Attitude-behaviour Gap Research Articles

Attitudes and Preferences of the Chinese Public Towards Products Made from Recycled Materials: A Text Mining Approach

Products made from recycled materials, as an environmentally friendly option, have attracted public attention. Understanding public attitudes and preferences towards such products is crucial for their market development. In order to explore the Chinese residents’ attitude and emotional tendency, we analyzed public discussions and topics on products made from recycled materials from Sina Weibo. Meanwhile, LDA and BERT deep learning models were employed to assess the level of public attention, hot topics, and sentiment tendencies in China. Results show a significant upward trend in public interest in products made from recycled materials. Although the fact that most people have a positive attitude towards the environmental concept of products made from recycled materials and support such products, there is not a significant demand for products made from recycled materials, i.e., there is a green attitude-behaviour gap. Results further reveal that factors such as the price of products made from recycled materials, branding, and public skepticism about the sustainability of the products are the main reasons for the gap between environmental awareness and consumer behaviour. By analyzing the public's cognitive structure and psychological characteristics regarding products made from recycled materials through social media data, this paper can help recycling manufacturers understand consumers' needs and expectations, as well as assist policymakers in formulating better circular economy policies.

Comprehensive Study on the Determinants of Green Behaviour of Slovenian Consumers: The Role of Marketing Communication, Lifestyle, Psychological, and Social Determinants

Despite the growing importance of green consumption, the green attitude–behaviour gap remains a key challenge, highlighting the discrepancy between consumers’ expressed environmental concerns and their actual sustainable-purchasing practices. This study identified key determinants of consumers’ sustainable behaviours and the influence of sustainable development goals-related marketing communication across socio-demographic groups. A quantitative causal research design was employed based on a self-administered online questionnaire targeting the Slovenian population (N = 502). The findings indicate a positive, though weak (ρ = 0.384), correlation between consumers’ attitudes and their behaviours. A substantial and significant positive influence of marketing communication, psychological, and social determinants on pro-environmental behaviour was found, while lifestyle inhibited this behaviour. An analysis of the marketing communication dimension showed that it had the greatest influence on men, consumers aged 35 years or more and those with lower education and income, especially through the information received, trust, and advertisement attractiveness. These results suggest the need for tailored marketing strategies that emphasise practical benefits and trustworthy information to effectively promote sustainable practices. This research underscores the importance of clear and credible marketing communications in fostering sustainable consumer behaviour, particularly in regions where scepticism towards marketing claims is widespread.

The power of silent sustainability: Communication strategies for new sustainable products

Consumers are interested in sustainable products but they exhibit wariness about their efficacy resulting in a reluctance to purchase. Consumers perceive a high level functional risk in utilitarian benefits sustainable alternatives can provide. For that reason, communication strategy is essential for the success of new sustainable products. We analytically investigate the optimal pre-launch communication strategy and specifically, explore the role of third party reviews of new sustainable products. Before launching its new sustainable product, a firm can reach out an expert or an influencer to test it and write an honest review which informs consumers about the green product's quality in the traditional performance dimension. The firm cannot interfere with the content of the review, but can affect the degree of its informativeness by its investment level in pre-launch communication. We find that pre-launch communication is always profitable, but the optimal level of informativeness can be short of full revelation depending on the market conditions. Based on our results, we make suggestions to both firms and policy makers, which will help reduce the green attitude-behavior gap. Then, we investigate how the availability of pre-launch communication via third party testing and reviewing affects firms' sustainability strategy decision. Our analysis reveals that, depending on the market characteristics, the presence of pre-launch communication may encourage firms to be bolder in their sustainability initiatives and engage in high environmental impact strategies without concerning to preserve the conventional functional performance, or conversely, make them more risk averse and pursue mediocre environmental impact strategies with strong caution about the conventional functional performance.

Examining the Attitude–Behavior Gap in EU Ecolabel Adoption: A Mediation Path Analysis

The EU Ecolabel, established in 1992, aims to promote sustainable consumption, yet a significant gap persists between consumers’ positive environmental attitudes and their actual purchasing behavior of ecolabeled products. This study examines the attitude–behavior gap in EU Ecolabel adoption across Europe, leveraging data from the 2023 Eurobarometer survey with 26,630 valid responses from all EU member states. Using mediation path analysis, the research investigates the factors mediating the relationship between environmental knowledge and purchasing behavior, including environmental attitude, ecolabel trust, and environmental concern. The study applies an integrated theoretical framework combining the Knowledge–Attitude–Behavior model and Attitude–Behavior–Context theory to explain the complexities of consumer behavior towards ecolabeled products. The findings reveal the interplay of direct and indirect effects among ecolabel knowledge, trust, environmental concern, attitude, and buying behavior, while also considering demographic factors’ influence such as age, gender, education level, and residential setting. The research provides a comprehensive cross-country analysis within the EU, offering insights into bridging the attitude–behavior gap and enhancing the adoption of eco-friendly products. The results have significant implications for policymakers, marketers, and researchers in promoting sustainable consumer behavior, improving environmental label effectiveness, and developing targeted interventions to increase ecolabel adoption rates.

Examining tourists’ perception of changes in contextual cues at the destination and the effect on automatic sustainable eating behavior

ABSTRACT The attitude-behavior gap has been largely supported in sustainable tourism, but it still contrasts with findings that show a positive effect of environmental concern on tourists’ sustainable behavior. To investigate some missing links between these prior findings, we build on recent research on automaticity. Using a sample of 535 tourists from Spain, we examine the effect of a series of variables on tourists’ perception of change in internal and external cues, which, according to the Theory of Habit Formation, can cause a break of habit (i.e. automatic behavior). In addition, we investigated the moderating role of environmental concern in the relationship of automaticity with a series of sustainable eating behaviors. The results show that novelty seekers (a personality trait), seeking escapism (a motivational factor), and searching for the self (an identity factor) are positively associated with a perception of change in internal and external cues during vacations (in comparison with the cues perceived at home), which in turn influence lower automaticity in this context. Automaticity leads to sustainable eating behavior during vacations only among tourists who show high environmental concern and, as a result, conduct sustainable eating practices at home. Tourists who rate low in environmental concern do not show sustainable eating behavior during vacations, regardless of the level of automaticity of their actions. The results provide evidence of why environmentally concerned consumers behave unsustainably toward food when they travel, filling identified gaps in the literature.

Exploring the Impact of Sustainability Trade-Offs: The Role of Product and Sustainability Types in Consumer Purchases Mediated by Moral Regulation.

The attitude-behavior gap in sustainable product purchasing persists despite prior attempts to address it, thus indicating a need for more research. This study examines contextual factors in sustainable consumption, particularly the sustainability trade-offs (STOs) faced by consumers during product purchases and the impact of conditional morality. We investigate STOs in terms of sustainability type and attribute type and indicate that moral regulation enhances the impact of sustainability trade-offs on purchase intention. Four experiments were conducted with 457 participants in South Korea, focusing on STOs in terms of sustainability type (social vs. environmental) and attribute type (utilitarian vs. hedonic). The findings indicate that attitudes towards sustainability have a positive influence on purchase intention, though sustainability- and attribute-type STOs do not significantly affect this relationship. However, the combination of STOs in environmental sustainability with utilitarian attributes does have a significant impact on the relationship between attitude and purchase intention. Furthermore, while moral regulation mediates this relationship, morality does not have an impact. This research highlights the moderating role of sustainability trade-offs in the relationship between attitudes towards sustainability and purchase intention, underscoring the importance of contextual factors in sustainable product purchasing. Firms can leverage sustainability trade-offs in their marketing strategies, incorporating product features and advertising messages.

Do “environmental losers” pay the price? The role of individual and country vulnerabilities in the relationship between environmental concern and willingness to pay to protect the environment

Previous research consistently finds a weak relationship between environmental concern and willingness to pay for the environment. Although individuals are concerned for the environment and believe climate change is a serious problem, a major part of concerned individuals fail to act pro-environmentally or to support climate policies. Existing research has not yet provided a complete understanding of the relationship between perception of environmental problem and pro-environmental behaviors. In this study, we add to previous research on the environmental attitude-behavior gap by focusing on economic and climate-related vulnerabilities that might act as barriers in the translation of environmental concern into willingness to pay. Using multilevel analysis on data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), we find that economic constraints and the perception of having experienced an extreme weather event affect people’s willingness to pay to protect the environment. We also find that concerned people are more likely to engage in pro-environmental behaviors in countries where national wealth is higher, whereas living in climate-vulnerable countries mostly affects the willingness to pay of non-concerned individuals.

Çevre Yanlısı Davranışlarla İlişkili Bilişsel İşlevlerin Nöropsikolojisi

The daily habits and behaviors of modern society people harm the environment more than expected. It is well known that in order to protect the inherent values of the natural assets of the world we live in, and to sustain the mutual interaction of people with the environment in a productive manner, necessary precautions should be taken to establish and maintain pro-environmental behaviors. However, people act in different levels of pro-environmental behavior. Although most of the people state that they have a pro-environmental attitude, they cannot transform their attitudes into actual behaviors in their daily lives for various reasons. Examining the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, known as the attitude-behavior gap, may contribute to the development of interventions that can help to understand how these behaviors differ among individuals and to eliminate this difference between the observed pro-environmental behaviors. At this point, neuroscience studies can provide a more comprehensive explanation of the reasons for the behavioral differences between these individuals, by comparing the performance of individuals with and without pro-environmental behaviors and those who have adopted and not adopting the environmentalist view, on behavioral tasks, and by simultaneously examining the physiological responses that may be related to sustainable behavior. This article will discuss how neuroscience and neuropsychological approach can provide an explanation for these questions through their unique methods.

From Origins to Trends: A Bibliometric Examination of Ethical Food Consumption.

Ethical food consumption has gained significant attention in the past years, reflecting a societal shift towards ethical behavior. Our study examines the evolution of ethical food consumption research over the past three decades, aiming to map its transformation. We identified key trends, influential contributors, and major thematic clusters through a bibliometric analysis, employing VOSviewer (v.1.6.18) for bibliometric visualization, focusing on citation networks and keyword o-occurrences to reveal the field's structure and dynamics. We made extensive use of the Web of Science database, where we selected 1096 relevant articles and review papers. Our analysis shows a notable rise in publications starting in 2005, with a peak in 2022, indicating increased scholarly interest in the topic. The findings underscore the importance of integrating empathy and human values into ethical food consumption, highlighting the critical roles of animal welfare, sustainability, and social justice. Despite a strong pro-ethical attitude among consumers, a significant "attitude-behavior gap" persists, emphasizing the need for strategies that bridge this divide. Our results emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary efforts to align ethical practices with broader societal goals, offering valuable insights for future research and policy-making to promote sustainable and ethical food consumption worldwide.

One Year of Mandatory Reusable Packaging in Germany: Opportunities and Obstacles from the Perspective of Consumers and Companies

Since the beginning of 2023, the so-called reusable packaging obligation has been in place in Germany in order to reduce the amount of waste from takeaway packaging. Catering companies will then be obliged to offer reusable packaging as an alternative to disposable plastic takeaway packaging. As part of the pilot project ‘Mehrweg Modell Stadt’ (‘Reusable city model’), an open infrastructure for reusable cups is in trial in Mainz and Wiesbaden. The project was subjected to a scientific monitoring process, which included the implementation of quantitative surveys among various stakeholders within the value chain, namely consumers, catering companies, and other companies engaged in the project. This was conducted over two time periods: August 2023 to September 2023, and February to March 2024. The results show a discrepancy between consumers’ attitudes and their actual behavior: Despite a high level of sustainability awareness and perceived positive benefits of reusable packaging, perceived barriers stand in the way of actual use. The biggest challenges for companies are the lack of consumer demand, practical handling and hygiene requirements. The results of this quantitative social research provide important insights for the development of targeted measures to promote the use of reusable packaging in takeaway catering and contribute to the discussion on closing the attitude–behavior gap along the entire value chain.

Regenerative adventure tourism. Going beyond sustainability – a horizon 2050 paper

Purpose This study aims to provide an overview of the regenerative concept and how this can be implemented in adventure travel. It looks into the history of sustainable adventure tourism and showcases best practice examples. This study is encouraging operators within the adventure tourism industry to adopt a regenerative approach. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive literature review on the paradigm of regenerative tourism has been conducted and applied to the adventure tourism industry. Three case studies of selected adventure tourism operators have been selected to enforce this concept. Findings With nature being an essential element of adventure travel, the industry has a long history in terms of sustainability. While tour operators, destination management organisations and other stakeholders are working towards sustainable products, consumers are still convenient and not willing to restrict themselves. The attitude behaviour gap is also noticeable in this segment and a rethinking is necessary. Through the pandemic and the climate crisis, among other aspects, a shift within the tourism industry is inevitable. Adventure tourism can be a role model in this process and good examples from the industry give hope for change. A concept that focuses on the solutions to address the polycrises is regenerative development, which is based on an ecological worldview and a living systems thinking and aims to restore locally visited communities and environments. Numerous operators have already taken measures to help local communities, such as starting projects for nature conservation or encouraging social justice. Research limitations/implications This is a conceptual review without an empirical foundation. The best-case examples are based on an Anglo-Western perspective. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to provide an overview of the current state of research into sustainable adventure tourism and categorise it within the concept of regenerative tourism.

Antecedents to consumer responses to cause­related marketing campaigns: an empirical investigation in a developing country

Purpose This study aims to test the effect of cause-related marketing (CRM), campaign-related marketing and consumer-related antecedents on consumers’ behavioral responses in a developing-country context. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used. An online questionnaire was distributed, and a sample of 738 Egyptians was obtained. Both the SPSS25 and Smart PLS software were used to report the results. Findings Results revealed that campaign-related antecedents had stronger effects on consumer attitudes than consumer-related antecedents. The most important campaign-related antecedents were brand function fit and hedonic product type. Extrinsic religiosity affected brand attitude and was also the most important predictor of purchase intention. Other predictors of purchase intention were brand attitude, hedonic product type and brand function fit. Furthermore, the effect of brand attitude on purchase intention was positive and significant. Cause involvement and others’ – centered attribution of corporate motives positively moderated the relationship between attitudes and purchase intention. Conversely, skepticism and self-centered attribution of corporate motives negatively moderated brand attitudes and purchase intention relationships. Research implications and suggestions for future research were also presented. Originality/value The study contributes to the existing academic literature by providing a better understanding of the effect of consumer and campaign-related variables on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions in a CRM context. It also helps understand the role of the two dimensions of religiosity in forming attitudes and purchase intentions for CRM campaigns. Furthermore, the research examines two possible moderators of the attitude–behavior gap through the lenses of signaling theory, prosocial behavior theory, theory of reasoned action and attribution theory.

Widening the gap? Evidence from Germany for changes in the attitude behaviour gap for transportation during COVID-19

Transportation is a main contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. For a sustainable transformation, consumers play a crucial role. While sustainability gains importance and is reflected in consumers' attitudes, consumers' behaviour does not always align with their sustainability attitudes - a discrepancy called the attitude behaviour gap. The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted people's daily lives and transport choices, potentially altering their attitude behaviour gap. Thus, the pandemic presents a unique opportunity to understand how crises and disruptions can lead to changes in the alignment between sustainable intentions and actions. Using local survey data from Germany, we identify socio-economic factors and transport infrastructure as key contributors to misalignments between attitudes and behaviour. Notably, during the pandemic, this gap widened, particularly among women and those with children, increasing inequalities among different socio-economic groups. This highlights the need for tailored policies to address the distinct mobility needs of these groups to allow them to act according to their attitudes and counteract increasing inequalities. Moreover, our findings underscore the importance of transitioning from individual motorized transport to public and more active modes of transport. This transition is particularly crucial in the German context, where levels of individual motorized transport are exceptionally high.

Nudging food waste off the plate? An explorative study investigating the generation of plate waste over time and the effectiveness of information nudges to bridge the attitude-behavior gap

ABSTRACT Changing consumer behavior is key to tackle the global food waste challenge. While nudging consumers to reduce food waste has shown promising results in promoting behavioral change, its application within the expansive hospitality sector remains limited. Particularly, its capacity to bridge the attitude-behavior gap and the effectiveness of nudging interventions over time remain nearly unexplored. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory field experiment implementing simple information nudges at a 3-star hotel breakfast buffet combined with a survey. Findings reveal that guests were indeed conscious of food waste, but it was the implementation of information nudges that led to more sustainable behavior, evidenced by a reduction in food waste. This demonstrates that a simple “nudge,” such as the message at the buffet, can effectively translate positive attitudes into tangible behavioral changes. While we noticed a decreasing trend in food waste throughout the one-week holiday, the efficacy of the nudge remained consistent over time, although on a lower level. This enduring effectiveness is promising, addressing a common concern with nudging, which is the potential for short-term effects that fade quickly after exposure to the choice environment. Future studies should investigate whether the effectiveness persists after the removal of the nudge, or if a permanent intervention in the choice architecture is necessary for a more sustained impact. From a business perspective, the current task at hand involves raising companies’ awareness regarding the matter of food waste and highlighting the easy and cost-effective solutions offered by nudging strategies.

Sustainability Science Communication: Case Study of a True Cost Campaign in Germany

The Anthropocene, marked by human-induced climate change, necessitates urgent action to address climate goals and respect planetary boundaries. While sustainability research provides knowledge, the first challenge lies in communicating the findings in an adequate manner to the public and several stakeholders, such as economic and political actors. Therefore, this study explores the significance of science communication in sustainability science, focusing on a case study—the True Cost Accounting (TCA) campaign by the University of Greifswald, Technical Institute of Nuremberg, and German retailer PENNY. TCA herein serves as a transparency tool, economic incentive, and discussion basis for sustainable consumption. This study investigates consumer perceptions of ecological prices of foods through a face-to-face survey during the 2023 PENNY campaign, comparing results to an informational campaign carried out in 2021. Findings indicate a high awareness of the true cost campaign in 2023, with 50.8% of participants hearing about it. Consumers’ willingness to pay true costs and potential behavior changes were explored. In comparison to results from the informational campaign of 2021, customers showed a decrease in this WTP when the true prices would actually impact their spending, indicating an attitude–behavior gap. In addition, a willingness to reduce the consumption of animal foods—if TCA was implemented—of 60.5% was determined, which suggests that TCA has the potential for sustainable behavior change. This study highlights factors that influence consumer attitudes and preferences regarding the inclusion of TCAs, such as environmental, social, and animal welfare costs. Customers’ understanding of increased prices—like, in this case, the compensation for environmental and social costs—is an argument in favor of true prices. The results emphasize the need for differentiated scientific communication strategies to bridge knowledge and action gaps in sustainability science.

Role of green awareness and green behaviour in fostering sustainable consumption in India

Purpose This study aims to determine the solutions to address the Indian attitude-behaviour inconsistency in the green purchasing context and provide the possible combinations of antecedents that aid Indian marketers in designing promotional and advertising strategies. Design/methodology/approach A non-probability criterion-based sampling technique was used in collecting the data across Hyderabad city of Telangana region through online survey technique. The respondents were the customers who were attracted towards green and eco-friendly products. A total of 129 responses were received. SPSS v26 software was used to conduct the descriptive analysis, and the two-step analysis approach of the measurement and structural model was conducted in SmartPLS. Findings Results indicate that interpersonal influence has a greater direct influence on green purchase behaviour (GPB); altruism’s influence on green purchase intention (GPI) and GPB is through environmental attitude (EA) and green awareness (GA). EA has a significant influence on GA and green behaviour (GB). The GA and GB individually act as potential mediators between EA and green consumption behaviour (GCB) variables. Perceived environmental knowledge (PEK) does not influence GPB directly or indirectly. Altruism still ranks at the fifth position among the six antecedents, indicating reciprocal determinism and not an altruistic purchase approach in the Telangana region. Social implications The results of this study may be used by government agencies and policymakers to launch awareness campaigns aimed at educating the public and encouraging green buying practices among broader societal segments. These kinds of programmes could lessen the harm that inconsiderate consumption habits do to the environment and to society, increase the green behaviour practices like planting trees, and recycling, and also increase the consumer’s PEK. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is the first to apply reciprocal deterministic theory along with theory of planned behaviour to predict Indian GCB and address the attitude-behaviour gap. Moreover, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate together the direct and indirect influence of altruism, interpersonal influence and perceived environmental knowledge on green purchase behaviour. Given the growing trend of consumers adopting an eco-friendly mind-set, a novel approach to empirically discuss the behavioural and personal factors will give research the much-needed boost it needs.

Bridging the Gap: Determinants of Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Environmentally Friendly Packages of Leafy Greens

Government and corporate policies have mandated a reduction in plastic packaging to combat issues of waste and climate change. This move towards sustainable packaging alternatives in the fresh food sector will increase costs for consumers. Much of the present research finds consumers are willing to pay more for sustainability, but their willingness to pay (WTP) does not align with real-world purchases, representing an attitude–behaviour gap. To combat this gap, it is posited that consumers’ current purchasing- and sustainability-related behaviours will meaningfully correlate with their WTP and bridge the attitude–behaviour gap. This research used an online survey (n = 476) to gauge consumers’ attitudes and behaviours regarding sustainability as it relates to packaging, biofortification, and WTP in the fresh leafy greens sector. Using binary logistic regression, this research finds that price- and sustainability-related purchasing habits and attitudes towards sustainable packaging meaningfully narrow the attitude–behaviour gap, but organic purchasing habits, waste segregation habits, and sustainability literacy do not. This research contributes the knowledge that, for environmentally friendly leafy greens, past price- and sustainability-related purchasing behaviour should be used instead of merely attitudes as an indication of WTP.

Exploring the role of psychological ownership in tourists’ shift toward sustainable behavior in cultural tourism

This paper examines tourists’ experiences related to guest-host interactions and their role in the development of tourists’ psychological ownership to mitigate the attitude-behavior gaps in sustainable cultural tourism. Although previous studies have acknowledged the antecedents of psychological ownership and their potential to mitigate such gaps, the process of developing these antecedents and mechanisms through which they foster psychological ownership remain unclear. In the context of cultural tourism, guest-host interactions with locals is the key expectation and experience among tourists. Studying whether and how guest-host interactions contribute to psychological ownership development is meaningful for cultural tourism providers to design products or services for better tourist experiences and sustainable tourism behaviors. Based on a field study, including in-depth interviews and observations, our findings revealed that activities, such as trip consultation, knowledge sharing, and special event engagement can foster increased knowledge, perceived control, self-investment, and self-congruity among tourists. We argue that during the process of behavioral change toward tourism sustainability, tourism experiences generated by guest-host interactions facilitate psychological ownership development, thereby removing barriers to sustainable behaviors by mitigating tourists’ attitude-behavior gap.

Residents’ attitudes toward land lease for rural tourism

Residents’ attitudes toward land lease are a crucial factor in the success of tourism development, especially in developing countries like China, where land lease has emerged as a significant means for developers to obtain rural land for tourism purposes. Nevertheless, the absence of longitudinal field research, which could offer more profound insights into residents’ attitudes compared to cross-sectional studies, contributes to the persistent “attitude-behavior gap” in sustainable tourism. Using a field research method and taking Longtan Village in China as a typical case, this study focuses on changes in residents’ attitudes toward land lease and the mechanism underlying these changes. The findings show that Longtan residents’ attitudes toward land lease for tourism development changed from “anxiety and collective objection” to “ambivalence and individual differences” and finally to “expectation and collective support”. Residents’ attitudes were determined by the transaction risk arising from the conflict between formal and informal institutions in the context of social transformation. The findings provide implications for tourism managers to achieve the sustainable development of tourist destinations in developing countries.

From cart to door: Unravelling consumer behaviour through attitudinal sustainability profiles

In the evolving landscape of the retail industry, e-commerce has reshaped consumer behaviour, including the last mile delivery. Despite consumers typically having the final say when it comes to delivery requirements, research on last mile deliveries frequently overlooks consumer behaviour. Addressing this gap, this study explores consumer attitudes towards sustainability in last mile deliveries and assesses their impact on behavior and travel patterns. Utilizing an online survey of 2105 e-consumers, four distinct attitudinal profiles are identified —positive, neutral (due to knowledge or interest gaps), and negative attitude, shedding light on parcel weight preferences and travel patterns. The study uncovers a green attitude-behavior gap, emphasizing the need for interventions that bridge intention and action. By unraveling these complexities, this research contributes essential insights for retailers and researchers, guiding the development of targeted strategies to promote sustainable practices in the evolving landscape of e-commerce.