Purpose

The authors investigated the factors influencing consumer evaluations of advertisements for ethical luxury products that incorporate animal rights and protection concerns. The authors empirically examined how ethical messages influence advertisement persuasiveness through ethical consumer guilt and positively impact consumer evaluations of ethical luxury products. Furthermore, the authors explored the moderating role of consumers’ independent versus interdependent self-construals.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted four experimental studies on the interplay among ethicality, luxury brand positioning and self-construal. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that moral emotions were responsible for the effect of ethical luxury advertisements that address animal welfare on brand attitude.

Findings

Advertisement messages signaling a luxury brand’s ethical efforts increase empathy through ethical consumer guilt, thereby generating favorable attitudes toward luxury products. However, this effect is limited to consumers with independent self-construal in South Korea and the United States of America.

Originality/value

The authors offer novel insights into the roles of ethical consumer guilt and empathy in the positive effects of ethical messages from luxury brands. Furthermore, the authors identified brand type and self-construal as boundary conditions for the effects observed across different consumer groups and markets.

中文翻译：

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消费者对道德奢侈品广告的评价：道德消费者内疚感和自我构念的作用

目的

作者调查了影响消费者对包含动物权利和保护问题的道德奢侈品广告评价的因素。作者实证研究了道德信息如何通过道德消费者内疚感影响广告说服力，并对消费者对道德奢侈品的评价产生积极影响。此外，作者还探讨了消费者独立自我构念与相互依存自我构念的调节作用。

设计/方法论/途径

作者对道德、奢侈品牌定位和自我认知之间的相互作用进行了四项实验研究。有调节的中介分析显示，道德情感是解决动物福利问题的道德奢侈品广告对品牌态度产生影响的原因。

发现

表明奢侈品牌道德努力的广告信息通过道德消费者的负罪感增加同理心，从而产生对奢侈品的有利态度。然而，这种效应仅限于韩国和美国具有独立自我认知的消费者。

原创性/价值

作者对道德消费者内疚感和同理心在奢侈品牌道德信息的积极影响中的作用提供了新颖的见解。此外，作者将品牌类型和自我认知确定为在不同消费者群体和市场中观察到的影响的边界条件。