Effect of Ethical procurementon Pricing and Consumer Behaviour

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to quantitatively test theories concerning the relationship between ethical procurement, product pricing, consumer attitude and consumer behaviour to bridge academic knowledge. Gaps and contradictions regarding the literature were addressed, which establish a basis for further research. Methodology - The combination of literature review on procurement, ethics in business and behavioural consumer theories, as well as archival research on retailers expenditures on CSR provided a basis on which survey research within the scope of the retail industry was conducted. The survey is web-based and distributed to respondents / consumers via Facebook, whatsapp, email, text messages and by word of mouth. Survey data from a sample of 114 respondents was obtained to assess the consumers’ attitude and behaviour in terms of relating pricng to ethical procurement. Findings - The findings partly confirm the existing theory, whereas other concepts are challenged. The main finding is that consumer buying criteria and the process of product pricing are correlates with consumer attitude and behaviour towards ethically procuring retailers. Limitations - The limitations are mainly related to time and financial constraints, as well as access to financial records that would have further justify the argument in terms of what it is costing retailers to go ethical in procurement operations. Regional limitation was also a barrier as the phenomenon is global and not limited to the united Kingdom only