How do social norms influence recycling behavior in a collectivistic society? A case study from Turkey

Abstract

This study investigates how social norms influence the household recycling behavior in collectivistic societies. High household participation rate is essential to accomplish the economic and environmental goals of recycling programs. To this end, the determinants of recycling behavior have long been studied, and social norms have been indicated as the strong predictor of recycling behavior. However, there is a need for a more in-depth examination to understand how social norms function in activating recycling behavior in different contexts. Hence, this study develops a model that disentangles the influence of social norms (i.e. informational and normal influences) on recycling behavior in a collectivistic social context. Using data collected from the households of the case-study area (Seferihisar, Turkey), the research hypotheses were tested via structural equation modelling. The findings confirm the influence of social norms on household recycling behavior, but this influence was found to occur not through internalization process. The causal chain effect triggered by social norms (i.e. internalization process) maintains its influence until the task knowledge necessary for recycling is obtained; however, this process does not end with actual recycling behavior. Rather, the results show that the perceived convenience mediates the influence of social norms on recycling behavior. In addition, the perceived convenience mediates the effects of physical constraints on recycling behavior. As well as revealing valuable theoretical implications, these results also provide managerial guidance in devising social norms to increase the household participation into recycling programs.