Pro-environmental Beliefs Research Articles

Bridging consumer behavior and green marketing in Czech retail chains: Applying insights from Davari & Strutton research

Presented article takes a study done by researchers Davari & Strutton in the US in 2014 and replicated the same approach and methodology in evaluating how green marketing mix elements (product, price, promotion, place) influence brand associations, grand loyalty, perceived brand quality, and brand trust, in the context of retail chain stores in Czechia. The reason for this is the fact that the issue of reconciling pro-environmental beliefs of consumers with their real behavior is still topical. Businesses need to be careful with their green claims and focus on authentic green marketing in order to attract and retain the trust of environmentally conscious consumers in the long term. The research employs quantitative data analysis, drawing data from the survey, which was run online for five weeks and collected 4700 responses. The respondents are people who live in Czechia and have shopped in one of five stores at least during the last month. The reason for focusing on the Czechia is primarily the fact that green marketing is basically only on the rise here, while greenwashing still remains a significant problem. Six hypothesis were formulated, and linear regression analysis was used to test them. Key findings of the research revealed that green products and promotions positively influence brand associations and perceived brand quality, while green promotions significantly enhance brand loyalty and trust. Additionally, there was observed influence of consumers´ environmental concerns and consideration of future consequences significantly moderating the relationship between green marketing and brand equity. The findings provide insight for businesses to integrate green marketing strategies to increase brand trust, loyalty, and perceived quality while environmentally conscious consumers.

Cross-Cultural Applications of the New Ecological Paradigm in Protected Area Contexts

Working mostly in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic countries, environmental psychologists have developed scales assessing relationships between pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors. Working in Tanzanian and Indonesian protected area landscapes, containing important biodiversity and conflict over human-nature interactions, we investigate the utility of the New Ecological Paradigm for measuring pro-environmental beliefs and understanding support for protected area regulations. We found the New Ecological Paradigm ineffective at measuring pro-environmental beliefs in both countries; in Tanzania due to acquiescence bias, and in Indonesia exploratory factor analysis supported none of the original factors, with 4 of 15 statements loading onto a novel “eco-fragility” factor. Individual statements in both countries and the eco-fragility factor in Indonesia were weakly correlated with support for protected area regulations, highlighting while elements of the New Ecological Paradigm can improve understanding of support for protected area regulations, care must be taken when applying psychometric tools in novel cultural contexts.

Adaptation of Belk’s materialism scale to the Polish population and assessment of relationships between materialism, values, religiosity, and pro-environmental beliefs

ABSTRACT According to Russell Belk’s conceptualisation, materialism is a personality trait reflected in possessiveness, envy, and non-generosity. The aim of the study was to adapt Belk’s Materialism Scale (BMS) to the Polish population, specifically, to evaluate its psychometric properties (factor structure and reliability) and convergent and divergent validity. Also, we aimed to examine relationships between materialism and values (according to Schwartz’s theory), religiosity, and pro-environmental beliefs (within the New Ecological Paradigm). We conducted two studies: the adaptation study I (N = 770) and the hypotheses-testing study II (N = 568). In Study I, we performed confirmation and exploration factor analyses (CFA and EFA) and established a convergent validity (with the Richins & Dawson’s Materialism Value Scale) and a discriminant validity (with the Jaworska-Gruszczyńska’s Time Organization Scale). After modifying the initial model of the materialism scale, based on error covariance and changes in the number of items, we developed the Polish version of the BMS, which proved its applicability in the Polish population. The Study II results showed that materialism positively related to self-enhancement value, while it negatively related to openness to change and self-transcendence values, and religiosity.

Envisaging Participatory Management in Protected Areas: Local Response to Proposed Conservation Actions in Relation to Environmental Orientation

Involving local people in natural area management is very important to address the complexity of environmental management issues for the sustainable use of local resources. Participatory methods require the contribution of local stakeholders in decision-making. Mapping the environmental views of local communities allows for the detection of aspects that could facilitate management efforts. This research—in the frame of the Skyros LIFE project and the PAMNATURA project—measures the local acceptability of the conservation actions proposed by the LIFE project in Skyros island (Greece), in relation to recording local people’s environmental orientation using the 15-item revised New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale. The research was carried out by means of questionnaires. The LIFE project proposed actions were grouped into three categories according to their theme, i.e., promoting (a) nature protection, (b) agro-pastoralism and (c) ecotourism. The sample seems to largely agree with the LIFE project proposals, while the results showed high scores for most of the NEP scale items, implying pro-environmental beliefs, though there appears to be disagreement or neutrality regarding a few items. The local acceptability of the proposed actions was found to correlate to local people’s environmental concern measured through the NEP scale. Drawing on the results, the implementation of actions related directly or indirectly to economic activities and the preservation of traditional activities, as well as environmental education and interactive informing and consultation, could enhance local participation. Skyros island seems to offer an appropriate social background for applying participatory and adaptive management and implementing conservation programs.

Predicting attitude and intention to reduce food waste using the environmental values-beliefs-norms model and the theory of planned behavior

This study examined the role of biospheric and altruistic values in shaping pro-environmental beliefs, which can subsequently influence personal norms and lead to more positive attitudes and intentions regarding food waste reduction. Accordingly, the value, belief, and norm (VBN) theory and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) were integrated to develop the research model. Data were collected from 1,042 Chinese individuals. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis, complemented by multi-group analysis (MGA), to examine gender and education-related differences. Both biospheric and altruistic values have been found to contribute to the strengthening of pro-environmental beliefs. Personal norms are activated directly and indirectly through a causal chain of pro-environmental beliefs regarding food waste reduction. The positive effect of social norms on personal norms, attitudes toward food waste reduction, and food waste reduction intention indicates that individuals in social groups with food waste reduction practices internalize these norms and transform their attitude toward food waste reduction, reinforcing their intention to reduce food waste. Furthermore, the MGA results revealed that significant differences between gender subgroups emerged only for the relationship between biospheric and altruistic values of pro-environmental beliefs and social and personal norms. This study enriches the VBN and TPB frameworks by underlining their applicability and relevance in food waste reduction. Practically, this study guides tailored interventions, policy formulations, and educational campaigns that harness intrinsic motivations and leverage social norms to foster sustainable behavior toward food waste.

Fostering environmental personal norms: the role of environmental education in Nigerian pre-service teachers’ environmental knowledge, pro-environmental beliefs and behaviours

This research investigated the role of environmental education (EE) in acquiring environmental knowledge, pro-environmental beliefs and pro-environmental behaviours among a sample of pre-service teachers who undertook an EE course (n = 177) and those who did not undertake an EE course (n = 203) in a Nigerian university. Results showed that pre-service teachers who received the EE course had higher environmental knowledge and pro-environmental behaviour than their counterparts who did not take the EE course. Moreover, pre-service teachers who did not take the EE course had higher pro-environmental beliefs than their counterparts who received the EE course. However, the recorded mean differences were minor and not statistically significant. Also, the relationships between environmental knowledge, pro-environmental beliefs and pro-environmental behaviours were not significant. The implications of these findings call for EE policies and practices anchored on promoting personal environmental norms and citizenship and updated capacity building for EE educators.

Values and information publicity shape tourists' intentions to visit green hotels: an application of the extended value-belief norms theory

PurposeThe unsustainable practices of hotels have greatly contributed to ecological imbalances, encompassing excessive energy and water consumption, improper waste disposal and inadequate resource management. Information publicity (IP) plays an effective role in influencing tourists' intentions to visit green hotels. Therefore, the current study has incorporated IP into the value-belief norm (VBN) framework to examine tourists' intentions to visit green hotels.Design/methodology/approachThis study is a correlational research design, and the purposive sampling technique was employed for the data collection. The study used 355 valid data and analyzed them via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe study results show that egoistic values have the greatest impact on pro-environmental beliefs (ENBs). In addition, the results indicate the impact of ENB and IP on personal norms (PNs), leading toward the intention to visit green hotels.Practical implicationsThis study helps hotel managers devise and execute effective marketing strategies for green hotels. Hospitality marketers should pay more attention to values, orientations and IP, emphasizing the significance of these factors in increasing the visits of customers to green hotels.Originality/valueIP, an important factor that informs tourists about hotels that are environmentally friendly, has been neglected in the tourism research. This research examines the significance of IP in developing ENBs and influencing the PN of tourists.

Electric cars as a path to sustainable travel behaviour: Insights from Nord-Jæren

This study examines whether promoting electric cars (EVs) to achieve greener mobility undermines the efforts to reduce car use. It specifically explores the concept of moral licensing, wherein individuals use EVs as a way to feel good about their environmental impact while continuing to drive. The study uses travel data (n = 1223) from Nord-Jæren, Norway, to develop a Structural Equation Model (SEM) that explores the relationship between environmental beliefs, attitudes, and travel behaviour (i.e., use of conventional car, electric car, bus, and bicycle). The results confirm that pro-environmental beliefs have a “spillover effect” on EV use due to existing car attitudes. The relative convenience of the car over alternative options has been found to be the most important mitigating factor in the influence of environmental beliefs on behaviour. Consequently, to reduce car use and promote more sustainable travel options, it is essential to simultaneously improve these alternatives while restricting car traffic.

Which factors affect the Italian consumer’s intention to insect-eating? An application of an integrated attitude-intention-eating model

This research explored the role of key socio-psychological dimensions on individuals’ intention to eat insect-based foods (IEIBF). In particular, the theoretical framework included biospheric values and social norms, whose impact on pro-environmental choices has been largely evidenced, but also those factors related to animal welfare and neophobia/neophilia attitudes. An online survey was carried out in different Italian regions intercepting 1402 individuals to verify the relationships predicted by our proposed model, i.e. the Integrated Sustainable Neophilic Insect-based Eating Model (ISNIEM), for predicting IEIBF. Participants completed a survey containing measures of IEIBF, biospheric values, general pro-environmental beliefs, attitude toward sustainability, food neophilia, concern for insect welfare, and social norms (both injunctive and descriptive). Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique was used for testing the ISNIEM. The main findings show that individuals having higher concern about environmental and ethical sustainability are more open to eating insects, especially if the latter are treated ethically. Overall, these results suggest that a typical consumer of insect foods is likely to be driven to their consumption from one side by curiosity (related to the neophilia dimension), and from the other side either by the sense of responsibility towards the environment or by the concern for ethical issues (i.e., animal welfare). The integrated attitude-food-intention model used to explore intention to eat insect foods (IEIBF) with a visual scheme represents an innovative approach in the study of consumer behaviour.

Encouraging Individual Contributions to Net-Zero Organizations: Effects of Behavioral Policy Interventions and Social Norms

To contribute to a better understanding of the determinants of climate-friendly organizational behavior, we study the potential of behavioral policy interventions and social norms to foster individual contributions to organizational decarbonization initiatives. We investigate the effects of different types of behavioral policy interventions (default nudges vs. short-term boosts) in isolation and when they are combined with normative appeals to adopt climate-friendly behaviors in an organizational context. In a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment, we find that default nudges generally induced higher individual contributions to organizational carbon compensation programs than short-term boosts. Moreover, injunctive social norm information decreased the effectiveness of both types of behavioral interventions but affected the effectiveness of short-term boosts to a stronger extent than the effectiveness of default nudges. Contributing to the nascent literature on motivating climate change mitigating behaviors in organizational contexts, we additionally explore whether factors such as personality traits, pro-social and pro-environmental beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, and the degree of organizational identification exert an influence on the effectiveness of the interventions and provide qualitative insights into participants’ reasoning for their decisions.

Recognizing the impact of value-belief-norm theory on pro-environmental behaviors of higher education students: considering aspects for social-marketing applications

PurposeThis study aims to examine how higher education can mold pro-environmental actions among students with educational social-marketing leads; it probes into the direct influence of four value orientations toward pro-environmental beliefs, norms and behaviors.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative research sought deductive reasoning. Data gathering took place in January 2023, following a cross-sectional framework. The researcher visited various private universities in Egypt, which used effort to change the practices among students toward sustainable developments, distributing digitally administrated questionnaires to students on campus. Through convenience nonprobability sampling, 581 questionnaires were collected and statistically analyzed, using SPSS.FindingsThis study shows that altruistic and biospheric value impact students’ personal beliefs toward pro-environmental behaviors; students’ personal beliefs significantly impact the norms that are present on campus; the norms found on campus impact significantly students to behave as green passengers, recyclers and utility-savers.Practical implicationsHigher education institutions play a significant role in promoting the manifestations of rationality and objectivity among students about environmental challenges and sustainable development. Eco-friendly behaviors are rooted in values; thus, understanding the initial values among students is critical in developing coping strategies and social marketing initiatives that inspire the needed conservational behaviors.Originality/valueBy aligning the value-belief-norm theory with two disciplines (higher education on sustainability and social marketing), this study builds upon the theory, identifying the underlying value-structures that inspire students’ necessary environmental and sustainable behaviors to improve societies for future generation rightness. This study provides more nuanced insights into a better educational intervention for shaping students’ manners toward environmentalism to improve communities worldwide.

The Impact of Pro-Environment Belief and Personal Norm toward the Beauty Purchase Behavior

Objectives: The increasing use of eco-friendly beauty products in Indonesia attracts many researchers to understand buying behavior. Therefore, this study examines the effect of altruistic values, hedonic values, pro-environmental beliefs, personal norms, and independent decision-making on consumer buying behavior of eco-friendly beauty products.Methodology: This research is quantitative with an online survey of consumers purchasing green cosmetics products in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia. The determination of the number of samples is ten times the number of indicators with a purposive sampling technique. The research questionnaire was developed by several prior researchers who had been tested for validity and reliability. Structural equation modeling uses structural equation modeling-partial lease squares with SmartPLS software version 4 to test the research hypothesis.Finding: The results of the study show that altruistic values and hedonic values have a positive effect on pro-environmental beliefs. Furthermore, pro-environmental beliefs have a positive effect on personal norms. Finally, personal norms and independent judgment-making positively affect consumers' purchase behavior of green beauty products in Greater Jakarta.Conclusion: Green beauty purchase behavior in Greater Jakarta is influenced by personal norms and independent judgment-making which are also influenced by altruistic values, hedonic values, and pro-environmental beliefs. In the context of green beauty products, awareness that arises from within oneself can form a better level of consistency in buying green beauty product behavior. The findings from this study serve as a basis for managers and the Indonesian government to implement better eco-friendly strategies to motivate consumers to buy green products, especially cosmetics.

Examining Generation Z Consumer Online Fashion Resale Participation and Continuance Intention through the Lens of Consumer Perceived Value

The fashion industry has recently embraced a circular economy due to the increased consumer awareness of environmental issues, especially among younger generations. However, it is unclear if younger consumers, especially Generation Z, are willing to consistently engage in sustainable consumption patterns, such as buying and selling pre-owned fashion products through online resale platforms. This research specifically focuses on Generation Z consumers’ online fashion resale participation continuance. A research model was proposed with perceived benefits, pro-environmental beliefs as antecedents to attitude and continuance intention, and consumer perceived value as a moderating factor shaping the specified direct and mediating relationship. An online survey was administered to a convenience sample of 257 Generation Z consumers, and exploratory factor analysis identified five dimensions of perceived benefits of online fashion resale participation, epistemic benefits, product choice benefits, quality benefits, value for money, and budget benefits. Two groups of consumers were identified based on value perceptions of clothing consumption: maximum value pursuers and self-oriented shoppers. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesis. Results showed that pro-environmental beliefs affect Generation Z consumers’ attitudes and continuance intention to online fashion resale participation with strong effects for the group of self-oriented shoppers. Among the five dimensions of perceived benefits, only epistemic benefits affect continuance intention for self-oriented consumers. Theoretical and practical implications are provided in this paper.

Attitudes toward Ethical Consumption in Clothing: Comparing Peruvian and Portuguese Consumers

The aim of this study is to examine the personal factors that influence attitudes toward ethical consumption and its effects on life satisfaction, attitudes toward ecological clothing, and buying intentions, using a comparison of two different contexts: Portugal and Peru. A total of 520 valid questionnaires were collected. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypotheses. The findings indicate that idealism and pro-environmental beliefs have a positive effect on attitudes toward ethical consumption. Additionally, attitudes toward ethical consumption are positively associated with life satisfaction and attitudes toward ecological clothing, which can predict buying intentions. This research provides further insight into the attitude-intention gap, by highlighting the dual role of attitudes - combining ethical attitudes with attitudes toward ecological clothing - in two understudied contexts It is noteworthy that this study offers a novel approach to understanding consumer motivation toward ethical consumption and its impact on life satisfaction.

People's wellbeing, civic capital and sustainable practices: Evidence from the European Values Study survey.

The climate change issue is showing an unprecedented level of awareness in the political realm. Changing occasional sustainable practices into stable behaviors is the challenge that policymakers face. However, what makes people environmentally aware is an unsolved question, and research on this direction is in evolution. This paper examines factors that promote environmentally responsible behaviors. The study tests the hypothesis that people's wellbeing (SWB) predisposes individuals toward environmentalism. The mechanism of social and civic capital may underlie this association since people reporting higher wellbeing levels show empathy, solidarity, and greater civic engagement. This hypothesis is examined in the context of the European Union using micro-data from the European Values Study-EVS (wave 2017-2022). Results support the hypothesis that people's life satisfaction is compatible with the environmental mindset, given that those who report higher wellbeing express civicness and share pro-environmental beliefs and values. Evidence from this research suggests that supporting SWB growth may offer a fertile ground for promoting ecological awareness and developing more sustainable societies.

Modelling the energy conservation behaviour among Chinese households under the premises of value-belief-norm theory

Energy conservation is a necessary form of green behaviour, as energy production and consumption gravely affect the climate. The current study aimed to explore energy conservation behaviour among Chinese households based on the value-belief-norm framework. This study used a cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data from 1671 respondents through an online survey. The hybrid analysis techniques of partial least squares structural equation modelling and artificial neural network analysis were used to analyse the data. Findings revealed that biospheric values have a positive and significant effect on pro-environmental beliefs, awareness of consequences, and ascription of responsibility, which ultimately explains 46.3% of the change in personal norms and 42.6% of the change in green trust. The results shed light on the significant positive impact of green trust and personal norms on the energy conservation intention. Green trust and personal norms can elucidate 27.3% of the change in energy conservation intention. The energy conservation intention (39.1%) explains the energy conservation behaviour. The results of ANN analysis revealed energy conservation intention, personal norms, green trust, and awareness of consequences as the four most significant contributors to the formation of energy conservation behaviour. The current study extended the VNB model with the green trust. It offered empirical evidence on the effects of pro-environmental belief, awareness of consequences, and ascription of responsibility concerning energy conservation intention. Energy policies should thus concentrate on addressing energy conservation behaviour, promoting energy-efficient household appliances, and rewarding energy conservation by lowering energy prices for low-energy users.

Differences between Zoo/Aquarium Staff and Visitors’ Values, Beliefs, and Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Consequences for Environmental Communication

The value priorities, pro-environmental beliefs and pro-environmental behaviors of zoo/aquarium staff, volunteers, visitors and non-visitors are examined to test whether they differ in ways that may impact zoos’ effectiveness in communicating environmental messages. Online surveys were completed by 607 staff (including 157 educators), 339 volunteers, 1444 frequent visitors, 2321 occasional visitors and 350 non-visitors across 12 sites in North America and Australia. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to compare different categories of staff; and to compare educator, volunteer, visitor and non-visitor groups, in relation to their values and pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors. Educators and volunteers were found to ascribe greater importance to self-transcendence values than visitors, and this was reflected in their pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors. These differences may hinder educators’ ability to design and present environmental messages that resonate with current and potential visitors whose values may differ significantly from their own. Suggestions for mitigating this are discussed.

Love for the globe but also the country matter for the environment: Links between nationalistic, patriotic, global identification and pro-environmentalism

The current study examined whether and how national (patriotic versus nationalistic) and global-level identification would predict pro-environmentalism. Study 1, including a large sample of Turkish participants (N = 1121, Mage = 35.79, SDage = 15.33), demonstrated that patriotism as a constructive form of national identification, and global identification were both positively associated with pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors, whereas nationalism as the dark side of one's ingroup love was negatively associated with pro-environmental beliefs and activism, after controlling for various demographic variables, political orientation, religiosity, ideologies, and values. Study 2 involved secondary data analysis of a pool of 95.213 participants from 70 countries (World Values Survey) and largely replicated the findings, while showing some country/region-level variables to interact with individual-level identification processes. Findings were discussed in the light of social identity theories and the newly emerging right-wing populist rhetorics which may obstruct pro-environmental tendencies.

Comparing public support for wildlife protection and climate protection

In this study we provide a detailed analysis and comparison of the public support for climate protection and wildlife protection using nationally representative data from the Czech Republic. The results of regression analyses have shown that support for both protections is significantly increasing with growing pro-environmental beliefs of people, leisure time they spent in nature and their altruism. Support for climate protection also rises with higher election participation, left-wing political orientation and younger age. Support for wildlife protection increases with growing trust in non-profit organizations while decreases with growing trust in science & research institutions. The comparison of groups defined according to their consent with climate protection and wildlife protection showed that support for wildlife protection can be characterized as a more inclusive environmental attitude than support for climate protection. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for protagonists of environmental politics and ways how they approach the public.

Bottled water usage and willingness to pay among Indian tourists: visual nudges and the theory of planned behaviour

ABSTRACT Consumption of bottled water creates large amounts of non-biodegradable plastic waste that poses a serious threat to marine life. Single-use plastic bags have been banned in several states in India. However, bottled water usage is still widely prevalent. We use Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour to understand how beliefs, attitudes, social norms, perceived costs, and perceived benefits affect tourists’ intentions to reduce bottled water usage. We use visual cues to compare the effect of positive and negative framing on tourists’ behavioural intentions and their willingness to pay an environmental tax. Pro-environmental beliefs, attitudes, and social norms affect tourists’ intention to carry their own water. Perceived costs such as the inconvenience of carrying water and changing habits are the primary barriers to eco-friendly intentions. Negative visual cues that nudge the tourist to be aware of environmental costs increase the willingness to pay an environmental tax but do not affect behavioural intentions. Women are more environmentally friendly than men, both with respect to behavioural intentions and willingness to pay. This study is the first to provide insight into the pro-environmental behavioural intentions of Indian tourists. Increasing consumer awareness and providing alternatives for clean drinking water may reduce bottled water consumption.