Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Social Justice Attitudes and Concerns for Labor Standards: An Empirical Investigation of the Theory of Planned Behaviors and Consumer Actions

Social Justice Attitudes and Concerns for Labor Standards: An Empirical Investigation of the... This study utilizes an adapted version of the Social Justice Scale to capture and assess the extent to which social-justice- related values and attitudes toward labor standards relate to consumer intentions and behaviors. This social cognitive model assesses, based on Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, how “perceived behavior control” affects these behaviors either directly or indirectly through consumers’ intentions. It is hypothesized that individuals who value fairness and equity in social interactions are going to be more likely to engage with businesses that are known for ethical business practices and abstain from firms that are known to violate labor rights. The results confirm that consumers who are concerned with social justice are less likely to conduct business with enterprises that have the reputation of violating both human rights and labor rights. However, the results also reveal that consumers with low levels of “perceived behavioral control” justify their consumer behaviors as they do not think that they can make a difference. Keywords labor standards, planned behaviors, consumer behaviors, workplace rights, social justice those who were willing to pay more were willing to pay up to Introduction 40% more for the labeled products. This coincides with Recent studies indicate that consumers reveal an increased results from the Hiscox and Smyth (2006) study, which indi- preference for purchasing goods making “proenvironmental cated that although volumes decreased for labeled products, claims” and products that promote “societal well-being,” price increases made up for the reduced sales. whether that may consist of fair wages to farmers, manufac- Frank (2003) provides an excellent survey of the history of turing processes, or general working conditions (Stratton & labor- and middle-class efforts to mobilize shopping on behalf Werner, 2013). Castaldo, Perrini, Misani, and Tencati (2009) of working people from the late 19th century through the found that socially oriented companies that comply with present. The article outlines both class dynamics of such ethical and social requirements and/or acknowledge a com- movements and how they affect workers’ ability to generate mitment to protect consumer rights and interests can suc- consumer campaigns and what the author considers contem- cessfully leverage their reputation to market products with porary middle-class campaigns that treat workers as unorga- high symbolic values and thereby increase the consumer’s nized, passive victims. It highlights the potentially detrimental intention to buy their products. effects of consumer–labor campaigns across various dimen- On the flipside, other studies indicate mixed results sions and dynamics of race, gender, and space. Consistently, regarding consumers’ purchasing behaviors and whether Haedicke (2013) argues in his study from the meatpacking they do in fact respond favorably to socially responsible industry that neoliberal patterns of economic organization business practices. Even though a majority of surveyed con- and policies have, in addition to undermining labor unionism, sumers said they would be willing to pay extra for products made under “good” working conditions abroad or domesti- cally, rather than in sweatshops (Hiscox & Smyth, 2006), a 1 Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN, USA study by Prasad, Kimeldorf, Meyer, and Robinson (2004) Corresponding Author: found that most consumers preferred to pay less for the Kristian F. Braekkan, Department of Economics & Management, “unlabeled” (not fair trade certified) products, and that only Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 West College Avenue, St. Peter, MN one in four was willing to pay more for “labeled” (fair trade 56082, USA. Email: braekkan@gustavus.edu certified) products. However, the results did indicate that Creative Commons CC-BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). 2 SAGE Open supported consumer-based strategies, which have limited the Background, Theory, and Hypotheses potential to restructure power relations in the market. Contemporary Examples of Violations by Retailers Starting in the late 1990s, a variety of nongovernmental systems for advancing labor standards and enforcement To position this article in a contemporary context, we will start began to emerge. These were designed to make it easier for by utilizing the largest retailer in the world as an example. consumers to make more informed decisions in the market. Many have hailed the Wal-Mart story as an example of what These systems aimed at increasing the transparency of exist- the “American Dream” can do for budding entrepreneurs as ing initiatives, independence of monitors, convergence of the Walton family of Arkansas took a small business and standards, and dynamics among nongovernmental regula- turned it into an undisputed retail “superpower.” Critics, how- tions, unions, and state enforcements. O’Rourke (2003) ever, have argued that the success has come at the expense of argues that with increased transparency, improved technical other retailers, suppliers, employees, and consumers. capacities, and new mechanisms of accountability to workers In 2004, a Federal district court oversaw a class action and consumers, nongovernmental monitoring could comple- lawsuit on behalf of more than 1.5 million current and former ment existing state regulatory systems and thereby enhance female employees of Wal-Mart retail stores nationwide (“Pay the consumers’ ability to support workers’ rights. Equality Overview”). The most well-known court case that More than a decade has passed since O’Rourke’s article pertains to Wal-Mart’s discrimination against female employ- was published and concerns about labor and environmental ees is Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The plaintiffs claimed standards remain. Research continues to indicate that regula- that women for years had been paid less than male workers tions (nongovernmental or governmental) or consumer cam- in comparable positions. They also made the Federal court paigns have contributed to only minor changes. Bartley and aware of Wal-Mart’s unchanging company system of passing Child (2009) found no support for their hypothesis that anti- over female employees when awarding promotions to man- sweatshop campaigns would decrease sales for firms exploit- agement. Cases much like this one have been brought to the ing labor. They did, however, find that more intense court system all over America. campaigns directed at products that are recognizable to con- Wal-Mart’s competitors have also been scrutinized for sumers had discernible effects on sales. their business practices. In 2002, Target was one of a group Concerns regarding ethical business practices are to a of retailers that together paid US$20 million to settle class great extent shaped by cognitions and affects (Gregory- action lawsuits charging them with permitting sweatshop Smith, Smith, & Winklhofer, 2013). Some of these cogni- conditions in factories run by their suppliers in Saipari, part tions may be shaped by the individual consumer’s perceptions of the U.S. Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands in of social justice, or the promotion of “fair and equitable allo- the Pacific. More recently, additional discrimination and cation of bargaining powers, resources, and obligations in inequality business practices of Target have come forth. In society in consideration of people’s differential power, needs, 2007, the company paid a total of more than US$1.2 million and abilities to express their wishes” (Prilleltensky, 2001, to settle cases brought by the U.S. Equal Employment p. 754). It would be reasonable to expect that someone who Opportunity Commission involving alleged racial discrimi- values fairness and equity in social interactions would be nation in hiring in Wisconsin and a racially hostile environ- more likely to engage with businesses that are not known for ment in Pennsylvania. In 2004, a Target contractor paid unethical business practices. Stated differently, one would US$1.9 million to settle an overtime-violation case brought not expect someone who is concerned with social justice to by the federal government on behalf of immigrant workers. conduct business with enterprises that have the reputation of In 2009, another contractor settled an overtime lawsuit for violating human rights or what most people would consider US$3.8 million. ethical behaviors. Nevertheless, previous research suggest In 2005, Best Buy paid US$200,000 to nine plaintiffs that consumers are often aware of the unethical behaviors but accusing them of job discrimination and over US$10 million justify their behaviors for a number of different reasons (e.g., for legal fees and costs. Eight current and former employees Bose & Sarker, 2012; Gregory-Smith et al., 2013). and one job applicant filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District This article utilizes Ajzen’s (1985) model of planned Court in Oakland, California. They claimed that Best Buy behaviors to assess the extent to which social-justice-related was denying promotions, transfers, and desirable job assign- values and attitudes relate to consumer intentions and even- ments to African American, Latino, and female employees. tual behaviors. Specifically, we utilize The Social Justice Best Buy did not deny these allegations, but instead decided Scale (SJS) of planned behaviors developed by Torres- to implement a decree. Harding, Siers, and Olson (2012) to capture and assess an individual’s social attitudes and values and other constructs Consumer Behaviors and Planned Behaviors that might be related to social justice behaviors. Furthermore, we also assesses how “perceived behavior control” affects Consumer behaviors represent decision-making processes consumers’ intended or actual behaviors either directly or and acts of consumers when it comes to buying and using indirectly. products (i.e., the exchange process). The construct rests Schulz and Braekkan 3 upon the assumption that consumers and their behaviors are social justice, it would involve an individual’s acceptance of motivated and purposive (Berkman, 1992; Bose & Sarker, the social justice ideals and related values (e.g., such as the 2012). In other words, consumer behavior is a construct that belief that one should act for social justice, or that it is right involves choices and planned behaviors. or fair to promote equality of opportunity for everyone, When deciding which retail stores to shop in, and which regardless of background.) to not, consumers appear to take their own personal prefer- Subjective norms include support, or lack thereof, pro- ence into consideration, and we do not know the extent of vided in an environment for performing a given behavior. their awareness of unethical business decisions. A multitude Ajzen (1991) suggests that the inclusion of subjective norms of questions arise: Why do people continue to support com- describes a mechanism by which the social context can influ- panies with appalling business practices and are people sim- ence the occurrence of a behavior. Consistent with Torres- ply unaware of these practices? or Could consumer behaviors Harding and colleagues (2012), in social justice work, be explained by either cognitive dissonance? contextual messages, norms, and support would facilitate The theory of cognitive dissonance has been considered one’s intentions to act for social justice. essential in understanding consumer behaviors for some time Perceived behavioral control is, according to Ajzen (1991), (Bose & Sarker, 2012). The term describes a psychological one’s perceived ability to perform an act. In a social justice state in which cognitions, for example, beliefs, attitudes, and context, this would encompass the extent to which a person behaviors, are at odds (Festinger, 1957) and is typically asso- feels it is possible to “make a difference,” or the self-evalua- ciated with attitude change. This is where theories of planned tion of whether one can have an impact on existing social con- behaviors appear to be fruitful in understanding consumer ditions. Ajzen notes that perceived behavioral control could behaviors in lieu of what appears to be obvious poor business directly predict intentions to act and, in some cases, also practices by the retailers. directly predict behavioral performance itself if the action The theory of planned behavior, first introduced by Ajzen itself was particularly difficult or challenging. Torres-Harding in 1985, has been one of the most utilized and influential and colleagues (2012) suggest that many of the social justice– models for the prediction of human social behavior over the promoting actions could be viewed as particularly difficult or last three decades (Ajzen, 2011). It represents a social cogni- challenging because it involves changing the status quo tive model that yields a practical framework to consider how (Prilleltensky & Nelson, 2002; Torres-Harding et al., 2012). attitudes and related constructs might predict a number of It is expected that an individual’s acceptance of social behaviors. The central tenet of this theory is that behavioral justice ideals and related values affect their consumer performance is best directly predicted by one’s stated inten- behaviors. Specifically, it would be natural to assume that tion to act. Ajzen’s theory and model have been applied to a consumers who value social justice will not engage in range of health-related behaviors, for example, levels of economic exchanges with retailers who infringe on work- exercise, frequency of medical self-examinations, regulation ers’ rights to unionize, are known to exploit workers, and of eating/nutrition, safe driving behaviors, and volunteerism, who utilize unethical practices throughout their supply and in the field of environmental psychology (Hardeman chains (e.g., use of child labor or forced labor in facto- et al., 2002). The theory is also frequently used in areas such ries). Hence, utilizing Ajzen’s model, we propose the fol- as advertising, public relations, and organizational behavior lowing hypotheses: (Ajzen, 2011). Ajzen’s theory appears to be particularly fruitful when it Hypothesis 1a (H1a): Individuals with a high degree of comes to predicting and understanding “ethical” consumer acceptance of social justice ideals and related values (e.g., behaviors. Previous research has indicated that emotions and attitudes toward the behavior), such as the belief that one the prevalence of dissonance play a significant role in con- should act for social justice, or that it is right or fair to sumer behaviors (see Gregory-Smith et al., 2013 as a recent promote equality of opportunity for everyone, regardless example). Violations by retailers, whether they materialize in of background will intend to act consistently with these the form of gender or race discrimination, antiunion mea- values through their consumer behaviors. sures, the utilization of child labor in the supply chain, or Hypothesis 1b (H1b): Intentions to act will mediate the lack of worker benefits, are frequent topics in news media. relationship between the attitudes toward the behavior Hence, it is reasonable to expect that most consumers are and the actual behavior. aware of potential unethical business practices among the Hypothesis 2a (H2a): Individuals experiencing subjec- major retailers in the marketplace. tive norms in their environment in favor of performing a Taking a step back, Ajzen (1991) suggests that one’s given behavior consistent with social justice will intend to intentions to act are predicted by one’s attitudes toward the act consistently with these values through their consumer action, subjective norms around the action, and one’s per- behaviors. ceived behavioral control of the action. Attitudes involve Hypothesis 2b (H2b): Intentions to act will mediate the general dispositions toward a given behavior. As suggested relationship between subjective norms and the actual by Torres-Harding and colleagues (2012), with respect to behavior. 4 SAGE Open Social Justice Attitudes (SJA) were measured utilizing the original 11 items from Torres-Harding and colleagues’ (2012) scale. These items included “I believe that it is impor- tant to make sure that all individuals and groups have a chance to speak and be heard, especially those from tradi- tionally ignored or marginalized groups,” “I believe that it is important to allow individuals and groups to define and describe their problems, experiences and goals in their own terms,” and “I believe that it is important to talk to others about societal systems of power, privilege, and oppression.” Figure 1. Proposed full model. Responses were made on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Cronbach’s α for this scale was .82. Hypothesis 3a (H3a): Individuals with high-perceived Social Justice Perceived Behavioral Control (SJPBC) behavioral control with respect to social justice will intend was measured utilizing the original five items from Torres- to act consistently with values through their consumer Harding and colleagues’ (2012) scale. These items included, behaviors. “I am confident that I can have a positive impact on others’ Hypothesis 3b (H3b): Intentions to act will mediate the lives,” “I am certain that I possess an ability to work with relationship between perceived subjective norms and the individuals and groups in ways that are empowering,” and actual behavior. “If I choose to do so, I am capable of influencing others to Hypothesis 3c (H3c): Individuals with high-perceived promote fairness and equality.” Responses were made on a behavioral control will act consistently with their values 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly through their consumer behaviors. agree). Cronbach’s α for this scale was .67. Social Justice Subjective Norms (SJSN) were measured The full model is illustrated in Figure 1 below: utilizing the original four items from Torres-Harding and colleagues’ (2012) scale. These items included “Other peo- Method ple around me are engaged in activities that address social injustices,” “Other people around me feel that it is important Sample and Procedure to engage in dialogue around social injustices,” and “Other The participants in this study consisted of 299 (response rate: people around me are supportive of efforts that promote 85%) undergraduate college students from a small liberal social justice.” Responses were made on a 7-point scale arts college in the United States. Stratified sampling tech- ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). niques were utilized to capture students at different class lev- Cronbach’s α for this scale was .75. els and from different fields of study. Following IRB approval Social justice behavioral intentions (SJBI) were measured by the institution, the subjects were provided with an utilizing the original four items from Torres-Harding and informed consent in which the subjects were told that the colleagues’ (2012) scale. These items included, “In the study aimed to study planned behaviors, intentions, and con- future, I will do my best to ensure that all individuals and sumer behaviors. Of the respondents, 160 (53%) identified groups have a chance to speak and be heard,” “In the future, as male and 139 (47%) as female. The mean age was approx- I intend to talk with others about social power inequalities, imately 20 years (SD = 1.8). social injustices and the impact of social forces on health and well-being,” and “In the future, I intend to engage in activi- Measures. The study utilized an adapted version of the Social ties that will promote social justice.” Responses were made Justice Scale (SJS) developed by Torres-Harding and col- on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 leagues (2012) designed to measure how college students (strongly agree). Cronbach’s α for this scale was .86. differ on their attitudes and values regarding social justice. A seven-item scale was developed and used to assess actual The SJS is based on Ajzen’s model and is designed with the consumer behaviors. Items included, “I let price or quality of purpose of measuring social-justice-related values, attitudes, the products that I desire dictate where I shop,” “I do not go out perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and inten- of my way to find a business known to utilize ethical business tions based on a four-factor conception of Ajzen’s theory. practices if a more convenient choice exists,” “I let retailers’ The development of the scale included a confirmatory factor business practices influence my decision to shop at their analysis and analyses for reliability and validity to test the stores,” “I do not shop with retailers that I know, or suspect properties of the scale. Furthermore, we added items designed sells products produced with child labor,” “I do not shop at to capture the students’ actual consumer behaviors and how retail stores if I suspect that working conditions are poor in fac- they let firms’ labor standards and ethics affect their deci- tories supplying their products,” “I do not shop at retail stores if sions to do business with a particular retailer. I suspect that working conditions are poor in the stores,” and Schulz and Braekkan 5 Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, Scale Reliabilities, and Correlations. M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Gender 0.44 0.48 2. Age 20.3 1.20 .01 3. Attitude 3.29 0.97 .03 .03 (0.82) 4. Subjective norm 2.73 0.85 −.04 .02 .04 (0.75) 5. Behavioral control 3.11 0.77 −.02 .04 −.03 −.08 (0.67) 6. Intention 2.88 0.91 .04 .02 .65* .51* .72* (0.86) 7. Behavioral control 2.76 1.06 .03 .09 .04 .07 .79* .11 (0.86) 8. Interest/knowledge 2.76 1.06 −.05 .06 .04 .07 .08 .06 .45 Note. Cronbach’s alpha appears along the diagonal in parenthesis. Gender is coded 0 = male, 1 = female. *p < .05. Table 2. Results of Regression Analyses (Hypotheses 1a and 1b). “When shopping at retail stores I do not consider the retailer’s reputation regarding their business practices.” The items were Consumer selected following a preliminary factor analysis of 25 items. All Dependent variable Intentions (H1a) behavior (H1b) items had a 7-point Likert-type scale response format (e.g., 1 = Control variables strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree). Internal consistency Gender 0.02 0.02 estimates (alpha coefficients) were .86. Age −0.01 −0.03 A number of control variables were used in the analyses: Main effects gender, age, year in school, ethnicity, major, and previous work Attitude 0.63* 0.11 experience. In addition, four items were generated to control Intentions 0.09 for the respondents’ existing knowledge of labor issues. These F 43.51* 1.61 items included, “I am concerned with retail workers’ benefits,” 2 Overall R .66 .04 “I pay attention to retail workers’ rights to unionize,” “I am not Adjusted R .61 .04 concerned with retail workers’ wages,” and “I find it difficult to Note. Two-tailed hypothesis test. know what companies utilize questionable business practices.” *p < .05. All items had a 7-point Likert-type scale response format (e.g., 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree). Table 3. Results of Regression Analyses (Hypotheses 2a and 2b). Consumer Results Dependent variable Intentions (H2a) behavior (H2b) The means, standard deviations, intercorrelations, and reli- Control variables abilities for all the variables in this study are provided in Gender 0.02 0.02 Table 1. Cronbach alpha values for the scaled variables are Age −0.01 −0.03 also included in these tables. Main effects Consistent with H1a, an individual’s degree of acceptance Subjective norms 0.49* 0.05 of social justice ideals and related values (e.g., attitudes Intentions 0.09 toward the behavior), such as the belief that one should act F 41.03* 1.11 for social justice, or that it is right or fair to promote equality Overall R .56 .03 of opportunity for everyone, regardless of background Adjusted R .51 .03 aligned with an intention to act consistent with these ideals Note. Two-tailed hypothesis test. and values. “Attitudes toward the behavior” were strongly *p < .05. correlated with “intentions to act” (r = .65, p < .05). Whereas the relationships remained statistically signifi- cant in the regression analysis (β = .63, p < .05) as indicated to act consistently with these values through their consumer in Table 2, neither constructs correlated with the actual behaviors (β = .49, p < .05), but neither their subjective behaviors (β = .11, p = .55; β = .09, p = .65, respectively). norms nor intentions were reflected in their reported actual actions (β = .05, p = .64; β = .09, p < .65, respectively). Hence, H1a was supported while H1b was rejected. No sig- Hence, H2a was supported while H2b was rejected. No sig- nificant gender or “age/year in school” differences existed. nificant gender or “age/year in school” differences existed. Findings in Table 3 indicate that individuals experiencing Results in Table 4 show that individuals with high-per- subjective norms in their environment in favor of performing ceived behavioral control with respect to social justice a given behavior consistent with social justice also intended 6 SAGE Open Table 4. Results of Regression Analyses (Hypotheses 3a, 3b, and 3c). Dependent variable Intentions (H3a) Consumer behavior (H3b) Consumer behavior (H3c) Control variables Gender 0.02 0.02 0.02 Age −0.01 −0.02 −0.01 Main effects Behavioral control 0.72* 0.77* Intentions 0.09 0.09 F 48.63* 1.11 51.33* Overall R .66 .03 .69 Adjusted R .63 .03 .64 Note. Two-tailed hypothesis test. *p < .05. Table 5. Results of Moderated Regression Analyses. Dependent variable Consumer behaviors Consumer behaviors Control variables Gender 0.02 0.02 Age 0.00 −0.01 Main effects Behavioral control 0.20* Interest and knowledge 0.29* 0.33* Interaction Behavioral control × Interest and knowledge 0.40* F 35.21* 43.18* Overall R .63 .79 Adjusted R .59 .66 Note. Two-tailed hypothesis test. *p < .05. endorsed intended consumer behaviors consistent with H3a (β = .72, p < .05). Hence, H3a was confirmed. H3b suggested that intentions to act would mediate the relationship between perceived subjective norms and the actual behavior. As already noted, no significant relationship existed between intentions to act and the actual behaviors (β = .09, p < .65). Hence, H3b was rejected. However, individuals with high- perceived behavioral control endorsed consumer behaviors consistent with H3c (β = .77, p < .05). Hence, H3c, which suggested a direct relationship between perceived behavioral control and behaviors, was confirmed. Figure 2. Slope analysis of moderating effects. We conducted follow-up analyses to see if the respon- dents’ “interests and knowledge” in “industrial relations” As Figure 2 illustrates, the positive relationship between and “labor relations” would affect the relationship between “perceived behavioral control” and “consumer behaviors” was perceived behavioral control and the respondents’ consumer significantly strengthened among respondents endorsing high behaviors. Hence, a series of moderated regression analyses “interests and knowledge.” The slope analysis confirmed this. were performed. Consistent with Aiken and West (1991), the Among individuals with low “interests and knowledge,” variables used in the interaction were centered at their means endorsing low “perceived behavioral control” scored on aver- to make the results more interpretable. age 2.60 on “consumer behaviors,” while individuals with low As shown in Table 5 and illustrated in Figure 2, the effects “interests and knowledge” endorsing high “perceived behav- of “perceived behavioral control” on “consumer behaviors” ioral control” scored on average 2.82 (t = 0.75, p = .71). varied across levels of “interests and knowledge.” Schulz and Braekkan 7 However, individuals with high “interests and knowledge” reported acting consistently with their values through their endorsing low “perceived behavioral control” scored on aver- consumer behaviors. age 2.38 (almost identical to the low-interest/low-control sub- There are a number of other takeaways from the findings jects), while individuals with high “interests and knowledge” in this study with respect to what we know about concerns endorsing high “attitudes” scored on average 4.20 (t = 9.42, p < about labor standards and other social-justice-related issues. .05). In other words, whereas there were minimal differences in These findings have been summarized in five major catego- terms of consumer behaviors when perceived behavioral con- ries to make them concise and clear. trol was low between individuals with different degrees of First, attitudes and general dispositions toward a given interest and knowledge, the gap widened significantly as per- behavior, such as the belief that one should act for social jus- ceived level of control increased. Specifically, there were sta- tice, or that it is right or fair to promote equality of opportu- tistically significant differences on consumer behaviors scores nity for everyone, regardless of background, is not by itself a between high and low interest and knowledge subjects among predictor of behaviors. Such attitudes appear to generate to those with high perceived control. some intentions, but not necessarily lead to concrete actions. As an example, having a favorable view of work that seeks to rectify wrongs in the workplace is not sufficient to affect Discussion consumer behaviors. Second, experiencing subjective norms, such as contex- Implications tual messages, norms, and support may facilitate one’s inten- This study contributes to our understanding of how cogni- tions to act for social justice, but not necessarily lead to tions and affects regarding ethical business practices affect action. In other words, this study revealed that although sub- consumer behaviors. Normally, one would expect that some- jects endorsing such support appeared to also endorse inten- one who values fairness and equity in social interactions tions to act consistently with these norms, they did not would be less likely to engage with businesses that are known necessarily act upon these intentions. Hence, attitudes, dis- for unethical business practices. However, consistent with positions, and environmental norms are not sufficient to previous research, findings in this article suggest that con- affect consumer behaviors. sumers who are aware of unethical behaviors do not neces- Third, perceived behavioral control, or one’s perceived sarily let their intentions lead to consistent outcomes. ability to perform an act in a social justice context, appears to Results from this study indicate that individuals scoring be a strong predictor of consumer behaviors. The extent to high on measures of social justice ideals and related values which a person feels it is possible to “make a difference” and (e.g., attitudes toward the behavior), such as the belief that have an impact on existing social conditions will affect both one should act for social justice, or that it is right or fair to intentions and actions according to these results. In sum- promote equality of opportunity for everyone, regardless of mary, Individuals who value social justice will not engage in background showed intentions to act consistently with these economic exchanges with retailers who infringe on workers’ values through their consumer behaviors (H1a), but these rights to unionize, are known to exploit workers, and who intentions did not relate to self-reported actual behaviors utilize unethical practices throughout their supply chains (inconsistent with H1b). In other words, intentions to act did (e.g., use of child labor or forced labor in factories) unless not mediate the relationship between the attitudes toward the they perceive that their actions can change the status quo. behavior and actual behaviors. Fourth, it is evident that consumers need to be educated Similarly, individuals experiencing subjective norms in about workplace rights. As Table 5 indicates, it is the combi- their environment in favor of performing a given behavior nation of interest and knowledge that affect actions. Interest consistent with social justice revealed intentions to act con- alone is not enough. One may think of how generations of sistently with these values through their consumer behaviors the past were very well informed about social justice issues (as suggested by H2a), but these did not translate into actual such as civil rights, Western warfare in other hemispheres, behaviors (H2b). Hence, intentions to act did not mediate the and gender equality and how these issues were pushed for- relationship between subjective norms and actual behaviors. ward by activists at a broad scale. Whereas issues of environ- Subjective norms can therefore be rejected as a possible pre- mental concern appear to become a larger part of the U.S. dictor of consumer behaviors that are consistent with such curriculum in both secondary and tertiary education systems, environmental norms. little is done to promote issues of workplace rights. These On the contrary, the study confirmed that respondents findings strongly suggest that actions change when there is endorsing high behavioral control with respect to social jus- an interaction of knowledge and interest. tice both intended to act consistently with values through Fifth, we live with the challenge of limited “behavioral their consumer behaviors (H3a) and their actual behaviors control.” As Lilley, McNally, Yuen, Davis, and Henwood (H3b). In other words, the results suggest that intentions to (2011) documented very well in their collection of essays, act both mediated the relationship between perceived subjec- Catastrophism, the political left has, to a great extent, used tive norms and the actual behavior as these individuals fear tactics to call people to action and they question these 8 SAGE Open tactics. Their arguments hinge on the idea that people become used in psychology to predict how individuals will behave passive and compliant when issues are introduced as cata- based on their preexisting attitudes and behavioral inten- strophic or beyond their control. One may even argue that tions, and Bandura’s (see Bandura, 1986) concept of self- unless people are encouraged to “make change” one con- efficacy, to examine intentions and consumer behaviors. The sumer at a time, we fall victims to the powers that want to latter concept might be particularly fruitful in this context as maintain the status quo. Table 5 reveals that experiencing it lends itself to examine various paths in the development of behavioral control is absolutely key for becoming an agent of self-efficacy, the dynamics of self-efficacy, and lack thereof, change. and habits of attribution that contribute to, or detract from, self-efficacy. Finally, this study utilized college students who were Limitations of Study asked to reflect upon their consumer behaviors and inten- Whereas the study has added to our understanding of how tions. One may want to examine whether these results would social justice attitudes, social norms, and perceived control hold true as age increases. If these behaviors are unique to affect consumer behaviors, there were limitations that should this group of consumers as a result of, for instance, limited be addressed. The data were based on self-reports that were disposable income, the literature may benefit from a broader collected cross-sectionally. Biases may therefore be present demographic in future samples. due to common-method variance (CMV). The study fol- lowed recommendations by Conway and Lance (2010) and Declaration of Conflicting Interests Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, and Podsakoff (2003) and uti- The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect lized existing instruments that have been proven to be both to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. reliable and valid in previous studies in an attempt to over- come some of these problems. The extent to which CMV Funding was a problem in the data was calculated based on the proce- The author(s) received no financial support for the research and/or dures described by Podsakoff and colleagues (2003). The authorship of this article. results indicated that the average variance explained by the CMV was less than 0.75%, which is considered acceptable References and fair (Podsakoff et al., 2003). The surveys utilized coun- Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing terbalancing question order to reduce the potential of such and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE. problems. Finally, a remaining concern is the utilization of Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned self-reports. This is difficult to overcome with this research behavior. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckman (Eds.), Action-control: design as the constructs measured are latent individual con- From cognition to behavior (pp. 11-39). Heidelberg, Germany: structs and the authors were unable to observe actual Springer. behaviors. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. Ajzen, I. (2011). The theory of planned behaviour: Reactions and Future Studies reflections. Psychology & Health, 26, 1113-1127. Future research could utilize longitudinal data. Causality was Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A not addressed in this study due to its use of cross-sectional social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. data, so there is a possibility that those acting consistent with Bartley, T., & Child, C. (2009). Movements, markets and fields: their values experience higher perceived control as a result of The effects of anti-sweatshop campaigns on U.S. firms, 1993- their actions. Hence, these respondents could become more 2000. Social Forces, 90, 425-451. Berkman, H. W. (1992). Twenty years of the journal. Journal of the cognitively aware of how actions directed against unethical Academy of Marketing Science, 20, 299-300. businesses generate “control.” Bose, T. K., & Sarker, S. (2012). Cognitive dissonance affecting con- Although the sample was of moderate size (n = 299), sumer buying decision making: A study based on Khulna met- future studies could benefit from the use of larger samples ropolitan area. Journal of Management Research, 4, 191-221. and possibly a larger variety of respondents to draw compari- Castaldo, S., Perrini, F., Misani, N., & Tencati, A. (2009). The sons between different demographics. It could also be bene- missing link between corporate social responsibility and con- ficial to replicate this study and compare differences among sumer trust: The case of fair trade products. Journal of Business subjects with different income levels. One may look at how Ethics, 64, 1-15. high-income individuals perceive the importance of labor Conway, J. M., & Lance, C. E. (2010). What reviewers should standards and other social-justice-related issues in compari- expect from authors regarding common method bias in orga- son with individuals with lower income. nizational research. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, Future studies may also use theoretical frameworks such 325-334. as those offered by the theory of reasoned action (see Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975 for an overview), which is frequently CA: Stanford University Press. Schulz and Braekkan 9 Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879-903. MA: Addison-Wesley. Prasad, M., Kimeldorf, H., Meyer, R., & Robinson, I. (2004). Frank, D. (2003). Where are the workers in consumer-worker alli- Consumers of the world unite: A market-based response to ances? Class dynamics and the history of consumer-labor cam- sweatshops. Labor Studies Journal, 29, 57-79. paigns. Politics & Society, 31, 363-379. Prilleltensky, I. (2001). Value-based praxis in community psychol- Gregory-Smith, D., Smith, A., & Winklhofer, H. (2013). Emotions ogy: Moving toward social justice and social action. American and dissonance in “ethical” consumption choices. Journal of Journal of Community Psychology, 29, 747-778. Marketing Management, 29, 1201-1223. Prilleltensky, I., & Nelson, G. (2002). Doing psychology critically: Haedicke, M. A. (2013). From collective bargaining to social jus- Making a difference in diverse settings. Basingstoke, UK: tice certification: Workers’ rights in the American meatpack- Palgrave Macmillan. ing industry. Sociological Focus, 46, 119-137. Stratton, J. P., & Werner, M. J. (2013). Consumer behavior analysis Hardeman, W., Johnston, M., Johnston, D. W., Bonnetti, D., of fair trade coffee: Evidence from field research. Psychological Wareham, N. J., & Kinmonth, A. L. (2002). Application of the Record, 63, 363-374. theory of planned behavior in behavior change interventions: A Torres-Harding, S. R., Siers, B., & Olson, B. D. (2012). Development systematic review. Psychology & Health, 17, 123-158. and psychometric evaluation of the Social Justice Scale (SJS). Hiscox, M. J., & Smyth, N. F. B. (2006). Is there consumer demand American Journal of Community Psychology, 50, 77-88. for improved labor standards? Evidence from field experi- ments in social labeling. Retrieved from http://dev.wcfia.har- Author Biographies vard.edu/sites/default/files/HiscoxSmythND.pdf Lilley, S., McNally, D., Yuen, E., Davis, J., & Henwood, D. (2011). Michaela Schulz is completing her bachelor’s degree in manage- Catastrophism. Oakland, CA: PM Press. ment studies at Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter, Minnesota. O’Rourke, D. (2003). Outsourcing regulation: Analyzing nongov- She is currently applying to graduate programs. ernmental systems of labor standards and monitoring. Policy Kristian F. Braekkan is an associate professor in the department Studies Journal, 31, 1-29. of Economics and Management at Gustavus Adolphus College. His Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J., & Podsakoff, N. research focuses on global capitalism and industrial relations. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png SAGE Open SAGE

Social Justice Attitudes and Concerns for Labor Standards: An Empirical Investigation of the Theory of Planned Behaviors and Consumer Actions

Schulz, Michaela; Braekkan, Kristian F.
SAGE Open , Volume 7 (1): 1 – Jan 1, 2017
Download PDF
9 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/sage/social-justice-attitudes-and-concerns-for-labor-standards-an-empirical-3B3VJyjEHq

References (25)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
Copyright © 2022 by SAGE Publications Inc, unless otherwise noted. Manuscript content on this site is licensed under Creative Commons Licenses.
ISSN
2158-2440
eISSN
2158-2440
DOI
10.1177/2158244016688135
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This study utilizes an adapted version of the Social Justice Scale to capture and assess the extent to which social-justice- related values and attitudes toward labor standards relate to consumer intentions and behaviors. This social cognitive model assesses, based on Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, how “perceived behavior control” affects these behaviors either directly or indirectly through consumers’ intentions. It is hypothesized that individuals who value fairness and equity in social interactions are going to be more likely to engage with businesses that are known for ethical business practices and abstain from firms that are known to violate labor rights. The results confirm that consumers who are concerned with social justice are less likely to conduct business with enterprises that have the reputation of violating both human rights and labor rights. However, the results also reveal that consumers with low levels of “perceived behavioral control” justify their consumer behaviors as they do not think that they can make a difference. Keywords labor standards, planned behaviors, consumer behaviors, workplace rights, social justice those who were willing to pay more were willing to pay up to Introduction 40% more for the labeled products. This coincides with Recent studies indicate that consumers reveal an increased results from the Hiscox and Smyth (2006) study, which indi- preference for purchasing goods making “proenvironmental cated that although volumes decreased for labeled products, claims” and products that promote “societal well-being,” price increases made up for the reduced sales. whether that may consist of fair wages to farmers, manufac- Frank (2003) provides an excellent survey of the history of turing processes, or general working conditions (Stratton & labor- and middle-class efforts to mobilize shopping on behalf Werner, 2013). Castaldo, Perrini, Misani, and Tencati (2009) of working people from the late 19th century through the found that socially oriented companies that comply with present. The article outlines both class dynamics of such ethical and social requirements and/or acknowledge a com- movements and how they affect workers’ ability to generate mitment to protect consumer rights and interests can suc- consumer campaigns and what the author considers contem- cessfully leverage their reputation to market products with porary middle-class campaigns that treat workers as unorga- high symbolic values and thereby increase the consumer’s nized, passive victims. It highlights the potentially detrimental intention to buy their products. effects of consumer–labor campaigns across various dimen- On the flipside, other studies indicate mixed results sions and dynamics of race, gender, and space. Consistently, regarding consumers’ purchasing behaviors and whether Haedicke (2013) argues in his study from the meatpacking they do in fact respond favorably to socially responsible industry that neoliberal patterns of economic organization business practices. Even though a majority of surveyed con- and policies have, in addition to undermining labor unionism, sumers said they would be willing to pay extra for products made under “good” working conditions abroad or domesti- cally, rather than in sweatshops (Hiscox & Smyth, 2006), a 1 Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN, USA study by Prasad, Kimeldorf, Meyer, and Robinson (2004) Corresponding Author: found that most consumers preferred to pay less for the Kristian F. Braekkan, Department of Economics & Management, “unlabeled” (not fair trade certified) products, and that only Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 West College Avenue, St. Peter, MN one in four was willing to pay more for “labeled” (fair trade 56082, USA. Email: braekkan@gustavus.edu certified) products. However, the results did indicate that Creative Commons CC-BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). 2 SAGE Open supported consumer-based strategies, which have limited the Background, Theory, and Hypotheses potential to restructure power relations in the market. Contemporary Examples of Violations by Retailers Starting in the late 1990s, a variety of nongovernmental systems for advancing labor standards and enforcement To position this article in a contemporary context, we will start began to emerge. These were designed to make it easier for by utilizing the largest retailer in the world as an example. consumers to make more informed decisions in the market. Many have hailed the Wal-Mart story as an example of what These systems aimed at increasing the transparency of exist- the “American Dream” can do for budding entrepreneurs as ing initiatives, independence of monitors, convergence of the Walton family of Arkansas took a small business and standards, and dynamics among nongovernmental regula- turned it into an undisputed retail “superpower.” Critics, how- tions, unions, and state enforcements. O’Rourke (2003) ever, have argued that the success has come at the expense of argues that with increased transparency, improved technical other retailers, suppliers, employees, and consumers. capacities, and new mechanisms of accountability to workers In 2004, a Federal district court oversaw a class action and consumers, nongovernmental monitoring could comple- lawsuit on behalf of more than 1.5 million current and former ment existing state regulatory systems and thereby enhance female employees of Wal-Mart retail stores nationwide (“Pay the consumers’ ability to support workers’ rights. Equality Overview”). The most well-known court case that More than a decade has passed since O’Rourke’s article pertains to Wal-Mart’s discrimination against female employ- was published and concerns about labor and environmental ees is Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The plaintiffs claimed standards remain. Research continues to indicate that regula- that women for years had been paid less than male workers tions (nongovernmental or governmental) or consumer cam- in comparable positions. They also made the Federal court paigns have contributed to only minor changes. Bartley and aware of Wal-Mart’s unchanging company system of passing Child (2009) found no support for their hypothesis that anti- over female employees when awarding promotions to man- sweatshop campaigns would decrease sales for firms exploit- agement. Cases much like this one have been brought to the ing labor. They did, however, find that more intense court system all over America. campaigns directed at products that are recognizable to con- Wal-Mart’s competitors have also been scrutinized for sumers had discernible effects on sales. their business practices. In 2002, Target was one of a group Concerns regarding ethical business practices are to a of retailers that together paid US$20 million to settle class great extent shaped by cognitions and affects (Gregory- action lawsuits charging them with permitting sweatshop Smith, Smith, & Winklhofer, 2013). Some of these cogni- conditions in factories run by their suppliers in Saipari, part tions may be shaped by the individual consumer’s perceptions of the U.S. Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands in of social justice, or the promotion of “fair and equitable allo- the Pacific. More recently, additional discrimination and cation of bargaining powers, resources, and obligations in inequality business practices of Target have come forth. In society in consideration of people’s differential power, needs, 2007, the company paid a total of more than US$1.2 million and abilities to express their wishes” (Prilleltensky, 2001, to settle cases brought by the U.S. Equal Employment p. 754). It would be reasonable to expect that someone who Opportunity Commission involving alleged racial discrimi- values fairness and equity in social interactions would be nation in hiring in Wisconsin and a racially hostile environ- more likely to engage with businesses that are not known for ment in Pennsylvania. In 2004, a Target contractor paid unethical business practices. Stated differently, one would US$1.9 million to settle an overtime-violation case brought not expect someone who is concerned with social justice to by the federal government on behalf of immigrant workers. conduct business with enterprises that have the reputation of In 2009, another contractor settled an overtime lawsuit for violating human rights or what most people would consider US$3.8 million. ethical behaviors. Nevertheless, previous research suggest In 2005, Best Buy paid US$200,000 to nine plaintiffs that consumers are often aware of the unethical behaviors but accusing them of job discrimination and over US$10 million justify their behaviors for a number of different reasons (e.g., for legal fees and costs. Eight current and former employees Bose & Sarker, 2012; Gregory-Smith et al., 2013). and one job applicant filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District This article utilizes Ajzen’s (1985) model of planned Court in Oakland, California. They claimed that Best Buy behaviors to assess the extent to which social-justice-related was denying promotions, transfers, and desirable job assign- values and attitudes relate to consumer intentions and even- ments to African American, Latino, and female employees. tual behaviors. Specifically, we utilize The Social Justice Best Buy did not deny these allegations, but instead decided Scale (SJS) of planned behaviors developed by Torres- to implement a decree. Harding, Siers, and Olson (2012) to capture and assess an individual’s social attitudes and values and other constructs Consumer Behaviors and Planned Behaviors that might be related to social justice behaviors. Furthermore, we also assesses how “perceived behavior control” affects Consumer behaviors represent decision-making processes consumers’ intended or actual behaviors either directly or and acts of consumers when it comes to buying and using indirectly. products (i.e., the exchange process). The construct rests Schulz and Braekkan 3 upon the assumption that consumers and their behaviors are social justice, it would involve an individual’s acceptance of motivated and purposive (Berkman, 1992; Bose & Sarker, the social justice ideals and related values (e.g., such as the 2012). In other words, consumer behavior is a construct that belief that one should act for social justice, or that it is right involves choices and planned behaviors. or fair to promote equality of opportunity for everyone, When deciding which retail stores to shop in, and which regardless of background.) to not, consumers appear to take their own personal prefer- Subjective norms include support, or lack thereof, pro- ence into consideration, and we do not know the extent of vided in an environment for performing a given behavior. their awareness of unethical business decisions. A multitude Ajzen (1991) suggests that the inclusion of subjective norms of questions arise: Why do people continue to support com- describes a mechanism by which the social context can influ- panies with appalling business practices and are people sim- ence the occurrence of a behavior. Consistent with Torres- ply unaware of these practices? or Could consumer behaviors Harding and colleagues (2012), in social justice work, be explained by either cognitive dissonance? contextual messages, norms, and support would facilitate The theory of cognitive dissonance has been considered one’s intentions to act for social justice. essential in understanding consumer behaviors for some time Perceived behavioral control is, according to Ajzen (1991), (Bose & Sarker, 2012). The term describes a psychological one’s perceived ability to perform an act. In a social justice state in which cognitions, for example, beliefs, attitudes, and context, this would encompass the extent to which a person behaviors, are at odds (Festinger, 1957) and is typically asso- feels it is possible to “make a difference,” or the self-evalua- ciated with attitude change. This is where theories of planned tion of whether one can have an impact on existing social con- behaviors appear to be fruitful in understanding consumer ditions. Ajzen notes that perceived behavioral control could behaviors in lieu of what appears to be obvious poor business directly predict intentions to act and, in some cases, also practices by the retailers. directly predict behavioral performance itself if the action The theory of planned behavior, first introduced by Ajzen itself was particularly difficult or challenging. Torres-Harding in 1985, has been one of the most utilized and influential and colleagues (2012) suggest that many of the social justice– models for the prediction of human social behavior over the promoting actions could be viewed as particularly difficult or last three decades (Ajzen, 2011). It represents a social cogni- challenging because it involves changing the status quo tive model that yields a practical framework to consider how (Prilleltensky & Nelson, 2002; Torres-Harding et al., 2012). attitudes and related constructs might predict a number of It is expected that an individual’s acceptance of social behaviors. The central tenet of this theory is that behavioral justice ideals and related values affect their consumer performance is best directly predicted by one’s stated inten- behaviors. Specifically, it would be natural to assume that tion to act. Ajzen’s theory and model have been applied to a consumers who value social justice will not engage in range of health-related behaviors, for example, levels of economic exchanges with retailers who infringe on work- exercise, frequency of medical self-examinations, regulation ers’ rights to unionize, are known to exploit workers, and of eating/nutrition, safe driving behaviors, and volunteerism, who utilize unethical practices throughout their supply and in the field of environmental psychology (Hardeman chains (e.g., use of child labor or forced labor in facto- et al., 2002). The theory is also frequently used in areas such ries). Hence, utilizing Ajzen’s model, we propose the fol- as advertising, public relations, and organizational behavior lowing hypotheses: (Ajzen, 2011). Ajzen’s theory appears to be particularly fruitful when it Hypothesis 1a (H1a): Individuals with a high degree of comes to predicting and understanding “ethical” consumer acceptance of social justice ideals and related values (e.g., behaviors. Previous research has indicated that emotions and attitudes toward the behavior), such as the belief that one the prevalence of dissonance play a significant role in con- should act for social justice, or that it is right or fair to sumer behaviors (see Gregory-Smith et al., 2013 as a recent promote equality of opportunity for everyone, regardless example). Violations by retailers, whether they materialize in of background will intend to act consistently with these the form of gender or race discrimination, antiunion mea- values through their consumer behaviors. sures, the utilization of child labor in the supply chain, or Hypothesis 1b (H1b): Intentions to act will mediate the lack of worker benefits, are frequent topics in news media. relationship between the attitudes toward the behavior Hence, it is reasonable to expect that most consumers are and the actual behavior. aware of potential unethical business practices among the Hypothesis 2a (H2a): Individuals experiencing subjec- major retailers in the marketplace. tive norms in their environment in favor of performing a Taking a step back, Ajzen (1991) suggests that one’s given behavior consistent with social justice will intend to intentions to act are predicted by one’s attitudes toward the act consistently with these values through their consumer action, subjective norms around the action, and one’s per- behaviors. ceived behavioral control of the action. Attitudes involve Hypothesis 2b (H2b): Intentions to act will mediate the general dispositions toward a given behavior. As suggested relationship between subjective norms and the actual by Torres-Harding and colleagues (2012), with respect to behavior. 4 SAGE Open Social Justice Attitudes (SJA) were measured utilizing the original 11 items from Torres-Harding and colleagues’ (2012) scale. These items included “I believe that it is impor- tant to make sure that all individuals and groups have a chance to speak and be heard, especially those from tradi- tionally ignored or marginalized groups,” “I believe that it is important to allow individuals and groups to define and describe their problems, experiences and goals in their own terms,” and “I believe that it is important to talk to others about societal systems of power, privilege, and oppression.” Figure 1. Proposed full model. Responses were made on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Cronbach’s α for this scale was .82. Hypothesis 3a (H3a): Individuals with high-perceived Social Justice Perceived Behavioral Control (SJPBC) behavioral control with respect to social justice will intend was measured utilizing the original five items from Torres- to act consistently with values through their consumer Harding and colleagues’ (2012) scale. These items included, behaviors. “I am confident that I can have a positive impact on others’ Hypothesis 3b (H3b): Intentions to act will mediate the lives,” “I am certain that I possess an ability to work with relationship between perceived subjective norms and the individuals and groups in ways that are empowering,” and actual behavior. “If I choose to do so, I am capable of influencing others to Hypothesis 3c (H3c): Individuals with high-perceived promote fairness and equality.” Responses were made on a behavioral control will act consistently with their values 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly through their consumer behaviors. agree). Cronbach’s α for this scale was .67. Social Justice Subjective Norms (SJSN) were measured The full model is illustrated in Figure 1 below: utilizing the original four items from Torres-Harding and colleagues’ (2012) scale. These items included “Other peo- Method ple around me are engaged in activities that address social injustices,” “Other people around me feel that it is important Sample and Procedure to engage in dialogue around social injustices,” and “Other The participants in this study consisted of 299 (response rate: people around me are supportive of efforts that promote 85%) undergraduate college students from a small liberal social justice.” Responses were made on a 7-point scale arts college in the United States. Stratified sampling tech- ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). niques were utilized to capture students at different class lev- Cronbach’s α for this scale was .75. els and from different fields of study. Following IRB approval Social justice behavioral intentions (SJBI) were measured by the institution, the subjects were provided with an utilizing the original four items from Torres-Harding and informed consent in which the subjects were told that the colleagues’ (2012) scale. These items included, “In the study aimed to study planned behaviors, intentions, and con- future, I will do my best to ensure that all individuals and sumer behaviors. Of the respondents, 160 (53%) identified groups have a chance to speak and be heard,” “In the future, as male and 139 (47%) as female. The mean age was approx- I intend to talk with others about social power inequalities, imately 20 years (SD = 1.8). social injustices and the impact of social forces on health and well-being,” and “In the future, I intend to engage in activi- Measures. The study utilized an adapted version of the Social ties that will promote social justice.” Responses were made Justice Scale (SJS) developed by Torres-Harding and col- on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 leagues (2012) designed to measure how college students (strongly agree). Cronbach’s α for this scale was .86. differ on their attitudes and values regarding social justice. A seven-item scale was developed and used to assess actual The SJS is based on Ajzen’s model and is designed with the consumer behaviors. Items included, “I let price or quality of purpose of measuring social-justice-related values, attitudes, the products that I desire dictate where I shop,” “I do not go out perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and inten- of my way to find a business known to utilize ethical business tions based on a four-factor conception of Ajzen’s theory. practices if a more convenient choice exists,” “I let retailers’ The development of the scale included a confirmatory factor business practices influence my decision to shop at their analysis and analyses for reliability and validity to test the stores,” “I do not shop with retailers that I know, or suspect properties of the scale. Furthermore, we added items designed sells products produced with child labor,” “I do not shop at to capture the students’ actual consumer behaviors and how retail stores if I suspect that working conditions are poor in fac- they let firms’ labor standards and ethics affect their deci- tories supplying their products,” “I do not shop at retail stores if sions to do business with a particular retailer. I suspect that working conditions are poor in the stores,” and Schulz and Braekkan 5 Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, Scale Reliabilities, and Correlations. M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Gender 0.44 0.48 2. Age 20.3 1.20 .01 3. Attitude 3.29 0.97 .03 .03 (0.82) 4. Subjective norm 2.73 0.85 −.04 .02 .04 (0.75) 5. Behavioral control 3.11 0.77 −.02 .04 −.03 −.08 (0.67) 6. Intention 2.88 0.91 .04 .02 .65* .51* .72* (0.86) 7. Behavioral control 2.76 1.06 .03 .09 .04 .07 .79* .11 (0.86) 8. Interest/knowledge 2.76 1.06 −.05 .06 .04 .07 .08 .06 .45 Note. Cronbach’s alpha appears along the diagonal in parenthesis. Gender is coded 0 = male, 1 = female. *p < .05. Table 2. Results of Regression Analyses (Hypotheses 1a and 1b). “When shopping at retail stores I do not consider the retailer’s reputation regarding their business practices.” The items were Consumer selected following a preliminary factor analysis of 25 items. All Dependent variable Intentions (H1a) behavior (H1b) items had a 7-point Likert-type scale response format (e.g., 1 = Control variables strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree). Internal consistency Gender 0.02 0.02 estimates (alpha coefficients) were .86. Age −0.01 −0.03 A number of control variables were used in the analyses: Main effects gender, age, year in school, ethnicity, major, and previous work Attitude 0.63* 0.11 experience. In addition, four items were generated to control Intentions 0.09 for the respondents’ existing knowledge of labor issues. These F 43.51* 1.61 items included, “I am concerned with retail workers’ benefits,” 2 Overall R .66 .04 “I pay attention to retail workers’ rights to unionize,” “I am not Adjusted R .61 .04 concerned with retail workers’ wages,” and “I find it difficult to Note. Two-tailed hypothesis test. know what companies utilize questionable business practices.” *p < .05. All items had a 7-point Likert-type scale response format (e.g., 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree). Table 3. Results of Regression Analyses (Hypotheses 2a and 2b). Consumer Results Dependent variable Intentions (H2a) behavior (H2b) The means, standard deviations, intercorrelations, and reli- Control variables abilities for all the variables in this study are provided in Gender 0.02 0.02 Table 1. Cronbach alpha values for the scaled variables are Age −0.01 −0.03 also included in these tables. Main effects Consistent with H1a, an individual’s degree of acceptance Subjective norms 0.49* 0.05 of social justice ideals and related values (e.g., attitudes Intentions 0.09 toward the behavior), such as the belief that one should act F 41.03* 1.11 for social justice, or that it is right or fair to promote equality Overall R .56 .03 of opportunity for everyone, regardless of background Adjusted R .51 .03 aligned with an intention to act consistent with these ideals Note. Two-tailed hypothesis test. and values. “Attitudes toward the behavior” were strongly *p < .05. correlated with “intentions to act” (r = .65, p < .05). Whereas the relationships remained statistically signifi- cant in the regression analysis (β = .63, p < .05) as indicated to act consistently with these values through their consumer in Table 2, neither constructs correlated with the actual behaviors (β = .49, p < .05), but neither their subjective behaviors (β = .11, p = .55; β = .09, p = .65, respectively). norms nor intentions were reflected in their reported actual actions (β = .05, p = .64; β = .09, p < .65, respectively). Hence, H1a was supported while H1b was rejected. No sig- Hence, H2a was supported while H2b was rejected. No sig- nificant gender or “age/year in school” differences existed. nificant gender or “age/year in school” differences existed. Findings in Table 3 indicate that individuals experiencing Results in Table 4 show that individuals with high-per- subjective norms in their environment in favor of performing ceived behavioral control with respect to social justice a given behavior consistent with social justice also intended 6 SAGE Open Table 4. Results of Regression Analyses (Hypotheses 3a, 3b, and 3c). Dependent variable Intentions (H3a) Consumer behavior (H3b) Consumer behavior (H3c) Control variables Gender 0.02 0.02 0.02 Age −0.01 −0.02 −0.01 Main effects Behavioral control 0.72* 0.77* Intentions 0.09 0.09 F 48.63* 1.11 51.33* Overall R .66 .03 .69 Adjusted R .63 .03 .64 Note. Two-tailed hypothesis test. *p < .05. Table 5. Results of Moderated Regression Analyses. Dependent variable Consumer behaviors Consumer behaviors Control variables Gender 0.02 0.02 Age 0.00 −0.01 Main effects Behavioral control 0.20* Interest and knowledge 0.29* 0.33* Interaction Behavioral control × Interest and knowledge 0.40* F 35.21* 43.18* Overall R .63 .79 Adjusted R .59 .66 Note. Two-tailed hypothesis test. *p < .05. endorsed intended consumer behaviors consistent with H3a (β = .72, p < .05). Hence, H3a was confirmed. H3b suggested that intentions to act would mediate the relationship between perceived subjective norms and the actual behavior. As already noted, no significant relationship existed between intentions to act and the actual behaviors (β = .09, p < .65). Hence, H3b was rejected. However, individuals with high- perceived behavioral control endorsed consumer behaviors consistent with H3c (β = .77, p < .05). Hence, H3c, which suggested a direct relationship between perceived behavioral control and behaviors, was confirmed. Figure 2. Slope analysis of moderating effects. We conducted follow-up analyses to see if the respon- dents’ “interests and knowledge” in “industrial relations” As Figure 2 illustrates, the positive relationship between and “labor relations” would affect the relationship between “perceived behavioral control” and “consumer behaviors” was perceived behavioral control and the respondents’ consumer significantly strengthened among respondents endorsing high behaviors. Hence, a series of moderated regression analyses “interests and knowledge.” The slope analysis confirmed this. were performed. Consistent with Aiken and West (1991), the Among individuals with low “interests and knowledge,” variables used in the interaction were centered at their means endorsing low “perceived behavioral control” scored on aver- to make the results more interpretable. age 2.60 on “consumer behaviors,” while individuals with low As shown in Table 5 and illustrated in Figure 2, the effects “interests and knowledge” endorsing high “perceived behav- of “perceived behavioral control” on “consumer behaviors” ioral control” scored on average 2.82 (t = 0.75, p = .71). varied across levels of “interests and knowledge.” Schulz and Braekkan 7 However, individuals with high “interests and knowledge” reported acting consistently with their values through their endorsing low “perceived behavioral control” scored on aver- consumer behaviors. age 2.38 (almost identical to the low-interest/low-control sub- There are a number of other takeaways from the findings jects), while individuals with high “interests and knowledge” in this study with respect to what we know about concerns endorsing high “attitudes” scored on average 4.20 (t = 9.42, p < about labor standards and other social-justice-related issues. .05). In other words, whereas there were minimal differences in These findings have been summarized in five major catego- terms of consumer behaviors when perceived behavioral con- ries to make them concise and clear. trol was low between individuals with different degrees of First, attitudes and general dispositions toward a given interest and knowledge, the gap widened significantly as per- behavior, such as the belief that one should act for social jus- ceived level of control increased. Specifically, there were sta- tice, or that it is right or fair to promote equality of opportu- tistically significant differences on consumer behaviors scores nity for everyone, regardless of background, is not by itself a between high and low interest and knowledge subjects among predictor of behaviors. Such attitudes appear to generate to those with high perceived control. some intentions, but not necessarily lead to concrete actions. As an example, having a favorable view of work that seeks to rectify wrongs in the workplace is not sufficient to affect Discussion consumer behaviors. Second, experiencing subjective norms, such as contex- Implications tual messages, norms, and support may facilitate one’s inten- This study contributes to our understanding of how cogni- tions to act for social justice, but not necessarily lead to tions and affects regarding ethical business practices affect action. In other words, this study revealed that although sub- consumer behaviors. Normally, one would expect that some- jects endorsing such support appeared to also endorse inten- one who values fairness and equity in social interactions tions to act consistently with these norms, they did not would be less likely to engage with businesses that are known necessarily act upon these intentions. Hence, attitudes, dis- for unethical business practices. However, consistent with positions, and environmental norms are not sufficient to previous research, findings in this article suggest that con- affect consumer behaviors. sumers who are aware of unethical behaviors do not neces- Third, perceived behavioral control, or one’s perceived sarily let their intentions lead to consistent outcomes. ability to perform an act in a social justice context, appears to Results from this study indicate that individuals scoring be a strong predictor of consumer behaviors. The extent to high on measures of social justice ideals and related values which a person feels it is possible to “make a difference” and (e.g., attitudes toward the behavior), such as the belief that have an impact on existing social conditions will affect both one should act for social justice, or that it is right or fair to intentions and actions according to these results. In sum- promote equality of opportunity for everyone, regardless of mary, Individuals who value social justice will not engage in background showed intentions to act consistently with these economic exchanges with retailers who infringe on workers’ values through their consumer behaviors (H1a), but these rights to unionize, are known to exploit workers, and who intentions did not relate to self-reported actual behaviors utilize unethical practices throughout their supply chains (inconsistent with H1b). In other words, intentions to act did (e.g., use of child labor or forced labor in factories) unless not mediate the relationship between the attitudes toward the they perceive that their actions can change the status quo. behavior and actual behaviors. Fourth, it is evident that consumers need to be educated Similarly, individuals experiencing subjective norms in about workplace rights. As Table 5 indicates, it is the combi- their environment in favor of performing a given behavior nation of interest and knowledge that affect actions. Interest consistent with social justice revealed intentions to act con- alone is not enough. One may think of how generations of sistently with these values through their consumer behaviors the past were very well informed about social justice issues (as suggested by H2a), but these did not translate into actual such as civil rights, Western warfare in other hemispheres, behaviors (H2b). Hence, intentions to act did not mediate the and gender equality and how these issues were pushed for- relationship between subjective norms and actual behaviors. ward by activists at a broad scale. Whereas issues of environ- Subjective norms can therefore be rejected as a possible pre- mental concern appear to become a larger part of the U.S. dictor of consumer behaviors that are consistent with such curriculum in both secondary and tertiary education systems, environmental norms. little is done to promote issues of workplace rights. These On the contrary, the study confirmed that respondents findings strongly suggest that actions change when there is endorsing high behavioral control with respect to social jus- an interaction of knowledge and interest. tice both intended to act consistently with values through Fifth, we live with the challenge of limited “behavioral their consumer behaviors (H3a) and their actual behaviors control.” As Lilley, McNally, Yuen, Davis, and Henwood (H3b). In other words, the results suggest that intentions to (2011) documented very well in their collection of essays, act both mediated the relationship between perceived subjec- Catastrophism, the political left has, to a great extent, used tive norms and the actual behavior as these individuals fear tactics to call people to action and they question these 8 SAGE Open tactics. Their arguments hinge on the idea that people become used in psychology to predict how individuals will behave passive and compliant when issues are introduced as cata- based on their preexisting attitudes and behavioral inten- strophic or beyond their control. One may even argue that tions, and Bandura’s (see Bandura, 1986) concept of self- unless people are encouraged to “make change” one con- efficacy, to examine intentions and consumer behaviors. The sumer at a time, we fall victims to the powers that want to latter concept might be particularly fruitful in this context as maintain the status quo. Table 5 reveals that experiencing it lends itself to examine various paths in the development of behavioral control is absolutely key for becoming an agent of self-efficacy, the dynamics of self-efficacy, and lack thereof, change. and habits of attribution that contribute to, or detract from, self-efficacy. Finally, this study utilized college students who were Limitations of Study asked to reflect upon their consumer behaviors and inten- Whereas the study has added to our understanding of how tions. One may want to examine whether these results would social justice attitudes, social norms, and perceived control hold true as age increases. If these behaviors are unique to affect consumer behaviors, there were limitations that should this group of consumers as a result of, for instance, limited be addressed. The data were based on self-reports that were disposable income, the literature may benefit from a broader collected cross-sectionally. Biases may therefore be present demographic in future samples. due to common-method variance (CMV). The study fol- lowed recommendations by Conway and Lance (2010) and Declaration of Conflicting Interests Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, and Podsakoff (2003) and uti- The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect lized existing instruments that have been proven to be both to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. reliable and valid in previous studies in an attempt to over- come some of these problems. The extent to which CMV Funding was a problem in the data was calculated based on the proce- The author(s) received no financial support for the research and/or dures described by Podsakoff and colleagues (2003). The authorship of this article. results indicated that the average variance explained by the CMV was less than 0.75%, which is considered acceptable References and fair (Podsakoff et al., 2003). The surveys utilized coun- Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing terbalancing question order to reduce the potential of such and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE. problems. Finally, a remaining concern is the utilization of Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned self-reports. This is difficult to overcome with this research behavior. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckman (Eds.), Action-control: design as the constructs measured are latent individual con- From cognition to behavior (pp. 11-39). Heidelberg, Germany: structs and the authors were unable to observe actual Springer. behaviors. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. Ajzen, I. (2011). The theory of planned behaviour: Reactions and Future Studies reflections. Psychology & Health, 26, 1113-1127. Future research could utilize longitudinal data. Causality was Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A not addressed in this study due to its use of cross-sectional social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. data, so there is a possibility that those acting consistent with Bartley, T., & Child, C. (2009). Movements, markets and fields: their values experience higher perceived control as a result of The effects of anti-sweatshop campaigns on U.S. firms, 1993- their actions. Hence, these respondents could become more 2000. Social Forces, 90, 425-451. Berkman, H. W. (1992). Twenty years of the journal. Journal of the cognitively aware of how actions directed against unethical Academy of Marketing Science, 20, 299-300. businesses generate “control.” Bose, T. K., & Sarker, S. (2012). Cognitive dissonance affecting con- Although the sample was of moderate size (n = 299), sumer buying decision making: A study based on Khulna met- future studies could benefit from the use of larger samples ropolitan area. Journal of Management Research, 4, 191-221. and possibly a larger variety of respondents to draw compari- Castaldo, S., Perrini, F., Misani, N., & Tencati, A. (2009). The sons between different demographics. It could also be bene- missing link between corporate social responsibility and con- ficial to replicate this study and compare differences among sumer trust: The case of fair trade products. Journal of Business subjects with different income levels. One may look at how Ethics, 64, 1-15. high-income individuals perceive the importance of labor Conway, J. M., & Lance, C. E. (2010). What reviewers should standards and other social-justice-related issues in compari- expect from authors regarding common method bias in orga- son with individuals with lower income. nizational research. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, Future studies may also use theoretical frameworks such 325-334. as those offered by the theory of reasoned action (see Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975 for an overview), which is frequently CA: Stanford University Press. Schulz and Braekkan 9 Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879-903. MA: Addison-Wesley. Prasad, M., Kimeldorf, H., Meyer, R., & Robinson, I. (2004). Frank, D. (2003). Where are the workers in consumer-worker alli- Consumers of the world unite: A market-based response to ances? Class dynamics and the history of consumer-labor cam- sweatshops. Labor Studies Journal, 29, 57-79. paigns. Politics & Society, 31, 363-379. Prilleltensky, I. (2001). Value-based praxis in community psychol- Gregory-Smith, D., Smith, A., & Winklhofer, H. (2013). Emotions ogy: Moving toward social justice and social action. American and dissonance in “ethical” consumption choices. Journal of Journal of Community Psychology, 29, 747-778. Marketing Management, 29, 1201-1223. Prilleltensky, I., & Nelson, G. (2002). Doing psychology critically: Haedicke, M. A. (2013). From collective bargaining to social jus- Making a difference in diverse settings. Basingstoke, UK: tice certification: Workers’ rights in the American meatpack- Palgrave Macmillan. ing industry. Sociological Focus, 46, 119-137. Stratton, J. P., & Werner, M. J. (2013). Consumer behavior analysis Hardeman, W., Johnston, M., Johnston, D. W., Bonnetti, D., of fair trade coffee: Evidence from field research. Psychological Wareham, N. J., & Kinmonth, A. L. (2002). Application of the Record, 63, 363-374. theory of planned behavior in behavior change interventions: A Torres-Harding, S. R., Siers, B., & Olson, B. D. (2012). Development systematic review. Psychology & Health, 17, 123-158. and psychometric evaluation of the Social Justice Scale (SJS). Hiscox, M. J., & Smyth, N. F. B. (2006). Is there consumer demand American Journal of Community Psychology, 50, 77-88. for improved labor standards? Evidence from field experi- ments in social labeling. Retrieved from http://dev.wcfia.har- Author Biographies vard.edu/sites/default/files/HiscoxSmythND.pdf Lilley, S., McNally, D., Yuen, E., Davis, J., & Henwood, D. (2011). Michaela Schulz is completing her bachelor’s degree in manage- Catastrophism. Oakland, CA: PM Press. ment studies at Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter, Minnesota. O’Rourke, D. (2003). Outsourcing regulation: Analyzing nongov- She is currently applying to graduate programs. ernmental systems of labor standards and monitoring. Policy Kristian F. Braekkan is an associate professor in the department Studies Journal, 31, 1-29. of Economics and Management at Gustavus Adolphus College. His Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J., & Podsakoff, N. research focuses on global capitalism and industrial relations. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A

Journal

SAGE Open – SAGE

Published: Jan 1, 2017

Keywords: labor standards; planned behaviors; consumer behaviors; workplace rights; social justice

There are no references for this article.