AI-Driven Barriers to Ethical Consumption: A Cross-National Framework and Research Agenda

Artificial intelligence increasingly mediates ethical purchasing decisions, but its effects vary across developed and emerging markets. This study defines AI induced ethical choice friction as the process through which adaptive algorithmic intermediaries reduce consumers’ capacity to act on ethical intentions. A systematic review of 57 articles published between 2020 and 2025, informed by interviews with 11 participants, identifies institutional, marketplace, technological, and psychological barrier layers. Extending the S-O-R framework, the study theorizes how regulatory maturity and platform trust condition these barriers across markets. Six propositions guide future research and inform AI developers, multinational retailers, and regulators.