Consumer action in response to ethical violations by service operations firms The impact of heterogeneity

• Published in: Society and business review Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 24 - 45
• Main Authors: Chipulu, Max, Ojiako, Udechukwu, Marshall, Alasdair
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01-01-2016
• Subjects: Consumer behavior; Consumer relations; Consumers; Ethics; Failure; Perceptions; Production increases; Studies; Violations
• ISSN: 1746-5680; 1746-5699
• DOI: 10.1108/SBR-09-2015-0052

Purpose
– The purpose of this study is to examine whether individual demographic and socio-cultural factors affect actions taken by consumers in relation to ethical violations and failure (or perceived ethical violations and failure) by service operations firms.
Design/methodology/approach
– Data collection was undertaken over a two-year period, from 2011 to 2013, and involved sampling 3,155 respondents from 19 countries. Data analysis was undertaken utilizing hierarchical linear modelling (HLM).
Findings
– Findings suggest that although both individual demographic factors (age and gender) and societal differences do affect ethical actions taken by service consumers, inter-societal cluster variations have a more significant effect on the ethical action than individual demographic differences do.
Originality/value
– For service operations firms, the study findings offer evidence on the need for constant readjustment of service attributes in line with the ethical dispositions of the different demographic and socio-cultural clusters within the consumer base.