Ethical Decisions and Response Mode Compatibility: Weighting of Ethical Attributes in Consideration Sets Formed by Excluding versus Including Product Alternatives

Journal of Marketing Research, Forthcoming

52 Pages Posted: 11 Feb 2009

See all articles by Julie R. Irwin

Julie R. Irwin

University of Texas - McCombs School of Business

Rebecca Walker Reczek

Ohio State University (OSU) - Department of Marketing and Logistics

Date Written: February 9, 2009

Abstract

Across four studies, including one involving an actual monetary decision, the authors demonstrate that forming a product consideration set by excluding versus including alternatives induces consumers to place more weight on ethical attributes, such as company labor practices and animal testing. This nonnormative difference reflects a compatibility between exclusion and ethics, and holds regardless of attribute framing or consumer emotion. In fact, consumers judge others' behavior more negatively for excluding ethical products than for including ethical products. These results have implications for the marketing of ethical products, both specifically (e.g., it is important to encourage exclusion modes) and generally (e.g., the failure to consider ethical products may reflect seemingly minor contextual issues guiding the decision process and not consumer disinterest in ethical issues).

Keywords: consideration sets, ethics, decision making, framing, pick/reject, include/exclude

JEL Classification: D12, D64, D80, D83

Suggested Citation

Irwin, Julie R. and Reczek, Rebecca Walker, Ethical Decisions and Response Mode Compatibility: Weighting of Ethical Attributes in Consideration Sets Formed by Excluding versus Including Product Alternatives (February 9, 2009). Journal of Marketing Research, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1340130

Julie R. Irwin (Contact Author)

University of Texas - McCombs School of Business ( email )

Business,Government and Society Department
Austin, TX 78712
United States

Rebecca Walker Reczek

Ohio State University (OSU) - Department of Marketing and Logistics ( email )

2100 Neil Avenue
538 Fisher Hall
Columbus, OH 43210
United States

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