Various studies on the impact of religiousness on consumer ethics have produced mixed results and suggested further clarification on the issue. Therefore, this article examines the effect of religiousness, materialism, and long-term orientation on consumer ethics in Indonesia. The results from 356 respondents in Indonesia, the largest Muslim population in the world, showed that intrinsic religiousness positively affected consumer ethics, while extrinsic social religiousness negatively affected consumer ethics. However, extrinsic personal religiousness did not affect consumer ethical beliefs dimensions. Unlike other (...) studies in developed countries, materialism and long-term orientation influenced only a few of the consumer ethical beliefs dimensions in this study. To date, the study is one of the first empirical studies to explore the impact of religiousness on consumer ethics in Indonesia. The study contributes to the debate on the impact of religiousness on consumer ethics and can assist managers and public policymakers in their effort to mitigate unethical consumer activities in Indonesia. (shrink)

The current study aims to examine the role of religiosity and gender in affecting consumer ethics among Indonesian youths. A convenience sample of 482 students in a large private university in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, participated in the research. Established scales were adopted to measure the key constructs. Intrinsic religiosity and gender were used as the independent variables, while each dimension of consumer ethics was treated as the dependent variables. The results of seven multiple regression analyses indicated that gender and (...) intrinsic religiosity influence consumer ethics dimensions significantly, except for “downloading.” Individuals who live daily life according to their religion are less receptive toward unethical activities than those who do not. Further, females were found to be more ethical than male counterparts on five dimensions of consumer ethics. Males tended to be more supportive of “doing good” for the seller compared to females. In general, the findings suggest that gender and religiosity do matter in influencing consumer ethics among youths in Indonesia. These findings provide important insights for religious leaders, university lecturers, and policy makers in their efforts to reduce unethical acts among the young generation. (shrink)

In the era of consumer distrust of corporations, transparency is becoming a must rather than an option. While prior research has explored why businesses should disclose their costs and how consumers may react to such cost transparency, it is still unclear how marketers can best communicate cost transparency. The present research offers a practical examination of how and when cost transparency is effective, specifically, by examining the moderating role of authentic and hubristic pride on the effectiveness of cost transparency. Across (...) two experimental studies, the effectiveness of cost transparency is leveraged using authentic pride, whereas hubristic pride decreases it. Further, we empirically demonstrate the mediating role of moral elevation. Overall, the results demonstrate that marketing messages that elicit authentic pride can increase the effectiveness of cost transparency. Hence, the current research highlights how marketers and brands can effectively combine specific emotional appeals with cost transparency to obtain favorable consumer evaluations. (shrink)