Pay for Social Product Features?. Journal of Business Ethics 42, 281–304 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022212816261

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022212816261

Navigation