Adolescents around the globe are demonstrating for a sustainable future. Businesses, too, increasingly embrace the idea of sustainable economic activities. Sustainability has evolved from a niche topic into a mainstream one. Nevertheless, there still is a discrepancy between people’s attitudes toward sustainable practices and the extent to which they actually act on them.
Which drivers and barriers of sustainable consumption exist? What are the reasons for the attitude-behavior gap? Bea Alexandra Wintschnig discusses the necessity of sustainable consumption patterns in practice as a key enabler of a general sustainable development.
The variety of identified factors can broadly be subdivided into two categories: individual-related and environmental determinants. The former includes socio- demographics, personal characteristics and value orientation. The environmental determinants comprise product, service or behavior-related factors, such as cost of consumption or stereotypes of sustainable products. Bea Alexandra Wintschnig explains why people seem to talk more about environmental protection than they actually do for it.
In this book:
- Climate protection;
- Sustainability;
- Corporate Social Responsibility;
- Self-efficacy;
- society
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Conceptual foundation
2.1 Defining sustainable consumption
2.2 The attitude-behavior gap
3 Theoretical foundation
3.1 Theory of Reasoned Action and Theory of Planned Behavior
3.2 Norm Activation Theory
3.3 Deficiencies of the TRA, the TPB and the NAM
4 Drivers and barriers of sustainable consumption
4.1 Individual-related factors
4.2 Environmental factors
4.3 Conceptual model and additional remarks
5 Implications and future research
6 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This thesis aims to structure and discuss the facilitators and obstacles of sustainable consumption identified in academic literature to provide an overview of the current state of scientific knowledge, specifically addressing the discrepancy between environmental attitudes and actual consumer behavior.
- Conceptualization of sustainable consumption and the attitude-behavior gap
- Critical review of foundational behavioral theories (TRA, TPB, NAM)
- Systematic identification of individual and environmental drivers/barriers
- Analysis of rationalization strategies and moral duty conflicts
- Implications for future research and promotion of sustainable consumerism
Excerpt from the Book
Deficiency of research methods
The first reason for the gap can be attributed to the applied study designs, which can result in several biases and other problems, such as inadequate data collection or errors made by informants in the prediction of their behavior. Apart from biases that are associated with decontextualization of the respondents and sample selection toward more sustainable consumers, the most prominent bias is the social desirability bias, where respondents feel social pressure to provide socially acceptable answers. Consequently, consumers tend to overstate their socially and ecologically responsible attitudes. This is especially true for self-reported survey instruments. These are predominantly used in studies on sustainable consumption, with only a few researchers observing actual behavior. It was found that when self-reported rather than actual behavior was assessed, lower attitude-behavior correlations were obtained. A solution to this issue was recently suggested: Implicit attitudes should serve as an additional measure since they are more robust to external stimuli and therefore also immune to the social desirability bias.
Another problem that can lead to discrepancies in the attitude-behavior relation is the unequal scope of measurement of attitudes and actions, as demonstrated by the following exemplary questions: “Do you care about the environment?” and “Do you recycle?”, whereby the scope of the question referring to attitude is not as specific as the one about the behavior. Furthermore, as the measurement of attitudes and the execution of the discussed behavior are temporally separated, consumers tend to make mistakes in their predictions of future behavior (e.g. due to unavailability of the sustainable product at the time of actual purchase) or in their recollection of past behavior.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter highlights the rising importance of sustainability and introduces the research problem of the attitude-behavior gap.
2 Conceptual foundation: This section defines sustainable consumption as a multidimensional concept and examines the theoretical and psychological nature of the attitude-behavior gap.
3 Theoretical foundation: This chapter reviews core socio-cognitive behavioral theories like TRA, TPB, and NAM and addresses their respective limitations in explaining sustainable consumption.
4 Drivers and barriers of sustainable consumption: This central chapter systematically categorizes influences on consumer behavior into individual-related factors and environmental factors.
5 Implications and future research: The author discusses how informational and structural strategies can promote sustainable behavior and suggests future research directions.
6 Conclusion: The work concludes that an integrated approach is essential to address the complex nature of sustainable consumption and its various determinants.
Keywords
Sustainable Consumption, Attitude-Behavior Gap, Theory of Planned Behavior, Norm Activation Model, Consumer Behavior, Environmental Concern, Social Desirability Bias, Rationalization Strategies, Sustainability, Green Marketing, Behavioral Drivers, Behavioral Barriers, Consumer Psychology, Individual Factors, Environmental Factors.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research explores why there is a persistent gap between consumers' positive attitudes toward sustainability and their actual consumption behavior, identifying the underlying drivers and barriers.
What are the primary thematic fields covered in the study?
The study covers conceptual definitions of sustainability, behavioral theories (TRA, TPB, NAM), individual-related influences (values, emotions, habits), and environmental influences (corporate activities, social norms, structural conditions).
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to provide a comprehensive, structured overview of the current scientific literature concerning factors that facilitate or inhibit sustainable consumption to improve the understanding of the attitude-behavior gap.
Which scientific methodologies are utilized?
The thesis employs a systematic literature review to analyze and synthesize the findings from 118 relevant academic papers.
What does the main part of the work address?
The main part focuses on the theoretical grounding of consumer behavior and a detailed categorization of factors influencing sustainable consumption, including individual characteristics and contextual environmental conditions.
Which keywords define the work?
The work is defined by terms such as sustainable consumption, attitude-behavior gap, consumer psychology, behavioral drivers, and environmental barriers.
How do rationalization strategies contribute to the attitude-behavior gap?
Consumers use neutralization techniques, such as denying responsibility or claiming moral justification, to reduce the cognitive dissonance that arises when their consumption choices contradict their pro-environmental attitudes.
Does social influence play a significant role?
Yes, social influence is a major factor; it manifests through interpersonal relationships, the pressure to conform to social norms, and the stigma associated with either sustainable or unsustainable consumption.
What is the "intent-orientated approach" versus the "impact-orientated approach"?
The intent-orientated approach focuses on the consumer's pro-social/ecological intentions, whereas the impact-orientated approach evaluates the actual social and ecological consequences of the consumption behavior.
- Citation du texte
- Bea Alexandra Wintschnig (Auteur), 2021, Sustainable Consumption and the Attitude-Behavior Gap. Drivers and Barriers, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/900337
