سابقه فعالیت های مصرف اخلاقی در آلمان و ایالات متحده

This study developed an index of ethical consumption activities, applied it to samples of young consumers from Germany (n = 225) and the United States (n = 267), and explored the role of national culture and other factors that theoretically determine these behaviors. Contrary to expectations, the German respondents reported fewer ethical consumption activities than did those from the US and female subjects did not consume more ethically than males. Religiosity had only a weak relationship with ethical consumption activities. Consistent with the hypotheses, both respondent idealism and social engagement behaviors were significant predictors of ethical consumption. These findings add to the literature on sustainable consumption and consumer responsibility by challenging conventional understanding of cross-national and gendered differences.

The expression, “ethical consumerism,” gained wide notice with the March, 1989, inaugural issue of Ethical Consumer magazine, published in the UK (Irving et al., 2002). This term and its cognates (ethical consumption, ethical purchasing) refer to spending that makes a positive difference in the world. Ethical consumer issues include protecting the natural environment through energy efficiency at home, eating organic and caring for the welfare of animals, supporting fair trade and worker’s rights, boycotting products from oppressive regimes, opposing nuclear power and armaments, making ethical investments, and other concerns, such as choosing eco-travel and responsible tourism (Goodwin and Francis, 2003). We define ethical consumption along similar lines but more explicitly consider post-purchase activities. That is, ethical consumption goes beyond shopping choices and covers both product use and product disposal (Nicosia and Mayer, 1976). Ethical consumers may choose to be frugal in their use of energy and consequently turn down lights and furnaces or plan errands to minimize the number of car trips. They may also weigh the environmental costs of discarding dead batteries and worn out electronic devices and keep an eye open for safer reuse or recycling opportunities. Although ethical consumers may share some of the ideology and practices of “voluntary simplifiers” ( Etzioni, 1998 and Shaw and Newholm, 2002), they are not radically anti-consumption and, in the final analysis, remain active shoppers, albeit ones who bring moral, non-economic considerations into their purchasing (Szmigin and Carrigan, 2006). Over the past 20 years, a small but growing research literature has addressed the topic of ethical consumption (Harrison et al., 2005). Levels of analysis have ranged from in-depth, interpretive studies of individual consumers to macromarketing inquiries about the interrelationships among marketing practices, marketing systems, and environmental sustainability (Kilbourne et al., 1997), and of consumer practices and responsibilities within the domain of sustainable consumption (Schaefer and Crane, 2005). This paper approaches the topic through survey research methods and from a sociological perspective. It presents an empirical study of ethical consumption activities, and their antecedents, among young consumers from two different countries: Germany and the United States. The aim of this research is to investigate, through cross-national samples of business students, some of the factors that propel tangible ethical consumption conduct rather than attitudes or intentions toward its praxis. Does a respondent’s national culture, gender, religiosity, social engagement, and personal philosophy make a difference in his or her purchasing? These young consumers are of special interest because their behavioral patterns today may continue for many years. Moreover, some of them will become managers making business decisions that will have social, environmental, and other consequences with a moral dimension (Aspen Institute, 2008). The following section presents the model under investigation and then proffers five hypotheses based upon the supporting literatures. Next we describe the questionnaire design and data collection procedures, report the empirical findings, discuss their meaning, and conclude with suggestions for further investigation.

This study has raised a number of questions about preconceived notions, especially the greater consumer virtue of Germans and women compared to Americans and men. These relationships may still hold for consumers in general, but not necessarily for all national subgroups (Cayla and Arnould, 2008). In macromarketing terms, the social construction of ethical consumption may vary cross-culturally. In the Anglo-American world, individuals pursue such activities. In countries like Germany where social solidarity is important, ethical consumption requires collective solutions. Although studies have examined data gathered from numerous countries, the ethical consumption literature may be somewhat biased toward a British perspective. Britain has had a long history confronting the morality of consumption as a personal attribute (Hilton, 2004). Much the same can be said about American consumption discourses, which have been faulted for their focus on personal lifestyle choices and lack of collective action to reform larger political processes (Maniates, 2002). Further research in this area should consider measuring both ethical consumption attitudes and behavior. Moral beliefs, consumer preferences, and actually buying ethically may not be closely related, what Nicholls and Opal (2005) refer to as the “ethical gap” and Salzer-Mörling and Strannegård (2007) call “de-coupling.” We also recommend the development and testing of a more comprehensive index of ethical consumption activities. Other virtuous purchases, such as buying used merchandise, should probably be added. Similarly, the social engagement index should be refined to better distinguish between active involvement that entails face-to-face contact versus chat room social networking versus “mass-membership” groups where members do not know each other at all. Putnam (1995) contended that face-to-face contact is more conducive to social connectedness than anonymous associations, but the rise of social networking websites, such as Facebook and MySpace, and other electronic communities may have changed the situation.