Purpose -This paper aims to provide an adequate instrument to measure involvement, its antecedents and its impact on behaviours relating to ethical product consumption, using the case of fair trade. Design/methodology/approach -Based on an in-depth analysis of the involvement literature and the specificities of ethical products, a model is derived using a hypothetico-deductive approach. It is then analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings -The new construct specific to ethical products is a strong predictor of involvement. In addition, the involvement in the ethical aspect of products is much stronger than the involvement in the product category to explain selected consumer behaviours. Research limitations/implications -It is likely that highly involved consumers are more prone to participate in such a survey, which limits the representativeness of the sample. Practical implications -Beyond the theoretical contribution for ethical consumption analysis, practical implications for fair trade marketing can be derived. A section of the article discusses how to improve fair trade products' communication, how to make those products more competitive, and who should distribute them. Originality/value -Current generic involvement models are insufficient to apprehend ethical consumers, who constitute a market in constant expansion. This research fills this gap by providing an original instrument which distinguishes the product-specific involvement from the involvement in the ethical values carried by the product.
The fair trade market includes several types of actors, ranging from world shops to supermarkets, and from restaurants to clothing stores, involving a heterogeneous clientele. An analysis of fair trade consumers must be sufficiently granular to capture their different expectations, attitudes, and motivations; hence the need to segment the market. Through the concept of involvement, the objective of this research is to analyze and compare by segments the determinants of behavior of fair trade consumers. The research consists of three phases: segment identification, behavioral analysis by segment, and synthesis of the managerial implications. Two out of four hypothesized criteria prove to be effective in segmenting the fair trade market, namely age and distribution channel preference (whereas gender and education are not significant criteria). The analysis shows that the drivers of the involvement in the decision to buy fair trade products vary by segment. Thus, the article concludes with the development of communication axes that can trigger or strengthen the desired behaviors in each segment. It provides fair trade marketers with an efficient communication content that can be used for fair trade advertising, product packaging, branding, or merchandising.
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