Looking sustainable or acting sustainably? Conspicuous sustainable consumer behaviour (Fairtrade chocolate)

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether decision-making towards sustainable products is influenced by social pressure, and whether the visibility of sustainable consumption is a decisive factor for purchasing Fairtrade chocolate among Czech students. Design/methodology/approach This study aimed to examine the relationship between the anticipated conspicuousness of sustainable consumer behaviour (SCB) and willingness to pay (WTP) for Fairtrade chocolate in the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model. Moreover, moderation of this relationship by self-monitoring and attention to social comparison information (ATSCI) was examined. Data were collected from 203 Czech students (participants) using a consumer experiment. Findings No existence of a relationship between conspicuousness and the WTP for Fairtrade chocolate, no practically significant partial relationship between conspicuousness and the purchase of sustainable chocolate when smoothed from self-monitoring, and finally, no practically significant partial relationship between conspicuousness and sustainable chocolate purchase when smoothed from ATSCI was observed. Originality/value Therefore, making sustainable consumption visible and explicitly supporting people with high ATSCI/self-monitoring in this sense is less likely to support SCB than previously expected.