Dear Colleagues,

Fundamentally, no capitalist system can function without inter-connected relationships between firms and society. The fields of marketing, psychology, sociology, and/or philosophy have delved into the role of conscious capitalism within society.  

Particularly, responsible business actions including CSR, cause-marketing, and ESG have gained much attention in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. Moreover, as technology has evolved, the notion of responsibility is also applied to the role of technology within society. For example, there have been some incidents such as Amazon’s Alexa/Echo devices eavesdropping on people’s conversations as well as collecting data for their understanding of people’s behaviors. The question then becomes: would more advanced technology and big data-based personalization of firms’ offerings while ignoring consumer privacy be good for consumer wellbeing in the end? In the literature, despite the importance of conscious capitalism in shaping human behaviors and our future, it is only recently that this topic has attracted the attention of consumer researchers.

Thus, the goal of this Sustainability issue is to bring together novel research on whether and how conscious capitalism shapes people’s perceptions, judgment, behaviors, and consumption.  Addressing the research gap will complement the current literature on CSR, cause-related marketing, consumer behaviors, technology/innovation, and ethics to converge on a more comprehensive understanding. The topics of interst for this issue include (but are not limited to):

CSR, ESG, and Cause-Marketing as Double-Edged Swords:

• What are the sources of consumers’ perceptions of authenticity (vs. marketing gimmick) regarding firms’ CSR or ESG? What may help firms to avoid unexpected setbacks from their pursuit of CSR/ESG/cause-related marketing?
• Does (and how does) the firm’s type of business focus (e.g., luxury brands) conflict with the firms’ CSR or cause-marketing?
• How do firms’ controversial actions influence consumer response toward the firms? What may alleviate/amplify such impact?

Responsible AI and Technology:

• How do advanced technology and big data-based personalization of firms’ offerings over consumer privacy influence consumer wellbeing?
• In what areas do consumers feel comfortable (or not comfortable) providing their private information when using technology-based services or social media?
• In what ways do consumers view innovative technology as harmful or helpful and how do such perspectives influence their subsequent decision making?

Responsible/Irresponsible Firm Actions and Consumption:

• When and why do some CSR and ESG actions influence consumer responses and actions?
• How can firms reduce the gap between consumers’ favorable intention toward socially responsible firms and their actual purchase behaviors?
• How may the medium of communication (e.g., offline, online, mobile) about firms’ responsible actions influence consumer evaluation of the same sustainability issue differently? What types of communication entity (e.g., picture, text, tweet, Instagram, etc.) are more effective than others and why?

Generational Gap and Cultural Differences:

• Do Generation Z, who are known to consider sustainability, actually buy socially responsible products/services more than other generations? If so, what explains such generational differences?
• Does culture across countries or even within a country drive differing attention to conscious business and consumer roles?
• What type of products/services do consumers consider having greater social responsibilities than others?

Manuscripts that help to answer questions such as these and/or shed light on the theoretical and practical implications of sustainable business would be considered for this issue. We encourage different methodological approaches, including traditional experiments, qualitative/quantiative methods, field studies, and quantitative methods.

Prof. Dr. Jiyoung Hwang
Guest Editor

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