An introduction to special issue: sustainability and ethical consumerism

We are pleased to present this special issue of Management Decision, the aim of which is to advance an in-depth understanding of the area of sustainability and ethical consumerism and to proffer new possibilities for future research. This topic has been drawing significant attention, more so in recent decades, as was evident in the large number of manuscripts that were submitted to this issue. We are delighted to introduce the ten articles in this special issue. Each of these papers furthers the understanding of sustainability and ethical consumerism and, together, they provide novel directions for future studies. We first explicate the main concepts that form the basis of this special issue: sustainability and ethical consumerism. We then provide an overview of the articles in this issue, highlighting various topics pertaining to this research area

Heading Home? Reshoring and Sustainability Connectedness from a Home‐Country Consumer Perspective

Abstract: Extensive globalisation has presented several sustainability challenges highlighted in the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. These include the environmental impact of global product procurement and manufacturing and the irregular treatment of indigenous workers in developing countries. Thus, reshoring, defined as a firm's voluntary strategy to partially or totally relocate production to the home country, is gaining traction. However, most research on reshoring focuses on firms, leaving the consumers’ perspective under‐researched. Here, we examine British consumers’ perspectives on reshoring to the UK and sustainability. By employing the theoretical lens of connectedness, anchored in attachment theory, we conducted 30 in‐depth interviews using projective techniques and analysed the data using the constant comparison method. We found that consumers not only positively viewed their connectedness with the concept of reshoring from a sustainability perspective, but also appraised it from a global perspective, demonstrating empathy towards the host country. Further, they doubted corporations’ motives regarding reshoring. Three theoretical dimensions emerged based on consumers’ connectedness with reshoring and sustainability, specifically, supporting reshoring conditionally, inclusive reshoring, and doubting reshoring

The impact of proximity on consumer fair trade engagement and purchasing behavior : the moderating role of empathic concern and hypocrisy

The article reports the findings of an empirical study among consumers, regarding the impact of physical, social, and psychological proximity on their engagement to the fair trade idea and purchasing behavior. Based on a random sample of 211 British and 112 Indian consumers and using structural equation modeling, it was found that high levels of physical, social, and psychological proximity leads to high consumer fair trade engagement. Moreover, consumer fair trade engagement was confirmed to have a positive impact on fair trade purchasing behavior. Furthermore, consumer empathic concern was found to positively moderate the association between proximity and consumer fair trade engagement, while the opposite was true with regard to consumer hypocrisy. Finally, consumer nationality was found to have a control effect on physical, social, and psychological proximity, with the latter felt stronger among Indian, as opposed to British consumers

Feasibility study : FairFinder : using mobile app technology for sustainable cities

The relationship between mobile technology applications and ethical shopping holds immense potential to impact the key stakeholders- through shifting the consumer shopping patterns and influence the corporate agenda of the shops and retailers selling fair trade products. Cardiff is the world’s first fair trade capital city based on the principles such as; support from the local council in serving fair trade products, availability of fair trade products for consumers in retail outlets, raising awareness through media campaigns, and presence of a local fair trade steering group. While there is a clear demand from the public in Cardiff for fair trade products, there is no platform to provide comprehensive information regarding the availability of fair trade products to the people in Cardiff which could help them in purchase decisions. This feasibility study serves as a starting point for the development of FairFinder, a mobile app for providing consolidated information about the range of fair trade products. We analysed the fair trade and technology market and carried out a cost benefit analysis of the project. To understand stakeholders’ view point, we conducted qualitative interviews and focus groups with consumers, volunteers and industry stakeholders and examined their motivations, pain points and opportunities regarding fair trade. We also employed relevant DESIGNSCAPES tool to analyse the value creation through various stake holder relationships. The analysis reveals that the total project cost falls below the projected revenue through advertisement monetisation, thus, confirming the feasibility of the FairFinder study. Based on the stakeholders’ analysis, we found that there is a huge demand for a platform which could provide consolidated information regarding the availability and impact of fair trade. We also provide recommendations and scope for scalability of the project

Exploring behavioural changeability in fair trade consumption

Ethical consumer behaviour is subject to change. Consumer segmentation has, previously, conformed to preconceptions of demographics and psychographics, which fail to reflect the dynamics of consumer purchase behaviour towards fair trade purchase. Employing a longitudinal qualitative grounded theory approach, this paper examines the discrepancy between the stated and actual behaviour in the substantive area of fair trade. Data were collected from thirty two respondents, using in-depth interviews, in tandem with till receipts. The findings reveal that ethical consumer behaviour is often inconsistent and open to change. This study develops the concept of behavioural mutability and explicates the causes of behavioural change when consumers are faced with the choice of buying a fair trade product. The major contribution of this paper is the recognition of theoretical and methodological shortcomings in existing fair trade consumer behaviour literature regarding consumer segmentation, and the challenges these shortcomings pose, including understanding the behavioural change in the context of fair trade purchase. This paper provides a valuable tool for academics and practitioners to better understand the dynamics and nuances of consumer behaviour towards Fairtrade