The Moderating Effect of Perceived Policy Effectiveness in Residents’ Waste Classification Intentions: A Study of Bengbu, China

The Chinese government is promoting a waste classification policy to solve the increasingly serious issue of cities being besieged by waste. Only few studies investigate whether residents’ understanding of garbage classification policy has an impact on their garbage classification behaviour and the nature of such impact. The purposes of this study are twofold: first, to explore conceptually the mechanism behind any moderating effects of perceived policy effectiveness (PPE) on waste classification and, second, to examine empirically if and how PPE influences the relationships between attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SN), perceived behaviour control (PBC), awareness of consequence (AC) and waste classification intention (WCI). The conceptual model of the study is developed by combining insights from the theory of planned behaviour, norm activation theory and value–belief–norm theory. A total of 351 questionnaires were administered in person to households in Bengbu, China. The results based on structural equation modelling with partial least squares show that PPE negatively moderates the relationship between AC and WCI. AC is more strongly related with the intention to classify waste when PPE is weaker. Likewise, when PPE is higher, people’s awareness of consequences becomes less important for WCI. The findings have significant implications in policymakers’ developing guidelines and offer a framework for implementing more effective waste classification policy.

Towards Circular Economy for More Sustainable Apparel Consumption: Testing the Value-Belief-Norm Theory in Brazil and in The Netherlands

The apparel industry causes environmental problems, particularly due to the shortening life cycle of garments and fast-fashion’s throw-away culture. The circular economy provides solutions to minimise and prevent these problems through innovative circular business models, which require changes in consumer behaviours. With the lens of environmental psychology, we analyse consumers’ willingness to acquire circular apparel considering four approaches on clothing life-cycle extension. We conducted an online questionnaire among Brazilian and Dutch consumers and tested if the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory can explain the willingness of consumers to purchase circular apparel. Our results indicate that, overall, the variables from the VBN theory explain circular behaviour in the apparel industry and that the paths suggested by the model are supported by our analyses. Additionally, we tested and found that when all of the variables from the VBN theory were controlled for, materialistic values did not explain circular behaviours in the apparel industry among Brazilian respondents. However, they had a positive influence on some circular apparel behaviours among Dutch consumers. Overall, materialistic values did not play an important role in predicting willingness to consume circular clothing. Furthermore, the results suggest that the VBN theory predicts willingness to consume circular apparel better in the Netherlands compared to Brazil, suggesting that this behaviour may be perceived as more effortful for the Brazilian population. However, we highlight the need for future research.

Exploring the Role of Norms and Habit in Explaining Pro-Environmental Behavior Intentions in Situations of Use Robots and AI Agents as Providers in Tourism Sector

In a pandemic situation, with climate change around the world, studies analyzing changes in travel patterns are welcome. This study combines three theories to propose a model on pro-environmental behavior intentions, namely, the theory of planned behavior, value–belief–norm theory and habit theory. This study aims to examine the role of social norms, personal norms and habit strength to explain pro-environmental behavior intentions. The authors collected 316 usable questionnaires from tourists in the well-known touristic Belem location in Lisbon. Personal norms were revealed to have the strongest association with pro-environmental behavior intentions, followed by habit strength. The study also identified different broad challenges to encouraging sustainable behaviors and use these to develop novel theoretical propositions and directions for future research. Finally, the authors outlined how practitioners aiming to encourage sustainable consumer behaviors can use this framework to achieve better results.

Defining the psycho-social determinants of public transport use: An integrated theoretical approach

Car use is engrained in our culture. Changing behaviour towards using more sustainable travel modes such as public transport is notoriously difficult, despite the increasing awareness of environmental problems caused by car use. Many models have attempted to explain what psychological constructs activate pro-environmental behaviour. Models often adopt either an altruistic approach to pro-environmental behaviour such as Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour, or a pro-social approach using Schwartz’s norm-activation model, or Stern et al.’s value-belief-norm theory. This research tests the psychological constructs determining decisions to use public transport using an integrated environmental behaviour model recently proposed by Bamberg and Möser. The results support the integrated modelling approach. Intentions to use public transport are indirectly affected by awareness of environmental problems caused by car use mediated through social norms, guilt, perceived behavioural control and attitude. Intention to use public transport explains 56% of the variance in self-reported public transport behaviour. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Issue-Driven Progress in Business Ethics: When the Responsibility to Protect Values Requires Companies to Introduce New Norms

<p>This article is about when a company should introduce a new ethical norm. By using the Value–Belief–Norm theory, I argue that the<i> </i>more an ethical issue threatens an ethical value and the more a company has an ethical responsibility to protect such value against such threat, then the more desirable it is for a company to establish ethical norms to protect that particular value. The introduction of a new ethical norm then becomes more desirable when the threat from such an ethical issue increases and/or the ethical responsibility of the company increases. Distinguishing seven characteristics of an ethical issue and four conditions of a company’s ethical responsibility helps in identifying the situation in which a company should introduce a new ethical norm. The resulting framework, with corresponding guidelines, explains why and when progress in business ethics is needed.</p>

Issue-Driven Progress in Business Ethics: When the Responsibility to Protect Values Requires Companies to Introduce New Norms

<p>This article is about when a company should introduce a new ethical norm. By using the Value–Belief–Norm theory, I argue that the<i> </i>more an ethical issue threatens an ethical value and the more a company has an ethical responsibility to protect such value against such threat, then the more desirable it is for a company to establish ethical norms to protect that particular value. The introduction of a new ethical norm then becomes more desirable when the threat from such an ethical issue increases and/or the ethical responsibility of the company increases. Distinguishing seven characteristics of an ethical issue and four conditions of a company’s ethical responsibility helps in identifying the situation in which a company should introduce a new ethical norm. The resulting framework, with corresponding guidelines, explains why and when progress in business ethics is needed.</p>

Urban and Rural Sustainability: Divergent Concepts and Their Consequences for Marketing

Most sustainability innovations are adapted to the needs of urban areas. These innovations are either not offered at all in rural areas (e.g., car sharing) or require massive effort and restrictions to be usable or effective (e.g., ride sharing). Delving deeper than the description scholarly research needs to clarify consumers' conceptualization of sustainability in urban and rural areas. Notably, the extent to which sustainable innovations are adopted and their associated adoption dynamics with the consequences for marketers, consumers and society differ between urban and rural. Two research questions are pressing: (i) How do conceptualizations of sustainability differ between rural and urban living consumers? (ii) Which consequences for sustainable marketing management arise from differences and similarities of upstream innovations with downstream dynamics in urban and rural areas? Despite the wide range of previous research, the question of whether consumers living in urban and rural areas have a similar understanding of “sustainability” has not been comprehensively addressed. We consider the literature on both the intention-action gap in sustainability and Value-Belief-Norm Theory. This provides researchers with guidance to reveal divergences in values, motives and enablers for sustainability among people in urban and rural areas. Studies that deepen the understanding of how innovative service and product offers need to be designed to the specificities of urban and rural environments, contribute to clarifying consumers' intention-action gap.

Why Do Consumers Intend to Purchase Natural Food? Integrating Theory of Planned Behavior, Value-Belief-Norm Theory, and Trust

Natural labels are increasingly present in the market and appreciated by consumers, despite formal regulation still missing. Knowing the psychosocial factors that may predict natural food choice may be useful to understand what drives consumers to choose this category of food. We analyzed the antecedents of consumers’ intention to purchase natural food, testing a theoretical model that integrates the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory, and consumers’ trust in natural food. A sample of Italian participants (N = 1018) filled an online questionnaire assessing intention to buy natural food, TPB and VBN variables, and trust in the natural food supply chain. The model applied yielded results which confirmed the predictiveness of the tested integrated model. Attitude and perceived behavioral control were the strongest antecedents of intention, followed by trust and personal norm. Consumers’ intention to buy natural food was also associated with their evaluation of the consequences and possibilities related to the purchase behavior, as well as with their moral evaluation attributable to pro-environmental determinants.

Applying Value-Belief-Norm Theory to Investigate Students' Waste Prevention Behaviour

Even though the increasing amount of waste is one of the biggest environmental challenges we currently face, surprisingly little is known about the psychological factors of waste prevention behaviour. The purpose of the study is to examine whether students‘ waste prevention behaviour can be predicted by the Value-Belief-Norm theory. In this paper, we report results from a questionnaire study of 221 students aged from 18 to 26 years. It was found that the Value-Belief-Norm theory could indeed explain students‘ waste prevention behaviour. As expected, findings indicate that high endorsement of biospheric values is associated with a strong ecological worldview, which was related to an increased awareness of environmental consequences. Those beliefs led to stronger personal norms, which were associated with more frequent waste prevention behaviour. Understanding students‘ waste prevention behaviour and the factors predicting it is a key step that could help to reduce the amount of waste that is generated. It is particularly relevant among students because higher education environment could be an effective place to increase students‘ pro-environmental behaviour and connect this behaviour with their values, beliefs and norms.