Presenta: Mauricio Mittelman, UAI.
Abstract:
Fraudulent product returns are prevalent and costly. Although most retailers have a policy of not accepting returns of used merchandise, consumers often do not comply and return millions of used items every year. To prevent or discourage consumers from behaving unethically, we should better understand the ethical thinking associated with the act of returning a used item. In this research, we seek to contribute to that effort. Drawing on the concept of virtue ethics, we propose that ethical judgements about fraudulent product returns take account of situation factors that speak to the integrity of the consumer. The less justified the returning of the used item is, the less sympathy the consumer deserves; the consumer’s misconduct is judged, accordingly, as more unethical. We report three studies that test out hypothesis, its mediation mechanism, and the effect of adopting a more tolerant return policy. In Study 1, we show that when the consumer’s returning of a used item was less justified, her misconduct was judged more harshly. In Study 2, we provide evidence that the extent to which the returning a used item was justified mediated the effect of situational factors on ethical judgements. In Study 3, we examine how a “no questions asked” return policy affects ethical judgements about fraudulent product returns. We conclude by discussing future research directions and practical implications of our findings.
