IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v148y2022icp161-173.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An investigation of sustainable consumption behavior systems – Exploring personal and socio-structural characteristics in different national contexts

Author

Listed:
  • Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, Alexandra
  • Wooliscroft, Ben

Abstract

Sustainable consumption behaviors are embedded in a consumption system. Their uptake is influenced by personal characteristics and the context. Feedback loops reinforce extant behavior and path dependencies enable or hinder additional sustainable consumption. This study applies a cross-national approach to reveal the influence of structural characteristics on the pattern of sustainable consumption, comparing results from Austria and New Zealand. Using Rasch Modelling, we test five propositions and find that most of the 26 behaviorsinvestigatedare taken up in the same order in both countries. Government regulations, business initiatives, and geographic characteristics influence the uptake of some sustainable behaviors, including recycling, consumption of organic food or use of public transport in the two countries. Consumers experience structural feedback loops and historic government foci have created path dependencies. The results demonstrate that a systemic view of sustainable consumption behaviors is required, to foster and increase sustainable behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, Alexandra & Wooliscroft, Ben, 2022. "An investigation of sustainable consumption behavior systems – Exploring personal and socio-structural characteristics in different national contexts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 161-173.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:148:y:2022:i:c:p:161-173
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.04.049
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296322003885
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.04.049?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alexandra Ganglmair-Wooliscroft & Ben Wooliscroft, 2019. "Well-Being and Everyday Ethical Consumption," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 141-163, January.
    2. Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, Alexandra & Wooliscroft, Ben, 2016. "Diffusion of innovation: The case of ethical tourism behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 2711-2720.
    3. Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, Alexandra & Wooliscroft, Ben, 2013. "A cross-cultural application of the Affective Response to Consumption scale: Investigating US-American and Austrian passengers on long-haul flights," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(6), pages 765-770.
    4. Geoffrey Soutar & Steven Cornish-Ward, 1997. "Ownership patterns for durable goods and financial assets: a Rasch analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(7), pages 903-911.
    5. Minton, Elizabeth A. & Spielmann, Nathalie & Kahle, Lynn R. & Kim, Chung-Hyun, 2018. "The subjective norms of sustainable consumption: A cross-cultural exploration," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 400-408.
    6. Salzberger, Thomas & Newton, Fiona J. & Ewing, Michael T., 2014. "Detecting gender item bias and differential manifest response behavior: A Rasch-based solution," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(4), pages 598-607.
    7. Singh, Jagdip, 2004. "Tackling measurement problems with Item Response Theory: Principles, characteristics, and assessment, with an illustrative example," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 184-208, February.
    8. Gwang-Suk Kim & Grace Lee & Kiwan Park, 2010. "A Cross-National Investigation on How Ethical Consumers Build Loyalty Toward Fair Trade Brands," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(4), pages 589-611, November.
    9. Sigurdsson, Valdimar & Larsen, Nils Magne & Alemu, Mohammed Hussen & Gallogly, Joseph Karlton & Menon, R. G. Vishnu & Fagerstrøm, Asle, 2020. "Assisting sustainable food consumption: The effects of quality signals stemming from consumers and stores in online and physical grocery retailing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 458-471.
    10. John Thøgersen & Ulf Schrader, 2012. "From Knowledge to Action—New Paths Towards Sustainable Consumption," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 1-5, March.
    11. Dolnicar, Sara & Grün, Bettina, 2013. "“Translating” between survey answer formats," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1298-1306.
    12. Leary, R. Bret & Vann, Richard J. & Mittelstaedt, John D. & Murphy, Patrick E. & Sherry,, John F., 2014. "Changing the marketplace one behavior at a time: Perceived marketplace influence and sustainable consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(9), pages 1953-1958.
    13. Brush, Gregory J. & Soutar, Geoffrey N., 2022. "A Rasch analysis of service performance in a tourism context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 338-353.
    14. Arnold Tukker & Maurie J. Cohen & Klaus Hubacek & Oksana Mont, 2010. "The Impacts of Household Consumption and Options for Change," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 14(1), pages 13-30, January.
    15. Frank M. Bass, 1969. "A New Product Growth for Model Consumer Durables," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(5), pages 215-227, January.
    16. Salzberger, Thomas & Koller, Monika, 2013. "Towards a new paradigm of measurement in marketing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1307-1317.
    17. Sharma, Rajat & Jha, Mithileshwar, 2017. "Values influencing sustainable consumption behaviour: Exploring the contextual relationship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 77-88.
    18. Fifita, 'Ilaisaane M.E. & Seo, Yuri & Ko, Eunju & Conroy, Denise & Hong, Dayun, 2020. "Fashioning organics: Wellbeing, sustainability, and status consumption practices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 664-671.
    19. Park, Hyun Jung & Lin, Li Min, 2020. "Exploring attitude–behavior gap in sustainable consumption: comparison of recycled and upcycled fashion products," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 623-628.
    20. Frank M. Bass, 2004. "Comments on "A New Product Growth for Model Consumer Durables The Bass Model"," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(12_supple), pages 1833-1840, December.
    21. Thomas, Christine & Sharp, Veronica, 2013. "Understanding the normalisation of recycling behaviour and its implications for other pro-environmental behaviours: A review of social norms and recycling," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 11-20.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Małgorzata Bogusz & Renata Matysik-Pejas & Andrzej Krasnodębski & Paweł Dziekański, 2023. "Sustainable Consumption of Households According to the Zero Waste Concept," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-23, September.
    2. Ramón Mahía & Rafael de Arce, 2024. "Quantifying the excess carbon footprint and its main determinants of Spanish households," Energy & Environment, , vol. 35(4), pages 1907-1935, June.
    3. Tat-Dat Bui & Ming K. Lim & Raditia Yudistira Sujanto & Monica Ongkowidjaja & Ming-Lang Tseng, 2022. "Building a Hierarchical Sustainable Consumption Behavior Model in Qualitative Information: Consumer Behavior Influences on Social Impacts and Environmental Responses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.
    4. Wu, Xuepin & Ma, Yongjun, 2023. "Research on the comparison effect of urban residents' consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    5. Jurgita Paužuolienė & Ligita Šimanskienė & Mariantonietta Fiore, 2022. "What about Responsible Consumption? A Survey Focused on Food Waste and Consumer Habits," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-13, July.
    6. Shuai Jin & Na Qiao & Muhamad Aamir Shafique Khan & Changchun Zhu, 2024. "Promoting the production and consumption of green products from the perspective of supply and demand: An evolutionary game-based analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(9), pages 23193-23213, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, Alexandra & Wooliscroft, Ben, 2016. "Diffusion of innovation: The case of ethical tourism behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 2711-2720.
    2. Brush, Gregory J. & Soutar, Geoffrey N., 2022. "A Rasch analysis of service performance in a tourism context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 338-353.
    3. Sarstedt, Marko & Diamantopoulos, Adamantios & Salzberger, Thomas & Baumgartner, Petra, 2016. "Selecting single items to measure doubly concrete constructs: A cautionary tale," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 3159-3167.
    4. Alexandra Ganglmair-Wooliscroft & Ben Wooliscroft, 2019. "Well-Being and Everyday Ethical Consumption," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 141-163, January.
    5. Cambier, Adrien & Chardy, Matthieu & Figueiredo, Rosa & Ouorou, Adam & Poss, Michael, 2022. "Optimizing subscriber migrations for a telecommunication operator in uncertain context," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 298(1), pages 308-321.
    6. Bernd Frick & Franziska Prockl, 2018. "Information Precision In Online Communities: Player Valuations On Www.Transfermarkt.De," Working Papers Dissertations 37, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    7. Torres, Juan Pablo & Barrera, Jose Ignacio & Kunc, Martin & Charters, Steve, 2021. "The dynamics of wine tourism adoption in Chile," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 474-485.
    8. Stefan N. Groesser & Niklas Jovy, 2016. "Business model analysis using computational modeling: a strategy tool for exploration and decision-making," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 61-88, February.
    9. Al-Alawi, Baha M. & Bradley, Thomas H., 2013. "Review of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicle market modeling Studies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 190-203.
    10. Yuangao Chen & Shuiqing Yang & Zhoujing Wang, 2016. "Service cooperation and marketing strategies of infomediary and online retailer with eWOM effect," Information Technology and Management, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 109-118, June.
    11. Tunstall, Thomas, 2015. "Iterative Bass Model forecasts for unconventional oil production in the Eagle Ford Shale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 580-588.
    12. Kutaula, Smirti & Gillani, Alvina & Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Christodoulides, Paul, 2022. "Integrating fair trade with circular economy: Personality traits, consumer engagement, and ethically-minded behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 1087-1102.
    13. Amini, Mehdi & Wakolbinger, Tina & Racer, Michael & Nejad, Mohammad G., 2012. "Alternative supply chain production–sales policies for new product diffusion: An agent-based modeling and simulation approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 216(2), pages 301-311.
    14. Amini, Mehdi & Li, Haitao, 2011. "Supply chain configuration for diffusion of new products: An integrated optimization approach," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 313-322, June.
    15. Derbyshire, James & Giovannetti, Emanuele, 2017. "Understanding the failure to understand New Product Development failures: Mitigating the uncertainty associated with innovating new products by combining scenario planning and forecasting," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 334-344.
    16. Iulia C. Muresan & Rezhen Harun & Felix H. Arion & Anca Monica Brata & Ioan Aurel Chereches & Gabriela O. Chiciudean & Diana E. Dumitras & Camelia F. Oroian & Olivia Paula Tirpe, 2021. "Consumers’ Attitude towards Sustainable Food Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-15, October.
    17. E. Chéron & L. Sudbury-Riley & F. Kohlbacher, 2022. "In Pursuit of Happiness: Disentangling Sustainable Consumption, Consumer Alienation, and Social Desirability," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 149-173, June.
    18. Massiani, Jérôme, 2015. "Cost-Benefit Analysis of policies for the development of electric vehicles in Germany: Methods and results," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 19-26.
    19. Daniela Šálková & Inna Čábelková & Dita Hommerová, 2024. "Ethical Consumption: What Makes People Buy "Ethical" Products," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2024(2), pages 27-52.
    20. Yang Liu and Taoyuan Wei, 2016. "Market and Non-market Policies for Renewable Energy Diffusion: A Unifying Framework and Empirical Evidence from Chinas Wind Power Sector," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(China Spe).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:148:y:2022:i:c:p:161-173. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.