The relationship between demographics and consumers' propensity for rewarding or punishing a company based on social responsibility

Abstract

This research aims to understand the relationship between demographic factors and socially conscious consumption behaviors. Research has been conducted on the relationship between demographic factors and green or socially conscious behavior. Most of these studies provide a snapshot of a certain segment of the population at a given point in time. However, the current study is looking at the influence of demographic factors across countries and over time. The importance of this topic is in understanding actual consumer behavior and identifying consumers’ intentions and needs. Using the GlobeScan Radar database, over 76,000 survey responses from 18 countries between 2007 to 2013 were analyzed . Respondents in each year and country were asked whether they consider punishing or rewarding a company based on the perceived level of social responsibility. Chi square tests were the main form of analysis that was used in this study to investigate the existence of any relationship between demographic factors (including gender, age, income, level of education, country, and year) and the degree to which a consumer actively punishes or rewards a company based on social responsibility. The findings showed there is a relationship between the studied demographic factors and the consumers’ propensity; however only the factor of country showed a strong association, other analyzed variable associations were weak. This study is useful for policymakers, market researchers, academic researchers, and businesses as it provides a comprehensive picture of consumers’ views and their changes over time on a global scale. This research provides a comprehensive picture of the impact of demographic factors on consumers’ behavior. Based on the high number of respondents in this study, we were able to assess with a high degree of statistical confidence, the effects of gender, age, income, education, country, and year on a consumers’ propensity to actively reward or punish companies based on their perceived level of social responsibility.