Corporate Social Irresponsibility and Consumers' Psychological Conflicts

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• Contemporary Usage of Marketing Ethics Terminology: A Concept Analysis (Paper 1)
• Transition between Paper 1 and Paper 2
• Fooling Yourself: The Role of Internal Defense Mechanisms in Unsustainable Consumption Behavior (Paper 2)
• Transition between Paper 2 and Paper 3
• Cling Together, Swing Together? Corporate Social Irresponsibility: Do Consumers Feel Accountable for It? (Paper 3)
• General Discussion
• References
• Affirmation – Statutory Declaration

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This dissertation examines the relationship between corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) and consumers' psychological conflicts. It explores the terminology and theoretical frameworks surrounding CSI and corporate social responsibility (CSR) through a literature analysis, investigates consumers' internal conflicts related to unsustainable consumption behavior through in-depth interviews, and experimentally analyzes the causal relationships between consumer conflicts and their perceived moral responsibility in relation to CSI.

• Understanding the terminology and theoretical framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social irresponsibility (CSI)
• Investigating the role of consumers' internal conflicts in relation to unsustainable consumption behavior
• Examining the causal relationships between consumer conflicts and their perceived moral responsibility in relation to CSI
• Developing a conceptual framework for marketing ethics terms based on frequency of use and interrelations
• Analyzing the use of ethical terms over time and across different marketing outlets

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Introduction: This chapter provides an overview of the three papers included in the dissertation, outlining their logical order and their contribution to the overarching research question: how corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) and consumers' psychological conflicts are connected.
• Contemporary Usage of Marketing Ethics Terminology: A Concept Analysis (Paper 1): This paper explores the terminology surrounding CSR, CSI, sustainability, and business ethics through a literature analysis. It examines the frequency of use of different terms and develops a conceptual framework of marketing ethics terms based on three dimensions: abstraction, appeal, and subject. Major definitions of relevant ethics-related concepts are provided, with a focus on marketing ethics as an umbrella term encompassing CSR, corporate social performance (CSP), CSI, and sustainability.
• Fooling Yourself: The Role of Internal Defense Mechanisms in Unsustainable Consumption Behavior (Paper 2): This paper explores the role of consumers' internal conflicts in relation to unsustainable consumption behavior through 20 in-depth interviews. It focuses on understanding how consumers reconcile their personal values with their participation in activities that may contribute to CSI.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate social irresponsibility (CSI), marketing ethics, consumer behavior, unsustainable consumption, psychological conflicts, moral responsibility, internal defense mechanisms, ethical terms, conceptual framework.