The role of the dominant social paradigm in environmental attitudes: a multinational examination

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was twofold. The first purpose was to expand the domain of inquiry in the study of business and the natural environment. Traditional approaches have focused primarily on attitudes toward the environment, behavioral intentions, and behavior. Most of the research to date has been data-driven, however, and lacks a theoretical framework. We attempt to rectify this by proposing and testing an expanded model. Here the domain is expanded to include political, economic, and technological variables, referred to as the socioeconomic domain of the dominant social paradigm (DSP). While much has been written about the general nature of the DSP, its specific form has not been defined adequately in the environmentally related literature. The second purpose was to begin testing the proposed model empirically. The model suggests that as one's belief in the DSP increases, their expressed concern for the environment decreases. Further, as their concern for the environment increases, their perception of necessary changes and willingness to change to achieve environmental balance will also increase. Finally, we examined differences between countries and concluded that there were differences consistent with the proposed model. Overall, the results of the study confirm the proposed model. The policy implications of this result are also discussed.