Status Consumption Effect on Moral Identity - Sustainable Consumption Relationship: Bittersweet, or Bitter-Only?

Abstract

This study aims to explore how moral identity is connected to sustainable consumption and investigate how status consumption might influence this relationship. While moral identity has been recognized as an influencer in shaping sustainable behavior, the exact relational dynamics and predictive power of its two scopes—internalization and symbolization—remain largely unclear. On the other hand, understanding how people, especially in developing countries, behave sustainably and cut back on unsustainable consumption, is under studied despite its crucial importance for the future of their economies. Using self-concept theory as the theoretical framework, this paper’s goal is to investigate how collectivist mindset as an actual-self affect moral identity internalization and symbolization and how moral identity impacts sustainable consumption curtailment and buying behaviors of Turkish consumers. Additionally, this investigation looked at the moderating effect of status consumption on the moral identity-sustainable consumption relationship. The findings indicate that collectivist mindset influences moral identity dimensions and these dimensions significantly affect sustainable consumption buying and curtailment behaviors. Furthermore, the findings also imply that status consumption weakens the relationship among moral identity and sustainable consumption dimensions except the connection between moral identity symbolization and sustainable consumption buying behavior.