1. Socially Conscious Consumerism Highlights for Educators from a Systematic Review of the Body of Research
Dr. June Cotte
Richard Ivey School of Business
Commissioned by:
Network for Business Sustainability

2. The Terra Bite Case Study
A case study (available here) was developed to support this project. It deals with voluntary consumer payment method
The implicit assumption of the owners is ethical behaviour on the part of consumers, most of the time
Another implicit assumption is that socially responsible consumers will pay enough of a premium to more than compensate for free-loaders
The results of a knowledge project undertaken for the Network for Business Sustainability looked deep into the evidence underlying these and similar assumptions

3. Research Question and Approach
Are consumers willing to reward firms for their positive CSR-related actions?
if so, by how much?
what factors influence whether they will?
do they also punish (monetarily)?

4. What is CSR? Keywords searched: Organic products Local purchasing
Recycling
Slow food
Socially conscious consumerism
Environmental consumerism
Social marketing
Green consumption
Cause-related marketing
Eco-friendly products
Paying for ethical behaviour
Sustainable products / consumption
Ethical firm behaviour
Corporate social responsibility

5. What is included in the study?
Search found nearly 1,700 academic articles and industry reports
Excluded least relevant and worst quality studies
Analyzed 91 articles on consumer willingness to pay for CSR initiatives

6. Results: Types of Studies

7. Results: Location of Consumers

8. Results: Meaning of CSR

9. Results: Meaning of CSR

10. Results: Consumer Willingness to…

11. Results: Attitudes

12. Results: Behaviours

13. Results: Intentions

14. Results: Intentions vs. Behaviours
Note: based on a small set of the total studies that included specific increases (13/91).

15. Conclusions Behavioural studies trump surveys
Surveys yield wider range of results than observing consumer choices
Attitude-Behaviour gap confirmed
Intentions > behaviours
Biggest gap on the environment: consumers are willing to change but not pay more
Smallest gap on organic, ethical sourcing, and animal rights: fewer studies show willingness to change, but those that do also show that consumers are willing to pay more

16. What’s a Marketer to Do?
“…assuming all else is constant, consumers are more likely to purchase from companies that engage in CSR actions, particularly in domains that consumers deem appropriate and personally relevant… [but]… little is constant in the real marketplace.” (Du, Bhattacharya and Sen 2007) Messaging needs to position along the lines of “there is no trade-off” — consumers expect the “better” alternative to be at least equal in price and quality to what they are already buying If you plan to charge a premium, messaging needs to revolve around other ways your offering saves money (the ‘value in use’ argument from the B2B area)

17. Future Opportunities
What influences consumers? We lack consensus on the profile of the socially conscious consumer and company:
My final report will have a model of possible influences
But we must better understand the influences and the gaps between attitudes, intentions, and behaviours
Research in this area needs to be more rigorous.
Price and quality are never equal, so let’s not assume they are

18. Research Opportunities
Enough surveys. We need better methods:
Self-reported survey results simply are not up to the task of determining a price premium, or real marketplace behaviour
Consumers often assume the socially conscious choice must be either more expensive, or not as effective
More rigorous methods include conjoint, forced-choice, traditional experiments

19. Social and Peer Influence
Influences
Gender, Age, Education
SEC, Culture, Nation
Involvement
Social and Peer Influence
Gov’t Policy
Willingness to Change Behavior
Willingness to Pay a Premium
Firm CSR Actions
Consumer Attitudes towards CSR Actions
Consumer Behavioral Intentions
Willingness to Punish
Enhancements and Impediments
Impediments:
Contradictory firm actions
Prior negative consumer knowledge or attitude re: firm
Enhancements:
Consumer knowledge of action
Consumer understanding
Prior positive consumer attitude re: firm
Company / issue fit
Impediments:
Negative consumer attributions (why? greenwashing)
Effect on perceived quality
Negative perceptions of consumer efficacy
Consumer sacrifice
Enhancements:
Positive perceptions of consumer efficacy
Acceptance of firm and consumer responsibility
Impediments:
Competitive actions
Confusion at POP
Habit
Misleading packaging
Required trade-offs
Enhancements:
Clear benefit
Prior small commitment
Consistency/fit with brand
Salience of issue
Simplified claims/labels
In-store education