Consumer purchasing decisions
Produced by academics at Newcastle University Business School, the study considers a group of consumers who care about the way goods are produced and distributed. These consumers base their purchasing decisions on ethical values – such as human rights, environmentally-friendly and sustainable production, and animal well-being – even if that means paying a little more for the products.
Researchers created a mathematical model which assumes that ethical consumers derive social esteem from purchasing goods that are more expensive than non-ethical products – a display of moral superiority that makes them feel more important than their peers. This assumption is based on the notion of “conspicuous ethics”, where a consumer expresses a superior ethical responsibility towards society by purchasing ethically produced and distributed goods. It’s the first time that this idea has been formalised in academic literature.
