Conceptualizing Immoral and Unethical Consumption Using Neutralization Theory

Neutralization is a defense mechanism through which people downplay the repercussions of their behavior. This article demonstrates the ability of neutralization theory (especially 13 neutralization techniques) to contribute theoretical understandings into how consumers can justify the negative impacts of their purchasing behavior, how they can continually or periodically rationalize their less than moral and ethical consumption decisions. Guided by the intent to galvanize empirical and interpretative consumer scholarship informed by neutralization theory, 13 consumer vignettes were developed to illustrate the powerful insights to be gained from bringing this theoretical perspective to bear on the immorality of consumption.

[1]  R. Harrison,et al.  The Ethical Consumer , 2005 .

[2]  James A. Muncy,et al.  Consumer ethics: An investigation of the ethical beliefs of the final consumer. , 1992 .

[3]  S. Schwartz.  Normative Influences on Altruism , 1977 .

[4]  Steven Mcshane,et al.  Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim , 2002 .

[5]  James William Coleman,et al.  The criminal elite : the sociology of white collar crime , 1985 .

[6]  Stuart Henry,et al.  Degrees of Deviance: Student Accounts of Their Deviant Behavior , 1999 .

[7]  Patrick De Pelsmacker,et al.  Do Consumers Care about Ethics? Willingness to Pay for Fair‐Trade Coffee , 2005 .

[8]  David Matza,et al.  Delinquency and Drift , 1966 .

[9]  Carl B. Klockars.  The Professional Fence , 1975 .

[10]  J. Hamlin.  THE MISPLACED ROLE OF RATIONAL CHOICE IN NEUTRALIZATION THEORY , 1988 .

[11]  J. Brinkmann.  Looking at Consumer Behavior in a Moral Perspective , 2004 .

[12]  Paul F. Cromwell,et al.  the devil made me do it: use of neutralizations by shoplifters , 2003 .

[13]  T. Jones.  Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations: An Issue-Contingent Model , 1991 .

[14]  W. W. Minor,et al.  Techniques of Neutralization: a Reconceptualization and Empirical Examination , 1981 .

[15]  Denis Collins,et al.  Organizational harm, legal condemnation and stakeholder retaliation: A typology, research agenda and application , 1989 .

[16]  R. Caruana,et al.  Morality and consumption: towards a multidisciplinary perspective , 2007 .

[17]  J. Moisander.  Motivational Complexity of Green Consumerism , 2007 .

[18]  Gresham M. Sykes,et al.  Techniques of neutralization: A theory of delinquency. , 1957 .

[19]  Sue L.T. McGregor,et al.  Sustainable consumer empowerment through critical consumer education: a typology of consumer education approaches , 2005 .

[20]  S. Eliason,et al.  Illegal Hunting and Angling:The Neutralization of Wildlife Law Violations , 2003 .

[21]  J. Lumpkin,et al.  Consumer ethics: An investigation of the ethical beliefs of elderly consumers , 1991 .