Prosocial Behaviour in Ethical Consumption: Evidence from Thai Consumers of Hill Tribe Handcrafts
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
บทคัดย่อ
This study investigates prosocial consumer behaviour in the context of ethical consumption, focusing on handcrafted souvenirs produced by marginalised hill tribe communities in Thailand. Grounded in social cognitive theory, the research examines the psychological antecedents of empathy, moral obligation, and self-efficacy. Using survey data from 303 participants and cluster analysis, three distinct consumer segments were identified: compassionate changemakers, concerned supporters, and disengaged bystanders. These clusters differed significantly (p < .001) in prosocial motivations, behavioural intentions, and altruistic dispositions. Compassionate changemakers exhibited the highest levels across all constructs, while disengaged bystanders scored the lowest. Concerned supporters held internalised ethical values but showed emotional ambivalence and lower confidence to act. The study contributes to the prosocial behaviour literature by proposing a novel segmentation framework that captures psychological diversity among ethical consumers in a collectivist, non-Western context. The findings provide theoretical insights and practical guidance for marketers and policymakers seeking to promote socially responsible consumption through targeted, psychologically informed strategies.
Article Details
อนุญาตภายใต้เงื่อนไข Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
เอกสารอ้างอิง
Agyeiwaah, E. and Bangwayo-Skeete, P. (2024). Segmenting and predicting prosocial behaviours among tourists: A latent class approach. Current Issues in Tourism, 27(15), 2462–2481.
Antonetti, P. and Maklan, S. (2014). Feelings that make a difference: How guilt and pride convince consumers of the effectiveness of sustainable consumption choices. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(1), 117–134.
Arli, D. and Anandya, D. (2018). Exploring the impact of empathy, compassion, and Machiavellianism on consumer ethics in an emerging market. Asian Journal of Business Ethics, 7(1), 1–19.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215.
Bandura, A. (2006). Guide for constructing self-efficacy scales In F. Pajares & T. C. Urdan (Eds.), Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents (pp. 307–337). Greenwich: Information Age Publishing.
Basil, D. Z., Ridgway, N. M. and Basil, M. D. (2008). Guilt and giving: A process model of empathy and efficacy. Psychology & Marketing, 25(1), 1–23.
Batson, C. D. (2011). What’s wrong with morality?. Emotion Review, 3(3), 230–236.
Baumsteiger, R. and Siegel, J. T. (2019). Measuring prosociality: The development of a Prosocial Behavioral Intentions Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 101(3), 305–314.
Boonyasiriwat, W., Pornprasit, N., Chaiwiroj, C. and Sanruan, S. (2015). Predicting intentions to offer healthy foods to Buddhist monks in Thailand using the theory of planned behavior, self-efficacy, and prosocial motivations. In Proceedings of the 10th Asian Association of Social Psychology Biennial Conference (pp. 11–26). Yogyakarta: Center for Indigenous and Cultural Psychology.
CG, M. K. and G, A. (2025). A study on environmental prosocial attitudes to green consumption values, openness to green communication, and its relationship with buying behavior. Cogent Business and Management, 12(1), 1-15.
Chatzidakis, A., Kastanakis, M. and Stathopoulou, A. (2016). Socio-cognitive determinants of consumers’ support for the fair trade movement. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(1), 95–109.
Cherrier, H. (2007). Ethical consumption practices: Co-production of self-expression and social recognition. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 6(5), 321–335.
Chi, X., Cai, G. and Han, H. (2021). Festival travellers’ pro-social and protective behaviours against COVID-19 in the time of pandemic. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(22), 3256–3270.
Chi, X., Han, H. and Kim, S. (2022). Protecting yourself and others: Festival tourists’ pro-social intentions for wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing, and practicing sanitary/ hygiene actions. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 30(8), 1915–1936.
Choudhary, A. and Mishra, P. (2022). Predicting impulsive consumer behaviour toward handicrafts in India. Vision, 0(0), 1–13.
Chowdhury, R. M. M. I. and Fernando, M. (2014). The relationships of empathy, moral identity and cynicism with consumers’ ethical beliefs: The mediating role of moral disengagement. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(4), 677–694.
Coghlan, A. (2015). Prosocial behaviour in volunteer tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 55, 46–60.
Dalal, A., Bhattacharya, S. and Chattopadhyay, S. (2025). Exploring the influence of environmental, utilitarian, and hedonic factors on consumers’ intention to purchase and recommend handicraft products. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science: Bridging Asia and the World, 35(1), 1–23.
Ding, L. and Jiang, C. (2023). The effect of perceived collective efficacy and self-efficacy on generation Z restaurant customers’ food waste reduction intentions. Journal of Global Responsibility, 14(3), 337–359.
Dolnicar, S. (2003). Using cluster analysis for market segmentation-typical misconceptions, established methodological weaknesses and some recommendations for improvement. Australasian Journal of Market Research, 11(2), 5–12.
Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A. and Spinrad, T. L. (2007). Prosocial development. In N. Eisenberg (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (pp. 646–718). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Eisenberg, N. and Miller, P. A. (1987). The relation of empathy to prosocial and related behaviors. Psychological Bulletin, 101(1), 91–119. Ethical Consumer Research Association. (2023). Ethical markets report 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2025, from https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/research-hub/uk-ethical-consumer-markets-report
Gillani, A., Kutaula, S., Leonidou, L. C. and Christodoulides, P. (2021). The impact of proximity on consumer fair trade engagement and purchasing behavior: The moderating role of empathic concern and hypocrisy. Journal of Business Ethics, 169(3), 557–577.
Goor, D., Keinan, A. and Ordabayeva, N. (2025). Historizing the present: Research agenda and implications for consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 35(1), 98–120.
Grant, A. M. (2008). Does intrinsic motivation fuel the prosocial fire? motivational synergy in predicting persistence, performance, and productivity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 48–58.
Haines, R., Street, M. D. and Haines, D. (2008). The influence of perceived importance of an ethical issue on moral judgment, moral obligation, and moral intent. Journal of Business Ethics, 81(2), 387–399.
Hair, J., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J. and Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate Data Analysis (8th ed.). Andover, Hampshire, UK: Cengage Learning EMEA.
Han, H. (2015). Travelers’ pro-environmental behavior in a green lodging context: Converging value-belief-norm theory and the theory of planned behavior. Tourism Management, 47, 164–177.
Han, H., Chi, X., Kim, C. S. and Ryu, H. B. (2020a). Activators of airline customers’ sense of moral obligation to engage in pro-social behaviors: Impact of CSR in the Korean marketplace. Sustainability, 12(10), 4334.
Han, H., Meng, B., Chua, B. L. and Ryu, H. B. (2020b). Hedonic and utilitarian performances as determinants of mental health and pro social behaviors among volunteer tourists. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6594.
Hockerts, K. (2015). The Social Entrepreneurial Antecedents Scale (SEAS): A validation study. Social Enterprise Journal, 11(3), 260–280.
Jiang, Y., Lee, K., Jin, C. and Kan, C. (2025). Sustainable consumer behavior in the social exclusion context: Impact on upcycled product adoption and environmental sustainability metrics. Sustainability, 17(2), 1–21.
Jolliffe, D. and Farrington, D. P. (2006). Development and validation of the Basic Empathy Scale. Journal of Adolescence, 29(4), 589–611.
Kuroishi, Y. and Sawada, Y. (2019). Motivations behind prosocial behavior: Evidence from the Philippines. Journal of Asian Economics, 64, 101127.
Leng, J., Guo, Q., Ma, B., Zhang, S. and Sun, P. (2020). Bridging personality and online prosocial behavior: The roles of empathy, moral identity, and social self-efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 575053.
Li, X., Liu, Y., Zhu, J. and Lou, J. (2024). Encouraging prosocial consumer behaviour: A review of influencer and digital marketing literature. Psychology and Marketing, 41(11), 2711–2727.
Li, L., Zhang, J., He, X., Hu, F., Liu, X., Huang, L., et al. (2023). Regulatory emotional self-efficacy and prosocial behavior: A moderated mediation model. SAGE Open, 13(1), 1–7.
Mahaarcha, S. and Kittisuksathit, S. (2013). Relationship between religiosity and prosocial behaviour of Thai youth. Silpakorn University Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts, 13(2), 69–92.
Marshall, T. C., Chavanovanich, J., Huang, L. and Deng, J. (2023). Online prosocial behaviour predicts well-being in different cultures: A daily diary study of Facebook users. Cross-Cultural Research, 57(5), 472–498.
McGinley, M., Pierotti, S. L. and Carlo, G. (2022). Latent profiles of multidimensional prosocial behaviors: An examination of prosocial personality groups. The Journal of Social Psychology, 162(2), 245–261.
Prayag, G. and Hosany, S. (2014). When middle east meets west: Understanding the motives and perceptions of young tourists from United Arab Emirates. Tourism Management, 40, 35–45.
Prados-Peña, M. B., Gálvez-Sánchez, F. J., Núñez-Cacho, P. and Molina-Moreno, V. (2024). Intention to purchase sustainable craft products: A moderated mediation analysis of the adoption of sustainability in the craft sector. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26(1), 775–797.
Punj, G. and Stewart, D. W. (1983). Cluster analysis in marketing research: Review and suggestions for application. Journal of Marketing Research, 20(2), 134–148.
PwC Central and Eastern Europe. (2024). Voice of the Consumer Survey 2024 — CEE Edition. Retrieved July 21, 2025, from https://cee.pwc.com/voice-of-the-consumer-survey-2024.html
PwC Thailand. (2024). Thai consumers shift focus to essential goods amid economic worries: PwC report [Press release]. Retrieved July 15, 2025, from https://www.pwc.com/th/en/press-room/press-release/2024/press-release-30-08-24-en.html
Rapert, M. I., Thyroff, A. and Grace, S. C. (2021). The generous consumer: Interpersonal generosity and pro-social dispositions as antecedents to cause-related purchase intentions. Journal of Business Research, 132, 838–847.
Rousseeuw, P. J. (1987). Silhouettes: a graphical aid to the interpretation and validation of cluster analysis. Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 20, 53–65.
Rushton, J. P., Chrisjohn, R. D. and Fekken, G. C. (1981). The altruistic personality and the self-report altruism scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 2(4), 293–302.
Schreiber, J. B. and Pekarik, A. J. (2014). Technical Note: Using Latent Class Analysis versus K-means or Hierarchical Clustering to Understand Museum Visitors. Curator: The Museum Journal, 57(1), 45–59.
Schuhmann, P. W., Skeete, R., Waite, T, R., Lorde., Bangwayo-Skeete, P., Oxenford, H. A., Gill, D., Moore, W. and Spencer, F. (2019). Visitors’ willingness to pay marine conservation fees in Barbados. Tourism Management, 71, 315–326.
Schwartz, S. H. (1977). Normative influences on altruism. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 221–279). New York, NY: Academic Press.
Thøgersen, J. (2006). Norms for environmentally responsible behaviour: An extended taxonomy. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 26(4), 247–261.
Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism and Collectivism. New York, NY: Routledge.
Wakasugi, M. and Ito, N. (2023). Increasing participation in pro-poor tourism: study of predictors to promote prosocial behavior to other reference groups. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 28(1), 70–83.
Ward Jr, J. H. (1963). Hierarchical grouping to optimize an objective function. Journal of the American statistical association, 58(301), 236-244.
White, K., Habib, R. and Dahl, D. W. (2020). A review and framework for thinking about the drivers of prosocial consumer behavior. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 5(1), 2–18.
Wong, W. M., Wang, Y. and Su, W. (2025). Who will be prosocial consumers? The relationship between environmental value and sustainable consumption. Sustainable Development, 33(1), 1157-1173.
Yang, H.-T. and Yen, G.-F. (2018). Impact of consumers’ self-construal, empathy, and moral identity on purchase intention toward cause related marketing goods: A perspective of the moderated mediation model. Psychology, 9(2), 260–279.
Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L. and Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioral consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 60(2), 31–46.
