Intending to be ethical: An examination of consumer choice in sweatshop avoidance

This research seeks to deepen the Theory of Planned Behavior with respect to the motivation and volitional stages underlying behavior. The context of this research is on ethical consumer decision-making regarding intention to avoid sweatshop apparel. The findings of the research, based on 794 consumers, support an enriched framework which reveals that the role of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control are differentially mediated by distinct volitional constructs desire, intention and plan. This study has implications for research seeking to understand both the motivational linkage between the TPB antecedents and intention as well as the impetus toward action.