The role of neutralisation in consumers' ethical decision-making

Consumers often behave in ways that are in apparent contradiction to their expressed ethical concerns (e.g. Carrigan and Attalla, 2001). In light of this, it is imperative that theories of consumer's ethical decision-making explain the ways in which people justify these acts to themselves and others. This thesis advances the concept of neutralisation (Sykes and Matza, 1957) in order to explore how individuals soften or eliminate the impact that counter-attitudinal and norm-contradictive behaviour can have upon their self-concept and social relationships. A mixed method approach was adopted, comprising of two qualitative and two quantitative studies. The first qualitative study examined the applicability of neutralisation in consumers' support for the Fair Trade movement, a context which has been identified as of particular concern in previous research. Subsequently, the role of neutralisation in ethical decision-making was hypothesised within the theoretical framework of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1985, 1991). A second qualitative study enabled the operationalisation of the TPB and neutralisation constructs and informed the design of the quantitative studies. A survey study and an experiment served to test the main research hypotheses. Results indicated that neutralisation has a significant, negative effect on intention and it precedes actual behaviour. This represents the first successful attempt to integrate neutralisation with an existing account of ethical decision-making. Despite this, there was no conclusive indication that neutralisation moderates the norm-intention, attitude-intention and intention-behaviour relationships. The experimental study did not appear to confirm the causal role of neutralisation but it did suggest possible moderating effects of the personal (rather than social) acceptance of neutralising beliefs. These findings are discussed in the light of previous studies and implications for neutralisation and ethical decision-making research are explored

The Möbius strip of market spatiality: mobilizing transdisciplinary dialogues between CCT and the marketing mainstream

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2020-02-17, accepted 2020-11-25, registration 2020-12-12, pub-electronic 2021-01-25, online 2021-01-25, pub-print 2021-06Publication status: PublishedAbstract: This paper develops the Möbius strip as an ‘ordering theory’ (Sandberg and Alvesson, 2020) that brings CCT studies into dialogue with mainstream marketing approaches. The aim is to work toward a transdisciplinary understanding of market spatiality, a topic that has become increasingly important for theorists and practitioners (Warnaby and Medway, 2013; Castilhos et al., 2016; Chatzidakis et al., 2018). Building on psychosocial interpretations of the Möbius strip as a ‘tactical’ way of thinking, a range of insights and ideas are organized along a single strip of theorization. This paper maps a continuous plane of logic between the concepts of space, place, emplacement, spatiality, implacement, and displacement. The potential applications of the Möbius strip are then demonstrated by showing how the transdisciplinary topic of ‘atmosphere’ can be theorized from multiple perspectives. The paper concludes by exploring how the Möbius strip might also be employed in other areas of marketing theory and practice, potentially generating further transdisciplinary conversations between CCT and the marketing mainstream

Introduction to the Special Issue: A Macromarketing Perspective on Alternative Economies

Alternative economies respond to the precarious conditions underpinning the everyday lives of individuals, and their lack of access to and scarcity of resources and competences. Recently there has been increasing interest in the field of macromarketing towards such alternative forms of exchange and marketplaces. Nonetheless, current understandings of alternative economies remain fragmented. The objective of this special issue is to advance our understanding of alternative economies and stimulate future research within this domain. Seven articles are included in this special issue of the Journal of Macromarketing. Each article presents forward-looking research exploring one of three aspects of alternative economies: (1) the paradigms used within alternative economies, (2) the institutional logics that guide action within these systems and (3) the implications to individuals, localities, markets, and society. The editors of the special issue briefly introduce the topic, provide a definition of alternative economies, offer an overview of the articles and their contributions, and direction for future research bringing together alternative economies and macromarketing

We all buy slave-made products: here’s how we avoid feeling guilty

No abstract available