Consumer knowledge in pro-environmental behavior

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naz Onel ◽  
Avinandan Mukherjee
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Environmental Behavior ◽  
Environmental Behaviors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Subjective Knowledge ◽  
Types Of Knowledge ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Environmental Risk Perception ◽  
Scientific Facts

Purpose Environmental behavior studies suggest that knowledge, in addition to other psychological and social factors, can play an important role in consumers’ environmental behavior change. The purpose of this paper is to understand the relationship between knowledge and various psychological factors which encourage consumers’ participation in pro-environmental behaviors. The relationships that link an individual’s attitudes toward science, environmental values, different types of knowledge (i.e. scientific facts, environmental facts, and subjective environmental knowledge), environmental risk perception, and willingness to pay (WTP) for the environment with pro-environmental behavior were examined. Design/methodology/approach Theoretically guided hypotheses and model were formulated and tested with multiple linear regression models. The study was based on measures and data obtained from the large-sample secondary database of the 2010 General Social Survey (n=2,044). Findings Results indicated that while attitudes toward science had direct effects on knowledge of scientific facts and knowledge of environmental facts, environmental values showed effects on knowledge of environmental facts and subjective knowledge on environmental issues. The results also indicated that from different types of knowledge, subjective knowledge on environmental issues had effects on both environmental risk perception and WTP for the environment. Knowledge on environmental facts, on the other hand, was able to predict only environmental risk perception. The scientific factual knowledge did not show an effect on mediator of pro-environmental behavior. Also, subjective knowledge indicated indirect effects on pro-environmental behavior through environmental risk perception and WTP for the environment. Originality/value Although research on understanding factors influencing pro-environmental behaviors and potential relations to individual knowledge has grown in recent years, there has been very little attempt at distinguishing between different types of knowledge and investigating their potential roles in the context of environmentally relevant behaviors. This study will help understand the functioning of different types of consumer environmental knowledge and their impacts on pro-environmental behaviors more in depth.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study of the Role of Interpersonal Communication, Traditional Media and Social Media in Pro-Environmental Behavior: A China-Based Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruixia Han ◽  
Jian Xu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Environmental Behavior ◽  
Traditional Media ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Information Exposure ◽  
Environmental Risk Perception ◽  
Types Of Information

Previous studies have confirmed that information exposure affects pro-environmental behavior. With the rise of social media, new questions emerge in terms of whether different types of information exposure affect pro-environmental behavior differently. Based on a survey of 550 people that was carried out in China, this study aims to compare the different roles of interpersonal communication, traditional media, and social media in affecting the relationships between people’s environmental risk perception, willingness to contribute to the environment, environmental knowledge, environmental concerns, and pro-environmental behavior. Our research discovered that: (1) traditional media has almost no effect on pro-environmental behavior; (2) interpersonal communication can affect pro-environmental behavior through significantly affecting environmental risk perception; (3) social media affects pro-environmental behavior mainly by strengthening the effects of interpersonal communication. The research reveals that while different types of information exposure affect pro-environmental behavior differently, interpersonal communication plays a central role. Concerning the mutual influence between social media and interpersonal communication, we propose that we could promote pro-environmental behavior by activating social media communication.

Environmental Risk Perception, Activism and World-Mindedness among Samples of British and U.S. College Students

1996 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 451-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aghop Der-Karabetian ◽  
Kathy Stephenson ◽  
Tiffany Poggi
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Environmental Behavior ◽  
Value Orientation ◽  
Environmental Activism ◽  
Perceptions Of Risk ◽  
Future Action ◽  
Environmental Risk Perception ◽  
Superordinate Goals

Hypotheses were tested that greater perception of environmental risk and stronger world-minded value orientation are associated with more pro-environmental behavior among samples of British ( n = 96) and U.S. ( n = 119) college students. Risk perception was assessed in terms of emotional and cognitive aspects. Behavior was assessed in terms of present action and commitment to future action. The hypotheses were generally supported for both samples, with emotionality in risk perception tending to be more strongly related to pro-environmental behavior. Greater perceptions of risk and activism were also related to stronger world-mindedness. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of emotionality in pro-environmental activism and an hypothesis about superordinate goals.

Perception of delayed environmental risks: beyond time discounting

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Liu ◽  
Charlene Xie ◽  
Shengxiang She
Keyword(s):  
Time Delay ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Environmental Risks ◽  
Delay Effect ◽  
Time Discounting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Environmental Risk Perception ◽  
Student Subjects ◽  
Time Delay Effect

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to explore the effect of time delay on the perception of environmental risks beyond time discounting, and thus provide a reference for effective communication related to environment and environmental risks. Design/methodology/approach – Ten risk scenarios across four time delay conditions were designed. Computer program randomly presented different risk scenarios to student subjects. Risk perception was measured through equivalent certain loss elicited by bi-section method. In all, 50 students from Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School participated in the experiment. Findings – Time delay makes the subjects optimistic toward environmental risk with the exclusion of time discounting. The more distant in time the occurrence of an environmental risk, the less in intensity subjects will perceive it as a severe threat. Also, there is a noticeable difference in environmental risk perception between males and females. Research limitations/implications – This tentative research focusses on exploring the existence of time delay effect on environmental risk perception. Only student subjects are recruited for this research. Future studies are needed to extend the population to people of different backgrounds in order to generalize the finding. Practical implications – Current ethical appeal of zero social discount rate is unlikely to be effective. Time delay effect in people's environmental risk perception should be acknowledged. Such an acknowledgement is the basis of trust in risk communication. Communication effort needs to address this time delay effect to make people alert to long-term environmental risks, and eventually change their environmental behaviors. Originality/value – The explorative research represents the first attempt to investigate the effect of time delay on environmental risk perception when time discounting is excluded. It suggests a new direction to understand public optimism toward delayed environmental risks, and reluctance to take proactive actions, and thus offers a new insight into related communication efforts.

Environmental risk perception and its influence on well-being

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ge Xu ◽  
Xiangnan Feng ◽  
Yiwei Li ◽  
Xiaohong Chen ◽  
Jianmin Jia
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Latent Variables ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Environmental Risk Perception

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effects of environmental risk perception on the evaluation of socioeconomic development and subjective well-being in China. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was conducted, and data were collected from 408 participants of four major universities and government organizations in Changsha, China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the collected data and to test the hypotheses with regard to the relationship among latent variables. Bayesian method was used as the statistical inference procedure. Findings Results show that environmental risk perception has a direct negative influence on perceived socioeconomic development and on subjective total well-being (i.e. both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being). The perceived socioeconomic development has a direct positive effect on the subjective total well-being; thus, it plays a partial mediation role between environmental risk perception and subjective total well-being. Research limitations/implications Findings suggest that the environment protection act of the government and their contribution to socioeconomic development will significantly affect the total well-being of people. The empirical analysis is based on survey data; thus, this study may suffer the common problems of questionnaire survey. Social implications Promoting pro-environment and health behaviors is important in developing a happy society. Originality/value This study demonstrates a significant negative effect of environmental risk perception on the total well-being of people according to SEM approach. This study determines two independent paths for government and policy makers to increase the total well-being of people in China, namely, increasing socioeconomic value to people and controlling and reducing environmental threats.

scholarly journals Environmental Risk Perception, Risk Culture, and Pro-Environmental Behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingjing Zeng ◽  
Meiquan Jiang ◽  
Meng Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Environmental Behavior ◽  
Cultural Bias ◽  
Ecological Civilization ◽  
Chinese Youth ◽  
Cultural Worldviews ◽  
Environmental Risk Perception ◽  
The Relationship

Mixed evidence exists regarding the relationship between environmental risk perception and pro-environmental behavior. This study uses an existing online survey conducted by the Center of Ecological Civilization (CEC) of China University of Geosciences from December 2015 to March 2016 and examines how cultural bias influences environmental risk perception and behavior. We found that an individual’s pro-environmental behavior is not only influenced by environmental risk perception, but also by his or her cultural worldviews. Built on culture theory (CT), our empirical results suggest that young Chinese people are more located in “high-group” culture, where egalitarian culture and hierarchical culture dominate. The higher scores of hierarchical and egalitarian cultures of Chinese youth, the more likely they are to protect the environment. Moreover, the relationship between cultural worldviews and pro-environmental behaviors are mediated by perceived environmental risks.

scholarly journals Religious Identity and Public Pro-Environmental Behavior in China: The Mediating Role of Environmental Risk Perception

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Zeng ◽  
Lin Wu ◽  
Tianyuan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Environmental Behavior ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Environmental Risk Perception ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Although the positive relationship between religion and environmental behavior has aroused heated debate, empirical research on the relationship between religion and public pro-environmental behavior is still relatively insufficient. This paper aims to explore the group differences in the influence of religious identity on public pro-environmental behavior and the mediating role of environmental risk perception in religious identity and public pro-environmental behavior. Using the Chinese General Social Survey data of 2013 for empirical analysis, this study’s results show that there are group differences in the impact of religious identity on public pro-environmental behavior. Women with a religious identity are more willing to engage in public pro-environmental behavior than those without a religious identity. Additionally, people over the age of 45 with a religious identity are more willing to participate in public pro-environmental behavior than those without a religious identity. Furthermore, political participants with a religious identity are more willing to practice public pro-environmental behavior than those without a religious identity. In addition, we found that environmental risk perception can act as partial mediation in religion and public pro-environmental behavior. In other words, religious identities are deeply embedded in local political and social culture. In order to correctly understand the relationship between religion and public pro-environmental behavior, it is necessary to consider religious identity in a specific cultural background.

“Bouncing back” after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn M. Grattan ◽  
Babette Brumback ◽  
Sparkle M. Roberts ◽  
Stacy Buckingham-Howes ◽  
Alexandra C. Toben ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Environmental Risk Perception ◽  
One Year

Purpose The psychological and behavioral consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster were among the most widespread, long term, and costly of all oil spill-related disasters. However, many people were resilient, and understanding the factors associated with resilience in the immediate aftermath of this disaster are needed to guide early interventions. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach In total, 133 adults from the Northeast Gulf Coast participated in a study of mental health outcomes during the oil spill and one year later. Participants completed a battery of measures that assessed their basic demographics, income status, perceived environmental risk (i.e. characteristic way people think about and interpret environmental risks), self-reported resilience (i.e. ability to “bounce back” after a disaster), and mental health status. Findings Results of univariate analyses indicated similar, elevated levels of mental health problems at both time points; however, environmental risk perception was higher one year post-spill than during the spill. In multivariate analyses, income stability, increased time, higher self-reported resilience, and lower environmental risk perception were associated with better mental health outcomes while age and gender had no association. Originality/value Oil spills are protracted disasters, and better mental health outcomes are linked to financial stability, as well as a belief in environmental restoration and one’s own capacity for resilience. Since resilience and environmental worry are potentially modifiable processes, they might be targeted in prevention and early intervention efforts in order to create more robust, prepared individuals in the face of an oil spill disaster.

scholarly journals Religious Beliefs and Public Pro-Environmental Behavior in China: the Mediating Role of Environmental Risk Perception

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Zeng ◽  
Lin Wu ◽  
Tianyuan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Environmental Behavior ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Environmental Risk Perception ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Although the positive relationship between religion and environmental behavior is well-argued, empirical research about the relationship between religion and public pro-environmental behavior is relatively lacking. This paper aims to explore the group differences in the influence of religion on public pro-environmental behavior and the mediating role of environmental risk perception in religion and public pro-environmental behavior. Using the Chinese General Social Survey data in 2013 for empirical analysis, this study’s results show that there are group differences in the impact of religion on public pro-environmental behavior. Women with religious beliefs are more willing to engage in public pro-environmental behavior than those without religious beliefs. Religious believers over the age of 45 are more willing to participate in public pro-environmental behavior than those without religious beliefs. Political participants with religious beliefs are more willing to practice public pro-environmental behavior than those without religious beliefs. In addition, we found that environmental risk perception can act as partial mediation in religious and public pro-environmental behavior. In other words, religious beliefs are deeply embedded in local political and social culture. In order to correctly understand the relationship between religion and public pro-environmental behavior, it is necessary to consider religion in a specific cultural background.

The knowledge interconnection process: evidence from contract manufacturing relationships

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tibor Mandják ◽  
Zsuzsanna Szalkai ◽  
Erika Hlédik ◽  
Edit Neumann-Bódi ◽  
Mária Magyar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Business Relationships ◽  
Business Relationship ◽  
Contract Manufacturing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Types Of Knowledge ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Different Types

Purpose The main goal of the paper is to describe the knowledge interconnection process embedded in an interactive business relationship. The purpose of this study is to understand the knowledge interconnection inside the supplier-buyer relationship in the field of contract manufacturing. The knowledge interconnection process is defined by the authors as a process linked to business relationships, which contains different types of knowledge and various sub-processes related to them. Design/methodology/approach The Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group (IMP) research framework has been applied and the contribution is a better understanding of the role of knowledge in the interactive business world. The empirical evidence is based on a case study of a Hungarian contract manufacturing company. This paper describes empirical, qualitative research about knowledge interconnection processes applying an abductive research design. Findings The knowledge interconnection process is linked to business relationships. It is a complex process, which contains three types of knowledge and five sub-processes. The knowledge evolution indicates the links between the different types of knowledge. The sub-processes relate to different types of knowledge and allow the flow of knowledge between the supplier and the buyer. In the business relationship, this flow of knowledge makes possible the new knowledge creation. A model of the knowledge interconnection process has been developed. Research limitations/implications Single case studies can create rich descriptions of complex phenomena, but the possibility for generalization is limited. Another limitation is that the knowledge interconnection process has been studied only from the supplier’s perspective. The present research extends IMP’s knowledge of embedded knowledge. In addition, empirical research contributes to the emerging field of IMP research that explores knowledge as a resource but lacks an empirical foundation. Practical implications The knowledge interconnection process is a decisive factor in the development and maintenance of long-term customer relations in the field of contract manufacturing. The evolution of knowledge types – from the body of knowledge to knowledge in use – demands the management of different sub-processes. Knowledge selection, knowledge recombination, knowledge mobilization and new knowledge creation processes are more strongly related to the supplier-customer dyad, while the knowledge relocation process has a network character. The knowledge interconnection process influences the company’s body of knowledge and its relationship management capability. Originality/value The originality of the study is, on the one hand, an empirical examination of the process of knowledge interconnection. On the other hand, the development of a model of the knowledge interconnection process. A further feature is that empirical research has been conducted in the field of contract manufacturing.

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