Taking the High Road: Moral Identity and Individual-Specific Determinants of Prosocial Purchasing Behavior (2024)

Undergraduate: Dishita Sen

Faculty Advisor: Timothy Kundro
Department: Kenan Flagler Business School

---

Studies show that companies and consumers are increasingly interested in corporate social responsibility, but the costs associated with responsible production and sustainability pose challenges. Stakeholders need to understand the tradeoff between price and social responsibility and understand what makes consumers willing to pay higher prices for prosocial products. This study surveys 242 consumers’ propensity to make a prosocial purchasing decision and the motivating and mediating factors that affect the decision-making process. Direct effects of demographic factors and visibility of purchases were not found, but exploratory results show a significant positive relationship between individuals’ Moral Identity Questionnaire (MIQ) scores and likelihood to make a prosocial purchasing decision; a significant negative relationship between MIQ score and price as a motivator away from prosocial decisions; and a significant influence of MIQ on peers’ perception as a motivator for behavior regardless of public visibility. These results indicate that consumers’ predisposed moral values significantly positively affect propensity to purchase prosocial products.

Link to Abstract