Consumers’ Acceptance of Unethical Consumption Activities: Implications for the Youth Market

The objective of this research is to explore the acceptance of unethical consumption activities of young Malaysian consumer in regards to gender, exposure to ethics education and the amount of allowances received per month. The specific focus on the young consumers is taken into account as this group has been a growing population of consumers in Malaysia with many forms of advertising, promotions and marketing strategies targeted at them. In this study, the sample was drawn from undergraduate students from a private university in Malaysia. The results indicated that female consumers were more ethical in two of the four dimensions of consumer ethical beliefs. Furthermore those who have not taken ethics course were found to be more ethical in at least two of the dimensions of the consumer ethical scale. Finally the quantum of allowance received per month did not influence the level of consumer ethical beliefs in all the four dimensions of consumer ethics.