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Consumer Response to Unethical Corporate Behavior: A Re-Examination and Extension of the Moral Decoupling Model

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Abstract

This research replicates Bhattacharjee et al. (J Consum Res 39(4):1167–1184, 2013) moral decoupling model and extends the original along the dimensions of theory, method, and context. Adopting a branding perspective and focusing on the corporate domain rather than the public figures investigated by Bhattacharjee and colleagues, this research examines the proposition that consumers dissociate judgments of morality from judgments of performance to justify purchasing from companies deemed to act immorally. The original study is further extended by applying the model in a different cultural context and employing a more realistic stimulus to establish external and ecological validity. The results of the replication generally support the original findings, in particular, under conditions of higher product involvement, a theoretical extension.

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Notes

  1. Cronbach’s alpha of the original Bhattacharjee et al. (2013), Study 1A.

  2. Cronbach’s alpha of the present replication.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. A&F Marketing – Consumer Psychology, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Wilhelm-Seelig-Platz 6/7, 24098, Kiel, Germany

    Kristina Haberstroh, Ulrich R. Orth & Berit Brunk

  2. Institute of Business Administration, Marketing, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Olshausenstraße 40, 24098, Kiel, Germany

    Stefan Hoffmann

  3. School of Business, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

    Ulrich R. Orth

  4. University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

    Ulrich R. Orth

Authors
  1. Kristina Haberstroh
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  2. Ulrich R. Orth
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  3. Stefan Hoffmann
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  4. Berit Brunk
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ulrich R. Orth.

Additional information

Ulrich R. Orth—Adjunct Professor and Research Fellow.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 4.

Table 4 Scale items and summary statistics for construct measures
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Haberstroh, K., Orth, U.R., Hoffmann, S. et al. Consumer Response to Unethical Corporate Behavior: A Re-Examination and Extension of the Moral Decoupling Model. J Bus Ethics 140, 161–173 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2661-x

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