Antecedents and Outcomes of Consumer Uncertainty in Ethical Buying Decisions: a Conceptual Model

Growth in consumer concern for ethical issues has been well documented. Consumers have been found to experience uncertainty in decision-making in terms of information, availability and choice, particularly in the area of purchasing ethical clothing. Given the pertinence of uncertainty in decision-making, this article explores the dimensionality of consumer uncertainty. While decision uncertainty has been examined in numerous product categories, little is known about decision uncertainty in the context of ethical products. A new multi-dimensional conceptualization of consumer uncertainty is developed as well as a hypothesized framework that offers an understanding of interrelated mechanisms. Managerial and research implications are discussed.

Citation:

Gianfranco Walsh, Deirdre Shaw, Edward Shiu, and Louise Hassan (2011) ,"Antecedents and Outcomes of Consumer Uncertainty in Ethical Buying Decisions: a Conceptual Model", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9, eds. Alan Bradshaw, Chris Hackley, and Pauline Maclaran, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 444.