Ethical consumption and consumers’ decision making: the role of moral intuition

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the understudied antecedents of moral reasoning and cognitive processes that ultimately shape the ethical consumption. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the socio-intuitionist model are integrated. Holistic, inferential, and affective dimensions of intuition are identified as critical antecedents of environmental concerns that then influence the ethical consumption. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling is used to analyze intuitive judgments and ethical concerns in 256 US undergraduates. The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) is used to measure ethical concerns and the ecologically conscious consumer behavior (ECCB) instrument is used to measure ethical consumption. Findings The results indicate that inferential intuition, but not affective intuition, significantly predicts the ethical concerns (NEP), which in turn significantly influence all five dimensions of ethical consumption behavior (ECCB). Practical implications Managers and marketing strategists should focus on non-rational influences such as moral intuition to effectively promote ethical and responsible consumption. Originality/value The TPB and the intuitionist theory are integrated to reveal empirically how intuitive judgments may affect consumer attitudes and to provide new insights regarding the ethical consumption.