Social desirability bias can change the results from marketing experiments and surveys. However, there are few illustrations that show how serious social desirability bias can be. This research starts by reviewing the options for identifying and reducing social desirability bias in experiments and surveys and for controlling its effects. Then two examples that use a social desirability bias scale or a transformation of it (that may improve its utility) as control variables are described. Data from a national panel survey in the United States is used to show that controlling social desirability bias can change the set of demographic variables that are judged to be statistically significant and can have important effects on coefficient sizes. These illustrations will hopefully stimulate more consideration of social desirability bias, more use of bias measures in marketing studies, and more research on the control options.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer attitudes toward genetically modified (GM) and organic foods with a broader list of control variables that includes green attitudes, impulsive purchasing, concerns about privacy, religiosity, birth order, and political preferences. Design/methodology/approach US internet panelists were asked about their preferences for purchasing non-GM produce, non-GM cereal, and organic products even if they cost a little more. They were also asked if genetically engineered foods are safe to consume. Responses to these four questions were dependent variables in binary logistic regressions. The sample size was 725 adults. Findings Attitudes toward non-GM produce and non-GM cereal were linked with different variables. Green attitudes were positively linked with non-GM and organic food attitudes. Impulsive purchases, a religiosity factor, and a privacy concern factor were linked with non-GM but not organic food attitudes. Social desirability bias was also significant. The genetically engineered food model identified some unique linkages with the control variables, suggesting that these terms may not improve consumer confidence with food. Originality/value New measures and several variables that researchers independently found to be significant were tested together in models and found to be linked with organic and non-GM food attitudes. Some expected relationships were not found. The results provide better profiles of consumers who have strong attitudes toward GM and organic foods.

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Research on environmental attitudes may be affected by three methodological issues. First, country culture can influence green attitudes. This research found that environmental attitudes in countries with distinctive power distance, individualistic, or indulgent cultures tended to differ from the attitudes in other countries. Second, many green studies use convenience samples of students. Student responses often differ from the general public’s responses. The problem of relying on student samples is illustrated by the second study of cultural effects. Third, social desirability bias can inflate self-reported green attitudes and needs to be controlled. Although the consequences of social desirability bias may not be appreciated by some researchers, many businesses understand the effects and are waiting for consumer behaviors to catch up with their self-reported attitudes. By improving survey methodologies, green researchers can provide better insights to businesses and policy makers about the state of the gap between consumer attitudes and behaviors.