Previous studies offer conflicting evidence on whether face consciousness, which is a Confucian cultural value, promotes (or inhibits) the ethical aspects of fashion consumption. Building on the theory of regulatory focus and Confucian virtue ethics, we reconcile this discrepancy by conceptualising face consciousness as two distinct face regulatory foci in Confucian culture, namely, gaining _mianzi_ and avoiding losing _lian_. We argue that in Confucian society, the ethics of fashion consumption are delineated by the Confucian virtues of _rén_, _yì_ and _lǐ_. (...) However, the two face regulatory foci have a dual moderating effect on individuals’ manifestation of these virtues. On the one hand, individuals who seek to gain _mianzi_ desire a consistent social self-image; therefore, they will proactively follow Confucian virtues to adopt ethical fashion. In contrast, individuals who primarily seek to avoid losing _lian_ are less interested in ethical fashion. On the other hand, when the unethical consumption of fashion goods is a group norm, the _mianzi_-oriented group members would behave less ethically and prefer a non-ethical fashion option, but the members who intend to avoid losing _lian_ would be more likely to support ethical fashion. Our findings reveal how traditional Confucian virtues are linked to the ethics of fashion consumption. We discuss the implications of our findings for ethical fashion production, marketing and consumption practice in a Confucian society. (shrink)

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In the expanding field of the gig economy, the interactions between app-workers and customers have become focal areas of academic investigation. Drawing from the conservation of resources (COR) theory, we propose and test a moderated dual mediation model to examine the impact of customer injustice on app-workers’ work outcomes, including withdrawal behaviors and service performance. Employing a mixed-method approach comprising two multi-wave, multisource field studies and an online scenario experiment, our findings provide support for the following hypotheses: customer injustice fosters (...) withdrawal behaviors and undermines service performance by inducing app-workers to experience increased emotional exhaustion and reduced service-oriented self-efficacy. Nevertheless, the impacts of these associations are weakened when app-workers engage more frequently in online community support seeking behaviors. Theoretical implications and practical applications of our findings are discussed in the context of the burgeoning gig economy. (shrink)

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