The Use of Neutralisation Techniques in the Context of Responsible Online Shopping: A Latent Profile Analysis

Abstract

Although many consumers use various neutralisation techniques to eliminate the anticipated guilt that results from not engaging in responsible consumption, the use of such techniques in the context of responsible online shopping has attracted little attention in prior research. In this study, we aim to address this gap by examining (1) whether it is possible to segment consumers in terms of their use of neutralisation techniques to eliminate the anticipated guilt that results from not engaging in responsible online shopping and (2) how these segments potentially differ from each other in terms of demographics (e.g., gender, age, and income), online shopping frequency, and anticipated guilt. The examination is based on 478 responses from Finnish consumers that were collected in spring 2023 and are analysed with latent profile analysis. Our findings suggest the existence of four distinct consumer segments with several differences between them in terms of demographics and anticipated guilt.