Personal Moral Obligation Research Articles

The role of alcohol consumption in the lives of older Australian women: qualitative insights and an agenda for further research, policy and practice

BackgroundAlcohol consumption presents a threat to the health and wellbeing of women. The alcohol industry often pushes back at global efforts to prioritise the prevention of alcohol harms to women. Qualitative researchers have investigated how younger and midlife women conceptualise their alcohol consumption, but there is very limited research relating to older women (those 60 years and over).MethodsUsing data collected from an online qualitative survey, this paper explored the factors that influence how older Australian women drinkers (n = 144. 60–88 years) conceptualised the role of alcohol in their lives. The study used a ‘Big Q’ reflexive approach to thematic analysis, drawing upon sociological theories of risk and symbolic interactionism to construct four themes from the data.ResultsFirst, alcohol consumption was viewed by participants as an accepted and normalised social activity, that was part of Australian culture. Second, alcohol played a role for some participants as a way to cope with life changes (such as retirement), as well as managing stressful or challenging life circumstances (such as loneliness). Third, alcohol was part of the routines and rituals of everyday life for some women. For example, women discussed the consumption of wine with their evening meal as an important part of the structure of their day. Fourth, participants had clear personal expectancies about what it meant to be a ‘responsible drinker’. They had clear narratives about personal control and moral obligation, which in some cases created a reduced perception of their own risk of alcohol-caused harm.ConclusionsThis research provides a starting point for future public health research examining the factors that may shape older women’s alcohol consumption beliefs and practices. Public health activities should consider the unique needs and potential vulnerabilities of older women drinkers, and how these may be potentially exploited by the alcohol industry.

University or Personal Sustainability— What Shapes Sustainable Entrepreneurship Intentions of Students?

The intentions and behaviour of entrepreneurs have been well researched and explored and now the limelight has shifted to sustainable entrepreneurship. The present study aims to examine the personal and institutional sustainability inclination that may help students develop their intent for sustainable entrepreneurship. Quantitative analysis with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was performed with 422 samples collected from students at Indian universities. The model tested the first-order variables for university and personal sustainability and further the effect on the intentions to start sustainable entrepreneurship. The first-order variables of university sustainability are education on sustainability and campus sustainability and the students’ personal consumption profile and moral obligations for the first-order variables of personal sustainability. The findings indicated that the tendency towards sustainable entrepreneurship was more strongly influenced by personal than university sustainability inclination. Further, the results of the importance–performance map analysis (IPMA) highlighted the importance of personal sustainability as well as further advancements in ethical standards and campus sustainability to nurture students’ intentions for sustainable entrepreneurship. The findings of this study offer policymakers, researchers and higher education institutes insights to establish campuses that contribute to sustainability and reframe the educational curriculum to focus on students’ innate propensities to engage in sustainable endeavours. This article outlines the pioneering research effort into the personal and university sustainability inclination in consideration for shaping sustainable entrepreneurship intentions among students.

Moral obligation for recycling among youth: extended models of the theory of planned behaviour

PurposeThis study aims to extend the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model to explain youth’s recycling behavioural intentions in India. Perceived moral obligation (PMO) to perform such pro-environmental activities is incorporated in the TPB model. The study also aims to validate the extended version of TPB models with direct and indirect relationships and identify the best competing model among original TPB, extended TPB model “Model A” (moral obligation is an explanatory variable to recycling behaviour) and extended TPB model “Model B” (moral obligation as an explanatory variable to attitude, perceived behavioural control [PBC] and recycling behavioural intentions; and responsive variable to subjective norms) to predict Indian youth’s waste recycling behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThe descriptive study adopted a hypo-deductive research design to test the proposed extended TPB models. The study used a survey research design with a structured questionnaire. A sample of 782 youth with a mean age of 18 was obtained to perform the correlational analysis. The scale validity and reliability are measured using structural equation modelling and identified the robust model with higher explanatory power using the Chi-square difference (Δχ2) statistic test.FindingsResults show that the extended TPB model “Model B” has a better fit and explanatory power than competing models to predict the waste recycling behaviour of youth. Further findings substantiate that PMO has a higher indirect effect on recycling intention. Model B supports the utility of moral obligation and its association with youth’s higher waste recycling intention and actual recycling behaviour.Research limitations/implicationsThe study considers solid waste recycling in general, and therefore future research should test the proposed model specific to other household wastes like water recycling. Furthermore, future studies can experiment with the model with additional variables like perceived relative benefits, social benefits, self-efficacy and education level of the respondents. In a strict sense, the research concern the respondents and the generalisation to a broader population should be made with caution. Hence, further studies in various geographical areas with larger sample sizes would allow the generalizability of the results.Practical implicationsThis research provides insights into PMO and its influence on recycling intention. Promoting waste recycling behaviour through campaigns, social pressure and accepting the phenomena of “significant others” will encourage better waste recycling behavioural purposes. Indian households who are highly concerned and obliged towards environmental protection would develop favourable attitudes and subjective norms towards waste recycling.Social implicationsThe study proved the effect of subjective norms on intentions. This contention explains that recycling mostly happens within the house and is mostly not witnessed by society and friends. Therefore, adopting waste recycling behaviour is not socially acceptable as they are not fully aware of its benefits. Policymakers should create awareness to develop environmental-friendly behaviour through recycling solid waste and develop exclusive campaigns to sensitise the negative impact on the environment.Originality/valueThe study’s originality is to test the extended TPB model “Model B”, with PMOs as an additional key variable, which has higher explanatory power to predict the youth’s waste recycling behavioural intentions in the Indian context. PMO found a positive and significant effect on attitude, PBC and recycling behavioural intentions. The higher indirect result of PMO on behavioural purposes through TPB variables indicates the importance of personal moral obligation in pro-environmental behaviour.

Explaining trip generation during the COVID-19 pandemic: A psychological perspective

IntroductionThe present study investigated the extent of reduction in the generation of non-essential trips (i.e., for shopping, personal, social, and entertainment reasons) due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of psychological factors (including deliberate planning and personal moral obligations) in explaining the change. MethodWe collected data through an internet survey conducted from April to June 2020. We recruited the respondents (N = 369) from a young segment of the population in Iran. The hypothesised model framework included the components of the theory of planned behaviour (including attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and intention to reduce non-essential trips) along with personal moral obligation. The framework also consisted of socio-demographic characteristics of age, gender, income, car ownership and trip distance. A structural equation model was developed to explain trip reduction at an aggregated level for four non-essential trip purposes (i.e., shopping, personal, social, and entertainment). In the aggregated model, trip-reducing behaviour represents the change in the number of trips for all non-essential purposes. We also tested the same framework, to explain trip reduction for each of the trip purposes, separately. ResultsOn average, the study participants reduced their non-essential trips by 60% during the pandemic compared with in the pre-COVID-19 period. Men were less likely than women to reduce the rate of their trips during the pandemic. The SEM demonstrated that the theory of planned behaviour predicted trip-generation behaviour during the abnormal situation represented by the pandemic. Perceived behavioural control both directly and indirectly impacted trip reduction. However, personal moral obligations failed to provide a direct explanation for trip generation reduction. According to the hypothesised model, the results for different trip purposes were also mostly in line with those from the aggregated model. ConclusionsThe findings imply that participants in our sample made deliberate and planned psychological decisions (aligned with the theory of planned behaviour) regarding potential travel behavioural decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also highlighted that perceived behavioural control grows in importance alongside growth in difficult circumstances.

Factors influence intention of management of Shariah-compliant companies to participate in Islamic voluntary charity

PurposeThe present study aims to focus on the management of public listed companies (PLC) in Malaysia. It aims to explore the factors that influence the behavioural intention of the managers in donating cash waqf (endowment) as part of their organisations’ corporate philanthropy.Design/methodology/approachThe theory of planned behaviour was used, and 701 questionnaires were emailed to PLCs’ managers. Four main variables, i.e. economic attitude, political pressure, perceived behavioural control (PBC) and personal moral obligation, were tested and analysed by using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe findings showed that the first three variables, attitude, subjective norms and PBC of the management, significantly influenced management’s behavioural intention to donate cash waqf. Nonetheless, the personal moral obligation of the management was found to be insignificant.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the main limitations is that it involved only quantitative surveys with managers in Malaysia. In future, the findings of this study can be supported by interviews.Originality/valueThe present study integrates the corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund of Shariah-compliant companies for the development of waqf property. The combination of CSR funds and waqf land will solve the waqf institution’s fund deficit issue. This will optimize waqf land development efficiency and benefit society.

Determinants of Pro-environmental Behaviours – A Cross Country Study of Would-be Managers

Purpose: This cross-cultural based paper aims to provide an understanding of the determinants contributing to adopting pro-environmental behaviour by ‘would-be managers’ represented by MBA students studying in two highly carbon emitting yet contrasting countries – India and Australia. The paper particularly examines the effects of personal values, moral obligation, attitudes, and subjective norms on pro-environmental behavior of such would-be managers. Design/methodology/approach: In predicting the pro-environmental behavior of would-be managers, a conceptual model was developed by combining Schwartz’s (1992) value theory and Homer and Kahle’s cognitive hierarchy model of value-attitude-behaviour (VAB). Data was collected from 476 respondents consisting of 342 MBA students from India and 134 MBA students from Australia. Partial least square based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used in analysing the data. Findings: The findings reveal that the inclination of pro-environmental behaviour of would-be managers can be predicted by their personal value, moral obligation, attitudes and subjective norms, thereby providing both theoretical and empirical supports to our model in understanding the determinants of pro-environmental behaviour. Practical implications: The findings are critical in developing strategies for building capacity and willingness of would-be managers to adopt pro-environmental behaviour. In so doing, business schools may use these findings in designing effective CSR/sustainable development contents in their curriculum which will not only help educators to nurture classroom discussion but also sensitize students’ critical thinking in addressing issues of climate change as well as improving environmental well-being. Originality/value: Conceptually, this paper proposes a comprehensive framework to understand the determinants of pro-environmental behavior. Empirically, it applies a novel and appropriate method for predicting such behavior in two contrasting yet highly carbon emitting countries – an important issue that receives little attention in current CSR/sustainable development literature.

Convention Tourism and Sustainability: Exploring Influencing Factors on Delegate Green Behavior That Reduce Environmental Impacts

Despite the steady growth of the convention tourism industry, little is known about the stimulation of delegates’ green behaviors during their convention travel. This research sought to elucidate delegates’ green behavioral intentions by taking the role of green attitudes, social norms, eco-concern, personal moral obligation, and green behaviors in daily life into account. A quantitative approach employing a survey methodology was utilized for the attainment of research goals. Our results revealed that green attitudes, social norms, eco-concern, and personal moral obligation were significant determinants of delegates’ green behavioral intentions. Among these determinants, eco-concern had a salient effect on delegates’ intention to practice conservation behaviors, whereas personal moral obligation had a prominent role in inducing their willingness to sacrifice. Moreover, our results uncovered that green behaviors in daily life were a moderator in maximizing the influence of green attitudes, eco-concern, and personal moral obligation on the intention to practice conservation behaviors and in maximizing the effect of social norms on the willingness to sacrifice.

Food Retailers as Mediating Gatekeepers between Farmers and Consumers in the Supply Chain of Animal Welfare Meat - Studying Retailers’ Motives in Marketing Pasture-Based Beef

Although there is increasing public criticism of intensive livestock production, the market share of meat with an animal welfare standard exceeding legal requirements remains small. Food retailers, in their role as gatekeepers, can influence changes in production and consumption patterns. Their strategic role between farmers and consumers allows them to control commodity, information and value flow and therefore places them into a key position when it comes to the distribution of meat with a higher animal welfare standard. The aim of this explorative study is to identify factors which motivate food retailers to take on the marketing of products of increased animal welfare standards, in this case, pasture-based beef. Nine in depth-interviews were conducted with representatives of the food retail industry. The interviews took place in June 2018, followed a structured guideline and were transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were categorized and evaluated using qualitative content analysis. Results showed that food retailers are driven by both extrinsic and intrinsic motives. The main extrinsic motive is the perceived customer demand. Consciousness for animal welfare and the regional production cycles, including close connection between farmers and retailers are inherently intrinsic motives. Interestingly, the interviewed retailers show a high personal interest and moral obligation with regard to sourcing and marketing pasture-based beef. As such, this research finds innovative retailers, who take on a new role in sustainable food systems which exceed classical distribution functions and may have a considerable effect in transforming the food system.

Attitude and subjective norm as personal moral obligation mediated predictors of intention to build eco-friendly house

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to combine the theory of planned behavior variables with norm activation model to predict the behavioral intention to build eco-friendly houses among adult house owners of Kerala. It was hypothesized that the moral obligation will mediate the relationship of both attitude and subjective norm toward the intention to build eco-friendly houses.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 269 adult house owners from Kerala with the help of structured questionnaires. Attitude toward eco-friendly houses was measured using semantic differential scale, subjective norm was measured using items adapted from Ajzen and Jansson and Dorrepaal, personal norm was measured using 7 items adapted from Jansson and Dorrepaal and behavioral intention to build eco-friendly house was measured using 14-item measures which probed the various characteristics of eco-friendly buildings. Data were analyzed using mediation analysis with the help of PROCESS macro plug-in of IBM SPSS.FindingsThe study revealed that the relationship between subjective norm and behavioral intention to construct eco-friendly houses was fully mediated by personal norm, and the relationship between attitude and behavioral intention was partially mediated by personal norm.Research limitations/implicationsEco-friendly houses or sustainable architecture is the requirement of the time. Psychology can play a major role in increasing the choice to opt an eco-friendly alternative. The present study tries to develop a green marketing strategy by understanding the influential psychological variables. The study points to the importance of personal moral obligation of the people in the choice of the eco-friendly houses. The study is limited in itself because it failed to consider any situational factors that may be influential in the intention to build an eco-friendly house.Originality/valueConsidering the immediacy and potency of global climate change and the role green architecture can play to reduce the impact of the blow, eco-friendly architecture is inevitable. Many psychological studies have been instrumental in shaping and changing individual behaviors. Considering these facts the present study aims to identify the role of psychological variables in determining the intention to build eco-friendly houses. This study will help in identifying the relevant personal variables that can promote eco-friendly construction.

Factors Influencing Young People's Intention toward Municipal Solid Waste Sorting.

With the rapid growth of urban economy and population in China, the output of municipal solid waste (MSW) has dramatically increased becoming a constant threat to residents’ living environment and health. The classification intention of residents plays a pivotal role in solving the problem of MSW disposal. While numerous studies have examined the classification behavior of MSW from the perspective of ordinary residents and households, few studies have attempted to understand young people’s sorting intention. The novelty of this research is to explore the determinants that affect young people’s intention toward municipal solid waste sorting (MSWS) by extending the predictive factors of environmental concern and personal moral obligation into the theory of planned behavior (TPB). A sample of 524 young respondents from Hebei Province in China were used to conduct a structural equation model (SEM) validation. The empirical results revealed that, according to the rankings of significance, personal moral obligation, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norm had positive influences on young people’s intention toward MSWS, while attitude and environmental concern did not. Furthermore, the multi-group comparison showed that, compared with the male and rural group, the intention of female and urban respondents to classify MSW was not affected by subjective norms. Some targeted managerial implications were ultimately proposed to promote young people’s intention toward MSWS. This study contributes to the existing knowledge system of MSWS by revealing the classification intention of young people as a group. The findings and implications provide the government with useful insights for encouraging young people to actively participate in MSWS.

God, Party, and the Poor: How Politics and Religion Interact to Affect Economic Justice Attitudes

Moral attitudes justifying economic inequality are often embedded within conservative religion and politics in the United States, even as traditional Christian values assert the need for compassion toward the poor. Using the Baylor Religion Survey, we assessed the role of religion in influencing partisan attitudes about poverty, finding that Republicans not only oppose federal policy aimed toward redistribution of wealth but also articulate less of a personal moral obligation to help the poor. However, Republicans who believe in a highly engaged God are strikingly similar to Democrats on these economic justice issues, suggesting that some types of religion do make conservatives more “compassionate.”

Environmental Ethical Commitment (EEC): Factors that affect Malaysian business corporations

This study is about environmental ethical commitment (EEC) factors that affect Malaysian manufacturing companies. The independent variables were the ecological concern, the regulations, perceived behavioural control which consists of self-eficacy, ethical climate, financial aspect, stakeholder pressure and stakeholder information and also the personal moral obligations. From regression analysis, only three factors namely the regulation, financial aspect and stakeholder information were able to explain the EEC in Malaysia. Finally, environmental ethical consideration would be beneficial to companies as it offers advantages and having claimed to save the industry as well as the world.

Promising the Constitution

The Constitution requires that all legislators, judges, and executive officers swear or affirm their fidelity to it. The resulting practice, often called “the oath,” has had a pervasive role in constitutional law, giving rise to an underappreciated tradition of promissory constitutionalism. For example, the Supreme Court has cited the oath as a reason to invalidate statutes, or sustain them; to respect state courts, or override them; and to follow precedents, or overrule them. Meanwhile, commentators contend that the oath demands particular interpretive methods, such as originalism, or particular distributions of interpretive authority, such as departmentalism. This Article provides a new framework for understanding the oath, its moral content, and its implications for legal practice. Because it engenders a promise, the oath gives rise to personal moral obligations. Further, the content of each oath, like the content of everyday promises, is linked to its meaning at the time it is made. The oath accordingly provides a normative basis for officials to adhere to interpretive methods and substantive principles that are contemporaneously associated with “the Constitution.” So understood, the oath provides a solution to the “dead hand problem” and explains how the people can legitimately bind their elected representatives: with each vote cast, the people today choose to be governed by oathbound officials tomorrow. Constitutional duty thus flows from a rolling series of promises undertaken by individual officials at different times. As old officials give way to new ones, the overall constitutional order gradually evolves, with each official bound to a distinctive promise from the recent past. This process of gradual change is normally invisible because the oath also incorporates publicly recognized rules for legal change, or “change rules,” such as the Article V amendment process. As a result, the timing of an official’s oath becomes morally relevant only when a legal change has not complied with previously recognized change rules, such as in the case of a revolution. Finally, because promises, even constitutional promises, should sometimes be broken, the oath can illuminate the bounds of constitutional duty, including the role of stare decisis, and shed light on instances when the Constitution itself should be set aside.

Shaw and the Sacred Cows:

Shaw and the Sacred Cows:

Pirating Pirates of the Caribbean: The curse of cyberspace

This study investigates the factors influencing the ‘illegal’ downloading of films and TV series through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Specifically, it examines how social and ethical orientations and attitudes towards downloading impact on downloading intentions. The neutralisation theory and theory of planned behaviour are used to underpin the research framework. The data analysis of 284 usable responses produced several significant relationships. Facilitating conditions, social factors, collectivism, and personal moral obligation were found to predict attitudes towards ‘illegal’ downloading. Social factors, collectivism, personal moral obligation, and attitudes towards ‘illegal’ downloading were also found to influence intentions to download. The findings derived from this study will provide marketers and policymakers with strategic and managerial initiatives to counteract this persistent problem.

Calling, Character and Clinical Legal Education: A Cradle to Grave Approach to Inculcating a Love for Justice

This article argues that lawyers have personal moral obligations to help ensure that no one who needs legal services goes without and hence that the practice of law should be seen as involving a calling to promote access to justice. One important aim of the law schools should thus be to inculcate in their students a sense of this calling and ideally to ensure that this notion of 'altru-ethical' professionalism becomes part of each lawyer's moral character. Drawing on educational theory, studies on the impact of law clinics on students' ethical values and a survey of the attitudes towards a legal career, this article argues that the most effective way of inculcating such a sense of calling is through lengthy student involvement in live-client law clinics combined with ethics teaching and opportunities for reflection. It then describes a unique new degree, the University of Strathclyde Clinical LLB, which adopts a cradle to grave approach to the integration of ethics teaching and clinical experience into the standard law degree with the aim of increasing the chances of a sense of altruistic calling becoming part of a student's professional moral character.

Is climate change an ethical issue? Examining young adults’ beliefs about climate and morality

Moral philosophers argue that climate change poses an ‘ethical problem’ for humanity and thus that humans have moral obligations to respond. Little empirical research has explored whether non-philosophers agree with these conclusions. This is unfortunate, because non-experts’ moral intuitions (or lack thereof) about climate change likely hold important implications for willingness to engage cognitively, emotionally and behaviorally with the issue. After reviewing the moral philosophical position on climate change, I present results of two studies conducted with a total of 922 U.S. undergraduate students that explored beliefs about the ‘ethics of climate change.’ Forty-five percent of the students sampled stated unequivocally that climate change represents a moral or ethical issue; a full quarter of students said it was not an ethical issue and roughly 30% were unsure. Participants’ beliefs regarding the causes of climate change were predictive of intentions to perform pro-environmental actions, and this relationship was fully mediated by ascriptions of personal moral obligation to respond. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

The Environmental Ethical Commitment (EEC) of the Business Corporations in Malaysia

This study is about environmental ethical commitment (EEC) of manufacturing companies in Malaysia. The independent variables were the ecological concern, the regulations, perceived behavioral control which consists of self-efficacy, ethical climate, financial aspect, stakeholder pressure and stakeholder information and also the personal moral obligations. From regression analysis, only three factors namely the regulation, financial aspect and stakeholder information were able to explain the EEC in Malaysia. Finally, environmental ethical consideration would be beneficial to companies as it offers advantages and having claimed to save the industry as well as the world.

Gender Differences in Response to Experimental Forgiveness Prompts: Do Men Show Stronger Responses Than Women?

After recalling interpersonal offenses, undergraduates (106 women, 79 men) were assigned to a control condition or one emphasizing a forgiveness motivation: personal benefit, moral obligation, or goodwill. All three forgiveness conditions facilitated men's forgiveness, although the goodwill condition was most effective. Women's responses did not differ across conditions. Another study of undergraduates (106 men, 112 women) revealed that relative to men, women put more effort into forgiveness before the study, and they were more likely to view forgiveness as a process requiring healing. Study 2's findings may partly explain why men show greater response than women to experimental forgiveness prompts.

The moderating effect of conformism values on the relations between other personal values, social norms, moral obligation, and single altruistic behaviours

Three studies predicted and found that the individual's conformism values are one determinant of whether behaviour is guided by other personal values or by social norms. In Study 1 (N=50), pro-gay law reform participants were told they were either in a minority or a majority in terms of their attitude towards the law reform. Only participants who were high in conformism values conformed to the group norm on public behaviour intentions. In studies 2 (N=42) and 3 (N=734), participants played multiple choice prisoner's dilemma games with monetary incentives. Only participants who considered conformism values to be relatively unimportant showed the expected connections between universalism values and altruistic behaviour. Study 3 also established that the moderating effect of conformism values on the relation between universalism values and altruistic behaviour was mediated through experienced sense of moral obligation.