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Measuring Unethical Consumer Behavior Across Four Countries

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Abstract

The huge amounts spent on store security and crime prevention worldwide, not only costs international businesses, but also amounts to a hidden tax on those law-binding consumers who bear higher prices. Most previous research has focused on shoplifting and ignored many other ways in which consumers cheat businesses. Using a hybrid of both qualitative research and survey approaches in four countries, an index of 37 activities was developed to examine consumers’ unethical activities across UK, US, France, and Austria. The findings indicate that around three quarters of consumers in all four countries can be classified as heavy offenders for these minor cheats. The paper argues that government agencies, marketers, and retailers should adopt more pro-active preventative approaches, rather than reactive loss limitation measures to combat unethical behavior.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Management, Cass Business School, City of London University, London, U.K.

    Vince W. Mitchell

  2. Faculty of Management, Cass Business School, City of London University, London, U.K.

    George Balabanis

  3. Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Augasse 2-6, A-1090, Vienna, Austria

    Bodo B. Schlegelmilch

  4. Sport Management, Division of Kinesiology, The University of Michigan, 1402 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, U.S.A.

    T. Bettina Cornwell

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  1. Vince W. Mitchell
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  2. George Balabanis
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  3. Bodo B. Schlegelmilch
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  4. T. Bettina Cornwell
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Correspondence to Vince W. Mitchell.

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Mitchell, V.W., Balabanis, G., Schlegelmilch, B.B. et al. Measuring Unethical Consumer Behavior Across Four Countries. J Bus Ethics 88, 395–412 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9971-1

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