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1 – 10 of 430Clare D'Souza, Vanessa Apaolaza, Patrick Hartmann and Andrew Gilmore
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…
Abstract
Purpose
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.
Design/methodology/approach
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.
Findings
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.
Originality/value
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.
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Cong Doanh Duong, Xuan Hau Doan, Thi Huyen Nguyen, Van Thanh Dao and Thi Phuong Thu Nguyen
Little is known about how religious-related beliefs (i.e. karmic beliefs and beliefs in a just world) might affect consumers to engage in more environmentally friendly behavior…
Abstract
Purpose
Little is known about how religious-related beliefs (i.e. karmic beliefs and beliefs in a just world) might affect consumers to engage in more environmentally friendly behavior. Drawing on the justice motive theory, this study aims to explore the individual, complementary, congruent and incongruent impacts of karmic beliefs and belief in a just world on consumers’ proenvironmental consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 736 consumers was recruited by means of a mall-intercept survey in the most populus cities in Vietnam. An advanced technique – polynomial regression with response surface analysis – was used to test the hypothesized model, whereas the PROCESS macro approach was used to estimate indirect effects.
Findings
The findings indicate that while karmic beliefs do not directly affect proenvironmental consumption, they can inspire environmentally friendly behaviors through belief in a just world. High levels of both beliefs enhance proenvironmental consumption, but imbalanced levels erode such behaviors. Importantly, the findings revealed gender differences concerning the role of religious beliefs in influencing proenvironmental consumption among male and female consumers.
Practical implications
The findings of this study offered several theoretical and managerial implications for proenvironmental consumption.
Originality/value
The research provides new insights into how religious beliefs (karmic beliefs and belief in a just world) affect, interact, balance and imbalance with each other to trigger proenvironmental consumption. The research also contributes to the sustainable consumption literature by indicating the mediation roles of belief in a just world and proenvironmental consumption intention in the relationship between beliefs in karma and actual proenvironmental consumption behavior, as well as offering empirical evidence about the gender differences regarding these relationships.
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The objective of this paper is to contribute to the accounting education literature by demonstrating that there are significant differences in judgments between Australian and…
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to contribute to the accounting education literature by demonstrating that there are significant differences in judgments between Australian and Chinese subjects studying within an Australian university with respect to an important issue in accounting, namely, aggressive financial reporting practices. Aggressive financial reporting is the exercise of professional judgment by accountants (including students preparing for a career in accounting) that fails to depict ‘financial reality’. Our study provides some evidence on the influence of culture (operationalised as one's ethnic background), as well as a personal belief variable, ‘belief in a just world’, on students acceptance of aggressive financial reporting practices. The results have implications for improving accounting education. We suggest that assumptions about uniformity in perceiving Western notions of independence and objectivity embedded in official national and international accounting pronouncements are reflections of ‘culture‐blindness’. Additionally, we suggest that accounting educators may like to ensure that the meanings intended in the official accounting pronouncements which are used as primary teaching material are conveyed to students within specific cultural contexts. Moreover, accounting educators and students need to pay greater attention to the role of various contextual factors in the international accounting harmonisation process.
Fullchis Nurtjahjani, Ridolof Wenand Batilmurik, Ayu Fury Puspita and Jappy Parlindungan Fanggidae
This study aims to investigate the mediating and moderating effects of psychological ownership and belief in just world in the relationship between transformational leadership and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the mediating and moderating effects of psychological ownership and belief in just world in the relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 183 lecturers who teach in an Indonesian university. The questionnaires covered transformational leadership, psychological ownership, belief in just world and work engagement. The collected data were examined with structural equation model analysis.
Findings
The results demonstrated a significant moderated mediation index, which indicated that the relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement is mediated by psychological ownership and is moderated by belief in just world.
Practical implications
To achieve higher work engagement, organizations should increase employees’ feelings of ownership and boost just world belief.
Originality/value
The present study offers new insight on how personality trait plays a moderating role in the relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement.
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Brigitte Geenen, Karin Proost, Bert Schreurs, Marius van Dijke, Eva Derous, Karel De Witte and Jasper von Grumbkow
The purpose of this paper was to investigate the influence of applicants' justice beliefs (i.e. belief in a just world and belief in tests) on justice expectations with respect to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to investigate the influence of applicants' justice beliefs (i.e. belief in a just world and belief in tests) on justice expectations with respect to a forthcoming application for the job of prison guard. Further, it aims to study the moderating role of direct experiences on the relationship between beliefs and justice expectations.
Design/methodology/approach
A written survey was administered to 803 applicants, just before the start of the selection procedure. Data were self‐reported and collected at one point in time.
Findings
Significant positive relationships were found between both beliefs (i.e. belief in a just world and belief in tests) on procedural and distributive justice expectations. Moreover, the relationship between belief in tests and both types of justice expectations was stronger among experienced applicants. Conversely, the relationship between belief in a just world and distributive justice expectations was stronger among inexperienced applicants. This moderation was not found with respect to procedural justice expectations.
Originality/value
Insight into how justice expectations are formed in selection contexts, and consequently, how organizations can influence these expectations, is largely missing. Bell, Ryan, and Wiechmann provided a conceptual model on antecedents of justice expectations but its theoretical underpinning is rather weak and not well‐understood. Construal level theory was used in this study as a theoretical basis to predict how applicants might form justice expectations with respect to future selection procedures.
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Tiffany S. Legendre, Melissa Baker, Rodney Warnick and Albert Assaf
Despite the well-established branding literature, how a brand is connected to individual, market and societal/ideological levels are largely unknown. Grounded in the belief in a…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the well-established branding literature, how a brand is connected to individual, market and societal/ideological levels are largely unknown. Grounded in the belief in a just world (BJW) theory, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of brand positioning status (BPS) on the support of certain brands (financially and non-financially) and examine the moderating roles of brand ideology and protestant work ethic (PWE).
Design/methodology/approach
In Study 1, a 2 (BPS: topdog vs underdog) × 2 (brand ideology: universalism vs power) between-subjects experimental design is conducted on overall brand support, purchase intention and word-of-mouth. To build upon the findings, Study 2 explores the three-way interaction effects on the same dependent variables by using a 2 (BPS: topdog vs underdog) × 2 (ideology: universalism vs power) × 2 (PWE: high vs low) quasi-experimental between-subjects design study.
Findings
The results of these studies reveal that customers have a strong intention to support the brands with universalism values, regardless of BPS, as power imbalance in the marketplace is not as salient. When a brand conveys the power ideology, the BPS greatly matters in earning customers’ support. This tendency, however, is varied among customers based on their level of PWE. This is because customers’ justification and evaluation on capitalism differs and their views toward market competitions between topdogs and underdogs are influenced by the personal worldviews.
Originality/value
The findings build upon belief in a just world theory and branding literature and discuss the importance of considering the BPS and the ideology a brand conveys in the marketplace, as the meanings and messages could be perceived differently based on what kind of work ethic one possesses and supports.
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Cong Doanh Duong, Bich Ngoc Nguyen, Xuan Hau Doan, Van Hau Nguyen and Anh Trong Vu
Little is known about how religious beliefs can motivate consumers to behave more pro-environmentally. Drawn on an integrated model of the theory of planned behavior, the norm…
Abstract
Purpose
Little is known about how religious beliefs can motivate consumers to behave more pro-environmentally. Drawn on an integrated model of the theory of planned behavior, the norm activation model and the self-determination theory, this study aims to explore the effects of religious beliefs (especially, karmic beliefs (KB) and beliefs in a just world (BJW)) on consumers' pro-environmental behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 736 consumers recruited from the eight most populous cities in Vietnam using the mall-intercept survey approach and structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to test the hypothesized model and hypotheses.
Findings
The findings indicate that KB and BJW can increase consumers' green intrinsic motivation, which subsequently encourages them to engage in pro-environmental consumption. Moreover, awareness of consequences (AOC) and ascription of responsibility (AOR) serially indirectly inspire consumers' sustainable consumption through serial mediators, including personal norms (PN), attitudes toward green products and green purchase intention.
Practical implications
Based on the findings, some theoretical and managerial implications for pro-environmental consumption are provided.
Originality/value
The study offers fresh perspectives on the role of religious beliefs in pro-environmental research. Additionally, this study sheds new light on the marketing literature by integrating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and norm activation model (NAM) with self-determination theory (SDT) to explore the underlying mechanisms and effects of psychological components on consumers' pro-environmental behaviors.
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Shalini Nataraj-Hansen and Kelly Richards
Victims of online fraud face a high level of blame from their families, friends, professionals, the broader community and often from themselves. Victims are commonly perceived as…
Abstract
Purpose
Victims of online fraud face a high level of blame from their families, friends, professionals, the broader community and often from themselves. Victims are commonly perceived as stupid, gullible and undeserving of justice. The reasons for this are under-researched, and there are currently no satisfactory explanations of why victim-blaming occurs so frequently in cases of online fraud. This paper aims to propose a potential theoretical explanation for the high level of blame experienced by online fraud victims.
Design/methodology/approach
Lerner’s Belief in a Just World (BJW) theory is posited as a helpful theoretical explanation for the high level of blame directed towards victims of online fraud.
Findings
This paper argues that Lerner’s BJW theory is a helpful framework for understanding the blame faced by victims of online fraud because it posits that behavioural responsibility (a trait commonly ascribed to online fraud victims) is central to perceived blameworthiness; and that compensation for a crime determines the level of blame directed towards victims. As victims of online fraud are exceptionally unlikely to receive any type of compensation (whether monetary or otherwise), BJW may help explain the blame directed towards victims.
Originality/value
Prior scholarship predominantly understands the blame faced by online fraud victims through the lens of Nils Christie’s (1986) “ideal victim” thesis. This paper presents an advance over this existing understanding by illustrating how BJW provides a more detailed explanation for victim blame in online fraud.
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Mauricio Palmeira, Minjung Koo and Hyun-Ah Sung
This paper aims to examine how observers evaluate a company that provides service failure (or excellence) to an immoral versus a moral customer. This study introduces the concept…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how observers evaluate a company that provides service failure (or excellence) to an immoral versus a moral customer. This study introduces the concept of deservingness to the service literature and suggests that observers appreciate when a company delivers “justice” – either bad service to an immoral customer or good service to a moral customer – and thus evaluate the company more favorably.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents three online studies using scenarios (ns = 205, 199 and 181) and one lab study (n = 89) using a confederate to manipulate customer morality.
Findings
Across four studies, this study finds that a service failure has a less negative impact on observers’ company evaluations when observers consider the target customer immoral, and thus deserving of the bad outcome. Conversely, the positive impact of observing service excellence is enhanced when observers consider the target customer to be moral, and thus deserving of a good outcome. This effect occurs because the perception of deservingness leads observers to experience more positive feelings about the service outcome and these positive feelings transfer over to observers’ evaluations of the service provider.
Research limitations/implications
The mechanism shares some similarities with the concept of immanent justice reasoning, whereby individuals draw a causal link between someone’s prior immoral behavior and an unrelated negative outcome. However, the studies go one step further by showing that such causal reasoning, at least on a moral level, can impact the judgments of the other party (in this case, the company involved in the service outcome).
Practical implications
Service providers need to be particularly attentive when serving customers who are viewed in a positive light, as an observed failure that affects a moral customer can be particularly damaging to company evaluations. Conversely, companies should make efforts to publicize when exceptional service is given to nice, admirable customers, as this is particularly effective at improving evaluations.
Originality/value
Researchers have examined how allocations of responsibility affect observers' evaluation of service encounters. This paper adds deservingness as an alternate mechanism and examines service excellence as well.
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Citizen willingness to participate in social action depends, in part, on certain beliefs about the world and one's power to initiate change. This study examines how belief in a…
Abstract
Citizen willingness to participate in social action depends, in part, on certain beliefs about the world and one's power to initiate change. This study examines how belief in a just world (BJW) affects willingness to participate in social action. The model also incorporates antecedents to BJW, including personality factors (authoritarianism, self-esteem, powerlessness); political orientation (national identity, patriotism); social characteristics (religiosity, ethnicity, education, income); and the relationships among these factors. Data are from a representative sample of the Jewish Israeli population. Findings indicate that as BJW decreases, so to does the willingness to act, and that personality, political, and social characteristics influence both BJW and willingness to participate in social action.