Building on a Long Needed Seminal Contribution

Though flattered by the invitation to comment on Laczniak and Shultz's seminal piece, the author did not feel qualified to evaluate either the specifics of the arguments advanced or the conclusions reached. What they said was essentially accepted as a given though the case was made for an accompanying, more reader friendly version of their material. That being so, and after some minor editorial observations are made, much of the remainder of this Commentary focuses on two related issues that seemed especially relevant:(1) Socially Responsible Marketing's role, along with that of Socially Responsible Consumption and Socially Responsible Public policy, both in and of themselves and within a micromarketing Utopia and (2) the fact that after years of relative neglect the concept of macromarketing management seems finally on its way to being resurrected. Four examples of how the complexities of Socially Responsible Marketing could be highlighted using a controversies approach are then presented.

Today's wastage is tomorrow's shortage: a systematic literature review on food waste from social responsibility perspective

PurposeRecognizing food waste as a global issue, it has attracted scholars to conduct numerous relevant studies in the area. Growing concerns about the social and environmental impacts have intensified food waste attention to the practice of socially responsible consumption. The purpose of this study is to undertake a review of existing knowledge to edify and provide a platform for future research.Design/methodology/approachThe present study retrieved and reviewed a total of 76 articles from Web of Science (WoS) database, which were published from 2011 to 2020 in food and nutrition related journals from social responsibility perspective.FindingsIn accordance with the proposed research questions, the findings demonstrate the publication trend, distribution of article sources, research regions, thematic classification, theoretical and methodology framework. The findings also reveal research gaps in the literature and facilitate scholars with extensive gap-specific research directions to explore.Research limitations/implicationsThis review is limited in its consideration of articles from the (WoS) database and focused in food or nutrition related journals.Originality/valueBy mapping what is known in the current state of food waste research, this study identifies existing gaps and opportunities for future research in this area.

An empirical examination of the effects of demographic groups on socially responsible consumption behaviour

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of demographic groups (i.e. gender groups, marital status groups, age groups, income groups, experience groups, education groups and occupation groups) on socially responsible consumption (hereafter SRC) behaviour. Design/methodology/approach The study was carried out in Chennai city, the capital of Tamil Nadu state of India. A total of 214 responses were collected during the survey. The respondents were the university staff composed of lecturer/professor, lab instructor, admin staff and support staff. A socially responsible purchase and disposal scale has been used to measure SRC behaviour amongst consumers. The convenience sampling technique was used for data collection. Independent-samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques were used for hypotheses testing. Findings Factor analyses confirmed the multidimensional structure of the SRC construct with the following axes: firms’ internal corporate social responsibility (hereafter CSR) performance, firms’ external CSR performance, firms’ environmental CSR performance and consumers’ personal social responsibility. In addition, this study found that demographic groups have no effects on SRC behaviour. Research limitations/implications The current research will be a step forward to a richer and more inclusive understanding of the effects of demographic groups on SRC behaviour. Practical implications This study would help managers to understand consumer markets, formulate strategy and develop sustainable products. Originality/value This study is amongst the few attempted to examine the effects of demographic groups on SRC behaviour amongst consumers. This research endeavoured to validate the multidimensional nature of the SRC construct.

What Impacts Socially Responsible Consumption?

This study examines factors related to socially responsible consumption based on a sample of 636 Spanish consumers. The results indicate that socio-demographic factors such as sex, age, education level, and economic activity affect responsible consumption. In addition, it was found that in order to assess the antecedents of socially responsible consumption it is necessary to specify the type of consumer behavior (for example, purchasing specific products or initiatives against the purchase of certain products). It is found that perceived efficacy, affective commitment, and materialism explain different levels of variance in socially responsible consumption. Purchasing cause-related products is most influenced by affective commitment and perceived efficacy. Materialism affects purchasing motivated by firm behavior and the volume of consumption. The study finds that the referents to the responsibility that consumers adopt can be explained independently. In conclusion, with the aim of supporting a more sustainable society, the need for studies on anti-consumption behaviors as an instrument for sustainability is stressed.

Consumers’ Attitude Towards Eco Friendly Textile Products

Care for the environment is directly connected to consumer behaviour. The authors summarize in their research the findings of different authors who have examined various aspects of socially responsible consumption, green consumption and ethical consumer behaviour. Their results have shown that consumers contribute to active environmental problem solving by selecting and purchasing environment-friendly textile products. Today’s con¬sumers have started to act more ethically and responsibly when purchasing and considering the products they need. The goal of this paper is to explore Slovenian consumers’ perception of eco-friendly textile products, to investigate underlying attitudes and perceptions, and consumers’ willingness to buy eco-friendly textile products in the future. Research questions focus on knowledge about eco-friendly textile products, attitudes, perception and purchasing behaviour as it relates to eco-friendly textile products. Slovenian consumers express a positive attitude towards eco-friendly textile products. They perceive eco-friendly textile products as products with a certificate, as produced in an eco-friendly manner, as products with a higher price than conventional products and as sustainable products. The most important factor when purchasing eco-friendly textile products is the label “product with certificate” or “certified product”, as consumers buy eco-friendly textile products labelled as such. Respondents intend to purchase eco-friendly textile products in the future. The results of this research could be used in planning the further development of the eco-friendly textile products market. Overall positive attitudes toward eco-friendly textile products should be reinforced, while consumers can be influenced through targeted advertising. The results of this research can be used to plan further marketing activities.

Purchase Intention for Organic Food Products in Mexico: The Mediation of Consumer Desire

Socially responsible consumption benefits the environment, the consumer, and the producer. In Mexico, smallholder farmers are vulnerable, and the consumption of organic food products is low. Analysing the purchase intention of organic food products contributes towards generating the most appropriate marketing strategies. Previous models provide evidence that the attitude of the consumer is the biggest predictor of purchase intention. However, little is known about the results of the mediating effect of desire on said relationship. The objective of the study is to analyse the mediating effect of desire on the relationship between attitude and purchase intention. 204 consumers of organic food products were surveyed using a structured, self-administrated questionnaire or through face-to-face interviews, in established retail stores, alternative street markets, and via the web. It was found that when the benefits of organic food products to the consumer, environment, and smallholder farmers are evaluated favourably, then consumer desire is higher, and thus also purchase intention. Consumers have the highest purchase intention for organic food products when their desire to buy them to achieve a goal related with social, personal, and environmental benefits intervenes.