Consumer Social Responsibility (CnSR) in the Circular Economy of Global Value Chains: What Does It Mean, and Why Does It Matter?

Consumer Social Responsibility (CnSR) in the Circular Economy of Global Value Chains: What Does It Mean, and Why Does It Matter?

Guli-Sanam Karimova, Stephen Arthur LeMay
Copyright: © 2022 |Pages: 19
DOI: 10.4018/IJCEWM.302207
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Abstract

What does it mean for global consumers to be 'socially responsible' in the context of sustainable supply chains? Why should Consumer Social Responsibility (CnSR) in the sustainable value chains matter? In this paper, we examine global consumers' responsibilities in the context of the United Nations' Sustainable Agenda 2030, Goal 12. Goal 12 addresses sustainable production and consumption. We explore CnSR from normative and descriptive standpoints. We look explicitly at the consumers' duties and responsibilities to influence global production and supply networks. To accomplish this purpose, we apply philosophical theories to the importance of sustainable value chains, especially to the meaning of 'value' in a sustainable supply chain. Consumers can and should influence corporations with global supply chains to produce goods sustainably while still meeting consumers' needs worldwide. We also look at why consumers should be willing to live up to these responsibilities in the context of sustainable supply chains.
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Consumer Social Responsibility (Cnsr): The Concept And Idea

What is Consumer Social Responsibility (CnSR)? There are several conceptualizations of CnSR in the literature (see Pigors and Rockenbach 2016; Vitell 2015; Becker-Olsen et al. 2006; Quazi et al. 2016; Sen and Bhattacharya 2001; Schmidt 2016; Caruana and Chatzidakis 2014). According to Davis et al. (2020), a person’s responsibility as a consumer stems from individual responsibility for society. Individual responsibility is directed towards people and the environment with which they interact. Individual social responsibility requires coherence between what one expects from others and what one does as a member of society and in the social environment.

To be morally coherent means that a person’s actions and values are consistent with one another (Davis et al. 2020). As an individual responsibility, CnSR requires that a person behave in ethical ways, understanding that consumption relates to the process of production and distribution; a person should engage in behavior that avoids harm in a society or to a society (Golob 2008). According to Hans Jonas (1984), in applying his imperative of responsibility, consumers should act so that the effects of their actions are compatible with real human life (Jonas, 1984, Ch. 1). Phrased the other way, this means: "act not destructively for future generations and the totality of their life conditions."

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