No abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine the extent to which sustainability information unfavorably impacts consumers’ behavior in the case of luxury. In particular, it explores the effect of social and environmental attributes on the perceived quality. Design/methodology/approach A between-subject experimental design involving 973 French and Saudi consumers has been conducted. Findings The results indicate that sustainability information negatively impacts the perceived quality of luxury products. However, this result varies regarding the consumers’ country of origin. While no significant effect was observed in the case of French respondents, Saudi consumers lower the evaluation of quality when social information is provided. In addition, the negative effect of sustainability information is moderated by the consumers’ degree of liking of luxury and by the brand corporate social responsibility image. Research limitations/implications This research fills a gap occurred in the previous literature. In effect, limited studies examined perceptions of the association between luxury and sustainability. In addition, it enriches the limited literature on sustainable consumption in the context of developing countries. However, further studies should focus on specific dimensions of quality and examine different sustainable practices and luxury goods. Practical implications From a practical point of view, this study suggests new applications with respect to the link between luxury and sustainability. Originality/value No study to date, as per the authors’ knowledge, has investigated empirically the impact of sustainability information on the perceived quality of luxury products. Contrary to the literature indicating a positive effect of sustainable attributes on consumers’ behavior, this study confirms the incompatibility between luxury and sustainability.

Bien qu’une réelle « ère de développement durable » semble régner dans les sociétés occidentales, des recherches naissantes font état de réserves à l’égard de l’usage de l’argument durable dans le secteur du luxe. À l’aide d’entretiens individuels auprès de 39 consommateurs français de produits de luxe, cet article identifie les sources de dissonance entre luxe et développement durable. Celles-ci se regroupent autour de trois volets : les dimensions du concept (partage, qualité, rationalité, altruisme), le volet environnemental (préservation des ressources), et le volet social (égalité sociale, justice au niveau de l’emploi, bien-être animal). Les résultats permettent aussi de préciser les modes de réduction de la dissonance adoptés par les consommateurs, puis de proposer des recommandations aux entreprises.

No abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine consumer preference for ethical fashion products by focusing on the importance of animal welfare attribute. To explain the attitude-behavior gap, this research proposes to explore the costs and sacrifices associated with the adoption of responsible behaviors. Design/methodology/approach To analyze in which manner the animal welfare attribute impacts the consumer preference, the authors carried two quantitative studies in the Italy context. The first one (n = 224) proposes to measure the importance of this attribute in the case of luxury vs accessible fashion. The second study (n = 101) examines how the attention given to animal welfare information could vary between prosocials and proselfs. Conjoint analyses that consider “proportion of real fur”; “information about animal treatment” and “price” attributes have been realized. To take into account the individuals characteristics, cluster analysis helped to identify different profiles of consumers. Findings The results reveal that even if consumers continue to prefer products made entirely from animal fur, they are sensitive to the information on the animal treatment conditions. Also, the animal welfare is not the most important criterion in explaining preference for a fashion product. This result varies, however, regarding the consumers’ social value orientation. Individuals with a high level of prosocial values give more importance to the animal welfare attribute and are less reluctant to the reduction of the proportion of real fur in the clothes. Proself consumers associate a higher sacrifice with the consumption of animal-friendly fashion products. Research limitations/implications This research enriches the limited literature on the consumers’ response to animal-friendly products. By considering the consumers’ social value orientation, it provides a better understanding of the attitude-behavior gap in animal-friendly fashion consumption. However, further studies should focus on the way of adapting communication on eco-products to the consumer profile. Moreover, it seems interesting to explore how the integration of innovative environmentally friendly materials can be accepted by the target. Replicating this research with representative consumer samples from different countries is also necessary. Practical implications From a practical point of view, this research offers implications for managers operating in fashion apparel industry by giving insights on the consumers’ preference for animal friendly fashion. Social implications This study gives recommendations to help convincing consumers about the importance of animal welfare attribute and to increase their preference for animal-friendly fashion products. Originality/value Despite the extensive use of animal fibers, fur and skins in the production of textiles, the few researchers who have shed the light on the consumers’ response to animal-friendly products have considered mainly the case of food. Also, the marketing literature gives little explanation of the attitude-behavior gap in ethical fashion consumption. By examining the consumers’ social value orientation, this study provides a better understanding of this gap.

This study investigates the extent to which prices of ecological products are fair. In particular, it explores the gap that can exist between the pricing policies adopted by enterprises and the consumers' price expectations in terms of fairness. The existing academic literature on sustainable consumption neglects this question.Findings from a qualitative investigation combining a consumer study and enterprise case studies show that managers' behaviors vary. While some enterprises take into account consumers' expectations and purchasing power to propose a fair price based on the value of the green product, others continue to adopt a pricing policy that is exclusively based on profitability and competition. The authors draw some business and academic implications.

While the strategic management literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) is abundant, it tends to consider the context of developed countries, with a focus on certain specific issues such as the strategic behaviour of firms with regard to sustainable development and the economic benefits of CSR practices. The present study examines the influence of western organizations on responsible corporate behaviour in developing countries, an issue that has been somewhat neglected in the existing academic literature. In particular, it explores the environmental upgrading of developing country firms in global value chains. This research, conducted with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method, involves 24 Tunisian olive oil companies. The findings indicate that exporting companies have indeed benefited from environmental upgrading, but, because of the cooperation strategy adopted by leading western firms (imposition of standards) and the absence of financial and technical assistance, the extent of environmental upgrading remains limited. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) effort on consumer preference in the case of brands with different CSR histories in the clothing and footwear sector. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the conjoint analysis method and analyzes a sample of 381 French consumers. Two sports brands were tested in this experiment: Nike and Patagonia. Findings The results show that despite the sensitivity of the respondents to the social and environmental conditions involved in the manufacture of the shoes they purchase, they mainly preferred Nike – regardless of its shorter CSR history and significant criticism for social issues in its value chain. Customer recognition of a greater CSR effort by Patagonia does not seem to change this preference. Research limitations/implications One fictional product was tested, and the two selected brands have different levels of recognition by French consumers. To strengthen the external validity of the results, it would be interesting to repeat the study using other, real products and other brands with a similar offer on the market and level of consumer awareness. Practical implications The findings suggest that the ethical dimension of the product should not be put forward as the main selling point, but rather as an added value for the product. Originality/value Although there has been an increasing number of studies of consumer behavior toward ethical attributes in recent years, none to date have compared this behavior for products of ethical brands with different CSR histories.