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The purpose of this study is to develop and test a theoretical model of Fairtrade buying behavior that supports Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by addressing the nexus between just-world beliefs, along with the normative influences, self-identity and altruistic values.

A conceptual framework on the influence of just-world beliefs for Fairtrade purchase intentions is proposed to analyze the role of just-world beliefs on the effects of normative influences and altruistic values for the intention to purchase Fairtrade products that support SDGs. These conceptualizations are empirically tested on a representative sample of 217 consumers.

Just-world beliefs play a central role in the purchase intention by having a direct effect on purchase intention and an indirect effect mediated by personal norms and self-identity. They partially mediate the effects of altruistic values and social norms on the purchase intention of Fairtrade products that support SDGs.

The research provides a better understanding of the influences of these contextual variables on ethical consumption and contributes to both the theory and practice of how businesses can achieve SDGs. The psychological rationale of just-world beliefs provides a new approach to marketing strategy and communication aimed at increasing purchase intention of Fairtrade products that support the fundamental goals of the UN sustainable development.

This paper aims to address the role of psychological empowerment in proenvironmental consumer behaviour, focussing on climate protection.

Study 1 analyses the interaction of the effects of psychological empowerment and personal norms on two environmental behaviours with a sample of 600 individuals drawn form a representative online panel of the Australian population. Study 2 addresses the reinforcing influence of empowerment with a quasi-experimental design comparing 300 consumers of green electricity with 300 conventional electricity clients.

Psychological empowerment moderates the effects of personal norms on climate-protective consumer behaviour in a value-belief-norm (VBN) framework. Personal norms have a stronger influence for consumers experiencing high psychological empowerment than for disempowered feeling consumers. Furthermore, psychological empowerment experienced as an outcome of actual proenvironmental behaviour mediates the relationship between prior climate protection and future climate-protective intentions.

Future research should focus on the experimental manipulation of psychological empowerment with communicational claims, studying how perceived empowerment can be enhanced.

To promote climate friendly products and behaviours, marketers should use communication claims aimed at enhancing consumer’s subjective experience of empowerment.

Public policy aimed at climate protection should focus on consumer education increasing consumers’ awareness of their potential influence.

Psychological empowerment has not been studied previously as either an antecedent or outcome of proenvironmental behaviour. This is the first study to show that psychological empowerment moderates normative influences on climate-protective consumer behaviour. This research further reveals a novel behavioural reinforcement process, in which psychological empowerment intervenes as a behavioural outcome as well as an antecedent of climate-protective consumer behaviour. Findings contribute to the development of the VBN framework as well as to the consumer-empowerment perspective on proenvironmental behaviour.

“Ecolabels” without advertising support are communicating the environmentally friendly message. This article investigates the general belief and evaluation consumers have about ecolabelled products. In conventional markets, labelling conveys to the consumer information about the product. Appropriate communication in the form of symbols reinforces messages. Ecolabels enable consumers to articulate their preferences for environmental friendly products. Consumer beliefs are highly regarded as they serve to simplify the cognitive process of decision making. This study examines the impact of communicating the environmental friendly message by the dolphin‐safe symbol on four brands of tuna. It examines the effectiveness of brand perception on environmentally friendly products. Results indicate that consumers are favourably influenced by the presence of these labels regardless of type of product, thus supporting an affective evaluation process. Consumer perceptions of the two top selling brands are perceived to be more environmentally friendly than the other brands.

As the Arab/Muslim-Israeli animosity case is attracting international attention, citizens of non-Arab and non-Muslim countries around the world, referred to as third-country nationals (TCNs), are increasingly joining the boycott against Israel. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of empathy for the citizens of the countries offended by Israel, namely Palestine and Lebanon, as a potential factor affecting TCNs decision to boycott Israeli products.

In total, 20 in-depth interviews were conducted with non-Arab, non-Muslim, and non-Israeli informants from different national and religious backgrounds, supported by secondary data sources. The qualitative grounded theory approach was employed to analyse data in order to answer the research questions.

TCNs decision to boycott Israeli products is affected by their empathic concern for the citizens of Palestine and Lebanon rather than by animosity towards Israel. Such concern is evoked by their awareness of the animosity case and further strengthened by their self-transcendence/universalism values and interaction with the case which activate their altruism towards the citizens of the offended countries, and consequently motivates them to relieve or reduce the suffering of these citizens by avoiding Israeli products. Greater emphasis is given to the Arab/Muslim-Israeli animosity case as a result of the greater empathic emotional impact it generates compared to other cases.

This is an original attempt to distinguish empathy from animosity as a factor which can affect TCNs decision to buy from a country engaged in hostile actions against another country other than their own. As the boycott campaign against the country under examination is growing internationally, this study can help international marketers in setting strategies to either exploit or combat the boycott campaign.

The purpose of this paper is to identify themes on international experiences that impact culture and how these findings will intervene in understanding cross-cultural training programs. Thereby an attempt is made to: evaluate cross-cultural insensitivity influences on cross-cultural shock and willingness to adapt, identify cultural impressions over a short overseas period, provide some insights on cross-cultural training that will improve training practices for cross-cultural assignments.

A diary method was used to analyze the data using NVivo. This research uses diary studies because they have been popular in identifying factors that influence learners to learn, as well as found to be productive to achieve short term experiences. They allow for in-depth analysis, uncovering several findings unlike observation and interviews that cannot reach. In addition, diary text is said to give information on areas of social reality that are not contained in the text. Following this the study used the theme category frequencies to enable us to undertake non-parametric testing of contingency tables.

Several descriptors were identified in this study; the χ²-test indicates that there is a difference in cultural shock experiences on negative cultural sensitivity but no difference in positive cultural sensitivity which was found significant at the p=0.05 level. On the other hand there is a significant association between positive cultural sensitivity and willingness to adjust and no significant association between negative cultural sensitivity and willingness to adjust which was found significant at the p=0.05 level.

This research shows how learning in higher education can take into account the experiences by which learners can use their knowledge and skills for future cross-cultural training in international careers.

These results can be useful in guiding vocational interests. The results of the research offer descriptors of an exploratory nature which can also be used as a reference analysis for consequent phases in cross-cultural training.

Research provides several descriptors on international culture such as culture shock, positive and negative intercultural sensitivity, and willingness to adapt, some of which were significant. Diary method to analyze data are used which is distinctive and unique to understand behavior.

Curricula is developing from a pure knowledge-based outcome to a more skill-based outcome, with the objective of creating and advancing competencies that meet employer expectations. While the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demand organisations to change practices and adapt to sustainable goals, there is a lack of understanding in how competencies can enhance these goals. The purpose of this paper is twofold: Study 1 explores competencies related to sustainability required in a work force and examines employer perceptions on the existing literature for competencies. Study 2 empirically tests the influence of sustainability scholarship on non-technical competencies in the work force.

A mixed method approach was undertaken. A sample of managers from 39 large Australian organisations participated in the scoping study. This was followed by further interviewing executives from 12 multinational corporations in China to assess the validity of competencies and provide deeper understanding of the issues at hand. The quantitative study analysed a sample of executive responses from 229 multinationals in China using factor and regression analysis to test for the effects of mediation.

The research highlights that the underlying competencies regarding sustainability influences the bigger picture within firms for attaining sustainability. The affective and cognitive growth of sustainability scholarship is governed mainly by a firm’s sustainable values. Core organisational values facilitate the development of non-technical competencies. These relationships and their cumulative effect on competencies provide a theoretical framework for acquiring sustainability within organisations. Employees need sustainability scholarship for enhancing sustainability. Sustainability scholarship reflects high-level learning obtained through universities or training. The research found that non-technical competencies such as professional ethical responsibility mediate between core business competencies and sustainability scholarship.

By exploring employer’s perception of competencies, the study first makes an important contribution in addressing the need to support SDGs by bridging organisational-level competencies and sustainability literacy, which hold significant benefits for practitioners, academia and organisations at large. Second, the theoretical findings strengthen the need for embedding competencies in the curriculum. It conveys the need for sustainability literacy/scholarship to align with organisational training and learning pedagogies, in order to effectively meet industry needs. Third, it provides useful insights on employers’ estimation about workplace competencies and broadens our understanding on the contribution that competencies within organisations make to this end.

Despite research studies indicating strong support for labelling information, uncertainty remains with respect to how labels influence consumers. This paper attempts to empirically investigate how consumers who differ in terms of environmentalism respond to labels.

The data were collected on an Australian sample using a structured questionnaire administered on the phone using quantum research (CATI) data collection services. A total of 155 questionnaires were completed and used for data analysis. The data were analysed using both descriptive measures and correlations between variables.

There appears to be a proportion of consumers that find product labels hard to understand. The research found that there are consumers who will buy green products even if they are lower in quality in comparison to alternative products, but would look for environmental information on labels. With respect to price sensitive green consumers, there appears to be a relationship between price sensitivity and “always” reading labels as well as indicating that there is “sufficient” information on product labels to make informed purchase decisions.

It was beyond the scope of the research to account for some of the utilitarian approaches to interpretation or in‐depth comprehension of label information. The sample size of 155, although selected using a probability method, may, to some extent, limit the overall accuracy of the results.

The research offers some important information on different green consumer segments that would alert managers on how best to position environmental labels. Findings such as “Satisfied with labels” correlates with “Labels are accurate”, which suggests that businesses need to provide a clear, accurate and easily legible label design to encourage satisfaction with the accuracy of content and the communication aspects of a label.

The paper contributes to better understanding of green customers purchase intentions and the usefulness of ecological product labels. It offers some insights and assistance to businesses in planning their green product/labelling strategies.

This paper attempts to provide an understanding of gift‐giving for a more systematic assessment of relationship building to succeed in an Asian realm. This study proposes to examine the underlying linkage between the intensity of gift‐giving and constructing relationships. The goal is to provide both researchers and businesses an insight into how to successfully manage profitable relationships in a culture‐rich environment that is growing ever more demanding and complicated. Gift‐giving is seen as an act of reciprocity, and often misconstrued as bribery by Westerners, yet it appears to be an important constituent of the Asian culture and can be seen as a form of relationship investment, that if cultivated well, can uplift interactions between businesses.

The aims of this article is to analyse whether there are differences in green advertisement attitudes between high involved and low involved consumers, to compare high and low involvement consumer’s cognitive responses and affective responses towards advertisements and examine the extent of the importance on certain themes that both high involvement and low involvement consumers consider. Themes such as company image, environmental labels, and product recycling symbols. A random sample of 207 consumers was taken from Victoria (Australia). The study shows that there are differences between the two groups in terms of their attitude towards green advertising with respect to all the dimensions and the low involved customers appear to have a stronger disregard for the green advertising across all the perceptive measures towards green advertising. The findings provide useful insights to practitioners as to the type of themes preferred for green advertising.

Theories frequently used by researchers’ only offer limited insight, they do not explain why some multinationals continue to invest in some countries despite being rated low on the reasons explained by economic and comparative advantage theories. The paper examines the attractiveness of Australia as an investment destination for US based multinational corporations. By using Porter’s national advantage theory and other variables of country attractiveness, it examines what makes Australia an attractive destination. Within the fast moving consumer goods industry, Australia was found to be attractive for three reasons: incentives offered by the government, low risk and cultural distance. There is evidence that culture has an effect on the choice of foreign investment venture structure well ahead of market size, tariffs, growth and location to cultural similarity. The aim was not only to generate ideas for future more rigorous research but also to investigate the impact critical to elements, such as culture, that make foreign investments attractive.