Method

Pilot test

To test the hypotheses, a scenario was developed describing a situation in which an individual had to make a decision about his/her intention to purchase a social-cause product. The scenario developed was a pilot tested with individuals representing the two cultures (US and Korea) from which participants were going to be drawn. The pilot was carried out to verify that the situations described in the scenarios were realistic and the product chosen (i.e., t-shirt) was relevant in the situation. Ten volunteers who grew up in the US and ten volunteers who grew up in Korea were asked to rate the realism of the scenario and the relevancy of a t-shirt as a cause-related product, using a 7-point scale. The two scenarios were evaluated as realistic (M = 5.9), and the t-shirt was relevant in the situation described (M = 6.0).

Sample

Data were collected from a convenience sample of undergraduate students1 enroled at a university in the US and undergraduate students enroled at universities in Korea. Previous researchers have suggested that the US represents an individualistic culture and Korea represents a collectivistic culture (Markus and Kitayama 1991). In addition, Koreans spent US$1.5 billion dollars for corporate social responsible activities in 2005, and it is the second largest participant of corporate social responsible activities in Asia (Lee et al. 2009). Thus, drawing a sample from each country facilitated inclusion of individuals reflecting two different cultural orientations with an understanding of CRM activities.

Procedure

Instructors of undergraduate courses were asked permission to recruit participants from their courses. The procedure followed was to introduce the research, ask for participation, and if people indicated an interest, distribute the consent form. After reading the consent form, the questionnaire was distributed to those individuals who volunteered to participate. First, participants completed Singelis (1994) IndependentInterdependent Scale. Next participants were instructed to read the scenario and then to imagine that they were in the purchase situation described. The scenario method was used in order to generate participants experience of a moral dilemma in a consumption situation. This method is useful in triggering participants moral decisionmaking processes (Moores and Chang 2006). The scenario, which was developed by the researchers, outlined a consumption situation in which consumers were given an opportunity to purchase a t-shirt knowing that a percentage of the profit would go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa. The scenario was as follows:

The Mall of America [Myeongdong in Seoul] is a famous shopping mall where a variety of fashion products are offered for sale. Products offered include clothing, handbags and accessories. Imagine that you are shopping here. While you are shopping, you find two t-shirts that you like equally. One t-shirt is your favourite style and is in a colour you like. The other t-shirt is also your favourite style and colour but it has a label that indicates if you purchase it, a percent of the profits will go to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa. The price of the second t-shirt is 10% higher than the first one. You can only purchase one t-shirt.

After reading the scenario, participants were asked to close their eyes and think about purchasing the causerelated product. Then they were asked to rate how strongly they would feel each of several moral emotions if they purchased the product described in the scenario (Babin and Babin 1996; Kitayama et al. 2006). In the following part, participants responded to the measures including purchase intention and provided background information. The questionnaire was drafted in English and the English version was translated to Korean. The Korean version was then back-translated into English to verify the equivalence of translation (Hui and Triandis 1985).

Measures

To assess self-construal, Singelis (1994) 24-item Independent-Interdependent Scale was used. Participants responded to each item, using 7-point Likert scales ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree. Sample independent items included, Id rather say No directly than risk being misunderstood. Sample interdependent items included, I have respect for the authority figures with whom I interact. In order to measure ego-focused versus other-focused moral emotions, anger and pride for ego-focused moral emotions and empathy, guilt and elevation for otherfocused moral emotions were selected for two reasons. The literature on emotion and culture in psychology and consumer behaviour suggests that anger and pride are strong examples of ego-focused emotions, while guilt and empathy are strong examples of other-focused emotions (Aaker and Williams 1998; Kitayama et al. 2006; Markus and Kitayama 1991). In addition, the findings of several researchers studying altruistic behaviours suggest that individuals engagement in those behaviours is highly related to feelings of pride, guilt and empathy (Arnett et al. 2003; Fisher et al. 2008; Hoffman 1981). Elevation as an other-focused emotion was also included because it is commonly experienced by individuals from Asian cultures (Haidt 2003). Elevation tends to involve others feelings as a primary referent motivating people to be better persons, build social bonds, and engage in acts of charity for connectedness (Haidt 2003). Multiple-item indicators of moral emotions were adapted from various emotional scales developed by Aaker and Williams (1998), Izard (1977), and Richins (1997). Three items were used to assess each of anger (i.e., frustrated, angry, irritated), pride (i.e., proud, confident, excited), guilt (i.e., repentant, guilty, blameworthy), empathy (i.e., warmhearted, moving, empathetic) and elevation (i.e., exalted, dignified, respected). Each participant was asked to indicate how strongly he/she would experience each emotion, using a 6-point scale ranging from 0 = would not experience at all to 5 = would experience very much. Next, the participants were asked to indicate their purchase intention. These purchase intention were measured by modifying Gill et al.s (1988) scale so as to be relevant to a shopping situation involving CRM. Participants were asked to indicate how likely it was that they would buy the social-cause t-shirt. Purchase intentions were assessed using two 7-point scales anchored on one end with very unlikely (very impossible) to very likely (very possible) at the other. Finally, the participants were asked to share some background information. Demographic variables, such as gender, age and income, influence socially conscious consumption (Diamantopoulos et al., 2003). Individuals who are likely to purchase socially conscious products tend to be young women. Thus, demographic variables (e.g., age, gender and income) were measured to control for their influence on purchase intention.

Task: Upon reading the assigned research paper (read Methods section), please critique for its external validity.