The interaction among religiosity, moral intensity and moral certainty in predicting ethical consumption: A study of Muslim consumers

Prior research has paid little attention to the cognitive mechanisms by which religiosity influences ethical consumption. The aim of this study is to explore when and how religiosity might be related to the development of ethical consumption. The study develops an interactionist model describing how religiosity and moral intensity might interact and be linked to the sense of certainty and conviction about the morality of ethical consumption. Data from 333 Muslim participants in Saudi Arabia is analysed using structural equation modelling; it reveals that religiosity and moral intensity are significantly associated with moral certainty which, in turn, predicts ethical consumption intention. Even though religiosity and moral intensity are crucial predictors of moral certainty, the interaction between them has not been proven, indicating that the association between religiosity and moral certainty does not depend on moral intensity. This implies that religiosity is a strong predictor of moral certainty even when recognition of aspects of ethical consumption is minimal.