Religious But Not Ethical: The Effects of Extrinsic Religiosity, Ethnocentrism and Self-righteousness on Consumers’ Ethical Judgments

• Published in: Journal of business ethics Vol. 171; no. 2; pp. 295 - 316
• Main Authors: Arli, Denni, Septianto, Felix, Chowdhury, Rafi M. M. I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-06-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Business and Management; Business Ethics; Consumer behavior; Consumers; Consumption; Court decisions; Education; Ethics; Ethnocentrism; Loyalty; Management; Original Paper; Philosophy; Quality of Life Research; Religiosity; Extrinsic religiosity; Ethnocentrism; Consumer ethics; Religiosity
• ISSN: 0167-4544; 1573-0697
• DOI: 10.1007/s10551-019-04414-2

The current research investigates how religiosity can influence unethicality in a consumption context. In particular, considering the link between extrinsic religious orientations and unethicality, this research clarifies
why
and
when
extrinsic religiosity leads to unethical decisions. Across two studies, findings show that ethnocentrism is both a mediator (Study 1) and a moderator (Studies 1 and 2) of the effects of extrinsic religiosity on consumers’ ethical judgments. This is because extrinsic religiosity leads to ethnocentrism, and in-group loyalty manifested through ethnocentrism increases support for unethical consumer actions, thus establishing ethnocentrism as a mediator. At the same time, different levels of ethnocentrism can also influence how extrinsic religiosity leads to supporting unethical consumption via self-righteousness, thus establishing ethnocentrism as a moderator. The findings from this research have significant implications for diverse stakeholders who have an interest in religiosity and consumer behavior.