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1 – 10 of over 29000Ying-Tzu Lin, Timmy H. Tseng, Ariana Chang and Chun-Chi Yang
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have urged retail companies to transform by adopting more sustainable practices. One of the key goals is to motivate…
Abstract
Purpose
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have urged retail companies to transform by adopting more sustainable practices. One of the key goals is to motivate responsible consumption and production. How to facilitate sustainable consumption of retail consumers is a research question of high theoretical and practical relevance. This research investigates the drivers of less examined sustainable consumer behaviour (reuse) from the perspective of consumers by integrating a value-based adoption model and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB).
Design/methodology/approach
Two samples of data were collected by using offline and online surveys. The offline survey was conducted at a university in northern Taiwan emphasizing sustainability practices. The online survey was implemented by a market research firm. A total of 518 useable questionnaires were obtained for data analysis by using the structural equation modelling.
Findings
Consistent with TPB, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, and attitude, generate reuse intention in retail stores. Furthermore, the results also show the validity of the value adoption approach in predicting reuse intention in retail stores. Economic benefits and identity expressiveness are key facilitators and perceived inconvenience is a key barrier to perceived value and perceived value influences reuse intention in retail stores.
Originality/value
This research contributes by moving beyond TPB and proposing a value-based adoption approach to explain sustainable consumer behaviour in retail stores from the consumer perspectives. Based on the findings, value adoption strategies for retailers to facilitate sustainable consumer behaviour are proposed.
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So-young Kim, Jihyun Yoon and Injoo Choi
To gain strategic insights for promoting sustainable food services, especially in a business and industry (B&I) setting, the purpose of this paper is to investigate decisional…
Abstract
Purpose
To gain strategic insights for promoting sustainable food services, especially in a business and industry (B&I) setting, the purpose of this paper is to investigate decisional factors affecting consumers’ patronage intention based on the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) including two additional constructs of perceived quality and personal moral norm.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was employed. Out of 978 responses, 548 (70 percent) responses which reported to have visited B&I food services more than five times a month on an average were analyzed by using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The study results revealed that consumers’ patronage intention toward sustainable B&I food services was well explained by the alternative extended TPB adding a new path from subjective norm to perceived behavioral control. The impact of personal moral norm on consumers’ patronage intention was the highest followed by subjective norm, attitude, and perceived behavioral control.
Originality/value
This study is one of the few attempts to clarify the underlying motives for patronizing sustainable food services. The study results may give insights into the mechanisms of consumers’ patronage intention formation toward sustainable B&I food services and provide useful implications for strategic measures to promote sustainable B&I food services in Korea as well as other countries sharing similar concerns and interests.
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Sihem Dekhili, Mohamed Akli Achabou and Fatmah Alharbi
This paper aims to examine the extent to which sustainability information unfavorably impacts consumers’ behavior in the case of luxury. In particular, it explores the effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the extent to which sustainability information unfavorably impacts consumers’ behavior in the case of luxury. In particular, it explores the effect of social and environmental attributes on the perceived quality.
Design/methodology/approach
A between-subject experimental design involving 973 French and Saudi consumers has been conducted.
Findings
The results indicate that sustainability information negatively impacts the perceived quality of luxury products. However, this result varies regarding the consumers’ country of origin. While no significant effect was observed in the case of French respondents, Saudi consumers lower the evaluation of quality when social information is provided. In addition, the negative effect of sustainability information is moderated by the consumers’ degree of liking of luxury and by the brand corporate social responsibility image.
Research limitations/implications
This research fills a gap occurred in the previous literature. In effect, limited studies examined perceptions of the association between luxury and sustainability. In addition, it enriches the limited literature on sustainable consumption in the context of developing countries. However, further studies should focus on specific dimensions of quality and examine different sustainable practices and luxury goods.
Practical implications
From a practical point of view, this study suggests new applications with respect to the link between luxury and sustainability.
Originality/value
No study to date, as per the authors’ knowledge, has investigated empirically the impact of sustainability information on the perceived quality of luxury products. Contrary to the literature indicating a positive effect of sustainable attributes on consumers’ behavior, this study confirms the incompatibility between luxury and sustainability.
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Helene Yildiz, Sara Tahali and Eleni Trichina
In the era of new technological revolution, seeking to survive and guarantee business sustainability in their digital internationalization, enterprises choose to become…
Abstract
Purpose
In the era of new technological revolution, seeking to survive and guarantee business sustainability in their digital internationalization, enterprises choose to become environmentally oriented. The need for new green business models has become evident in recent years, and enterprises offer green services in creative and eco-friendly ways. However, does the display of a green label on hotels' websites really promote the eco-conscious tourists' online booking intention? This study aims to examine the impact of the perceived label on the online sustainable hotel booking intention of the eco-conscious tourists, using the foundations of signal theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a structural equation model to integrate several constructs with a sample of 349 validated responses.
Findings
The empirical results highlight, the importance of the green label perception on the eco-conscious tourists' booking intention of online sustainable hotel and the role that green trust and green perceived risk play as a mediating variable between the perception of the exposed label and the booking intention. Indeed, when booking a sustainable hotel online, the tourists may be sensitive to the exposure of a green label. Therefore, this signal decreases the perceived risk of unsustainability and ultimately increases the trust in hotel's sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
The first limitation is related to the sample employed in this study. Given that most of the participants were residents of France, the results of this study may not be generalized to the entire population. Secondly, a range of other factors can affect the eco-conscious tourists' intentions to book online a hotel with green label, such as their attitude, social media influence, tourists' satisfaction, etc. Indeed, other variables and/or signals could be adopted to study online booking intention in the pandemic era.
Practical implications
In light of these results, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. The findings make an important contribution to SMEs sustainability and internationalization by exploring new ties. This study considers how SMEs and specifically hotels start following green practices (e.g. adoption of an eco-label) relevant to their international environment where they operate and in response to global pressures. SMEs can survive better in the highly competitive global environment where they need to employ more green practices, however, managers should consider how green trust and green perceived risk can affect customer behavior. It also adds to the existing literature by dealing with customer perceptions about the green label of sustainable hotels and its subsequent effect on booking intention.
Originality/value
This study had shown the importance of the display of green label on the eco-conscious tourist's online booking intention.
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Monika Sheoran and Divesh Kumar
This article attempts to explore the theoretical model and structural dimensions of sustainable consumer behaviour to develop a “sustainable consumer behaviour scale” for…
Abstract
Purpose
This article attempts to explore the theoretical model and structural dimensions of sustainable consumer behaviour to develop a “sustainable consumer behaviour scale” for sustainable electronic products. Further, this study has tried to elaborate sustainable consumer behaviour by considering the complete consumption cycle which includes purchase, usage and disposal of the sustainable electronic products.
Design/methodology/approach
The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) has been employed to understand the multidimensional nature of sustainable consumer behaviour with the help of qualitative and quantitative methods. With the help of a pilot study followed by a main study, a sustainable consumer behaviour scale for sustainable electronic products has been tested and validated for its factor study, reliability, validity and model fit, etc. Moreover, the influence of demographic variables has also been examined with the help of multi-group analysis.
Findings
This study highlights that the perceived control behaviour and subjective norms are the major factors that influence sustainable consumer behaviour. Moreover, the results also indicate that female consumers, mid income consumers, young consumers (age below 30) and consumers who have studied up to senior secondary level are more sustainable.
Research limitations/implications
The results can be used by policymakers and managers to identify and target particular subjective norms and factors impacting perceived control behaviour along with a specific set of demographics to increase sustainability amongst consumers and businesses. The results of the current study can help in increasing the focus of the academic research towards sustainable consumer behaviour. It will also encourage firms to include sustainable electronic products in their product line.
Originality/value
To the best of authors' knowledge, the current article is the first empirical study to develop a sustainable consumer behaviour scale by including all the different stages of the consumption cycle using TPB for sustainable electronic products. Although multiple efforts have been made by researchers to analyse sustainable consumer behaviour, there is a scarcity in literature in which research has been done to analyse sustainable consumer behaviour by considering the whole consumption cycle (purchase, usage and disposal).
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Soyoung Kim, Jihyun Yoon and Joongwon Shin
This study aimed to investigate consumers’ perception on sustainable business-and-industry (B&I) foodservice and their willingness to pay a premium for it.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to investigate consumers’ perception on sustainable business-and-industry (B&I) foodservice and their willingness to pay a premium for it.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was conducted. Among the 978 respondents, a total of 548 respondents who used B&I foodservice equal to or more than five times a month on an average were included for analyses.
Findings
The result revealed that consumers tended to perceive the concept of sustainability as “equivalent to (32 per cent) or beyond (28 per cent) being green or eco-friendly”. Consumers appeared to perceive the need for and the quality of sustainable B&I foodservice highly, but their awareness was comparatively low. Consumers’ awareness was significantly different across all demographic and food-related lifestyle variables. However, significant differences in the need and perceived quality were found only among food-related lifestyle variables. The result also indicated that 66 per cent of consumers were willing to pay a premium average of USD 0.72, 21 per cent of the reference meal price (USD 3.53) proposed in the survey. Consumers’ gender and eco-friendly dietary lifestyles were the significant determinants in predicting consumers’ willingness to pay a premium.
Originality/value
With concerns over environmental crisis, sustainable development has been a mainstream agenda across the world. However, the issue of sustainable development appears to be relatively overlooked in the field of foodservice research. This study is meaningful, in that it calls attention to the importance and potential of realizing sustainable foodservice and provides a starting point in relevant researches.
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Elisabetta Savelli, Barbara Francioni, Ilaria Curina and Marco Cioppi
The purpose of this study is to extend the research on fashion renting (FR) by investigating how personal and social motives (i.e. “subjective norms”, “perceived behavioural…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to extend the research on fashion renting (FR) by investigating how personal and social motives (i.e. “subjective norms”, “perceived behavioural control”, “sustainable orientation” and “FR benefits”) affect consumers’ attitudes and intentions towards it. In addition, personality traits are investigated as potential antecedents of FR, resulting in the proposal of an overall framework that combines the theory of planned behaviour with the trait theory approach.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected in Italy from a sample of 694 consumers, mainly females (88%), with an average age of 28.8 years and coming from all over the country. The collected data were then processed via structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results indicated that intention towards FR is influenced by attitude, which, in turn, is affected by social norms, perceived behavioural control, sustainable orientation and FR benefits. Furthermore, only fashion leadership acts as a direct antecedent of FR attitude, while the need for uniqueness and materialism plays critical roles as predictors of personal and social motives. Subjective norms and perceived behavioural control also serve as mediators of the significant relationships between personality traits and attitudes towards FR.
Practical implications
The study provides useful implications for fashion rental companies in attracting consumers and offers a foundation for further research on transforming traditional consumption into a more sustainable one.
Originality/value
The study presents new knowledge on the rental phenomenon in the fashion sector by responding to the call to deepen the analysis of factors that influence consumers’ adoption of FR from the perspectives of personal and social motives and personality traits.
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Valérie Charrière and Sophie Morin-Delerm
An in-depth analysis of management and academic literature regarding sustainable development, on the one hand, and retailers' involvement on the other, has been conducted. Related…
Abstract
An in-depth analysis of management and academic literature regarding sustainable development, on the one hand, and retailers' involvement on the other, has been conducted. Related topics such as responsibility (Barthel, 2006; Binninger, 2008; Lauriol, 2004; Pasquero, 2005; Thierry, 2005), trust (Guibert, 1999; Lapeyre & Bonnefont, 2004; Sireix et al., 2004; Swaen & Chumpitaz, 2008), and consumer resistance (Aouina-Mejri & Benhallam, 2009; Peñaloza & Price, 1993; Roux, 2007) have also been investigated. Furthermore, we studied the theoretical corpus of the frameworks used (Stakeholder Theory and Legitimacy Theories).
Paula Maria Bögel, Ivana Brstilo Lovrić, Sigrid Bekmeier-Feuerhahn and Charlotta Sophie Sippel
Recently, authors have determined varieties in the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within Europe. This chapter examines similarities and differences in…
Abstract
Purpose
Recently, authors have determined varieties in the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within Europe. This chapter examines similarities and differences in sustainability and related CSR developments in two contrasting European countries, namely Germany (industrialized society) and Croatia (transitional society). It has been argued that sustainable development is an industrial phenomenon common among Western European countries and the USA, often marked as post-industrial societies, and usually not observed in post-socialist and transitional societies which are confronted with an inner need for economic, political, and overall (re)structuring. Concerning differences within Europe, the concept of sustainable development in general and CSR concepts, in particular, have been described in the literature as less advanced in Eastern European countries than in Western European countries. Taking into account socio-cultural influences on the way CSR is understood and practiced, this study discusses this assumption and also addresses the question whether CSR is differently developed and not implicitly less developed.
Design/methodology/approach
As an illustrative example, a small empirical study was conducted to examine whether consumers in Croatia are actually less prepared for CSR, and, on the other hand, whether they just focus on different dimensions of CSR than consumers in Germany. In more detail, it examined differences in participants’ attitudes, social norms, and perceived level of control with regard to sustainable fashion consumption between German and Croatian consumers.
Findings
The study’s findings support the assumption of previous studies that consumers’ lack of interest in CSR and knowledge deficits in this regard are likely to be a barrier for CSR development in Croatia. Yet, it also illustrates that the CSR development in Eastern European countries should not automatically be seen as less advanced but in some parts just as different. Findings from the study on differences with regard to the importance of different sustainability dimensions, namely the social and environmental dimension of CSR, support the assumption that the way CSR is understood and practiced differs due to socio-cultural differences.
Research limitations/implications
As the understanding and development of CSR seem to depend on the socio-cultural context, further research is needed to examine which concepts are present in Croatia concerning sustainability and CSR.
Practical implications
The findings provide information on the current status of CSR development and sustainable development in two differently governed nations of the EU, namely Germany and Croatia. Resulting practical implications for CSR strategies of companies and interventions to support CSR development and sustainable consumption patterns in both countries are discussed.
Originality/value
Comparative CSR studies, especially within Europe, are in general rare and in particular, this study is one of a so far very limited number of studies on CSR in Eastern Europe.
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