The Rise of Ethical Consumerism in the United Kingdom - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal on Ethical Consumerism Name: Professor: Institution: Course: Date: Table of contents Executive summary 4 Introduction 5 Research aim 6 Research objectives 6 Research questions 6 Research hypothesis 6 Literature review 7 Research methodology 10 Participants and sampling 13 Ethical approval 14 Conclusion 16 Action plan 17 References 18 Appendixes 21 Executive summary This research proposal was commissioned purposely to be use a framework and guideline to the main research that will be used to establish ways in which different business actions influence ethical consumerism and the public’s level of awareness of ethical consumerism as the main objectives of the study. Consumerism has got a very long history in the United Kingdom since it came into existence in 1844. Consumerism can be defined as a process by which consumers do make their purchases, utilize and dispose their commodities based on certain principles and standards. This means that consumers make certain consumption decisions based on certain conditions. Consumerism is applied by different stakeholders in the society as a driving force to social change. Ethical consumerism can be divided into three main categories namely: positive ethical purchase behavior, negative ethical purchase behavior and consumer action. Positive ethical purchase behavior entails buying goods based on certain attributes while negative ethical purchase behavior entails boycotting and avoiding certain goods based on certain unethical characteristics. On the other hand, consumer action refers to the customer lobbying or taking a direct action on certain consumption issues. In this proposal, the researchers has also discussed extensively on how the research will be conducted using different methods which include use of primary and secondary sources. Finally, the proposal has provided some of the expected results that the researcher expects and the action plan that will be followed. 1.0 INTRODUCTION According to Peter Shield who is a senior editor on consumers’ natural choices, ‘ethical consumerism has got its roots in the United Kingdom.’ Consumerism has got a very long history in the United Kingdom. He continues to argue that consumerism came into existence in the country s earlier as 1844. Since then ethical consumerism has seen a lot development. For example the report on consumerism by the Co-operative bank, the country’s consumerism level is estimated to be growing at more than 10% yearly. In 2007, the bank valued consumerism at £32.268 Billion this was an 11% growth from the previous year. According to the same report, there is a likelihood that consumerism is about to witness tremendous growth in different sectors such as ethical finances as well as the food consumption sectors. In 2007, ethical investment finances were found to have grown by 80% during the first quarter of 2007. This is according to the report by the Fidelity’s Funds Network. In the United Kingdom, consumerism numerous developments which are associated with different ideas which include human rights, consumer protection and safety, animal rights, environmentalism and currently fair-trade (Co-operatives, 2008). Even though consumerism for many years has been seen as developed world’s affair, it is now gaining acceptance even in developing countries. This is because viable economy is measured by the increasing consumption of commodities. So, any act that impedes this is of concern to the economy. It is upon this that gross national product (GNP) of a nation is calculated. The primary objective of this research is to carry out a critical study on the concept and how consumers and different businesses influence it and fair trade. 2.0 Research aim The aim of this research is to show the roles of consumers and businesses in promoting or influencing consumerism and fair trade. By this, we will find out the level of consumer awareness of the subject-matter. This proves an interesting topic because people spend their hard earned money on some products without knowing where it was produced, how it was produced or its effect on the environment. 3.0 Research objectives 3.1 Objectives: To ascertain the public’s level of awareness of fair trade. To ascertain the actions of supermarkets in promoting ethical consumerism. To have a clear knowledge of fair trade market. To make recommendations on how to better fair trade market based on the findings. 4.0 Research questions How do business actions influence ethical consumerism? What is the public’s level of awareness of ethical consumerism? 5.0 Research hypothesis Consumerism is a very important process that is used to ensure that scarce resources are well utilized for better economic development. Consumerism ensures that those resources are on high and are scarce are well allocated for development. 6.0 Literature review 6.1 Definition of consumerism and ethical consumption Consumerism can be defined as a process by which consumers do make their purchases, utilize and dispose their commodities based on certain principles and standards. This means that consumers make certain consumption decisions based on certain conditions. Consumerism is applied by different stakeholders in the society as a driving force to social change. This implies that some companies make certain decisions based on the consumer demand (Veisten 1999). This trend is witnessed when different companies to influence apart from creating the consumers’ demand as seen the different strategies they employ to advertise and brand their products. However, consumers’ ability can be used to make companies accountable of their actions. Consumerism has been defined by different groups and writers. It could be a deliberate attempt by people and government with the aim of protecting consumers from actions that impede their rights to fair business practice. According to some authors, consumerism is considered as key a tool for bringing out the desired change in the society. However, Smith (1990) is of the opinion that to some level corporate can be assumed to be abstract in such a way that the public attention cannot be attracted irrespective of their activities. This is so possible even when individual can be able to tell about their satisfaction or dissatisfaction from what they purchase and consume (PIU 2000). Smith when discussing about the concept of ‘ethical purchase behavour’, he plays a lot of emphasis on the negative part of it especially where individuals boycott certain commodities. On the other hand, other authors are of the view that ethical purchase behavior can be positive especially when individuals purchase certain goods based on specific attributes (Saunder et al 2000). 6.2 Types of ethical consumerism Ethical consumerism can be divided into three main categories namely: positive ethical purchase behavior, negative ethical purchase behavior and consumer action. Positive ethical purchase behavior entails buying goods based on certain attributes while negative ethical purchase behavior entails boycotting and avoiding certain goods based on certain unethical characteristics (CHRISTIAN AID, 1996). On the other hand, consumer action refers to the customer lobbying or taking a direct action on certain consumption issues. Ethical consumerism is seen by many authors as a development from the past consumerism methods. According to Lang and Hines (1993), there are three waves of consumerism. The first wave of consumerism takes into consideration the customer movement towards certain products based on value for money and product information as well as labeling. The second wave is directed towards product level of safety and which to some greater is linked with the company level of accountability (Amitabh 2009). The final wave is interpreted as a connection between environmentalism and patriotism. 6.3 Emergence of ethical consumption The evolvement of the ethical consumer for many years has been studied, even though many of the scholars are of the opinion that ethical consumption instead of it being practiced it is more of celebrated. However, there are varied opinions on the green and the ethical consumer values. Much of the information on consumption is founded on quantitative data (Valenzuela et al 2010). Some of the surveys that have been done study what entails of the ethical market and the various issues that surround purchasing characteristics. The other surveys are commissioned by respective companies in order to assist in establishing the values and needs of their potential customers. Such good example is the Co-operative bank which has persistently studied the consumer trends of their customers. This is particularly used in consumer awareness of the company’s products that are available in the market. 6.4 Negative ethical purchase behaviour Apart from a view fair-trade commodities offered in the market in the form of solidarity, for a very long period of time, the main category of consumerism that has been in existence is the ‘negative ethical purchase behaviour’, which is also described as boycotting. Some boycotts are planned by certain advocacy groups. One the boycott that was to be very success is the one that was organized in 1997, to boycott Baby’s Milk from Nestle. In many occasions customers tend to avoid or boycott certain products which are associated with certain concerns like animal testing and factory farming as well as the arms in the industry based on an individual evaluation (Soil Association, 1999). However, much of the recent studies have chosen to embark on establishing issues that customers are interested in rather than trying to find out what are the real reasons for consumer boycott. However, the Co-operative bank has been on the forefront for many years in using surveys to devise methods of realizing ethical standards. There before, the bank had issues with regard to human rights, export of the armaments to those governments that were not democratic and environmental damage (Fair trade foundation 2011). 6.5 Positive ethical purchase behavior Even though negative ethical purchase is seen to be a very common phenomenon among different purchasers, there also appear to be a positive trend with regard to positive ethical purchase behavior. However, according to Mintel (1997) it is very difficult to determine what ‘ethical products’ are (EC ,1997). His market intelligence survey about ethical foods was based on organic and fair trade markets. 6.5.1 Fair-trade So there has been no much accurate information and quantitative data about fair-trade sales except on the fair-trade market goods sales. For example in the United Kingdom in 1996, the sales of Fair-trade Mark Coffee were £6.6 million while the volume sales had expanded by 39% during the same period. The survey revealed some level of awareness among the consumers about the cafe especially with regard to marketing and advertising strategies used by the companies. However, the same survey had indicated that very little awareness with regard to fair-trade concept. The research found that 60% of the women who were aged between 18-55 years were very much aware of the brand but did not understand how the brand differed from the rest. While the research found that majority felt that 48% were of the view that fair-trade to was more applicable for developing countries in helping them make a living (Olga 2011). However, the research had also indicated that it is only 35% of the respondents were aware of fair-trade brands. In general terms, fair-trade seems to be varying across many countries in Europe. 7.0 Research methodology This part describes out the steps and the methods that will be employed by the researcher in achieving the objectives of the project so highlighted in this paper. It defines location of the study, research procedures and analysis plan that will be addressed in the course of the study. The research will start with the clear understanding of the research objectives as well as the hypothesis. Success of the project is a factor of the provision of satisfying information in line with the objectives and hypothesis in the determination of ways in which business actions influence ethical consumerism and the public’s level of awareness of ethical consumerism in the United Kingdom. It is important to note here that this research mainly will be based on the use of questionnaires as primary source of information. 7.1 Primary research Primary research refers to collection of statistics that is non-existent. This will be considered to be achieved through numerous forms: including the use of questionnaires, making telephone conversations, surveys, etc. As pertained to this project, the primary sources are likely to be students and parents. The major merit with conducting primary research is that it is more accurate. However, the disadvantage of using primary methods to carry out this research is that it will consume a lot of time, as it will involve dealing with people spread in various parts of the country and the human sources may only become resourceful out of their own willingness, and this will take time them quite some time before making up their minds to tell what they know with regard to the research questions. 7.2 Secondary research Secondary research on the other hand will involve the collection of existing data, that is, in contrast to primary research. For example in this research, secondary methods will only be used as the method of obtaining data on how various students have been performing in their examinations. The merit of secondary research is that it’s not time consuming however a disadvantage is that the information retrieved may not be relevant. 7.3 Choice of research philosophy Another aspect that will be of great significance in this research is the research strategy. It’s the research strategy that will indicate which methods a researcher will adapt to answer the research objectives or questions on how business actions influence ethical consumerism and the public’s level of awareness of ethical consumerism in the United Kingdom. Use of questionnaires and interviews will form the most important research strategies that will be used in conducting this research. This implies that the researcher will interview and question specific groups of people to obtain large amount of information relevant to the subject of the study. This will be in respect to how business actions influence ethical consumerism and the public’s level of awareness of ethical consumerism in the United Kingdom. The data will be collected from the people either via questionnaire or orally. The purpose of the study will be to establish and analyze views of respondents in order to find what they think about different business actions and their influence on ethical consumerism. 7.4 Questionnaires This research mainly will be carried out by the use of questionnaires. The questionnaire will enable the researcher to gather a lot of information from many respondents who were directly involved in this case. Use of a questionnaire as a quantitative method for collecting data from the sources was found to be the most appropriate method of collecting mass responses and as such, providing a good method of comparative analysis, Bornstein (2002). The questionnaires that will be used will cover a number of data sources to find out opinions and views regarding how business actions influence ethical consumerism and the public’s level of awareness of ethical consumerism in the United Kingdom. Designing good questionnaires require significant skills and experience. The researcher will embark on the study by setting up survey questionnaires that will address issues relevant to the interviews conducted. Piloting of the questionnaire will be done prior to distribution to the respondents in order to ascertain any mistakes may be faced by the respondents when filling them. 7.5 Research validity and reliability A debate about the findings of the preceding literatures how business actions influence ethical consumerism and the public’s level of awareness of ethical consumerism in the United Kingdom. Consumerism includes the discussion of the ‘research’, more often than not referring to the manner in which the statistics were collected”. This research being a phenomenological, all questions will be related to theoretical characteristics discussed in literature preview. The process would therefore be accurate in collecting, analyzing and sampling data; hence the validity of result would be quite high. Considering that there are many different aspects of validity, which influence the validity of the research in general. 7.6 Research Procedures The research procedures is part of the research proposal that explains how the researcher intends to use the research methods discussed earlier in order to achieve the research objectives identified at the introduction part of this proposal and answer the research questions accordingly. The whole essence of outlining the research procedures in my proposal is to provide guidance on how I intend to make effective use of the various research methods. 8.0 Participants and Sampling After permission has been granted by the respondents, the researcher will embark in selecting his sample through random sampling where a few consumers will be picked to represent the whole population. Random sampling in this case will enable the researcher to pick respondents from different spheres. This will create a clear platform for the researcher to analyze the various actions that influence consumerism (Quazi 2002). After the sample has been identified, a survey will be done to assess the consumerism process, including consumer and company actions by use of questionnaires that would be mailed to each participating respondent. The researcher will be expected to explain the importance of this research to the society in order to motivate and attain high response rate from sample of study, Bornstein (2002). 9.0 Ethical approval Some institutions require that any research involving interaction with human participants get approval from ethical advisory committees or boards. This ethical approval will be sought to ensure that the researcher conducts research in a manner that is respectful to the participants who in this case include: the consumers and the companies and other participants like the community and the manufacturers that in one way or the other will be influenced by the research process (Shaw and Clarke 1999). It is important for the researcher to seek out what ethical approval is required embarking on this research. The researcher may need to seek approval from more than one advisory committee like the company management and the consumer associations’ fraternity depending on the institutional and disciplinary context. Applications for ethical approval can be done directly to the parties involved. An ethical consideration is a key part of conducting this research. Understanding research ethics will impact on all aspects of your research, in particular, how the researcher will engage with the consumers to conduct the research and disseminate the research findings. It is important to note that the researcher will be expected to develop his/her own research ethics guidelines to assist both the research team and the participants to be ‘culturally safe’ during the research process Hoghuighi & Long (2004). In the ‘ethical approval’ section, it is important for the researcher to clearly specify who intends to seek ethical approval from, and/or when ethical approval will be granted and for what period of time. Under ethical approval, it is important to note that this research reserve rights of the respondents to participate or not to participate in the exercise. All the participants will be given their respective informed consent for the purpose of participation in the research. They will be informed prior to the research, the purposes, the potential benefits as well as the risks that might be associated with their participation. Ethical standards shall be considered in the process of the procedures of the research. If the participants chose not to answer any part of the question/s, their right to not answer will be acknowledged and it will be ensured that the privacy of any person will not be compromised upon. Whilst conducting interviews with the sources, the researcher will be expected to stay cognitive of the selected interview time and make no efforts to intentionally lengthen the interview, Hoghuighi & Long (2004). Moreover, as an important part of the ethical considerations, all the sources of secondary data will be given complete recognition for their input to this study. The composed data will be characterized truthfully and the investigation will be based to the finest of the researcher’s knowledge and capability. 10.0 Possible conclusions Based on the information and data that has been reviewed purposely for this research, it is evident that the end of this research we expect to find rather interesting issues with regard to ethical consumerism in the united kingdom and how different actions influence ethical consumerism. First, it is possible to establish that consumerism is about to witness tremendous growth in different sectors such as ethical finances as well as the food consumption sectors. This is because of the increasing awareness and support from the society based on their values. Second, in the United Kingdom, consumerism numerous developments which are associated with different ideas which include human rights, consumer protection and safety, animal rights, environmentalism and currently fair-trade are on the increase. Even though consumerism for many years has been seen as developed world’s affair, the research is likely to establish that ethical consumerism is now gaining acceptance even in developing countries. This is will be associated with the desire to grow individual economies by economically utilizing scarce resources that are available. Third, based on the literature that currently exists and different reports on ethical consumerism such as the Co-operative Bank report of 2008, the research is set to establish that ethical consumerism is well diversified in different goods that are consumed by the society. Based on the Co-operative Bank ethical consumerism report of 2008 the research is expected to find out that there is continuous growth in consumption of different commodities that are perceived to ethically compliant and which include: Ethical Food & Drink, green home, Eco-travel and Transport, ethical personal commodities and ethical finances. Finally, the research is expected to establish that is direct relationship between awareness, values and ethical consumerism within the society. Action plan or Gantt chart Activity Weeks %44367/wband0 Week commencing 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 `drs Explore literature Writing literature review Reading on methodology Writing methodology Questionnaire design _brdrw10 #lrtb`3 Collection of qualitative data Lcellx8553Xclvertalt Collection of quantitative data Analysis of qualitative data Analysis of quantitative data Writing conclusion Submission of first draft Revision and submission of final draft References Amitabh S. 2009, Effects of consumerism, viewed 24 Jan 2012, from http://www.paggu.com/business/world-economy/the-effects-of-consumerism/ AYGLON, C. 1999, Consumer Adoption of a New Product Launch. Internal report, Oxford, Oxfam Trading. CAFOD, 1997, Attitudes Towards Ethical Shopping, Research study conducted by MORI, May 1997. CHRISTIAN AID, 1996, The Global Supermarket, Britain’s Biggest Shops and Food from the Third World, London, Christian Aid. Coddington, W. 1993, Environmental Marketing. Positive Strategies for Reaching the Green Consumer, Maidenhead, McGraw Hill. Co-operatives, 2008, ethical consumerism report, viewed 24 Jan 2012, from http://www.goodwithmoney.co.uk/ethical- consumerism-report-08 Cowe, R & WILLIAMS, S 2000, Who are the Ethical Consumers? London, The Co- operative Bank. EC1997, Eurobarometer Survey on Attitudes of EU Consumers to Fairtrade Bananas, Brussels: European Commission, Directorate General for Agriculture. Fair trade foundation 2011, Fair Trade History, viewed 24 Jan 2012, from (http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/what_is_fairtrade/history.aspx FAIRTRADE FOUNDATION 1999, Fairtrade: Consumer Demand, viewed 24 Jan 2012, from http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/ Harrison, R., Newholm, T & Shaw, D 2005, The Ethical Consumer, Sage, London. Kilbourne, W., & Pickett, G. 2008, How materialism affects environmental beliefs, concerns, and environmentally responsible behaviour, Journal of Business Research, 61 (9): 885- 893. Olga K. 2011, Environmental and social aspect of ethical consumerism, Department of Business administration, Technology and social sciences. Lulea University of Technology. Sweden. OXFAM CAMPAIGNS 1996, Fair-trade Action Update, Oxfam internal newsletter, Oxford, Oxfam. PIU 2000, Rights of Exchange: Social, Health, Environmental and Trade Objectives on the Global Scale, London: Cabinet Office, Performance and Innovation Unit. Quazi, A 2002, Managerial views of consumerism: a two-country comparison, European Journal of Marketing, 36 (1/2): 36-50. Robins, N. & Roberts, S. 1998, Consumption in a Sustainable World. Report of Workshop held in Kabelvag, London: Shaw, D. and Clarke, I. 1999, Belief formation in ethical consumer groups: An exploratory study, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 17(3). SOIL ASSOCIATION 1999, British Supermarkets Call for 10% Organic Target by 2005, Press release(5 July 1999), London, Soil Association. Saunder. M.. Lewis, P & Thornhill, A. 2000, Research methods for business (2nd edition), New York, pearson education limited. Veisten, K. 1999, Potential Demand for Certified Wooden Products: A Contingent Valuation Study with a Simple Mechanism to Increase Predictive Validity, Agricultural University of Norway (NLH), Department of Forest Sciences. Valenzuela, L., Mulki, J., & Jaramillo, J. 2010, Impact of customer orientation, inducements and ethics on loyalty to the firm: Customers’ perspective, Journal of Business Ethics, 93 (2): 277–291. Appendixes Appendix 1: Ethical checklist Project title: Student’s name: Email address: Supervisor: Module title/code: Project Summary: Please be as explicit as possible about methods to be used, including details about participant tasks, especially if these tasks could invoke ethical issues. Attach copies of all measures, tests, inventories, questionnaires and interview questions you intend to use in the course of your research. Will ethical approval for this project be required from another source? (Organisations such as hospitals, charities and schools may also have Ethics Committees that will also need to approve your work. The responsibility lies with you to check this.). Yes  No  If yes, what is this source? Please remember to obtain approval from the other Ethics Committee first and include a copy of this approval in with this form. INFORMED CONSENT AND DEBRIEFING Are you aware that participants must give their informed consent to any investigation procedure? Yes  No  Attach a copy of your participant information sheet, consent form and debriefing and confirm, below, that these provide participants with the following information. Does this describe the main procedures so that participants know in advance what to expect, including the length of time that their participation will take? Yes  No  Does this tell participants that their participation is voluntary? Yes  No  Will you obtain written consent for participation? Yes  No  Will you tell participants that they may withdraw from the research at any time and for any reason? Yes  No  Will you tell participants that they have the option of omitting anq question that dhey do not wish to answer? chYes  No  Will you tell participants that their data will be treated with full confidentiality and that, if published, it will not be identifiable as theirs? Yes  No  Will you make it clear to participants of the categories of people who will have access to their data (e.g. your supervisor) and those who will be reading the final report in an official capacity (e.g., supervisors, examiners, etc.)? Yes  No  Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation (i.e. give them a brief explanation of the study? Yes  No  Read More