A re-examination of socially responsible consumption and its measurement

The relationship between young people׳s transit use and their perceptions of equity concepts in transit service provision

“…Higher perceived service quality relates to higher perceived ease of payment, which links to higher frequency of transit use. The results largely agree with the results for consumption of products and services in other industrial sectors (e.g., Arredondo Trapero et al, 2010;Lotz et al, 2013;Webb et al, 2008;Xia et al, 2004). The agreement is non-trivial because transit is a regulated public service and thus essentially differs from private sector products and services.…”

“…These concepts are fairness and corporate social responsibility (CSR), known to influence consumer satisfaction and purchase intentions of products in other industrial sectors (Xia et al, 2004;Webb et al, 2008). Previous empirical findings from other industrial sectors show that fairness perceptions explain consumer satisfaction, favorable attitudes towards the supplier (e.g., Webb et al, 2008), willingness to pay for goods or services (e.g., Chung et al, 2011), and eventually purchase intentions (e.g., Schein, 2002). Accordingly, we postulate three hypotheses about the linkage between fairness and transit use:…”

“…Growing numbers of consumers are increasingly concerned about fairness for themselves as well as others through socially responsible consumption (e.g., Arnot et al, 2006;Reinstein and Song, 2012;Webb et al, 2008). Evidence shows that customer loyalty, willingness to pay and purchase intentions are associated with perceived fairness, because consumers are willing to pay higher prices, associate higher quality and switch to products that are linked to social corporate responsibility and fair trade (e.g., Martin et al, 2009;Reinstein and Song, 2012; e.g., Lotz et al, 2013).…”

“…Travel mode fairness in this study refers to the perceived travel time by transit in comparison with travel time by car between the same origin and destination as the reference travel mode. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be defined as the consideration by companies of the effects of their actions on relevant others (e.g., customers, community), their commitment to improving the well-being of their customers, and their actions towards maximizing long-run societal benefits (Webb et al, 2008). As a measure of CSR in the transport sector, we propose spatial equity in service provision to the population of young people across the metropolitan area, because the consideration of social impacts and distributional effects by transit operators fundamentally relates to the quality of life and the social well-being of individuals and communities in urban and peripheral areas (e.g., Geurs et al, 2009;Jones and Lucas, 2012).…”

“…This study acknowledges the comparative nature of fairness in the design of the questionnaire items as comparative statements referring to reference population groups and transport modes. Thirdly, previous studies disregarded also the difference between fairness to oneself and for others, both translating into consumption patterns and preferences, as consumers begin to consider the public consequences of their actions and their ability to induce social change through their purchasing power (Xia et al, 2004;Webb et al, 2008). This study addresses price and travel mode fairness to one self, as well as equity in spatial transit provision for others.…”