The Effect of Controversial Global Sourcing Practices on the Ethical Judgments and Intentions of U.S. Consumers
Journal of Operations Management, 2014
40 Pages Posted: 7 Feb 2015
Date Written: December 1, 2014
Abstract
Global sourcing has led to lower cost and more effective supply chains for many companies. However, when the cost-driven practices of many suppliers in these chains come to light there is often considerable debate over the ethics of these practices. This research uses the well-known Hunt-Vitell framework as the theoretical foundation for a structural equation model of the deontological and teleological evaluations used by consumers when making ethical judgments of a firm’s controversial cost-driven global sourcing practices. Data from a large-scale U.S. consumer survey show the importance of deontological and teleological evaluations in forming consumers’ ethical judgments of global sourcing practices, and establish a strong relationship between ethical judgment and the intention of consumers to alter consumption of a firm’s products. Extensions to the framework and demographic analyses for age, gender, and income provide insights as to how perceptions of these practices affect consumer evaluations of a company involved in global sourcing and how consumers actualize their resultant intentions.
Keywords: Global sourcing, supply chain management, consumer intentions, ethical judgment, Hunt-Vitell, structural equation modeling
JEL Classification: M1,M11,M14,F23, L10,D2, M31
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation