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1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 29 September 2023

Cong Doanh Duong, Bich Ngoc Nguyen, Xuan Hau Doan, Van Hau Nguyen and Anh Trong Vu

Little is known about how religious beliefs can motivate consumers to behave more pro-environmentally. Drawn on an integrated model of the theory of planned behavior, the norm…

Abstract

Purpose

Little is known about how religious beliefs can motivate consumers to behave more pro-environmentally. Drawn on an integrated model of the theory of planned behavior, the norm activation model and the self-determination theory, this study aims to explore the effects of religious beliefs (especially, karmic beliefs (KB) and beliefs in a just world (BJW)) on consumers' pro-environmental behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 736 consumers recruited from the eight most populous cities in Vietnam using the mall-intercept survey approach and structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to test the hypothesized model and hypotheses.

Findings

The findings indicate that KB and BJW can increase consumers' green intrinsic motivation, which subsequently encourages them to engage in pro-environmental consumption. Moreover, awareness of consequences (AOC) and ascription of responsibility (AOR) serially indirectly inspire consumers' sustainable consumption through serial mediators, including personal norms (PN), attitudes toward green products and green purchase intention.

Practical implications

Based on the findings, some theoretical and managerial implications for pro-environmental consumption are provided.

Originality/value

The study offers fresh perspectives on the role of religious beliefs in pro-environmental research. Additionally, this study sheds new light on the marketing literature by integrating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and norm activation model (NAM) with self-determination theory (SDT) to explore the underlying mechanisms and effects of psychological components on consumers' pro-environmental behaviors.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 35 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2012

Joohyung Park and Sejin Ha

This study aims to investigate the differences in underlying psychological aspects regarding pro‐environmental behaviors between two distinct consumer groups: green product…

9338

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the differences in underlying psychological aspects regarding pro‐environmental behaviors between two distinct consumer groups: green product purchasers and green product non‐purchasers. Focusing on pro‐environmental behavior in recycling, it seeks to investigate these psychological aspects: cognitive attitude, affective attitude, social norm, personal norm, and behavioral intention.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a web‐based survey, a total of 363 responses from US consumers were used for the data analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to check the measurement model, and a multiple regression and MANOVA were performed to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

Compared to green product non‐purchasers, green product purchasers exhibited significantly higher levels of cognitive attitude, affective attitude, social norm, personal norm, and recycling intention. Also cognitive attitude, social norm, and personal norm predicted recycling intention.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of this study include the self‐reporting questionnaire and the measurement of consumers' recycling intention rather than their actual behavior.

Practical implications

This study will provide useful information to retailers who are developing product/service offerings and operation practices to address sustainable consumption.

Originality/value

This study provides empirical evidence that certain consumer groups in relation to pro‐environmental product shopping behavior (purchasers vs. non‐purchasers) exhibit differences in the psychological formation of another pro‐environmental behavior, recycling.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 40 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2020

Farzana Quoquab, Jihad Mohammad and Ruzanna Shahrin

Though the concern over pro-environmental behavior is growing, there is a lack of a valid scale to measure pro-environmental behavior in nutricosmetics context. Nutricosmetics…

Abstract

Purpose

Though the concern over pro-environmental behavior is growing, there is a lack of a valid scale to measure pro-environmental behavior in nutricosmetics context. Nutricosmetics products are believed to boost health and fitness and thus gained worldwide popularity. Many consumers in recent days are purchasing nutricosmetics products because of its positive impact toward human health and less harm toward the environment. However, to date, there is no valid instrument to measure this construct. To fill this gap in the existing literature, this study aims to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure pro-environmental behavior in nutricosmetics purchase (PEB-NP).

Design/methodology/approach

To develop and validate the PEB-NP scale, a sequential process is followed which includes item generation, item selection, item purification and item validation. Relevant literature was reviewed and qualitative interviews were carried out to generate the items. Next, experts’ opinion was sought to select the items. Two studies were conducted (N = 150, N = 448) to explore the factor structure and to validate the scale. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to purify the scale, whereas confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using SmartPLS (version 3) was used to validate the scale.

Findings

Based on EFA output, 14 items were retained which were then validated using CFA. The results revealed that, PEB-NP is a hierarchical multi-dimensional construct. The dimensions are “environmental aesthetics,” “conservation behavior (reduce and recycle)” and “health consciousness.” The findings from CFA confirmed the EFA results and established that pro-environmental behavior is a third-order factor model in which conservation dimension is consisted of two sub-dimensions, namely, “reduce” and “recycle” behavior.

Practical implications

The newly developed scale will enable the marketers and policymakers to segment their consumers based on this scale to better strategize the marketing efforts in fulfilling their needs. Not only this, the PEB-NP scale will benefit marketers in understanding the behavioral pattern and purchase preference of the pro-environmental consumers with regard to the nutricosmetics consumption. This research also provides suggestions for future researchers in the pro-environmental behavior and nutricosmetics fields.

Originality/value

This study is a pioneer study to develop and validate the PEB scale in the context of nutricosmetics purchase.

Details

International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6123

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 October 2016

Naz Onel and Avinandan Mukherjee

Environmental behavior studies suggest that knowledge, in addition to other psychological and social factors, can play an important role in consumers’ environmental behavior

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Abstract

Purpose

Environmental behavior studies suggest that knowledge, in addition to other psychological and social factors, can play an important role in consumers’ environmental behavior change. The purpose of this paper is to understand the relationship between knowledge and various psychological factors which encourage consumers’ participation in pro-environmental behaviors. The relationships that link an individual’s attitudes toward science, environmental values, different types of knowledge (i.e. scientific facts, environmental facts, and subjective environmental knowledge), environmental risk perception, and willingness to pay (WTP) for the environment with pro-environmental behavior were examined.

Design/methodology/approach

Theoretically guided hypotheses and model were formulated and tested with multiple linear regression models. The study was based on measures and data obtained from the large-sample secondary database of the 2010 General Social Survey (n=2,044).

Findings

Results indicated that while attitudes toward science had direct effects on knowledge of scientific facts and knowledge of environmental facts, environmental values showed effects on knowledge of environmental facts and subjective knowledge on environmental issues. The results also indicated that from different types of knowledge, subjective knowledge on environmental issues had effects on both environmental risk perception and WTP for the environment. Knowledge on environmental facts, on the other hand, was able to predict only environmental risk perception. The scientific factual knowledge did not show an effect on mediator of pro-environmental behavior. Also, subjective knowledge indicated indirect effects on pro-environmental behavior through environmental risk perception and WTP for the environment.

Originality/value

Although research on understanding factors influencing pro-environmental behaviors and potential relations to individual knowledge has grown in recent years, there has been very little attempt at distinguishing between different types of knowledge and investigating their potential roles in the context of environmentally relevant behaviors. This study will help understand the functioning of different types of consumer environmental knowledge and their impacts on pro-environmental behaviors more in depth.

Details

World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5945

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 December 2023

Sita Mishra, Tapas Ranjan Moharana and Ravi Chatterjee

This research aims to examine how consumer minimalism (CM), self-conscious feelings (such as consumer guilt (CG) and consumer pride (CP)) and the inclination to use rental…

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to examine how consumer minimalism (CM), self-conscious feelings (such as consumer guilt (CG) and consumer pride (CP)) and the inclination to use rental services interact. It also looks at how attitudes toward pro-environmental advertisements affect these relationships as a moderator, recognizing the importance of pro-environmental advertising in influencing consumer behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed a quantitative methodology to investigate the aforementioned associations. Survey questionnaires are used to collect data, which is then analyzed using AMOS 25 and Process Macro to generate meaningful insights.

Findings

The findings indicate that the willingness to use rental services is directly associated with CM, while self-conscious emotions (SCEs) play the role of a mediator in this relationship.

Research limitations/implications

It is essential to recognize the limitations of this study. There may be other variables at play, but the research focuses on SCEs (CG and CP) and their role as mediators. The findings must be interpreted based on the selected research methodology and sample size. Future research could investigate additional variables and enlarge the sample size to increase generalizability.

Practical implications

Targeted marketing can leverage CM, SCEs and willingness to use rental services. Recognizing the moderating effect of attitude toward pro-environmental advertisements can help create more effective campaigns promoting environmental behavior.

Originality/value

Underpinned by SCEs, the current study is one of the initial studies to explain how CM encourages responsible environmental behavior through access-based consumption models.

Article
Publication date: 30 August 2022

Ayşen Coşkun, Michael Polonsky and Andrea Vocino

To achieve the UN’s 2030 agenda, consumers will need to behave more responsibly and make less environmentally harmful purchases. This study aims to investigate the antecedents of…

Abstract

Purpose

To achieve the UN’s 2030 agenda, consumers will need to behave more responsibly and make less environmentally harmful purchases. This study aims to investigate the antecedents of consumerspro-environmental purchase intentions based on a range of motivating (i.e. attitudes, locus of control) and inhibiting factors (i.e. apathy and myopia) for a low-involvement product. It also tests the moderating effect of the greenness of a low-involvement product (green vs nongreen) on the consumer’s pro-environmental purchase intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

An online panel survey of 679 Turkish consumers was used. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

The results suggest that while inhibiting factors (i.e. apathy and myopia) may not directly impede such purchase intentions, they could prevent consumers from considering the environmental characteristics of low-involvement products.

Practical implications

The insights are expected to assist marketers and policymakers to understand consumer psychological mechanisms when encouraging and promoting pro-environmental behavior in the context of low-involvement purchases, enhancing consumers contributing to the 2030 objectives.

Originality/value

This study examines the role of inhibiting factors behind the purchase of low-involvement goods. It also tests the moderating effect of the greenness of a low-involvement product on pro-environmental purchase intentions.

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2017

Audhesh Paswan, Francisco Guzmán and Jeffrey Lewin

This study aims to focus on people’s pro-environmental behavior and investigates its dimensions and determinants. As environmental sustainability attracts increased scrutiny…

3461

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to focus on people’s pro-environmental behavior and investigates its dimensions and determinants. As environmental sustainability attracts increased scrutiny, understanding end consumerspro-environmental behavior becomes imperative for various stakeholders in our highly networked marketplace – e.g. policymakers, businesses, consumers, the public and society at large.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from the general public in the USA, the hypothesized relationships are tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

The results indicate that if people find enjoyment in nature, believe in achieving a balance between “mankind” and nature, and believe that the benefits of conservation activities are going to accrue in the near term (present), they are more likely to engage in pro-environmental behavior at all levels – supportive, active and lifestyle.

Research limitations/implications

Although only one aspect of environmental sustainability – environmental conservation – is analyzed, these findings support assertions set forth in the theory of environmentally significant behavior (Stern, 1999), the norm-activation theory of altruism (Schwartz, 1973), the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein, 1979) and the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985).

Practical implications

Messages about sustainability, environmental conservation and pro-environmental behavior should be framed using people’s fondness for and enjoyment of nature; should focus on present benefits of conservation; and should be targeted and differentiated for men, women and older people to encourage conservation behaviors among these differing demographic groups.

Originality/value

This study identifies three different levels of intensity of pro-environmental behavior – supportive, active and lifestyle – and empirically examines the relationships between these behavior types and the attitudinal antecedents revolving around time when the benefits of environmental conservation accrue, nature and human–nature interaction.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 October 2012

Katja Soyez

The purpose of this paper is to link national cultural values to personal pro‐environmental value orientations, in order to investigate why the salience of pro‐environmental value…

10265

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to link national cultural values to personal pro‐environmental value orientations, in order to investigate why the salience of pro‐environmental value orientations differs cross‐culturally. A value‐based model is proposed and tested in a multinational study.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical investigation of 1,096 consumers was conducted in five nations with a different cultural profile on the two cultural dimensions in‐group collectivism and assertiveness. The paper applies multi‐group structural equation modelling to test the moderating effect of culture on the impact of pro‐environmental values on attitudes and subjective norms.

Findings

The study reveals that the influence of a pro‐environmental value orientation differs substantially, according to national cultural values. While an ecocentric value orientation is important in the US, Canadian, German, and Australian samples which hold individualistic values, an anthropocentric value orientation is salient in the Russian sample, characterized by collectivistic values. The hypothesized influence of the national cultural value assertiveness, however, could not be established decisively.

Research limitations/implications

First, the present study considers culture as a national value on an aggregated level. Future studies should take into account cultural values at different levels of aggregation. Second, since only one collectivistic society is the object of the investigation, the results are limited in terms of generalizability.

Practical implications

In order to address the ecocentric value orientation in the analyzed individualistic societies, marketers should emphasize benefits for the environment in the USA, Canada, Australia, and Germany. By contrast, the positive consequences for humankind in general and future generations should be stressed in the collectivistic Russian sample.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the literature by integrating both individual and national perspectives on the value‐based drivers of environmental concern. The study also provides insight into pro‐environmental consumer behavior in an emerging market (namely Russia), which has so far been neglected in cross‐cultural research.

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2020

Lei Wang, Philip Pong Weng Wong and Elangkovan Narayanan Alagas

Prior studies mostly investigated the relationship between the cognitive characteristics of individuals and their pro-environmentalism, addressing the need for green hotel…

3196

Abstract

Purpose

Prior studies mostly investigated the relationship between the cognitive characteristics of individuals and their pro-environmentalism, addressing the need for green hotel operators to understand the different green purchase patterns of consumers. The problem is that, although consumers claim they are concerned about environmental issues, their purchasing behaviour does not translate, in practical terms, into actually booking green hotels. In other words, the connection between altruism, environmental knowledge and consumer visiting green hotel is fairly unexplored in the literature. This study aims to analyze the relationships of three types of altruism and two types of environmental knowledge with attitude and intention.

Design/methodology/approach

An integrated theoretical research model was used, based on the value–belief–norm theory of environmentalism. The collection of 248 questionnaires was followed by subsequent empirical testing of the proposed hypotheses, which was performed using SPSS and AMOS.

Findings

The resulting outcomes show a significant positive relationship between green purchase attitude and intention. Further, the biospheric, altruistic and collectivistic values, as well as subjective and objective knowledge were shown to positively influence attitude and intention towards green hotel selection, respectively.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the chosen online sampling method, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to study how visiting green hotel can be influenced by different types of altruism and environmental knowledge.

Details

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6182

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 April 2022

Adekunle Oke

This study proposes a new agenda for research and practice on pro-environmental behaviours in organisational settings by exploring the intersection between technology innovations…

Abstract

Purpose

This study proposes a new agenda for research and practice on pro-environmental behaviours in organisational settings by exploring the intersection between technology innovations and pro-environmental initiatives. The goal is to demonstrate the utility of digital technology in promoting and achieving sustainability by addressing the complexity and inconsistency in pro-environmental behaviours.

Design/methodology/approach

Using relevant literature on pro-environmental behaviours, this study explores the possibility of embedding technology innovations in pro-environmental initiatives to promote and enhance sustainability in organisational settings.

Findings

This study argues that the recent technological advancement and open innovation provide new insights into understanding and implementing pro-environmental initiatives in organisational settings. While pro-environmental behaviours studies have advanced over the past decades, this study shows that many pro-environmental activities do not require employees to change behaviour. According to this study, psychology and technology innovations offer various opportunities for businesses to effectively and pragmatically embed sustainability into their operations without necessarily changing employees' behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

This conceptual study offers opportunities to empirically explore the collaborative nexus between “psychology-based pro-environmental behaviour research and technology innovation”. Despite the plethora of studies on pro-environmental behaviours, results are mixed and inconclusive, raising questions about the dominant practice used for promoting pro-environmental initiatives and behaviours at the corporate level. This study, therefore, provides a new pathway for businesses to address their environmental aspects, demonstrating a pragmatic approach to resolving the complexity of pro-environmental behaviours.

Originality/value

This study allows social investigators, policymakers, and technology developers to re-assess, revive and further investigate how they can collaborate to address practical environmental and social issues.

Details

Technological Sustainability, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-1312

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 2000