Based on three empirical studies, this research sets out to conceptualise and subsequently operationalise the construct of consumer perceived ethicality (CPE) of a company or brand. Study 1 investigates consumer meanings of the term ethical and reveals that, contrary to philosophical scholars' exclusively consequentialist or nonconsequentialist positions, consumers' ethical judgments are a function of both these evaluation principles, illustrating that not any one scholarly definition of ethics alone is capable of capturing the content domain. The resulting (...) conceptualisation identifies six key themes explicating the construct. Building upon these findings, studies 2 and 3 were conducted to operationalise CPE. Such operationalisation is an essential prerequisite for future explorations and theory development given the absence of a suitable tool to capture and quantify the strength and direction of CPE. The key focus was on developing a valid and reliable multi-item measurement tool that is practical, parsimonious and easy to administer. The scale's general applicability allows deployment in academic and business contexts as well as different research areas and doing thus facilitates the much-needed theory building in this new research area. (shrink)

Social distance often motivates consumers to increase their interactions through social networking sites. This study identifies antecedents of consumer brand usage and brand connection of SNSs, under the influence of consumer perceived ethics (CPE), during the COVID pandemic and afterward (N = 308). The proposed model was tested using partial least squares-structural equation modeling with AMOS 23. In both periods, this study shows CPE consistently affects consumer engagement and involvement. The results demonstrate that in social isolation, (...) affective engagement has higher relevance to driving Self-Brand Connection (SBC) among consumers and SNSs. On the other hand, CPE was demonstrated to provide consistent and significant effects in both periods, showing its stable capacity to impact brand involvement, engagement, use, and self-connection. In the context of the pandemic, this study demonstrates the consistent effects of CPE and other impacts of Consumer Brand Engagement (CBE) on brand usage and self-connection of SNSs. (shrink)