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This study investigates the roles of consumption motives and ethical perspectives in explaining individuals’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the context of the recreational marijuana industry, often characterized as morally contentious.

The research was conducted in Canada, a country where recreational marijuana is legally permitted. Through an online survey, 411 participants were recruited, and the data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and SmartPLS4, employing ANOVA and structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques.

ANOVA analyses reveal significant differences across four ethical perspectives: absolutism, subjectivism, situationism and exceptionism. Conformity motives are most prominent in the exceptionism group, while expansion motives are more common in the subjectivism group. CSR perceptions vary among these groups, with situationism showing the most favorable views. In the absolutism group, expansion and social motives positively influence CSR perception, whereas conformity motives negatively impact it. Conversely, in the exceptionism and situationism groups, only expansion motives positively affect CSR perception. Unexpectedly, within the subjectivism group, only conformity motives have a significant negative effect on CSR perception.

This study examines a controversial industry and contributes to research on recreational marijuana by comparing consumer motives from ethical perspectives. Unlike previous research focused on consumption behaviors (e.g. use frequency), this study investigates how CSR perceptions are shaped by consumption motives and vary with ethical viewpoints.

Wine consumption is declining, while cannabis use among young adults in Germany has surged. With new laws partially legalising recreational cannabis, advocates claim it could replace alcohol, offering health benefits and cost savings. However, concerns remain that cannabis might increase alcohol consumption and associated health risks. Despite recognition of both substitute and complementary relationships between cannabis and alcohol, data on the cannabis–wine relationship is scarce. This study aims to understand the motivations behind wine and cannabis consumption, segment wine drinkers by those motives, profile wine drinkers who also consume cannabis and determine whether wine and cannabis act as substitutes or complements across distinct consumer groups.

The authors conducted an online survey using random sampling and used cluster analysis to identify consumer segments based on motivations for wine consumption. Exploring various variables, including consumption motives, behavioural patterns and socio-demographics, the authors also examined cannabis consumption among wine drinkers.

This study surveyed 523 German wine drinkers aged 20–60 years, including 215 cannabis users. Four consumer segments emerged: “adaptive conformists”, “expansive strategists”, “self-conscious hedonists” and “ambivalent drinkers.” Three segments preferred wine for social and enhancing effects. “Adaptive conformists”, the group with the most cannabis users, sought negative reinforcement like conformity or coping. The “adaptive conformists” and “expansive strategists” show the tendencies of a complementary cannabis–wine relationship.

This study pioneers the use of the Marijuana Motives Measure scales, developed by Simons et al. (1998), within the motivational framework by Cox and Klinger (1988) and Cooper et al. (2015), for wine drinkers. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is also the first to categorise wine drinkers into segments based on MMM scales for both wine and cannabis and segment wine consumers using cannabis.