Consumers' Ethical Beliefs Scale

What it measures

Measures beliefs about the ethicality of a range of questionable consumer behaviours across four categories. Actively Benefiting from Illegal Activity captures beliefs about clearly illegal acts such as shoplifting and software piracy. Passively Benefiting at Others' Expense captures beliefs about benefiting from others' mistakes (e.g., keeping incorrect change). Actively Benefiting from Deception captures using deception to gain advantage (e.g., returning merchandise after using it). No Harm/No Foul captures minor transgressions perceived as victimless (e.g., recording music from the radio). Consumer ethical beliefs predict actual unethical consumer behaviour and responses to corporate social responsibility claims.

Response format

Likert (1–5, strongly believe it is wrong to strongly believe it is not wrong)

Scale items

Actively Benefiting from Illegal Activity (Likert 1–5, strongly believe it is wrong to strongly believe it is NOT wrong)

• Drinking a can of soda in a supermarket without paying for it.
• Reporting a lost item as stolen to collect insurance.
• Returning damaged merchandise when the damage is your own fault.
• Lying about a child's age to get a lower price.
• Giving misleading price information to a clerk for an unpriced item.
• Eating a few grapes in a supermarket without paying for them.
• Returning merchandise to a store after trying it and not liking it.

Passively Benefiting from Questionable Actions

• Getting too much change and not saying anything.
• Taping a movie off the television.
• Taping music off the radio.
• Not saying anything when you receive too much change.
• Returning merchandise to a store when you just changed your mind about the purchase.
• Taping a movie off cable television at a friend's home.
• Lying about not receiving something in order to get it free.

Actively Benefiting from Deceptive but Legal Actions

• Using a coupon for merchandise you did not buy.
• Not telling the truth when negotiating the price of a new automobile.
• Misleading a salesperson in order to get a better deal.
• Buying something and returning it after using it.
• Calling in sick to work when you are not sick.
• Stretching the truth on an income tax return.
• Stretching the truth on a credit or loan application.

No-Harm Questionable Actions

• Using a long-distance access code that does not belong to you.
• Taping computer software rather than buying it.
• Breaking a bottle of salad dressing in a supermarket and doing nothing about it.
• Observing someone shoplifting and not reporting it.
• Spending over an hour trying on clothes with no intention of buying.
• Returning an item by claiming it was a gift when it was not.
• Giving a store clerk too little information about the price of an item to get it at the lower price.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Four subscale scores. The No Harm/No Foul dimension is most frequently endorsed as ethical; Actively Benefiting from Illegal Activity is least endorsed. Consumer ethical beliefs are moderated by Machiavellianism, moral development, religiosity, and national culture.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Vitell, S.J., & Muncy, J. (1992). Consumer ethics: An empirical investigation of factors influencing ethical judgments of the final consumer. Journal of Business Ethics, 11(8), 585–597.

Keywords