The Phantom of the ‘Responsible Consumer’: Unmasking the Intention–Action Gap with an Indirect Questioning Technique

Sven Kilian,Andreas Mann

doi:10.3390/su132313394

Abstract

The intention-action gap stands out in research on sustainable consumption for decades. The current research explores the role of socially desirable responding (SDR) in the appearance of this gap by utilising an indirect questioning technique. Two online experiments (n=306 and n=334) demonstrate, in line with most market surveys, that consumers present themselves as highly responsible when being assessed with the standard survey measurement approach (i.e., direct questioning). However, the responses of participants toward the exact same measures of consumers’ social responsibility perceptions and behavioural intentions heavily drop when applying an indirect questioning technique, indicating a substantial overstatement of consumers’ social responsibility perceptions in traditional market surveys. Furthermore, this study provides novel evidence regarding the validity and underlying mechanism of the indirect questioning technique, thereby alleviating long-lasting concerns about this method. Implications for the intention–action gap discussion and consumer ethics research are proposed.

Highlights

IntroductionOne of the most pervasive notions in research on sustainable consumption and consumer social responsibility is the so-called attitude–action or intention–action gap [1,2]
We calculated the correlation coefficients for the relationships of subjective norms with feelings of moral obligation and with purchase intention, respectively, for the indirect questioning condition, i.e., where feelings of moral obligation and purchase intention were measured with indirect questioning
That means the predicted relationships derived from norm activation theory and theory of reasoned action were apparent when feelings of moral obligation and behavioural intentions were measured with indirect questioning, while subjective norms were measured with direct questioning

Summary

Introduction

One of the most pervasive notions in research on sustainable consumption and consumer social responsibility is the so-called attitude–action or intention–action gap [1,2]. The large inconsistency between what consumers say and how they behave in the marketplace is considered one of the most puzzling challenges for both academics and practitioners aiming to understand and motivate sustainable consumption [3,4]. Most inferences for the presence of this gap derive from contrasting information of two separate sources, i.e., consumer self-reports and market shares [5,6,7]. Within self-reports a majority of consumers persistently expresses strong support and high intentions to consider social-ecological aspects within private consumption e.g., [8,9]. Market agencies reveal ongoing low market shares of products that actively endorse high social-ecological standards (e.g., organic or fair trade products) and relatively insusceptible market shares of products from companies that violate commonly held social-ecological values (e.g., through usage of sweat shop labour and resource squandering) [10]

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