Rapid population growth together with improving living standards is causing bigger and more rapid consumption of resources in industrial, household and personal consumption areas. Unsustainable consumption patterns are negatively affecting our surroundings. In order to promote sustainable consumption it is important to engage consumers in active and mutual dialogue. This study introduces the construct of consumer engagement into the context of sustainable consumption and aims at revealing the factors influencing consumer engagement in sustainable consumption. Two groups of factors, internal and external, each comprising three determinants (environmental attitude, perceived responsibility and perceived behavioral efficiency; and conditions for sustainable consumption, social environment and promotion of sustainable consumption) were identified as having direct positive impact on consumer engagement in sustainable consumption, which in turn had a positive impact on green product buying. The results revealed an important mediating role of the consumer engagement construct, suggesting that application of the engagement construct in the context of sustainable consumption would allow a deepening understanding of actual consumer behavior related with different contexts of sustainable consumption.
Companies which offer innovative solutions to aid the achievement of sustainable consumption behavior of individuals in home environment gain a competitive advantage. The study aims to uncover the relationship between the engagement in sustainable consumption and sustainable consumption behavior of individuals at home and in the workplace environments enabling companies to provide innovative solutions to advance sustainability management. This research holds that sustainable consumption behavior is a process and the focus of this study is use behavior. An online survey was employed to collect data from 407 respondents in the United Kingdom. Consumers working in both private and public sectors were surveyed. Data analysis suggests that one dimension of engagement in sustainable consumption, namely, Enthusiasm and Attention, mostly influences sustainable consumption behavior at home and in the workplace. Further, females feature higher sustainable consumption behavior at home and in the workplace most of the time in comparison to males. Also, there are age differences apropos sustainable consumption behavior at home and in the workplace. Social Learning Theory and Collaborative Consumption Theory are used to raise hypotheses and explain findings. The findings lead to practical implications for companies regarding engagement and sustainable consumption behavior in both environments in terms of incentives, green product and service innovation that may be offered to individuals to enhance sustainability.
22 December 2022 in Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies
The aim of this paper is to explore the role of green self-identity and self-congruity with green food products in predicting consumers’ sustainable food consumption behaviour. Previous research suggests that there is a relationship between individuals’ self-identity and the consumption of products. However, when it comes to the realm of sustainable food consumption, those relations are not unambiguous. This study employs a survey with a sample of 837 respondents in Lithuania. The findings confirm that green self-identity and self-congruity with green food products positively influence subsequent sustainable food consumption behaviour both directly and indirectly. The implications of this study can be used to better understand green consumer behaviour and provide useful information to marketers and policymakers by suggesting that the promotion of sustainable food consumption behaviour should highlight not only functional but symbolic benefits as well.
Purpose: The study aims to identify the effects of consumer moral identity and consumer engagement with sustainable consumption on sustainable consumer behaviour at home and in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: Survey data were collected in two European countries, i.e. Lithuania and the United Kingdom (total sample 586) and analysed using PLS-SEM to test hypotheses pertaining to the key variables, including moral identity, engagement with sustainable consumption, sustainable consumption behaviour at home and sustainable consumption behaviour in the workplace. Findings: Revealed that moral identity was a predictor of sustainable consumption behaviour at home but had no direct effect on sustainable consumption behaviour at the workplace. Similarly, engagement with sustainable consumption has been demonstrated to have a direct positive impact on sustainable consumption behaviour at home, but no significant effect on sustainable behaviour at work was confirmed. A strong moral identity fosters higher consumer engagement with sustainable consumption. The findings revealed the positive impact of sustainable behaviour at home on equivalent behaviour at work, reminding of the importance of the so-called “spill-over” effect. Originality/value: An element of novelty in this study lies in the differentiation of behavioural practices at home and in the workplace, demonstrating that a spill-over effect can occur with a “home-work” path. By highlighting the importance of consumer moral identity and consumer engagement in predicting sustainable consumption behaviour in both domestic and professional settings, our study contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of sustainable marketing and consumer behaviour.
Consumer lifestyle is considered one of the important predictors of sustainable consumption behavior at the individual, community and societal levels. In this paper, the healthy lifestyle of consumers is analyzed and defined as the lifestyle that explains how people live in terms of health. This study focuses on consumers’ healthy lifestyle clusters and offers an updated healthy lifestyle measurement tool that can be used to segment consumers into specific segments according to six healthy lifestyle domains: physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual health. An online survey with 645 respondents of different socio-demographic profiles was conducted in Lithuania. Based on data collected through questionnaires, specific segments were identified using self-organizing maps and cluster analysis methods. The findings suggest that four different segments could represent consumers concerning their healthy lifestyles. The results will be of use to companies initiating marketing campaigns to target different consumer groups with their brands and offering healthy lifestyle-related products and services to consumers in Lithuania. The findings are also valuable for public policymakers and opinion leaders who foster healthy lifestyles and seek to form a public opinion regarding sustainable consumption.
Circular fashion has gained attention among practitioners and academics. We further contribute to this debate by investigating leasing in the context of rented online clothing in greater depth. First, we conduct a qualitative study and identify several themes important to individuals when renting clothing online. The findings are as follows: social representation, green value, familiarity and innovativeness. Several categories emerged from the interviews with the respondents in relation to social representation: use of technology, feeling good when renting clothing online and renting clothing online as a necessity. Familiarity factors relate to circular fashion’s role in reducing perceived risks associated with a relatively new service in the market. Green value perceptions have emerged among respondents that reflect a growing environmental consciousness. Second, based on the initial qualitative findings, we introduce an ad-hoc theoretical model and put forward propositions. Our theoretical model emphasises the role of four antecedents (i.e., social representation, green value, familiarity and innovativeness) when influencing consumer willingness to rent clothing online and a shift towards circular consumption. We develop theoretical propositions and provide recommendations to marketing managers and public policy makers regarding how to encourage a change towards circular consumption behaviour among individuals.