Sustainable consumer behavior (SCB) gained significant attention given the relevance it bears for a broad set of actors. Since most of the relevant literature is rooted in western countries, researchers and policymakers implicitly assume that behaviors in developing countries tend to replicate those in developed countries. This review, based on seventy-one articles published since 2000, questions such assumption by analyzing the empirical research on SCBs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a distinctive region that has been so far overlooked by mainstream research. Results reveal that most MENA-based papers are rooted in traditional frameworks of the rationalistic stream and that environmental values represent a key driver of SCB, while habits and socio-demographics are relegated to a negligible role. This study provides an added value by synthesizing the fragmented evidence on the topic and discussing aspects emerging as peculiar of the MENA and differentiating the latter from other societies.
20 February 2023 in International Journal of Consumer Studies
Maintaining sustainable consumer behaviours is necessary for both mitigating environmental problems and the success of sustainable businesses. However, to date, the focus is mainly on the motivation‐adoption link (i.e., how to motivate sustainable consumer behaviours) rather than the adoption‐continuance link (i.e., how to maintain those behaviours). This study addresses the link between sustainability adoption and continuance, through a structured literature review. Specifically, this study synthesizes what is (and is not) known about the post‐adoption (continuance) stage of the sustainable consumer journey, by reviewing and integrating the results of 87 articles. This review has three key outcomes. First, it elaborates on the importance and distinction of the continuance stage, which is predicted by a set of different and ‘evolving’ factors, compared with motivation and initial adoption. Second, the key components of the continuance stage are identified and grouped under (I) post‐adoption cognitive perceptions, (II) emotional outcomes, and (III) subsequent behavioural patterns of (dis)continuance, spillover, advocacy, loyalty and habit formation. Third, this study introduces the concept of sustainable consumer behaviour continuity and discusses theoretical relationships in a conceptual framework. Finally, this review identifies knowledge gaps and provides research directions as well as implications for theory and practice.
1 August 2020 in International Journal of Hospitality Management