Does a Consumer’s Religion Really Matter in the Buyer–Seller Dyad? An Empirical Study Examining the Relationship Between Consumer Religious Commitment, Christian Conservatism and the Ethical Judgment of a Seller’s Controversial Business Decision

Religion is an important cultural and individual difference variable. Yet, despite its obvious importance in consumers’ lives, religion in the United States has been under-researched. This study addresses that gap in the literature and investigates the influence of consumer religion in the buyer–sel...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Authors: Swimberghe, Krist R. (Author) ; Sharma, Dheeraj (Author) ; Flurry, Laura Willis (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V 2011
In: Journal of business ethics
Year: 2011, Volume: 102, Issue: 4, Pages: 581-598
Further subjects:B Social Responsibility
B Ethical Judgment
B Christian conservatism
B Religious Commitment
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Religion is an important cultural and individual difference variable. Yet, despite its obvious importance in consumers’ lives, religion in the United States has been under-researched. This study addresses that gap in the literature and investigates the influence of consumer religion in the buyer–seller dyad. Specifically, this study examines the influence of consumer religious commitment and a Christian consumer’s conservative beliefs in the United States on store loyalty when retailers make business decisions which are potentially reli- gious objectionable. This study uses structural equation modeling and applies Anderson and Gerbing’s (Psychol Bull 103(3):411–423, 1988) two-step approach to exam- ine data obtained from a national sample of 531 consumers. The results from this study suggest that consumers evaluate seller’s actions and form ethical judgments. These judgments are a major explanatory variable in consumer store loyalty intentions.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10551-011-0829-6