Consumers' Response to Irresponsible Corporate Behaviour : A Study of the Swedish Consumers' Attitude and Behaviour

• Main Authors: Apell Karlsson, Jennifer, Gustafsson, Moa, Rasmusson, Rikard
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Företagsekonomi 2015
• Subjects: CSR; Corporate Irresponsibility; Apparel Industry; Swedish Consumer; Consumer Attitude; Consumer Behaviour; Attitude-Behaviour Gap; Purchasing Criteria.
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-26693

How companies in the apparel industry produce their products is receiving increasingly more attention, both in the society and marketplace, as well as by consumers. Despite the increasing amount of corporate scandals and corporate irresponsibility within the apparel industry, the previous research conducted within this field has mainly focused on how positive CSR affects consumers. This thesis aims to investigate how Swedish consumers’ attitude and behaviour are affected by negative CSR in the apparel industry. In order to fulfil the purpose of this thesis, a mix of quantitative and qualitative research was used to conduct an abductive study. The data was gathered through a survey posted on social media and by performing semi-structured interviews with participants consisting of Swedish consumers. The authors of this thesis have identified that Swedish consumer’s attitude is affected by negative CSR performed by apparel companies. However, the change in consumer attitude did not necessarily transfer into a change in behaviour, which generates an attitude-behaviour gap. The key barriers identified contributing to this gap are Swedish consumers’ lack of knowledge, and that they generally value personal needs and wants such as price, quality, and style greater than social responsibility.