Environmental Friendly Behavior Research Articles

Communicative action and supportive behaviors for environmental CSR practices: an attitude-based segmentation approach

PurposeWhile the segmentation approach has been frequently employed to explore individuals' environment-friendly behaviors, the investigation of environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication by using such a method is limited. Given that the importance of the role of public segmentation is well documented in both public relations and environmental management literatures, the present study attempts to fill the gap by exploring whether consumers can be segmented on the basis of attitudinal factors, and, if so, how this segmentation informs communication efforts aimed at promoting companies' environmental CSR programs.Design/methodology/approachThis segmentation approach is examined based on a survey of 470 participants. Results of a k-means cluster analysis identified three subgroups: active publics, aware publics and latent publics.FindingsSurvey results provide empirical support evidence on how different public segmentation approaches can be used to predict individual communication behaviors on environmental CSR issues. Segmentation approach that considered individuals' attitudes on environmental issues and their perceptions on company environmental CSR practices helps identify three subgroups. Significant differences regarding communicative action and supporting behaviors among the three groups are identified and discussed.Originality/valueThis study provides key insights about public segmentation and different publics' communicative action, and supportive behaviors provide direction for future research investigations that will strengthen theoretical arguments and best practices in public relations.

Is social nudging too emotionally taxing? A field experiment of public utilities and electricity consumers in Denmark

Appeals to act pro-socially are becoming an increasingly popular way for utilities and authorities to encourage environmental-friendly behavior because of lower financial costs than if price incentives were used. However, recent research suggests that these measures might be emotionally taxing for utility consumers. In this article, we present the results from a randomized field experiment conducted on a sample of 1967 customers serviced by a Danish electricity company. Our results support the suggestion that socially motivated appeals are significantly more emotionally taxing than monetary incentives. We find that this difference disappears when the pro-social appeal is supplemented with a monetary incentive. Finally, we suggest a strategy for reducing emotional ‘costs’ of pro-social appeals without increasing financial costs or reducing the effectiveness of the appeal.

The Antecedents of Slow Fashion Product Purchase Decision Among Youth in Bandung, Jakarta, and Surabaya

The global trend of apparel industry is having positive correlation with Indonesia fashion retail trend. Recently, there has been growing in awareness among Indonesia consumer about environment make slow fashion product become more popular. However, there are lack of empirical evidence about Indonesian consumers’ slow fashion purchase decision and environment-friendly attitudes. This research aim to investigate the influencing factor of slow fashion product purchase decision among Indonesian youth. Based on the result, researcher can determine influencing factor of slow fashion product purchase decision. This research used quantitative approach through questionnaire with total 250 respondents ranging age 18-24 in 3 major cities in Indonesia which is Bandung, Jakarta, and Surabaya. In investigating the influencing factors, researcher gain four hypothesis from literature review. The factor tested in this research are personal environmental norms, past environmental friendly behaviour, green marketing, and peer influence in green context. The result of the study shows only peer influence in green context has significant correlation to slow fashion product purchase decision. This study is important to understand customer behaviour in slow fashion product and help marketer to find right marketing strategy.
 Keywords: Purchase Decision; Slow Fashion; Indonesian Youth; Green Behavior; Environmental Friendly Attitudes

Removal of Formaldehyde from Aqueous Solution by Polymeric Resin

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is the most common aldehyde in the environment. It is widely present in aquatic and air environment as one of environmental pollutants. It is commonly used for manufacturing building materials and various household products. Now, it has become a matter of concern because it is mutant and carcinogenic, and an irritant to eyes and skin, therefore its removal from water is very important. Adsorption has an edge over the other techniques due to its simplicity, cost effectiveness, less time consuming and environmental friendly behavior. In present study, adsorption efficiency of Amberlite IRA-910 has been examined. Relevant parameters such as pH, adsorbent dose, adsorbate concentration, shaking speed, volume and shaking time have been studied thoroughly. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy was used to determine the formaldehyde content in the water. The isothermal study was carried out using the Langmuir, Freundlich and D-R isotherm. Results showed that Amberlite IRA-910 has better adsorption efficiency for the removal of formaldehyde at lower as well as higher concentrations. The thermodynamic and kinetic parameters have also been calculated.

Effects of Fly Ash and Granulated Ground Blast Furnace Slag on Stabilization of Crude Oil Contamination Sandy Soil

This paper deals with on stabilization of crude oil-contaminated soil. Industrial waste materials such as GGBFS and fly ash (FA) are used to achieve acceptable results for compaction and strength properties. GGBFS and FA utilized in two groups of soil (clean soil and 6% contaminated with crude oil) with varying proportions of GGBFS and FA by weight of soil. The primary goals of this study explain to establish a conclusion that GGBFS and FA are the best byproduct stabilizer material for increasing the strength and stability of soil by investigating samples of soil. In this study, the effect of GGBFS and FA on compaction properties (OMC and MDD) and direct shear strength (cohesion and angle of friction) observed. Different percentages of GGBFS (0%, 10%, and 15%) and FA (0%, 10%, and 15%) by dry weight were utilized in mixtures of sandy soil samples for different experiments. Ultimately, bases on the experimental results, it is summarized that the use of industrial wastes, i.e. GGBFS and Flyash, are affected in shear strength and compaction properties. Although, they have environment-friendly behavior for the construction project purpose.

Materialistic values and green apparel purchase intention among young Vietnamese consumers

Purpose Nowadays, the issues related to pro-environmental, sustainable and green consumption behaviors are attracting significant attention from both scholars and practitioners. However, in the context of emerging countries, less research effort has been invested in this topic, especially in investigating young consumer purchase behavior. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors driving young adult Vietnamese consumers’ purchase intention toward green apparel products with emphasis on the role of materialistic values. Design/methodology/approach In this research, a conceptual framework is proposed integrating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model with an important consumer value, materialism. To test the research model and hypotheses, a survey of a sample of 245 young adults (under 25 years old) was conducted in Hanoi, the capital city and one of the two most populous cities in Vietnam. All the scales used in this study were established in the literature, and the scales’ reliability and validity were assessed through Cronbach’s alpha and confirmatory factor analysis. The structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed model and hypotheses. Findings In this study, six hypotheses were tested and five out of six received support from the data. Specifically, the results of SEM showed that all three antecedents from the TPB model (i.e. attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control) were positive contributors to green apparel purchase intention, of which subjective norms were found to be the most influential predictor of purchase intention. With regard to the roles of the three components of materialism, the findings provided empirical evidence for supporting the positive impact of “success” and the negative impact of “centrality” on the attitude toward green apparel purchase, while “happiness” component was not found to have a significant impact on attitude. In this study, income as a control variable was found to be positively related to purchase intention toward green apparel products. Originality/value There is a little research on the relationship between specific values and environment-friendly behaviors, especially in the context of emerging economies such as Vietnam. In addition, it has been suggested that the relationship between materialistic values and green purchase behavior is still unclear. Thus, it is important to have a deeper understanding of the role of materialistic values in green apparel purchase among young adult consumers in the context of Vietnam, an Asian emerging country where only modest research effort has been given to explore this important topic.

DIMENSIONS OF GREEN OFFICE EVIDENCE FROM REGENCY/CITY GOVERNMENT OFFICES IN CENTRAL JAVA, INDONESIA

Green office that is implemented within the environmental management system is one of the current concerns of environmentally friendly advocates. It is to do with the phenomenon of high environmental degradation and the low awareness of people about environmental-friendly behavior. Previous studies have indicated that the application of green office, particularly in government agencies, had not been optimally practiced due to low commitment and scant discussions. This study was thus conducted with the aim of exploring and identifying the various applications and dimensions of the green office concept among government institutions in Central Java, Indonesia. To fulfil the research objectives, a triangulation research method was employed, comprising focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and close observations of the offices located in five (5) municipal government agencies. Results indicated that seven green office dimensions were applied by the government institutions, namely: energy conservation, water conservation, building layouts, office technology, human resource management, work systems, and office waste management.

Estimating the benefits of restoration And preservation scenarios of marine biodiversity: An application of the contingent valuation method

Marine biodiversity provides valuable benefits for human beings. Some of these benefits, such as the provision of food, are easily recognized, while some, such as climate regulation, are less well-known. People lack direct experience of the economic value of marine biodiversity, since no relevant market exists. This study reports the results of a contingent valuation study to estimate people’s willingness to pay (WTP) for biodiversity restoration and conservation scenarios in some unique coralligenous habitats in the North Adriatic Sea, Italy.Coralligenous habitat constitutes one of the most important ‘hot spots’ of species diversity in the Mediterranean, notoriously affected by a loss of biodiversity as a consequence of human activities, such as over-fishing and pollution, sediment deposition, recreational fishing, trawling, and diving. A major threat is the increasing frequency of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear at sea.A sample of 4000 Italian people was surveyed, and the results show that people’s WTP for interventions aimed at improving biodiversity through the removal and restoration operations in the area is distinctly higher than is the WTP for the preservation and prevention of further biodiversity loss. The findings suggest that respondents perceive prevention and control activities as being embedded in restoration, the benefits of which can be seen within a certain time frame. Positive and significant determinants of respondents’ WTP are family income, knowledge of biodiversity in coralligenous habitat, previous cognizance and awareness of marine biodiversity issues, environmental friendly behavior, and concern for environmental quality.

Factors Affecting the Green Purchasing Behaviour of the Customers of Two-wheelers and Three-wheelers in Kerala

Green purchasing behaviour or Environment-friendly buying behaviour is the consumption or use of products that are benevolent or beneficial to the environment, sensitive or responsive to ecological concerns. The environmental consciousness, willingness to pay higher price, perceived environmental performance of a product, and company's perceived environmental performance were identified as the factors that will decide the green purchase decision from the available literature and validity through pilot study. This was subjected to two and three wheeler customers in Kerala and the study showed that there are relevant factors which influence the green purchasing behavior.

Modeling the role of knowledge, attitude and environmental values of tourists in showing environment-friendly behaviors (case study: tourists of Qum)

سابقه و هدف: بسیاری معتقدند بروز مشکلات محیط زیستی به عامل ­های مختلفی از جمله میزان آگاهی، شرایط، بسترها و هنجارهای جامعه بستگی دارد. به همین دلیل باید دانست افراد درباره محیط زیست چگونه فکر می­ کنند، چه شناختی از آن دارند و تا چه اندازه، نسبت به طبیعت و محیط زیست دغدغه دارند. هدف این مقاله آگاهی از تاثیر دانش، نگرش و ارزش­های محیط زیستی گردشگران شهر قم در بروز رفتار محیط زیستی آن­ها است. مواد و روش­ها: پژوهش از نظر هدف کاربردی و به لحاظ روش توصیفی – تحلیلی است. جامعه آماری پژوهش را گردشگران شهر قم تشکیل داده ­اند. نمونه آماری با استفاده از فرمول کوکران، 386 نفر برآورد و 200 پرسشنامه بین گردشگران داخلی و 186 پرسشنامه بین گردشگران خارجی به طور تصادفی توزیع گردید. پژوهش طی فاصله زمانی زمستان 1395 و بهار و تابستان 1396 صورت پذیرفته است. ابزار تحقیق، پرسشنامه ­ای است که بوسیله­ ی محقق ایجاد شده است که روایی آن به روش صوری و پایایی آن با ضریب آلفای کرونباخ به میزان 0.762 مورد تأیید قرار گرفت. برای انجام تحلیل های توصیفی و آزمون های آماری t تک نمونه ­ای و ضریب همبستگی اسپیرمن از نرم افزار SPSS و برای مدلسازی معادلات ساختاری از نرم افزار AMOS استفاده گردید. نتایج و بحث: جهان در حالتی قرار دارد که متخصصان محیط زیست آن را در حالت فشار بیش از حد و سقوط می­ دانند. تغییر ویژگی­ ها و مشخصه ­های مشکل­ های محیط زیست از سطح ملی به سطح جهانی، از متمرکز به پراکنده، از کوتاه مدت به بلند مدت و از پیچیدگی کم به پیچیدگی زیاد ایجاب می­ کند که به عامل ­های اثر گذار در بروز رفتارهای محیط زیستی توجه بیشتری گردد. تجربه نشان داده است که در مکان­ هایی که گردشگری بدون چارچوب، برنامه ­ریزی و استراتژی مشخص توسعه یافته، مشکل­ های محیط زیستی و اجتماعی متعددی ظاهر شده است و در دراز مدت مشکل­ های گردشگری بیشتر از فایده­ های آن بوده است. بروز چنین رویدادهایی سبب شکل گیری جنبش ­های محیط زیستی گردیده است. به وجود آمدن اندیشه حمایت از محیط زیست ضرورت توجه به ارزش­ها و رفتارهای محیط زیست را بیش از پیش نشان می­ دهد. بدیهی است که در فرایند شکل دهی به رفتار، عامل ­ها و متغیرهای بسیاری نقش دارند. به همین دلیل حرکت به سمت درک بیشتر پیچیدگی­ های ارزش­ ها، نگرش­ ها، زمینه ­ها و عوامل شخصیتی که رفتار خاصی را تحت تاثیر قرار می ­دهند ضروری است. در تحقیق حاضر نتایج حاصل از آزمون همبستگی اسپیرمن با سطح معناداری 0.776 نشان داد که بین مدت زمان اقامت گردشگران و رفتار محیط زیستی آن­ها ارتباطی وجود نداشته است. نتایج آزمون t تک نمونه­ای بیان می­کند که گردشگران مذهبی از حضور در قم رضایت داشته و نسبت به آن وفاداری دارند. وجود بارهای عاملی به میزان 0.37، 0.41 و 0.41 برای متغیرهای پنهان دانش، نگرش و ارزش محیط زیستی گردشگران نشان داد که متغیرهای اشاره شده در سطح اطمینان 95 درصد بر بروز رفتارهای محیط زیستی گردشگران تاثیرگذار بوده ­اند. از بین عامل­ های مورد بررسی عامل نگرش محیط زیستی گردشگران نقش بیشتری در تبیین رفتارهای محیط زیستی آنان داشته است. نتیجه ­گیری: باید بیان داشت در بین عامل ­های اثر گذار بر بروز رفتارهای محیط زیستی نگرش محیط زیستی گردشگران اثر بالاتری بر رفتارهای آنان داشته است. اثر ارزش­ های محیط زیستی بر رفتار محیط زیستی گردشگران دومین عامل اثر گذار بوده است و ارزش‌های محیط زیستی گردشگران در این بین کمترین اثر گذاری را به خود اختصاص داده است. علاوه بر آن مدت زمان اقامت گردشگران ارتباطی با رفتارهای محیط زیستی آنان نداشته است.

Openness Is Related to Proenvironmental Behavior Both Within and Across Families

Environment-friendly behaviors may be desirable in helping to solve worldwide ecological issues. This has sparked interest in the associations of such behaviors with established psychological constructs such as the Five-Factor Model personality traits. Of these, Openness has been most consistently linked with proenvironmental behavior; yet, the extent of causality in this association is unclear. Using a sample of 168 individuals, including 84 sibling pairs, the present study replicated the association while controlling for factors in which families differ (environmental factors that siblings share and a proportion of genetic variance). Proenvironmental behavior was correlated with Openness ( r = .51) and the association could be observed both between ( r = .57) and within families ( r = .29), with adjustments for various demographic variables. These findings indicate that more open individuals tend to engage in proenvironmental behaviors, even when controlling for possibly confounding factors shared and not shared between siblings.

Using the Theory of Plan Behavior and Norm Activation Model to Understand Individual Energy Conservation Behavior in Karachi, Pakistan

The environmental problems are considered as a serious threat to the future of humanity. The adoption ofsustainable behaviors is considered a necessary step to deal with the environmental challenges. Energy conservationbehavior is an environment friendly behavior that has been promoted in many societies. Researchers have been studyingthe determinants of energy conservation behavior for many years, in western countries. However, energy conservationbehavior of individuals in the house has not received attention of researchers in Pakistan. In this study, theory of plannedbehavior and norm activation model are used to study energy conservation behavior of 1250 college and universitystudents in Karachi. Our results show that attitudes, subjective norms, awareness of consequences, ascription ofresponsibility and personal norm, all have a positive relation with energy conservation behavior. Socio-demographicvariables had no statistically significant relation with energy conservation. It is believed that electronic and social mediaand religious scholars can play a key role in raising awareness of environmental issues and encouraging the adoption ofenvironment friendly behaviors in Pakistan.

Using the Theory of Plan Behavior and Norm Activation Model to Understand Individual Energy Conservation Behavior in Karachi, Pakistan

The environmental problems are considered as a serious threat to the future of humanity. The adoption ofsustainable behaviors is considered a necessary step to deal with the environmental challenges. Energy conservationbehavior is an environment friendly behavior that has been promoted in many societies. Researchers have been studyingthe determinants of energy conservation behavior for many years, in western countries. However, energy conservationbehavior of individuals in the house has not received attention of researchers in Pakistan. In this study, theory of plannedbehavior and norm activation model are used to study energy conservation behavior of 1250 college and universitystudents in Karachi. Our results show that attitudes, subjective norms, awareness of consequences, ascription ofresponsibility and personal norm, all have a positive relation with energy conservation behavior. Socio-demographicvariables had no statistically significant relation with energy conservation. It is believed that electronic and social mediaand religious scholars can play a key role in raising awareness of environmental issues and encouraging the adoption ofenvironment friendly behaviors in Pakistan.

The Impact of Eco-Friendly Behaviors on Life Satisfaction

In order to protect today’s deteriorating environment, various environmentally-friendly behaviors are necessary. The question is how desirable they are. It is the intention of this study to investigate this relationship by looking at the influences of eco-friendly behaviors on life satisfaction. The identified eco-friendly behaviors in this study are energy savings, avoiding buying unnecessary things, reusing, recycling, buying longer-life products even if they are more expensive, buying eco-friendly products even if they are more expensive, buying products from social and environmentally-responsible companies, and living a simple life. A total of 560 responses were collected from adult shoppers in Bangkok, Thailand. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that energy savings and buying longer-life products even if they are more expensive were positively related to life satisfaction. However, avoiding buying unnecessary things was found to be negatively related to life satisfaction. Further discussion and analysis will be included in the article.

Environmental income in economic growth of a large open economy for the era of eco-urbanization

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show that the environmental income drives economic growth of a large open country. Design/methodology/approach The authors detect that the relative environmental income has double effect of “conspicuous consumption” on the international renewable resource stock changes when a new social norm shapes to environmental-friendly behaviors by using normal macroeconomic approaches. Findings Every unit of extra demand for renewable resource consumption increases the net premium of domestic capital asset. Even if the technology spillovers are inefficient to the substitution of capital to labor force in a real business cycle, the relative income with scale effect increases drives savings to investment. In this case, the renewable resource consumption promotes both the reproduction to a higher level and saving the potential cost of environmental improvement. Even if without scale effects, the loss of technology inefficient can be compensated by net positive consumption externality for economic growth in a sustainable manner. Research limitations/implications It implies how to earn the environment income determines the future pathway of China’s rural conversion to the era of eco-urbanization. Originality/value We test the tax incidence to demonstrate an experimental taxation for environmental improvement ultimately burdens on international consumption side.

신생태적 패러다임과 계획된 행동이론을 적용한 친환경적 트레킹 행동 연구 : New Ecological Paradigm and Theory of Planned Behavior Approach

신생태적 패러다임과 계획된 행동이론을 적용한 친환경적 트레킹 행동 연구 : New Ecological Paradigm and Theory of Planned Behavior Approach

Evaluation of toxicity and environmental safety in use of spinosad to rationalize control strategies against Aedes aegypti

Spinosad is a naturally-occurring insecticide used for the management of Ae. aegypti larvae. The assessment of ecotoxicological parameters of spinosad is required for verifying the environmentally-friendly behavior of the compound and for evaluating toxicity values on non-target species. Thus, the aim of the study was to conduct toxicity tests using Daphnia magna as model organism after exposure to different concentrations of spinosad. Immobility effects were observed in both acute and chronic toxicity tests at the concentration of 2.5 μg/L, and D. magna exhibited an EC50-48 h of 4.1 μg/L and EC50-7d of 9.3 μg/L. Also, the reproductive test showed a significant increase in the time of first reproduction and decrease in the number of neonates per female. However, due to the rapid decay of spinosad, other reproductive parameters were not markedly affected. Thereby, considering the satisfactory control performance against Aedes aegypti, a 100-fold lower concentration of spinosad can be used against the larvae, and owing to the residual efficacy observed, the application of the pesticide in the field may be rationalized while offering environmental safety.

Collective responsibility framing also leads to mitigation behavior in East Asia: a replication study in Taiwan

Mitigating climate change will require the participation of citizens and consumers. A recent study in Climatic Change by Obradovich and Guenther reported that framing responsibility for climate change in terms of collective—as opposed to personal—behaviors generated greater donations to environmental groups as well as higher self-reported levels of willingness to adopt environmentally-friendly behaviors. As East Asia is the leading emitter of greenhouse gases globally, these findings are or clear relevance to the region. Nonetheless, recent findings in cultural psychology suggest that this framing intervention may not have the same results in an East Asian cultural context. We therefore sought to determine whether these findings could be replicated in East Asia. For this study, 2085 university students in Taiwan were randomly assigned to receive either a collective responsibility priming task, a personal responsibility priming task, or a daily routine priming task (control). They were then given the opportunity to donate to a climate-related cause and asked to report on their likelihood of changing their personal behaviors to reduce carbon emissions. Participants in the collective and personal conditions donated significantly more than those in the control condition and those in the personal responsibility condition reported significantly lower probabilities of changing their behaviors than those in both the control and collective responsibility conditions. Our study provides a partial replication with a different demographic group and in a different cultural setting, strengthening the argument for collective responsibility framing and setting the stage for research into practical implementations.

Co-creation of Social Innovation: Corporate Universities as Innovative Strategies for Chinese Firms to Engage with Society

Corporate social innovation is a novel, strategic means for enterprise to establish competitive advantage through collaboration with powerful stakeholders, like governments, where firms are simultaneously able to meet social needs and benefit themselves. There is, however limited empirical research investigating how such collaboration enables the co-creation of innovation between firms and society, particularly in emerging markets. In response, this paper takes corporate universities (CUs), a typical manifestation of corporate social innovation, as an example, and explores whether CUs encourage employees to engage in innovation and pro-environmental behaviors, thereby contributing to their firms and local communities in China. Using quantitative methods, we found that employees’ participation in CU training/education courses significantly affects employees’ innovation and environmentally-friendly behaviors in both work and life, and that it enhances their normative commitment (NC) to organizations. Moreover, this commitment mediates employees’ participation in the university program, in terms of both their innovation and pro-environmental behaviors. The main contribution of this paper is to enrich the innovation literature by suggesting a fresh, co-creation mechanism of social innovation between enterprise and government, while offering valuable first-hand evidence in a non-Western context. Our results allow policy makers and stakeholders to gain an in depth understanding of relevant issues.

Simple Approach on Intermixing Solar and Wind Energy and Minimizing Their Intermittent Effect

Renewable energy resources especially wind and solar energy are emerging as the modern power sources to electrify remote areas. The main reason behind their emergence is due to their environment-friendly behavior, unlimited availability and short period for replenishment over nonrenewable energy resources. Renewable energy resources are much better than nonrenewable energy resources, but the intermittency in renewable energy resources degrades the system performance. In order to overcome the intermittency, multiple hybrid system techniques were proposed in literature that can achieve suitable results but have disadvantages of complicated control structures and high implementation cost. Considering aforementioned shortcomings, a simple balancing approach is proposed to intermix solar and wind energy together so as to utilize the available energy from both sources at a given time. It is very common that solar farms are the dominating source of energy in daytime and summer, while wind farms are the dominating source of energy at night and in winter. The proposed approach delivers maximum possible power to the load by combining dominating and non-dominating resources all the time, hence mitigating the intermittency of individual resources. Compared with other approaches, the proposed approach offers key benefits with redundancy, simple design and low cost, which can be analyzed from simulation results.