Purpose

Ethical consumerism is gaining importance as consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about brands' moral intentions and social and legal practices. Hence, in a quest to advance the current application of ethics in branding, this study substantiates literature by investigating consumer-perceived brand ethicality's (CPBE) role in affecting psychological, affective and behavioral responses of consumers (i.e. psychological brand ownership (PBO), brand commitment and willingness to pay a price premium (WPPP). Further, the authors test self-congruence as the boundary condition for CPBE.

Design/methodology/approach

Online survey method resulted in 408 responses, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

CPBE emerged as a predictor for PBO, brand commitment and WPPP. However, counterintuitively, self-congruence failed to reflect any moderating effect on the relationships between CPBE and PBO and CPBE and brand commitment.

Practical implications

Brands are encouraged to indulge in and reflect ethical practices to generate favorable consumer responses, i.e. PBO, brand commitment and WPPP.

Originality/value

Based on the ethical and psychological ownership theories, the investigation adds to the scholarship on CPBE and its outcomes. Arguably, it remains the first study to document the linkage between CPBE and PBO.

中文翻译：

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品牌道德作为品牌心理、情感和行为反应的驱动力

目的

随着消费者越来越关注品牌的道德意图以及社会和法律实践，道德消费主义变得越来越重要。因此，为了推进当前道德在品牌建设中的应用，本研究通过调查消费者感知的品牌道德（CPBE）在影响消费者心理、情感和行为反应（即心理品牌所有权（PBO）、品牌支付溢价的承诺和意愿 (WPPP)。此外，作者测试了自一致性作为 CPBE 的边界条件。

设计/方法论/途径

在线调查方法共收到 408 份回复，并使用结构方程模型 (SEM) 分析数据。

发现

CPBE 成为 PBO、品牌承诺和 WPPP 的预测指标。然而，与直觉相反，自我一致性未能反映出 CPBE 与 PBO 之间的关系以及 CPBE 与品牌承诺之间的任何调节作用。

实际影响

鼓励品牌沉迷于并反映道德实践，以产生良好的消费者反应，即 PBO、品牌承诺和 WPPP。

原创性/价值

该调查以伦理和心理所有权理论为基础，丰富了关于 CPBE 及其结果的学术研究。可以说，它仍然是第一个记录 CPBE 和 PBO 之间联系的研究。