Explaining Clean Buying in Digital Boycott Movements: Ethical Information Interpretation as a Core Mediating Machanism
Abstract
Consumer boycott behavior in digital environments continues to exhibit an attitude–behavior gap, whereby extensive access to ethical information does not consistently translate into ethical purchasing decisions. The central problem addressed in this study is the limited understanding of how consumers cognitively interpret ethical information before converting it into behavior. The novelty of this research lies in the development and empirical validation of Ethical Information Interpretation (EII) as a multidimensional cognitive mechanism that explains this interpretive process.
The aim of the study is to examine the mediating role of EII in linking digital ethical stimuli to clean buying behavior. A quantitative research design was adopted using survey data collected from 610 active users of consumer boycott applications in Indonesia. Measurement instruments were developed to operationalize EII across four dimensions: information processing depth, ethical evaluation, personal value connection, and source credibility assessment. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to test both measurement and structural models, including indirect effects of opinion leaders, boycott application features, and electronic word of mouth.
The results indicate that EII significantly mediates the effects of all examined digital stimuli on clean buying behavior. Among these factors, boycott application features demonstrate the strongest indirect effect. The model explains 87.3% of the variance in clean buying behavior, indicating strong explanatory power within the sample.
The findings suggest that ethical consumption in digital environments depends not only on the availability of information but also on consumers’ cognitive capacity to interpret and internalize ethical content. This study advances ethical consumption theory by positioning EII as a key explanatory mechanism in digitally mediated ethical decision-making.
Keywords: Ethical Information Interpretation (EII); Consumer Boycott; Ethical Consumption; Clean Buying Behavior; Digital Platforms; Electronic Word of Mouth.
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