• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1015-1023
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• 2006

This study examined the levels of consumers' non-ethical behaviors in the marketplace and the factors affecting each category of them. The data were collected from 222 adults in Busan and Gyeongnam areas through a self-administered questionnaire. Frequencies, Cronbach's alpha, Pearson's correlation analysis and multiple regression analyses were conducted by SPSS Windows. The results from this study were as follows: First, respondents showed the highest level of non-ethical behavior in the no harm/no foul category, while the lowest level in the actively benefiting from questionable behavior category. Second, as the results of multiple regression analyses, age was significant in all categories of non-ethical behaviors. In addition, religion, consumer knowledge and consumer role attitudes were found to be significant in some categories. These results imply that the consumer ethics should be included in the consumer education for more effective consumer behaviors of young generation.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.27-44
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• 2017

In our society, consumers and enterprises work in cooperation for the continuous development and growth of society as well as construct effective and ethical measures. One of the representative examples are customercentered management activities in corporations, social responsibility activities, and sustainable ethical consumption that show consideration for the consumer's environment. The ethical consumption behavior of consumers becomes a virtuous circle that influences other consumer's ethical decision making by creating an ethical consumption culture. Furthermore, the cost and effort to solve non-ethical consumption problems can be solved. This research aims at aspiring the perception of consumer's ethical consumption and finding measures to increase ethical behavior. This paper further investigated the consumer's ethical consumption behavior, personality traits, perception of consumption society, and ethical judgements. For the research, a structured survey was conducted on 300 university students in Seoul. SPSS ver. 21.0 and AMOS ver. 18.0 programs were used for statistical data analysis. The results indicated differences in variables that influence consumer's ethical consumption behavior (fair trade, boycotts, and environmentally friendly products). In particular, it was evident that ethical judgements (such as the agent, personality traits, and perception consumption society) have different direct and non-direct influences on ethical consumption behavior. Strengthening the management of factors that influence measures that increase university student's ethical consumption behavior in direct and non-direct ways, providing education and improving information are believed effective in increasing ethical consumption behavior.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.891-901
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• 2004

This study is to investigate the degree of consumers' non-ethical perceptions and behaviors, and to explore related variables such as demographic variables, idealism and relativism. The data used in this study were obtained by surveying 237 college students from 10th through 24th of October, 2002 in Kimhae city. We conducted a statistical analysis of the data, using percentiles, frequencies, means, t-test, ANOVA, and Multiple Regression. Consumers' non-ethical perceptions and behaviors were measured by modifying Consumer Ethics Scale(CES, Muncy & Vitell, 1992). The CES scale comprises 4 sub-factors: actively benefiting from illegal activity(CES1), passively benefiting(CES2), actively benefiting from questionable action(CES3), no harm/no foul(CES4). Average scores of consumers' non-ethical perceptions and behaviors marked below a mid-value, which means that most of the students are basically ethical. The related variable of consumers' non-ethical perceptions was idealism. The related variables of consumers' non-ethical behaviors were idealism and the amount of discretionary money. The results show that most of the participants are basically ethical as a consumer. However, the results related with the CES4 sub-factor which includes consumer attitudes toward copyrights of consumer softwares and music CDs tell us that they are relatively non-ethical. This claims an importance of consumer education to college students in regards to intellectual property.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.417-423
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to compare the consumers' ethics depending on consumers' characteristics. From the exploratory factor analysis, consumers' ethics were composed of four sub-factors such as actively benefiting from non-ethic behavior, actively benefiting from illegal behavior, benefiting from passively illegal behavior, and benefiting from others' costs. As results of this study, followings were found: 1) non-city residents, females, and 20's aged group tended to be more non-ethical rather than city residents, males and other aged group, respectively. 2) Group of middle school education tended to behave actively illegal compared with that of the graduate school education. 3) Religious values influenced on consumers' ethics. 4) While the lower income group tended to be actively benefiting more from non-ethic behaviors, the upper income group from actively illegal ones.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.1956-1964
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• 2009

Understanding ethical fashion consumers in Korea is essential for the expansion of the ethical fashion market. This study analyzed ethical consumers in Korea in an examination of the factors that influence ethical purchase behavior and attitudes. The differences between ethical fashion consumers and non-ethical fashion consumers were investigated using eight variables (perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE), self-direction, benevolence, universalism, social responsibility, perceived behavioral control, face saving, and group conformity). Data were collected by means of a questionnaire through both on-line and off-line surveys from April 20 to June 7, 2009. Only the respondents knowledgeable of ethical products or ethical consumption were asked to complete the questionnaire. A total of 494 samples were used for analyses. Using independent samples t-test, the differences in each variable between two groups were examined. There were significant differences between ethical fashion consumers and non-ethical fashion consumers in attitudes toward ethical consumption behavior, behavioral intention, PCE, self-direction, universalism, social responsibility, and face saving variables. The factors influencing attitude and behavior intention were investigated by step-wise regression analyses. For ethical fashion consumers, the attitudes to ethical consumption behavior were largely influenced by PCE and benevolence. Social responsibility was the most predictable variable in guiding behavioral intention. Behavioral intention was also influenced by benevolence and attitude. Group conformity was found to be negatively correlated with behavioral intention. The findings of this study provide significant guidance for marketers of ethical fashion products. This study is the start of ethical fashion consumer research in Korea and can develop into variable subfields in the future.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.63-69
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• 2013

Purpose - Ethical consumption is the action of buying one product over another with an ethical idea in mind. It has gained in popularity since the 1990s with more emphasis being put on the power of consumer actions to create social, economic, and environmental change. Ethical consumption involves boycotts of certain products or brands as well as purchases linked to ethical issues. Cause-related marketing (the buying behavior of ethical consumption) involves a for-profit and non-profit entity teaming up to promote a product at the same time as promoting a social cause. Each time a consumer buys that product, a donation is made by the for-profit entity to the non-profit entity supporting the specific cause. Cause-related marketing has become a tremendously popular type of ethical consumption in recent years owing to its reputation of allowing companies to "do well by doing good." This study examines how consumers' perception of cause and attitude influence their attitude toward a cause-related marketing campaign and attempts to suggest implications for marketers. Research design, data, and methodology - First, this study was designed to examine the consumers' perception factors (cause involvement, attitude for cause, attitude for company and brand familiarity) in order to determine whether these factors have significantly affected consumers' attitude toward a cause-related marketing campaign. Second, this study developed a structural equation model and tested it empirically using survey data from 223 individual respondents. Respondents were undergraduate students in Chungnam. They were shown an existing real campaign message of cause-related marketing, and then filled out a questionnaire. Data were analyzed with SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 17.0 programs. Results - The hypotheses were tested using factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The study's results showed that brand familiarity, attitude to the company and attitude to the cause significantly affected consumers' attitude toward the cause-related marketing campaign and performance. In particular, attitude to the cause was significantly related to attitude and performance of the cause-related marketing campaign. However, the hypothesis about cause involvement was not supported with the results indicating that cause involvement did not affect consumers' attitude toward the cause-related marketing campaign. The findings underline the importance of consumer perceptions of the cause and the company and their attitude to the cause. They point to the importance of individual differences that influence consumer perceptions of the cause, the company and brand familiarity. Also of importance is the consumer's attitude to the cause. Conclusions - The findings suggest some practical implications in designing and implementing cause-related marketing campaigns. It is important to enhance brand familiarity and create a favorable attitude to the company and attitude to the cause before designing cause-related marketing campaigns. The rising popularity of cause-related marketing has been attributed to its potential to cut through advertising clutter. The findings in this study suggest that marketing campaigns supporting a cause make a difference.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1438-1447
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• 2004

The purpose of this study were to examine if the buyers of counterfeits tend to care less about ethical beliefs than non-buyers among Korean, Japanese, and Hong Kong consumers, and if they have more supportive attitudes toward counterfeit products. 573 female college students living in Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong were surveyed. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and t-test were used. As the results, 65.8% of respondents had experiences of purchasing fashion counterfeits. Handbags among fashion counterfeits were the most frequently purchased by the respondents. The buyers of counterfeits tended to purchase counterfeit goods as more alternative of genuine products than non-buyers, and did not feel guiltier toward purchasing of counterfeits than non-buyers. Also, the buyers of counterfeits tended to have more positive attitudes toward the legality of manufacturing, selling, and buying of counterfeits than non-buyers. In addition, they tended to consider much more purchasing of counterfeits as a way to fight against big-firms than non-buyers. Finally, the buyers of counterfeits tended to have lower consumer ethics than non-buyers. Based on these results, global marketing strategies for fashion goods were suggested.

• International Journal of Costume and Fashion
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.11-27
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• 2012

This study explores U.S. consumers' perceptions about fashion counterfeit goods and counter feiting and motivations for purchasing and not purchasing those goods. A qualitative research technique utilizing self-administered essay questions was used to collect data. A convenience sample of female college students(N=128) drawn from classes at Midwestern and Southern universities in the U.S. participated in this study. This study found that a majority of consumers tended to perceive that fashion counterfeit goods are merely imitations of the legitimate goods and that counterfeiting is producing and selling fake goods, but a small number of consumers associated those goods with illegally produced goods and illegal practices or violations of intellectual property rights. The major motivations for purchasing counterfeit fashion goods were found to be price/value consciousness, appearance of counterfeit goods, status consumption, availability of the goods, desire for souvenirs, and social(family and peer) influences. In addition, the major deterrents to purchasing these goods were identified as integrity/ethical judgment, poor quality of counterfeit goods, self-image/status, and unavailability of the goods. This study provides policy makers and anti-counterfeit coalitions with information to develop effective educational programs or campaigns to influence consumers' counterfeit fashion purchasing behavior.