Investigating boycotts and buycotts as antecedents towards attitude and intention to engage in ethical consumption

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-06-2021-0117
• Published date: 15 March 2022
• Date: 15 March 2022
• Pages: 661-681
• Subject Matter: Economics,Social economics
• Author: Olamide Akintimehin,Ian Phau,Rose Ogbechie,Ayodele Oniku

Investigating boycotts and

buycotts as antecedents towards

attitude and intention to engage in

ethical consumption

Olamide Akintimehin

Lagos Business School, Lagos, Nigeria

Ian Phau

School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, and

Rose Ogbechie and Ayodele Oniku

Department of Business Administration, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose –This paper aims to investigatethe attitude towards ethical consumption and intentionto engage

in ethical consumption behaviour by consumers within a developing economy, building on the ethically

minded consumerbehaviour (EMCB) framework.

Design/methodology/approach –A quantitative research approach was adopted in this research. A

cross-sectional survey was further done in collecting data from 397 respondents through an online

questionnaire. Collected data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25, as

well as the structuralequation model via the Analysis of Moment Structures version 23.

Findings –Corporate social responsibility-mindedness was found to lead to a positive attitude towards

ethical consumption behaviour and an intention to engage in ethical consumption behaviour; recycling-

mindedness did not influence a positive attitude towards ethical consumption behaviour but influenced an

intention to engage in ethical consumptionbehaviour. However, eco-mindedness did not influence a positive

attitude towardsethical consumption behaviour and an intentionto engage in ethical consumption behaviour:

findings from this research showedthat a positive attitude towards ethical consumption behaviour ledto an

intentionto engage in ethical consumption behaviour.

Originality/value –To the best of the authors’knowledge, this researchis the first within a Sub-Saharan

African region of a developing economyto adapt the EMCB framework in investigatingthe extent to which

consumerswithin a developing economy intend to engagein ethical consumption behaviour.

Keywords CSR, Developing economy, EMCB, Eco consumption, Recycling, Sustainability

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

There is a growing trend of shifting focus by business organizations from just providing

affordable quality products or services to the adoption of sustainable development

principles (Garcia-Feijoo et al., 2020).Recent research has shown that millennial and Gen Z

consumers do not just base their purchase decisions on a product or service reflecting good

price, quality, brandimage, status or fashion trends (McKinsey and Company, 2020) but also

are becoming more interested in seeking out and paying more for ethical products and

services (Petro, 2020;Chatzopoulouand de Kiewiet, 2020). Ethical consumption has received

greater attention from researchers and policymakers because of the ethical awareness

Investigating

boycotts and

buycotts

661

Received3 July 2021

Revised30 September 2021

20November 2021

4 January2022

Accepted29 January 2022

InternationalJournal of Ethics and

Systems

Vol.38 No. 4, 2022

pp. 661-681

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2514-9369

DOI 10.1108/IJOES-06-2021-0117

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2514-9369.htm

exhibited by consumers when defining their shopping approaches (Rausch and Kopplin,

2021;Chen et al.,2021;Montagnini et al.,2016). These ethically minded consumers have

developed natural like-mindedness for products and services that are consistent with their

self and social personalitiesand believe that their possessions are a major contributor to and

reflection of their identities(Chattaraman et al.,2010).

While increasing concerns for sustainability and environmentally responsiblebehaviour

are instigating mounting consideration of ethical consumption (Hojnik et al.,2019), the

growing research interest of ethical behaviour by consumers and organizations in the

marketing contextshave been recently fueled by current morality-enthused developmentsin

the business world (e.g. the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal) and in the society (e.g. sexual

abuse accusations targeted towards religious, government and non-government

establishments) (Yaprak and Prince, 2019). These developments would therefore influence

consumers’choices through boycotting,which is defined as the intentional avoidance of an

unethical brand’s product or service, or buycotting, which is defined as the intentional

consumption of an ethicalbrand’s product or service (Kam and Deichert, 2020).

Research has further confirmed the existence of an asymmetric influence of ethical

and unethical actions on consumers (Sudbury-Riley and Kohlbacher, 2016;Carrigan

and Attalla, 2001), such that while consumers punish unethical behaviour through

boycotting, they do not inevitably reward ethical behaviour through buycotting. The

number of consumers who boycott certain products and services due to ethical concerns

is more than those who buycott an ethical brand (Megicks et al., 2008). Consumers are,

therefore, more willing to reject unethical brands than to choose an ethical brand over a

substitute (Trudel and Cotte, 2008). Decisions to boycott or buycott are not solely

determined by the company’spracticesbutinfluenced by key factors such as price or

convenience (Kam and Deichert, 2020). For instance, the decision to boycott is easier if

the market contains substitutes of similar price and quality or if the product is not

highly sought for. Buycotting, on the other hand, is easier if the ethically desirable

product is easily available or cheap (Kam and Deichert, 2020).

Justification for the study

Despite the growing ethical interest of consumers in developing economies of the world,

there is limited research on sustainable consumption behaviour in such regions (Le and

Kieu, 2019;Arli and Tjiptono, 2014). Extant literature research has otherwise focused more

on developed markets across North America,Europe and Asia (Oke et al.,2020;Delistavrou

et al., 2019). Also, irrespective of the fact that sustainable consumption behaviour is

increasingly becoming a global topical issue in most developed and developing economies

(Ukenna et al.,2019), there is clear evidence of a low sustainability drive within a numberof

these developing countries, particularly within Sub-Saharan African (SSA) regions.

Demographic shifts which have led to a rapidly growing SSA segment representing

approximately 16.72% of the world population (Worldometer, 2021), shows that this low

sustainability drive would have long-term negative impacts on the whole world if left

ignored. Therefore, this issue needs to be addressed through strategic policy

recommendations.

To the best of the researchers’knowledge, there is a scarcity of research on ethical

consumption in the SSA region, particularly Nigeria which happens to be the largest nation

within SSA. Nigerian studies relating to sustainable consumption behaviour have only

focused on ecologically minded or green consumption behaviour (Ukenna et al.,2019).

This study would, therefore, contribute to ethical consumption behaviour research by

integrating the three key dimensions of ethical consumption behaviour [eco-mindedness,

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