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Consumer ethics among youths in Indonesia: do gender and religiosity matter?

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Abstract

The current study aims to examine the role of religiosity and gender in affecting consumer ethics among Indonesian youths. A convenience sample of 482 students in a large private university in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, participated in the research. Established scales were adopted to measure the key constructs. Intrinsic religiosity and gender were used as the independent variables, while each dimension of consumer ethics was treated as the dependent variables. The results of seven multiple regression analyses indicated that gender and intrinsic religiosity influence consumer ethics dimensions significantly, except for “downloading.” Individuals who live daily life according to their religion are less receptive toward unethical activities than those who do not. Further, females were found to be more ethical than male counterparts on five dimensions of consumer ethics. Males tended to be more supportive of “doing good” for the seller compared to females. In general, the findings suggest that gender and religiosity do matter in influencing consumer ethics among youths in Indonesia. These findings provide important insights for religious leaders, university lecturers, and policy makers in their efforts to reduce unethical acts among the young generation.

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Notes

  1. We thank an anonymous reviewer for this suggestion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Malaysia

    Fandy Tjiptono

  2. Faculty of Economics, Universitas Semarang, Semarang, Indonesia

    Albert

  3. Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia

    Tita Elfitasari

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  1. Fandy Tjiptono
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  2. Albert
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  3. Tita Elfitasari
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Correspondence to Fandy Tjiptono.

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Tjiptono, F., Albert & Elfitasari, T. Consumer ethics among youths in Indonesia: do gender and religiosity matter?. Asian J Bus Ethics 7, 137–149 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13520-017-0081-y

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