Consumer Guilt Research Articles

Consumer Excuse Mechanisms, Neutralization Techniques in Stolen Goods Markets

ABSTRACT The act of wittingly or suspiciously buying stolen goods is ethically questionable, legally punishable consumer behavior. Hence, purchasing stolen goods can lead to various cognitive and emotional sufferings, such as cognitive dissonance, ethical conflict, and feelings of guilt. In the context of buying stolen goods, consumer dissonance is a very significant predictor of consumer guilt. However, our findings did not confirm an expected positive relationship between ethical conflict and guilt. While buying stolen goods, consumer excuse and neutralization strategies are used to cope with both cognitive and emotional sufferings resulting from wrongdoings. The findings of this study are based on survey research conducted among the consumers of the stolen goods market, locally named Chor Bazaar (Theif Market) in India, focusing on Delhi and Mumbai. The findings confirmed that consumer’s use of excuse and neutralization strategies moderates the relationship between consumer guilt and the purchase of stolen goods. However, there is no direct relationship between neutralization and the purchase of stolen goods.

Having less or saving more: the role of social responsibility perception in reducing guilt over luxury purchases

PurposeThis paper aims to challenge the notion that “having-less” – limiting consumption of scarce resources to a select few – represents a social responsibility route toward guilt reduction. It rather argues that “saving-more” – the purposeful pursuit of conscious and collaborative consumption – captures consumers’ true representations of responsible luxury which in turn reduces anticipated guilt.Design/methodology/approachSix experiments using different operationalizations of saving-more (vs. having-less) and a mix of fictitious and real luxury brands were conducted on real luxury buyers.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that saving-more (vs. having-less) leads to a stronger purchase intention; an effect explained by a higher responsible luxury perception and lower anticipated guilt associated with saving-more (vs. having-less). Furthermore, the ability of saving-more (vs. having-less) in building responsible luxury perception and reducing anticipated guilt is stronger (vs. weaker) when luxury is distributed based on deservingness (vs. entitlement).Research limitations/implicationsThis research proposes a novel distinction between two responsible luxury approaches: promoting limited consumption for business goals, that is, having-less and promoting conscious consumption for societal goals, that is, saving-more.Practical implicationsBrand managers can enhance responsible luxury perception and reduce consumer guilt through corporate communication, product communication and collaborative product accessibility modes. Managers must also convince consumers that their access to luxury is based on real achievements.Originality/valueThis study empirically invalidates the notion that merely invoking scarcity and rarity tactics is an expression of social responsibility. It integrates social responsibility and fairness accounts of guilt into a coherent theory of guilt over luxury consumption.

Predicting Eco-labeled Product Buying Behavior in an Emerging Economy through an Extension of Theory of Planned Behavior

Purpose: This research attempts to explore the determinants of eco-labeled product buying behavior by extending the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Theoretical framework: To build a comprehensive predicting model, environmental knowledge, perceived value, environmental concern, product knowledge, self-efficacy, consumer guilt, and eco-labeling are added to the traditional TPB. Method: The proposed conceptual model was tested by conducting a questionnaire survey on consumers in an emerging economy. The partial least square-based structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Results and conclusion: The results showed that product knowledge moderates the relationship between subjective norms and eco-labeled product buying intention. The results also reveal that attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norm mediate the association between environmental concern and eco-labeled product buying intention. In addition to TPB constructs, consumer guilt, eco-labeling, perceived value, self-efficacy, and environmental knowledge significantly affect buying intention. Originality/value: The current research addresses the research gap by empirically examining the in-depth effects, and the underlying mechanism of eco-label informed green purchase and its acceptance in Malaysian perspectives.

Mitigating consumer guilt through resale

PurposeThis research draws on drive reduction theory and mental accounting theory to understand how the prospect of reselling used items can influence consumer feelings of consumption guilt and impact their willingness to purchase new products.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted two studies with between-subjects designs to explore this relationship. In Study 1, we examined the correlation between consumers' perceived guilt and their willingness to buy a new product, considering their awareness of the product’s resale potential. Study 2 delved into the aspect of reselling a similar old product already owned by the consumer.FindingsThe findings suggest three key insights. First, consumers' awareness of resale potential significantly affects their guilt perception and purchasing decisions. Second, the resale reference price (RRP) can decrease guilt perception but increase the intention to buy a new product. Lastly, when consumers are aware of the resale value of a previously owned product that is similar to the desired new product, the effect of the RRP on their purchasing intent is mediated by consumer guilt.Originality/valueThis research fills a theoretical gap by empirically exploring the emotional motivations behind consumer resale behavior. It presents a novel perspective on how resale activities can shape feelings of guilt and impact purchasing decisions. This offers important implications for understanding the dynamics of consumer behavior in the second-hand market.

Consumers’ evaluation of ethical luxury advertisements: the roles of ethical consumer guilt and self-construal

PurposeThe authors investigated the factors influencing consumer evaluations of advertisements for ethical luxury products that incorporate animal rights and protection concerns. The authors empirically examined how ethical messages influence advertisement persuasiveness through ethical consumer guilt and positively impact consumer evaluations of ethical luxury products. Furthermore, the authors explored the moderating role of consumers’ independent versus interdependent self-construals.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted four experimental studies on the interplay among ethicality, luxury brand positioning and self-construal. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that moral emotions were responsible for the effect of ethical luxury advertisements that address animal welfare on brand attitude.FindingsAdvertisement messages signaling a luxury brand’s ethical efforts increase empathy through ethical consumer guilt, thereby generating favorable attitudes toward luxury products. However, this effect is limited to consumers with independent self-construal in South Korea and the United States of America.Originality/valueThe authors offer novel insights into the roles of ethical consumer guilt and empathy in the positive effects of ethical messages from luxury brands. Furthermore, the authors identified brand type and self-construal as boundary conditions for the effects observed across different consumer groups and markets.

Exploring the role of self-conscious emotions between consumer minimalism and rental behavior

PurposeThis research aims to examine how consumer minimalism (CM), self-conscious feelings (such as consumer guilt (CG) and consumer pride (CP)) and the inclination to use rental services interact. It also looks at how attitudes toward pro-environmental advertisements affect these relationships as a moderator, recognizing the importance of pro-environmental advertising in influencing consumer behavior.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a quantitative methodology to investigate the aforementioned associations. Survey questionnaires are used to collect data, which is then analyzed using AMOS 25 and Process Macro to generate meaningful insights.FindingsThe findings indicate that the willingness to use rental services is directly associated with CM, while self-conscious emotions (SCEs) play the role of a mediator in this relationship.Research limitations/implicationsIt is essential to recognize the limitations of this study. There may be other variables at play, but the research focuses on SCEs (CG and CP) and their role as mediators. The findings must be interpreted based on the selected research methodology and sample size. Future research could investigate additional variables and enlarge the sample size to increase generalizability.Practical implicationsTargeted marketing can leverage CM, SCEs and willingness to use rental services. Recognizing the moderating effect of attitude toward pro-environmental advertisements can help create more effective campaigns promoting environmental behavior.Originality/valueUnderpinned by SCEs, the current study is one of the initial studies to explain how CM encourages responsible environmental behavior through access-based consumption models.

Consumer guilt proneness scale—Assessing individual differences in responses to transgressive consumption situations

AbstractFeeling or anticipating guilt associated with consumption situations may lead consumers to adjust their behaviors to avoid those unpleasant feelings and better conform to their personal, moral, and social standards. The experience of guilt regarding a consumption situation is influenced by both contextual factors, including marketing communications, and personal traits, namely the individual's proneness to feel guilt related to consumption. While research has examined the influence of contextual variables on guilt, the individual predisposition to feel guilt associated with consumption has received little attention. Understanding individual consumer guilt proneness can assist managers in customizing strategies to diverse guilt responses: recognizing varying susceptibility to guilt enables personalized approaches across the consumer journey, fostering empathetic managerial actions. This understanding can significantly impact consumer satisfaction, loyalty, and the success of marketing strategies. This study conceptualizes and proposes a measure of consumer guilt proneness, the individual tendency to feel guilt regarding transgressive consumption situations. To define the conceptual domain, a literature review is complemented with a qualitative study. Five dimensions corresponding to sources of guilt (health, extravagance, social influence, misevaluation, and ethics and sustainability) create the initial pool of items. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses corroborate the five‐factor measurement model. The final scale demonstrates adequate convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity. Finally, the instrument is cross‐culturally validated in three countries—Portugal, Poland, and Brazil—which not only strengthens the evidence of its validity and reliability but also lends credibility to its broader application in diverse cultural environments, particularly within Western cultures.

A qualitative exploration to understand consumers' meat preferences in an emerging market through the TPB model

PurposeThis paper investigates the factors and how they lead to meat choice decisions based on preferred slaughter practices. The literature has established the role of psychological factors and morality perception in meat choice decisions. However, it explores how consumers' behavioural intention is impacted towards alternative meat when consumer guilt is activated in different cultural settings.Design/methodology/approachThis study included in-depth interviews with consumers from India's emerging market due to its multicultural dimension and diverse religious beliefs about meat consumption. The authors conducted 17 interviews to explore antecedents towards non-halal meat choices.FindingsUtilizing the Theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this paper explores research gaps related to meat consumption preferences based on preferred slaughter practices in an emerging market context. The findings uncover and add to understanding meat preferences in varied cultural contexts that affect consumer choices. The authors advance the current understanding of TPB from the perspective of behavioural intention toward non-halal meat.Practical implicationsThe study's findings have significant implications for all the organizations/outlets dealing with non-vegetarian food products, whether packaged or fresh and for meat sellers.Originality/valueThe study is unique in identifying the meat choice preferences based on slaughter practice through the extended prism of TPB. The market chosen for this study is one of the biggest consumer markets and its growing continuously.

Investigating the impact of consumers’ patriotism and ethnocentrism on purchase intention: Moderating role of consumer guilt and animosity

The present study aims to examine how consumer guilt and consumer animosity, as moderators, can impact consumers' purchase intention toward domestic products. A total of 385 responses were used to test the proposed relationship. PROCESS macro was used to examine the mediating and moderating relationships. The present study provides guidance to international marketers on why and how they should do extra efforts to mitigate guilt feeling. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on consumer ethnocentrism by investigating moderating role of consumer guilt and consumer animosity.

Consumer Guilt and Sustainable Choice: Environmental Impact of Durable Goods Innovation

Consumer Guilt and Sustainable Choice: Environmental Impact of Durable Goods Innovation

Does impact of campaign and consumer guilt help in exploring the role of national identity and purchase decisions of consumers?

Extant research emphasized the role of consumer guilt and the importance of campaigns in consumers' willingness to buy domestic-made products. The antecedents of willingness to buy domestic-made products have not been well understood in literature. This is because the experience of national identity vis a vis the understanding of the consumers' guilt feeling has partly been explained. To address these concerns, we developed a survey in the context of Indian cities. We note that consumers' experience with foreign-made products is negative when they feel uncomfortable buying them, and thereby develop a feeling of guilt. Marketing managers are more likely to prepare consumers' experiences with their products by emphasizing the high or low impact of the campaign on consumers’ willingness to buy domestic-made products.

Guilt and the Consumption of Products with an Unhealthy Image

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of nutrition labeling on consumers’ guilt when they consumed products with an unhealthy image. The first investigation was conducted to examine direct effect according to the types of nutrition labeling (adding healthy ingredients/reducing unhealthy ingredients) by independent samples t-test. The findings show that consumers felt less guilty when the number of unhealthy ingredients was reduced, compared to when healthy ingredients were added. The second investigation tested the effects of goal activation types (utilitarian/hedonic) and nutrition labeling on consumers’ guilt by independent samples t-test and ANOVA. Goal activation was added as an independent variable, and hypothetical scenarios and stimulants were used. The experiment was designed with a focus on goal activation (utilitarian/hedonic) × nutrition labeling (adding healthy ingredient/reducing unhealthy ingredient). The findings reveal that the utilitarian goal activation group felt less guilty about the products with the reduction in the number of unhealthy ingredients than the products with the addition of healthy ingredients. The hedonic goal activation group felt less guilty about the products with the addition of positive nutrients compared to the products with the reduction in the number of negative nutrients. The third investigation tested consumer guilt in situations that create anxiety about food by independent samples t-test and ANOVA, based on Study 2. Unlike in Study 2, there was no interaction effect between product-nutrition labelling and goal activation. These results suggest that, when consumer anxiety increases, in relation to unhealthy foods that already invoke guilt and anxiety, the motivation—namely, goal activation when consuming food—plays a main role in causing anxiety, regardless of nutrition. Based on these experimental results, the investigator discussed the academic and practical implications of the present study. Finally, a couple of proposals were made for the direction of future study.

Guilt of the Meat‐Eating Consumer: When Animal Anthropomorphism Leads to Healthy Meat Dish Choices

Despite increasing concerns about animal welfare and the general prevalence of meat‐eating practices, little attention has been paid in the consumer behavior literature to understanding consumer guilt around meat consumption. This research fills this void by exploring how consumers behave when animals are anthropomorphized, which can cause moral concerns to arise regarding the harm inflicted upon animals. We found that animal anthropomorphism can reduce meat consumption when consumers already have a low commitment to eating meat. However, the majority of consumers do not reduce their meat consumption in the face of animal anthropomorphism. Instead, they choose healthier meat dishes over less healthy but tastier meat dishes because the health benefits of meat consumption provide a strong excuse for eating meat, thereby dissipating their guilt about animal suffering. We demonstrate that guilt reduction is the underlying process mechanism and that the humane treatment of meat animals, which alleviates guilt about animal suffering, attenuates the effect of animal anthropomorphism on the choice of healthy meat dishes.

A study on the influence of the facial expressions of models on consumer purchase intention in advertisements for poverty alleviation products

Products (such as agricultural products and handicrafts) that are assisted by enterprises in their production or sales and whose sales revenues are dedicated to anti-poverty campaigns in a particular area are regarded as poverty alleviation products (PAPs). This study focuses on PAP advertisements and analyses the interaction between the expression of different emotions (positive expression/negative expression) by models in PAP advertisements and the types of products (general products/PAPs). This study also examines the expression framework of these advertisements (gain-framed/loss-framed) and consumer purchase intentions. The results of Study 1 indicate that consumers demonstrate a preference for PAPs and that negative expressions significantly improve consumers' purchase preference for PAPs. Study 2 demonstrates that this effect results from the completely mediating effect of consumer guilt. However, in Study 3, when an advertisement employs a combination of a “loss-framed message and negative facial expression”, it fails to further improve consumer purchase intention compared to other groups. The conclusions of this examination not only support the enterprises that positively participate in industrial poverty alleviation but also provide theoretical guidance to enterprises in the design of PAP advertisements.

Sustainable Consumption Behaviour in The Context of Millennials in Indonesia – Can Environmental Concern, Self-efficacy, Guilt and Subjective Knowledge Make a Difference?

Research Question: This paper assesses the effect of environmental concern, self-efficacy, subjective knowledge and guilt on sustainable consumption behaviour. Motivation: This study focuses on predicting and explaining sustainable consumption behaviour by proposing a model comprised of environmental concern, self-efficacy, consumer guilt and subjective knowledge as predictors. Environmental concern is an important element in VBN theory proposed by Stern (1999). Meanwhile, self-efficacy is part of SCT theory by Bandura (1997); as for subjective knowledge, it is deemed to be a better predictor of environmental behaviour (Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002). Guilt is included in this model as it is an important emotion that can affect sustainable consumption behaviour, especially in the context of collectivist culture country like Indonesia (Lee et al., 2012). All these factors have been proven to be able to influence sustainable consumer behaviour. However, there are still a few studies that explore these factors altogether simultaneously, especially in the context of a developing country. Thus, this study tries to examine sustainable consumption behaviour by incorporating these factors altogether. Idea: The main idea of this study is to empirically assess the influence of proposed independent variables, namely environmental concern, self-efficacy, subjective knowledge and guilt on sustainable consumption behaviour. This study also tries to assess whether there is a significant difference of sustainable consumption behaviour among demographic groups such as gender, education and age. Data: The model is tested by conducting a survey using a self-administered questionnaire on 200 respondents. The respondents are younger millennials aged between 17-27. The questionnaire consists of questions about demographic profile and about the research instruments. Tools: This study uses descriptive research design and purposive sampling to collect the data. Research hypotheses were tested by multiple regression analysis. Findings: The result of this study shows that environmental concern, self-efficacy and environmental knowledge have an influence on sustainable consumption behaviour, where environmental knowledge contributes the most in predicting the aforementioned behaviour. Meanwhile, this study also finds that consumer guilt has no impact upon this behaviour. Contributions: This study gives additional insight and understanding of sustainable consumption behaviour in the context of millennials in a developing country. The findings of this study can be used by the government to formulate environmental policies as well as for businesses to formulate strategies to promote their environmentally-friendly products.

Predicting the consumer guilt-based purchasing behavior (A Case Study of Shopping Centers in Almaty)

Sometimes, consumer feels unpleasant and unusual after consuming and even after not consuming and explores himself about his behavior when purchasing or non-purchasing, and compares the behavior with ethical principles and social norms. Eventually he feels regret, this sense of regret provides the basis for the emergence of coping responses to modify purchasing behavior. In this study, consumer guilt was selected that is the result of violating social norms, internal failure, unjustified excessive consuming, lack of self-control, as well as consuming for fun and enjoyment, it was implemented among the consumers' community referring to Almaty Metropolitan Shopping Centers using the structural equation method (SEM). Data were collected using standard questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS and Amos software. There was a positive and significant relationship between guilt and purchasing, non-purchasing, violating norms, self-blame and hedonism. There was also a positive and significant relationship between guilt and coping responses and predicting future purchasing behaviors. Also, in the final model of research, purchase for hedonism and fun had the most impact on the consumer guilt.

Buy or not: how the presence of others affects the occurrence of consumers' impulsive buying behavior

PurposeThe topic of impulsive buying has been studied by researchers for nearly 70 years and made a large number of valuable discoveries. However, most of the existing research studies focused on the impulse buying behavior in the context of single person shopping from the perspective of individuals and lack of research on impulse buying behavior in the context of shopping with others from the perspective of communities. Given that consumers' decision-making in the presence of others is significantly different from that when they are alone, it is necessary to probe into the internal mechanism of impulse purchase behavior in the context of shopping with others.Design/methodology/approachIn total three experiments were used to test the hypothesis. Study 1 examines the differences in the motivation of impulsive desire among consumers with different impulsive traits. A total of 240 undergraduates were recruited to participate in the study. The purpose of study 2 is to examine the effect of external attribution on consumer guilt, which leads to the failure of self-control. A total of 256 undergraduate students participated in the study 2. The purpose of study 3 was to test the moderating effect of the intensity of ties on the impact of goal on impulse purchase intention. A total of 240 subjects participated in study 3.FindingsWhen shopping with companions, consumers with different impulse traits have different initial impulses in the face of temptation, but they may have a similar higher willingness to buy on impulse. There are two reasons: on the one hand, consumers with high-impulsive traits produce a higher desire to buy on impulse driven by hedonistic motivation. In contrast, consumers with low-impulse traits will also have a higher impulse purchase desire driven by prosocial motivation. On the other hand, external attribution can lead to the failure of self-control and impulse purchase behavior. However, the above effects only occur when there is a strong connection between consumers.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, this paper simulates the phenomenon of impulse purchase in the relational situation through experimental methods; if the research based on the real consumption scenario can be carried out, the research results will be more convincing. Second, whether there are other intermediary mechanisms, such as whether external attribution can affect consumers' self-control through perceived social support, need to be further tested. Finally, it is also necessary to examine the role of other regulatory variables, such as consumers' sense of power, the type of self-construct, etc., and these research clues will further enrich the research on impulsive buying in the context of relationship.Practical implicationsFirst, businesses can launch more accurate marketing strategies for consumers who are shopping together, find ways to reduce consumers' attention to their own responsibility or fault and guide them to conduct external attribution to their impulsive consumption behavior. The findings also have implications for consumers to control their own impulse purchase behavior. In addition, the results of this study can provide new insights into the government to prevent social crisis and carry out consumer education.Originality/valueThe key contribution of the current research is that, unlike existing studies that focus on the exploration of impulsive buying in the context of single person shopping, this study explores the internal mechanism and causal process on how consumers' impulsive buying behavior occurs when shopping with others. The authors further make a contribution to a self-control theory by demonstrating that external attribution has a negative effect on self-control in relational situations. Finally, this study also finds that the intensity of ties can moderate the impacts of focus goals on impulsive buying behavior.

Consumer guilt and green banking services

AbstractBanks offer loans to support many projects; however, some of these projects may not give adequate consideration to the environment. Little is known regarding the extent to which banking customers experience guilt when discovering that their bank supports projects that disregard the environment. An experiment with 313 participants was conducted, and the results showed that customers do experience guilt when discovering that their bank supports projects that do not give adequate consideration to the environment. This study found that guilt drives perceived consumer effectiveness and negative word‐of‐mouth regarding banking projects that neglect environmental considerations but not attitudes towards green banking. Negative word of mouth, but not the attitude towards green banking, mediates the effect of perceived consumer effectiveness on the intention to use green banking services. Negative word‐of‐mouth, rather than attitudes towards green banking and its perceived consumer effectiveness, drives the intention to use green banking services. These findings imply that banks need to encourage their customers to perceive that they are eco‐friendly to avoid a significant loss of customers.

Destigmatising the stigma: Understanding the impact of message framing on Chinese consumers' guilt and attitude associated with overspending behaviour

AbstractOverspending has been a largely stigmatised consumer behaviour in traditional Chinese culture. However, social and economic development in recent decades has induced the rise of Chinese consumerism and changes in public attitudes towards overspending. Focusing on overspending stigmas Gouwukuang (GWK) and Duoshoudang (DSD) and stigma‐relevant attitudes, the present study investigates the effect of perceived stigma on consumers' attitude towards overspending through the mediating effect of anticipated consumer guilt. The moderating role of message framing in this relationship is also examined. Results of two analyses indicate that (a) between the two stigmas, DSD is less stigmatising and preferred in comparison to GWK in social interaction and self‐identification; (b) participants' perception of the stigma associated with overspending predicts their anticipation of guilt associated with this behaviour, which in turn predicts negative attitude towards overspending; (c) message framing moderates the relationship between perceived stigma and anticipated guilt, and hence facilitates destigmatisation of the traditionally stigmatised behaviour of overspending. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The interplay of positive and negative emotions to quit unhealthy consumption behaviors: Insights for social marketers

Prior research has valued the role that consumers' negative emotions play in formulating the strategies and advertising campaigns for quitting unhealthy consumption behaviors. Unhealthy consumption behaviors, such as smoking, are identified as the most important preventable cause of death globally. This study focuses on the interplay of positive and negative emotions in developing consumers' intentions to quit smoking. The study tests a model that positions consumer guilt and regret as antecedents to consumer hope, and intentions to quit smoking as its consequence. Using survey data from 300 consumers (smokers), the findings also suggest a moderating effect of frequency of physical exercise on the guilt–consumer hope relationship. For marketing theorists, the study advances knowledge of how positive and negative emotions interact to develop intentions to quit smoking. For social marketers, our study provides useful insights for investing in anti-consumption strategies and advertising campaigns for unhealthy consumption behaviors.