Righi, Lilia

The contribution of neutralization theory for gaining insight into the “attitude-behavior” gap regarding fair trade products - 2023.


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Increasing numbers of consumers are developing favorable attitudes toward Fairtrade products (FTPs). However, market shares of these products remain low. In this study, neutralization theory was applied to gain a better understanding of the gap between people’s attitudes and their behavior regarding these products. A qualitative methodology was used for the results of this study, which combined thirty-three semi-structured interviews and four group discussions. A typology of three categories of neutralization was put forward: disempowering neutralizations, relativizing neutralizations, and ideological neutralizations. We highlight individual differences in the use of these techniques and illustrate the sequential order of their intervention in the purchasing decision process.