Consumer resistance against corporate wrongdoing is of growing relevance for business research, as well as for firms and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Considering Fournier's (1998) classification of consumer resistance, this study focuses on boycotting, negative word-of-mouth (WOM), and protest behavior, and these behavioral patterns can be assigned to the so-called ''active rebellion'' subtype of consumer resistance. Existing literature has investigated the underlying motives for rebellious actions such as boycotting. However, research offers little insight into the extent to which motivational processes are regulated by individual ethical ideology. To fill this gap in existing research, this study investigates how resistance motives and ethical ideology jointly influence individual willingness to engage in rebellion against unethical firm behavior. Based on a sample of German residents, PLS path analyses reveal direct effects of resistance motives, counterarguments, and ethical ideologies as well as moderating effects of ethical ideologies, which vary across different forms of rebellion. First, the results indicate that relativism (idealism) is more relevant in the context of boycott participation and protest behavior (negative WOM). Second and contrary to previous findings, this study reveals a positive effect of relativism on behavioral intentions. Third, individuals' ethical ideologies do not moderate the effect of motivation to and arguments against engaging in negative WOM. On the contrary, the empirical analysis reveals significant moderating effects of relativism and idealism with
This study considers fair-trade as a collaborative strategy of dealing with the wicked problem of apparel sweatshops. The study assumes that consumer guilt increases the market share of fair-trade products which can be regarded as a favorable change in the marketing system’s output. The paper develops and validates a model of guilt-induced fair-trade buying based on this notion. The model comprises negative affect, ethical judgment, and self-efficacy as antecedents of anticipated consumer guilt. The study’s results, based on a sample of American consumers (n = 430) and analyzed in a structural equation model, reveal anticipated guilt as a major driver of fair-trade buying behavior. Furthermore, anticipated consumer guilt mediates the effects of its antecedents on fair-trade buying intention. The paper provides implications for macro-decision making (e.g., guilt-inducing nudges) as well as suggestions for marcromarketing research.
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