Religiosity, though rooted in early socialization, evolves with life experiences, culture and conversions. Unlike past research centred on social and cultural norms, this study aims to examine how religiosity uniquely shapes ethical orientations and, in turn, influences consumer happiness and choices. Religiosity has largely been treated as a contextual factor rather than a theoretical driver of ethical cognition; this study addresses this gap by examining its mechanism linking ethical orientation to consumer happiness.
The data has been collected from 550 Hindu consumers through a structured questionnaire. Structure equation modelling is run to analyse the proposed relationship between variables.
The findings reveal a belief-driven explanatory mechanism in which religiosity, through perceived divine accountability, strengthens ethical decision-making and subsequently influences consumer happiness. Thus, extending Supernatural Punishment Theory to the domain of consumer ethics.
The cross-sectional design limits causal inference among religiosity, ethical orientation and consumer happiness. Future studies may adopt longitudinal approaches to examine temporal dynamics.
The findings offer valuable insights for governments, helping them better understand consumers’ ethical perspectives and formulate policy accordingly. Similarly, marketers can benefit by gaining a deeper understanding of consumers’ ethical behaviour and the critical factors that shape and influence their decision-making and happiness.
This study explores how religiosity (belief in God) and fear of divine judgement shape ethical decision-making. This in turn influence consumer happiness an integrative pathway overlooked in prior consumer ethics research.
