Transformations and translations of Japanese business–society

Moral disengagement and neutralization techniques as explanations of unethical behavior

“…The mean of the relevant items for each locus of moral disengagement is calculated to reflect the moral disengagement level of participants in the behavior, agency, effects, and victim loci respectively. Neutralization techniques are measured with the scale utilized by Fukukawa et al (2017), which includes one item for each of the five neutralization techniques (Sykes & Matza, 1957). Agreement with the items is measured with a seven‐point Likert scale.…”

“…In addition to moral disengagement (Bandura et al, 1996), prior research on unethical consumer behavior uses neutralization techniques proposed by Sykes and Matza (1957) to explain why consumers do not engage in ethical consumer behavior (or actively engage in unethical consumer behavior). Neutralization techniques (Sykes & Matza, 1957) are used to explain counterfeit consumption (Bian et al, 2016; Koay, 2018; Omeraki Çekirdekci & Baruonu Latif, 2019), digital piracy (Hinduja, 2007, 2018; Phau et al, 2016; Siponen et al, 2012), meat consumption (as opposed to vegetarianism, which is positively related to animal welfare, Dowsett et al, 2018), purchasing Fairtrade products (Brunner, 2014; Chatzidakis et al, 2007), non‐green purchasing (Johnstone et al, 2015), deviant consumer behavior (Dootson et al, 2018; Harris & Daunt, 2011; Harris & Dumas, 2009; Rosenbaum et al, 2011), ethically questionable behavior (Fukukawa et al, 2017; Fukukawa et al, 2019) and the lack of sustainable consumer behavior (Gruber & Schlegelmilch, 2014).…”

“…The moral recoding adjustment occurs in one of the four activated loci of moral disengagement (behavior, agency, effects, victim), followed by a detailed excuse or justification (neutralization technique). This process of situational alteration occurs when the harmful action conflicts with the individual's ethical or social norms and helps enable the consumer to maintain their self-identity as an ethical being (Chatzidakis, 2008;Fukukawa et al, 2017;Kaptein & Van Helvoort, 2019;Sykes & Matza, 1957). This research also examines the role of locus of control (chance) and trait cynicism as antecedents to moral disengagement in the context of unethical consumer behavior (Bray et al, 2011;Chowdhury & Fernando, 2014;Detert et al, 2008;Goh & Balaji, 2016).…”

“…The moral recoding adjustment occurs in one of the four activated loci of moral disengagement (behavior, agency, effects, victim), followed by a detailed excuse or justification (neutralization technique). This process of situational alteration occurs when the harmful action conflicts with the individual's ethical or social norms and helps enable the consumer to maintain their self‐identity as an ethical being (Chatzidakis, 2008; Fukukawa et al, 2017; Kaptein & Van Helvoort, 2019; Sykes & Matza, 1957).…”