When Consumer Behavior Goes Bad: An Investigation of Adolescent Shoplifting

Abstract

Shoplifting is a troubling and widespread aspect of consumer behavior, particularly among adolescents, yet it has attracted little attention from consumer researchers. This article reports and interprets findings on the pervasiveness of shoplifting among adolescents, the characteristics that distinguish adolescent shoplifters from their nonshoplifting peers, and adolescents' views regarding the reasons for this behavior. Our findings contradict some popular stereotypes concerning the typical shoplifter and suggest some rethinking about adolescents' reasons for shoplifting.

Who Approves Fraudulence? Configurational Causes of Consumers’ Unethical Judgments

“…The significant costs from shoplifting are borne by retailers and legitimate customers who suffer from inferior retail experiences and higher prices (Cox et al 1990). Many retailers invest heavily in security systems to prevent and minimize shoplifting.…”

“…Besides classifications, prior research reveals that shoplifting is likely to be influenced by a variety of factors. Causal antecedents include social/peer group pressures (Cox et al 1990(Cox et al , 1993, personality traits (Babin and Babin 1996;Egan and Taylor 2010), consumers' financial situations (Moore 1984), norms Punj 1993, 2004), and deterrence factors such as the likeliness of being caught (Cole 1989).…”

“…A considerable body of previous work on consumer misbehavior and unethical judgments concentrates on sociodemographic attributes to differentiate between honest and dishonest consumers or to assess effects on consumer ethics (e.g., Babin and Griffin 1995;Cox et al 1990;Rawwas 1996;Vitell et al 1991). The findings of these studies indicate that misbehaving consumers cover the entire socioeconomic spectrum (Dawson 1993;Fullerton and Punj 2004).…”

“…A second literature stream takes an offender-oriented perspective and develops categories and profiles of misbehaving consumers (e.g., Cameron 1964;Daunt and Harris 2012;Fullerton and Punj 1993;Hauber 1980;Moore 1984). The third literature stream includes articles that examine specific forms of consumer misbehavior to explain their antecedents and consequences (e.g., Bellur 1981;Cox et al 1990;Wirtz and Kum 2004;Wirtz and McColl-Kennedy 2010).…”

Tomada de decisão de compra de DVDs de filmes piratas: estudo com aplicação de regressão logística

“…Vários autores tratam da dificuldade da conscientização da pirataria como crime, tais como Brasil (2009), Cox et al (1990) e Nettler (1984. Para Brasil (2009), a percepção da violação aos direitos autorais como um crime é dificultada por se tratar de uma propriedade intelectual e imaterial.…”