Customers' values, beliefs on sustainable corporate performance, and buying behavior

Abstract

Sustainable corporate performance (SCP) requires balancing a corporation's economic, social, and environmental performance. This research explores values, beliefs about the importance of SCP, and buying behaviors of supermarket customers from within a stake-holder framework. Beliefs about the importance of SCP (both social and environmental, but not economic) were found to be related to values. Also, it was found that customers' environmentally responsible buying behaviors were related to their beliefs about the importance of environmental SCP. However their socially responsible buying was not related to their beliefs about the importance of social SCP. Responsible buying behavior may be facilitated by providing reliable information about environmental and social aspects of products. Marketing professionals have a central role to play in moving towards a greater level of corporate transparency and sustainability. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.