Abstract
Drawing on the general ethics and social psychology literature, this study presents a model to delineate the major factors likely to affect consumers’ intentions to bring their own shopping bags when visiting a supermarket (called “bring your own bags” or “BYOB” intention). The model is empirically validated using a survey of 250 Chinese consumers. Overall, the findings support the hypothesized direct influence of teleological evaluation and habit on BYOB intention, as well as that of deontological evaluation and teleological evaluation on ethical judgment about the BYOB practice. Teleological evaluation exerts a much stronger influence on ethical judgment than does deontological evaluation. In addition, the findings reveal that consumers who perceive the BYOB practice to be more important are more inclined to rely on their ethical judgment to derive their BYOB intention. Academically, these findings provide some encouraging evidence for the application of general ethics theories to explain green consumption-related practices. Practically, the findings also suggest that a utilitarian approach (i.e., emphasizing the consequences of BYOB) may represent an effective means for the Chinese government to promote BYOB practice among consumers.
References
Aarts H., Verplanken B., Van Knippenberg A. (1998) Predicting Behavior from Actions in the Past: Repeated Decision Making or a Matter of Habit. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28:1355–1374
Aiken L. S., West S. G. (1991), Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. Newbury Park, CA, Sage
Ajzen I. (1988), Attitudes, Personality and Behavior. Milton Keynes, Open University Press
Ajzen I. (1991), The Theory of Planned Behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 50:179–211
Ajzen I., Fishbein M. (1980), Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice-Hall
Albers-Miller N. (1999) Consumer Misbehavior: Why People Buy Illicit Goods. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 16(3):273–287
Al-Khatib J., Vitell S. J., Rawwas M. Y. A. (1997) Consumer Ethics: A Cross-Cultural Investigation. European Journal of Marketing, 31(11/12):750–767
Arbuthnot J., Lingg S. (1975) A Comparison of French and American Environmental Behaviors, Knowledge and Attitudes. International Journal of Psychology, 10:275–281
Baldinger, P.: 2000, China’s Green Market. The China Business Review, March/April, pp. 44–47, and p. 55
Barrow M. (1996) Statistics for Economics, Accounting and Business Studies. Essex, Longman
Beijing Statistical Information Net 2006, (Beijing: Municipal Bureau of Statistics), <www.bjstats.gov.cn>
Bhalla G., Lin L. (1987) Cross-Cultural Marketing Research: A Discussion of Equivalence Issues and Measurement Strategies. Psychology and Marketing, 4:2–85
Buchholz R. A. (1993), Principles of Environmental Management: The Greening of Business. London, Prentice-Hall
Chan A., Wong S., Leung P. (1998) Ethical Beliefs of Chinese Consumers in Hong Kong. Journal of Business Ethics, 17:1163–1170
Chan R. Y. K. (2001) Determinants of Chinese Consumers’ Green Purchase Behavior. Psychology and Marketing, 18(4):389–413
Chan R. Y. K., Tai S. (2001) How Do In-Store Environmental Cues Influence Chinese Shoppers? A Study of Hypermarket Customers in Hong Kong. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 13(4):73–104
Chan R. Y. K., Yam E. (1995) Green Movement in a Newly Industrializing Area: A Survey on the Attitudes and Behavior of the Hong Kong Citizens. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 5:273–284
Cherry J., Fraedrich J. (2002) Perceived Risk, Moral Philosophy and Marketing Ethics: Mediating Influences on Sales Managers’ Ethical Decision Making. Journal of Business Research, 55:951–962
China Daily 2005, “White Pollution Blights Landscape”, May 31 <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-05/31/content_447142.htm>
China Statistical Yearbook 2005, (Beijing: National Bureau of Statistics)
Churchill G. A. Jr. (1996), Basic Marketing Research. New York, The Dryden Press
Conner M., Armitage C. J. (1998) Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior: A Review and Avenues for Further Research. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28(15):1429–1464
Dabholkar P. A., Kellaris J. J. (1992) Toward Understanding Marketing Students’ Ethical Judgment of Controversial Personal Selling Practices. Journal of Business Research, 24:313–329
Dunlap R. E., Van Liere K. D. (1978) The New Environmental Paradigm. Journal of Environmental Education, 9(4):10–19
Dunlap R. E., Van Liere K. D., Mertig A. G., Jones R. E. (2000) Measuring Endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm: A Revised NEP Scale. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3):425–442
Economy E. (1999) Painting China Green: The Next Sino-American Tussle. Foreign Affairs, 78(2):14–18
Flannery B. L., May D. R. (2000) Environmental Ethical Decision Making in the US Metal-Finishing Industry. Academy of Management Journal, 43(4):642–662
Fullerton S. K., Kathleen B., Dodge H. R. (1996) Consumer Ethics: An Assessment of Individual Behavior in the Market Place. Journal of Business Ethics, 15:805–814
Hair J. F., Anderson R. E., Tatham R. L., Black W. C. (1995), Multivariate Data Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall
Hellersberg E. F. (1953) Visual Perception and Spatial Organization: A Study of Performance on the Horn-Hellersberg Test by Chinese Subjects. In: Mead M., Metraux R. (eds.), The Study of Culture at a Distance. Chicago, the University of Chicago Press, pp. 320–328
Hsu F. L. K. (1963), Clan, Caste and Club. New York, Van Nostrand
Hsu F. L. K. (1981), Americans and Chinese: Passage to Differences. Honolulu, the University Press of Hawaii
Hunt S. D., Vitell S. J. (1986) A General Theory of Marketing Ethics. Journal of Macromarketing, 8:5–16
Jenni C. B. (1999) Psychologists in China: Transformation and Humanistic Psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 39(2):26–27
Johnson, T.: 2005, In China’s Dash to Develop, Environment Suffers Severely. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, July 24, p. 1
Jones T. M. (1991) Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations: An Issue-Contingent Model. Academy of Management Review, 16:366–395
Katz E. (1996), Nature as Subject: Human Obligation and Natural Community. Lanham, MD, Rowman and Littlefield
Kluckhohn F. R., Strodtbeck F. L. (1961), Variations in Value Orientation. Evanston, IL, Row, Paterson
Mayo M. A., Marks L. J. (1990) An Empirical Investigation of a General Theory of Marketing Ethics. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 18(2):163–171
Miles T. H. (1992), Tao Te Ching: About the Way of Nature and Its Powers/Lao Tzu: A Translation with Commentary. New York, Avery
Moschis G. P., Churchill G. Jr. (1978) Consumer Socialization: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis. Journal of Marketing Research, 15:599–609
Mullen P. D., Hersey J. C., Iverson D. C. (1987) Health Behavior Models Compared. Social Science and Medicine, 24:973–983
Muncy J. A., Vitell S. J. (1992) Consumer Ethics: An Investigation of the Ethical Beliefs of the Final Consumer. Journal of Business Research, 24:297–311
Nunnally J. C. (1978) Psychometric Theory. New York, McGraw-Hill
Polonsky M. J., Brito P. Q., Pinto J., Higgs-Kleyn N. (2001) Consumer Ethics in the European Union: A Comparison of Northern and Southern Views. Journal of Business Ethics, 31:117–130
Purdy K. A. (1995) Environmental Ethics. In: Roth J. K. (ed.), International Encyclopedia of Ethics. London, Fitzroy-Dearborn, pp. 267–270
Rawwas M. Y. A. (1996) Consumer Ethics: An Empirical Investigation of the Ethical Beliefs of Austrian Consumers. Journal of Business Ethics, 15:1009–1019
Rawwas M. Y. A., Strutton D., Johnson L. W. (1996) An Exploratory Investigation of the Ethical Values of American and Australian Consumers. Journal of Direct Marketing, 10:52–63
Reidenbach R. E., Robin D. P. (1990) Toward the Development of a Multi-Dimensional Scale for Improving Evaluations of Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 9(8):639–653
Reynolds W. M. (1982) Development of Reliable and Valid Short Forms of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Responsibility Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38(1):119–25
Robin D. P., Reidenbach R. E., Forrest P. J. (1996) The Perceived Importance of an Ethical Issue as an Influence on the Ethical Decision Making of Ad Managers. Journal of Business Research, 35:17–28
Stevenson J. S., Bruner G. C. II, Kumar A. (2000) Webpage Background and View Attitudes. Journal of Advertising Research, 40(1/2):29–34
Sue D. W., Kirk B. A. (1972) Psychological Characteristics of Chinese American Students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 19:471–478
Thong J. Y. L., Yap Chee-sing (1998) Testing an Ethical Decision Making Theory: The Case of Soft-lifting. Journal of Management Information Systems, 15:213–237
Towler G., Shepherd R. (1992) Modification of Fishbein and Ajzen’s Theory of Reasoned Action to Predict Chip Consumption. Food Quality and Preference, 3:37–45
Tuorila H., Pangborn R. M. (1988) Behavioral Models in the Prediction of Consumption of Selected Sweet, Salty and Fatty Foods. In: Thomson D. M. H. (ed.), Food Acceptability. London, Elsevier Applied Science, pp. 267–279
Vitell S. J. (2003) Consumer Ethics Research: Review, Synthesis and Suggestions for the Future. Journal of Business Ethics, 43(1/2):33–44
Vitell S. J., Muncy J. A. (1992) Consumer Ethics: An Empirical Investigation of Factors Influencing Ethical Judgments of the Final Consumer. Journal of Business Ethics, 11(8):585–597
Vitell S. J., Muncy J. A. (2005) The Muncy-Vitell Consumer Ethics Scale: A Modification and Application. Journal of Business Ethics, 62:267–275
Wilkes, R. E.: 1978, Fraudulent Behavior by Consumers. Journal of Marketing, October, pp. 67–75
Wylie, M.: 2004, “What If that Plastic Bag Cost You Money? In Some Places, It Does”, Newhouse News␣Service, <www.newhousenews.com/archive/wylie102104.html>
Yau O. H. M. (1988) Chinese Cultural Values: Their Dimensions and Marketing Implications. European Journal of Marketing, 22(5):44–57
Zaichkowsky J. L. (1985) Measuring the Involvement Construct. Journal of Consumer Research, 12:341–352
Zhang J. Y. (1998), Tao, Nature and Environmental Protection. Beijing, Hua Xia Publishing
Acknowledgment
The work described in this paper was supported by a grant from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Dr. Ricky Y. K. Chan is associate professor of the Department of Management and Marketing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests lie in green marketing and behavioral aspects of Chinese consumers. He has contributed to such journals as Business Horizons, European Journal of Marketing, International Business Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of Management Studies and Journal of Services Marketing.
Dr. Y. H. Wong is associate professor of the Department of Management and Marketing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is the author of a book, Guanxi: Relationship Marketing in a Chinese Context (co-authored with Dr. T. K. P. Leung). His research has been published in journals, including Industrial Marketing Management, International Business Review, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Journal of International Consumer Marketing and Journal of Services Marketing.
Dr. T. K. P. Leung is associate professor of the Department of Management and Marketing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research areas include business to business marketing, Chinese cultures and their implications to Sino-foreign negotiation. He has published articles in such journals as European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of International Consumer Marketing and Marketing Intelligence and Planning. He also co-authored a research book with Dr. Y. H. Wong titled Guanxi: Relationship marketing in a Chinese context published by the Haworth Press.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chan, R.Y.K., Wong, Y.H. & Leung, T.K.P. Applying Ethical Concepts to the Study of “Green” Consumer Behavior: An Analysis of Chinese Consumers’ Intentions to Bring their Own Shopping Bags. J Bus Ethics 79, 469–481 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9410-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9410-8