Does Rejection of Inequality Encourage Green Consumption? The Effect of Power Distance Belief on Organic Food Consumption

Abstract: With the rapid increase in the consumption of organic food, there has also been a growing interest in developing a nuanced understanding of the many different drivers of this consumption trend. Although many studies examine people’s motives for consuming organic food, the role of culture has received limited attention. The present research examines the hitherto unexplored role of power distance belief (PDB)—the extent to which people accept and endorse social hierarchy— on consumers’ organic food preferences and purchases. Across five studies, comprising both real and hypothetical purchases, we find that, due to their greater environmental concerns, low PDB consumers have a greater preference for organic foods than do high PDB consumers. We also demonstrate two strategies that motivate high PDB consumers to purchase more organic foods. Specifically, we show that high PDB consumers purchase organic foods more when environmental issues reduce society’s power distance in the future. Moreover, high PDB consumers reported greater organic food consumption when primed with low (vs. high) level construal. We conclude the paper with the implications of these findings for policymakers and businesses in terms of, for example, their segmentation, targeting, and promotion strategies.