Corporate social irresponsibility and consumers' psychological conflicts

This dissertation investigates the interplay between corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) and consumers’ psychological processes, with a particular focus on the conflicts that arise between ethical awareness and consumption behavior. While corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been widely studied, its counterpart—CSI—remains underexplored, despite its significant implications for consumer behavior, marketing ethics, and societal well-being. By combining conceptual analysis, psychological theory, and empirical studies, this dissertation contributes to a deeper understanding of how consumers interpret, justify, and respond to irresponsible corporate conduct. The first paper provides a conceptual analysis of marketing ethics terminology, clarifying the distinctions and overlaps between CSR, CSI, and related constructs. It critically examines contemporary usage of these terms in academic and managerial contexts, identifying conceptual inconsistencies and proposing a refined framework that situates CSI as a distinct yet interrelated phenomenon within the ethics discourse. Building on this foundation, the second paper explores internal defense mechanisms in unsustainable consumption behavior. Drawing from psychology, it demonstrates how consumers employ denial, rationalization, and moral disengagement to reduce cognitive dissonance when their purchasing decisions conflict with ethical concerns. This work highlights the tension between self-perception as a moral individual and engagement in consumption practices that indirectly support irresponsible corporate actions. The third paper empirically investigates whether consumers feel accountable for corporate social irresponsibility. It examines collective perceptions of responsibility and the extent to which consumers "cling together or swing together" in assigning blame. The findings reveal ambivalent consumer attitudes: while many acknowledge the harmful consequences of CSI, responsibility is often externalized to corporations or diffused across stakeholders, reducing individual motivation for corrective action. Together, these studies illustrate that consumers experience psychological conflicts when confronted with CSI, yet often resolve these tensions through mechanisms that allow them to maintain consumption habits without significant moral disruption. The dissertation contributes to marketing ethics and consumer psychology by offering new insights into how irresponsibility is conceptualized, how it shapes consumer self-regulation, and how accountability is negotiated. The findings carry important implications for both theory and practice: they suggest that addressing CSI requires not only stricter corporate accountability but also strategies to reduce consumer rationalization and moral disengagement. This opens avenues for interventions that align ethical awareness with behavioral change, ultimately promoting more responsible consumption and corporate practices.