Do Information, Price, or Morals Influence Ethical Consumption ? A Natural Field Experiment and Customer Survey on the Purchase of Fair Trade Coffee

Titre Do Information, Price, or Morals Influence Ethical Consumption ? A Natural Field Experiment and Customer Survey on the Purchase of Fair Trade Coffee
Titre traduit L'information, le prix ou la morale influencent-ils la consommation responsable ? Terrain d'expérimentation et enquête consommateur sur l'achat de café de commerce équitable
Lien hypertexte Site de ideas.repec.org
Auteur ANDORFER, Veronica A. ; LIEBE, Ulf
Date 2014/04
Pagination ou Durée d'écoute 42 p.
Notes University of Bern (Switzerland), Department of Social Sciences – Working Paper n°6
Résumé Abstract : «We address ethical consumption using a natural field experiment on the actual purchase of Fair Trade (FT) coffee in three supermarkets in Germany. Based on a quasi - experimental before – and after design the effects of three different treatments information, 20% price reduction, and a moral appeal are analyzed. Sales data cover actual ethical purchase behavior and avoid problems of social desirability . But they offer only limited insights into the motivations of individual consumers. We therefore complemented the field experiment with a customer survey that allows us to contrast observed (ethical) buying behavior with self-reported FT consumption. Results from the experiment suggest that only the price reduction had the expected positive and statistically significant effect on FT consumption. In the customer survey, however, we find that the personal norm has the strongest effect on both self - reported and observed purchases of FT products.»

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