A research on the antecedents of ethical purchasing intention and the barriers to ethical purchasing behaviour

Ethical consumption means behaviours of purchasing or consuming/using which are associated with a significant ethical concern by the consumers. This study focuses on (positive) ethical purchasing behaviour which is a type of the ethical consumption movement. The literature on ethical consumption shows that even though consumers generally have a positive attitude and intention towards purchasing ethical products, realization of ethical purchasing behaviour is relatively low. In the current study, it is aimed to determine the antecedents of ethical purchasing intention of ethically minded consumers and to find out the barriers to ethical purchasing behaviour. The research model based on The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was tested in order to determine the antecedents of ethical purchasing intention, and a qualitative study was conducted to identify the factors which prevent the transformation of behavioural intentions to actual behaviour. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used for analysing quantitative data and content analysis and descriptive analysis were used for analysing qualitative data. Findings of the qualitative research revealed that the ethically minded consumers face 4 different obstacles (difficulty of search and availability, price, skepticism and functional expectations) in terms of ethical purchase behaviour. A pilot study was performed in order to develop a scale regarding these obstacles. The quantitative research findings showed that the antecedents of ethical purchasing intention are attitude, perceived behavioural control, ethical identity and ethical obligation, and perceived behavioural control constitutes the strongest antecedent factor. In light of the findings of quantitative and qualitative researches, suggestions for enterprises, nongovernmental organizations and future studies were discussed in conclusion.