Impact of ethical certifications and product involvement on consumers decision to purchase ethical products at price premiums in an emerging market context

In emerging markets, instances of increasing consumers focus on ethical aspects of the product are observed. To this end, we aim to examine the influence of two ethical certifications and two product involvement types on consumers willingness to purchase ethical products at price premiums in the Indian market. No animal cruelty certification and no child labor certification are chosen as the ethical certifications, and a shirt and a bar of soap are chosen as high and low involvement product categories. Data is collected from 206 respondents for the experiment, in which consumers willingness to purchase a product is evaluated for different product scenarios. The results of the study indicate that individuals show highest willingness to purchase products (a shirt or a soap) when both certifications (no animal cruelty, no child labor) are present. However, in comparing individual certifications, individuals prefer no animal cruelty certification for a shirt and no child labor certification for a bar of soap. The study provides insights to practitioners regarding consumers present perception of ethical aspects in the product and directions to increase sales of ethical products in the Indian market.publishedVersio

Impact of Work from Home and Family Support on Indian Women’s Work Productivity During COVID-19

The work-from-home practices initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic have caused a paradigmatic shift in how we work. Work from home (WFH) led to an intermingling of the domestic and professional spaces, and the WFH phenomenon has asymmetrically impacted women’s work. In such a scenario, women professionals experience a greater work–life conflict, and the significance of family support comes to the fore. Studying this phenomenon in the Indian context is interesting because the primary responsibility for Indian women lies in the domestic arena. Female Indian professionals are expected to seamlessly fulfil their domestic duties no matter how demanding their job is. The multiplicity of challenges that affect women professionals’ productivity at work only gets compounded when women are expected to work from the domestic sphere where the demand of domestic duties constantly confronts them. Several global scholars have indicated that the burden of domestic duties was greater for women during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the burden of child-care, elderly care and cooking activities increased as outsourcing such activities was not an easily available option during the lockdowns which led to reduced work productivity amongst women. However, this study revealed that Indian female professionals reported better work productivity than female professionals working from their workspace. Indian women are used to fulfilling domestic and professional duties even prior to the pandemic, and Indians perceive greater satisfaction in interpersonal relational experiences rather than individualistic career goals. The study also revealed that family support did not increase when women were working from home, but the increase in family support increased women’s work productivity. Findings also indicate that female professionals with children showed significantly lower work productivity than female professionals (married and unmarried) without children

Impact of ethical certifications and product involvement on consumers decision to purchase ethical products at price premiums in an emerging market context

In emerging markets, instances of increasing consumers focus on ethical aspects of the product are observed. To this end, we aim to examine the influence of two ethical certifications and two product involvement types on consumers willingness to purchase ethical products at price premiums in the Indian market. No animal cruelty certification and no child labor certification are chosen as the ethical certifications, and a shirt and a bar of soap are chosen as high and low involvement product categories. Data is collected from 206 respondents for the experiment, in which consumers willingness to purchase a product is evaluated for different product scenarios. The results of the study indicate that individuals show highest willingness to purchase products (a shirt or a soap) when both certifications (no animal cruelty, no child labor) are present. However, in comparing individual certifications, individuals prefer no animal cruelty certification for a shirt and no child labor certification for a bar of soap. The study provides insights to practitioners regarding consumers present perception of ethical aspects in the product and directions to increase sales of ethical products in the Indian market

Behavioral reasoning perspectives to brand love toward natural products: Moderating role of environmental concern and household size

Consumers do not easily trust brands’ claims of naturalness, making it essential to understand the drivers of loyalty and the underlying brand love for such products. Responding to this need, the present study developed a conceptual model based on the Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT) to examine the antecedents of brand love. The model was tested using data collected through a cross-sectional survey. The findings suggest that health consciousness is positively associated with reasons for consuming natural products and attitude, which, in turn, are also positively associated with each other. At the same time, reasons for consuming natural products and attitude are positively associated with brand love toward natural products. Whereas, reasons against consuming natural products are negatively associated with attitude and have no association with either health consciousness or brand love. Furthermore, of the two proposed moderators (environmental concern and household size, only environmental concern had a moderation effect on the association of brand love with its antecedents. This study thus provides useful, practical, and managerial implications

Behavioral reasoning perspectives to brand love toward natural products:moderating role of environmental concern and household size

Abstract Consumers do not easily trust brands’ claims of naturalness, making it essential to understand the drivers of loyalty and the underlying brand love for such products. Responding to this need, the present study developed a conceptual model based on the Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT) to examine the antecedents of brand love. The model was tested using data collected through a cross-sectional survey. The findings suggest that health consciousness is positively associated with reasons for consuming natural products and attitude, which, in turn, are also positively associated with each other. At the same time, reasons for consuming natural products and attitude are positively associated with brand love toward natural products. Whereas, reasons against consuming natural products are negatively associated with attitude and have no association with either health consciousness or brand love. Furthermore, of the two proposed moderators (environmental concern and household size, only environmental concern had a moderation effect on the association of brand love with its antecedents. This study thus provides useful, practical, and managerial implications