Taking a closer look: Reasserting the role of self-accountability in ethical consumption

Recent studies have repeatedly reported the frustrating intention–behavior gap in which consumers do not “walk their talk” in the ethical consumption context. Peloza, White, and Jingzhi (2013) find that heightening consumers’ self-accountability enhances their preferences for products positioned using ethical attributes. This study replicates, refines, and extends the original work of Peloza et al. (2013) in three ways. We challenge the findings of Peloza et al. (2013) (1) with more representative samples (i.e., real consumers), (2) with online and field experimental approaches, and (3) across different national cultures (collectivistic vs. individualistic) and product types (utilitarian vs. hedonic). Moreover, this study advances the previous research by identifying specific advertisement design factors (i.e., color and message framing) and contextual factors (i.e., product category characteristics) as boundary conditions of the self-accountability effect on consumers’ responses to products promoted using ethical appeals.