What does sustainability mean in the minds of consumers? A multi-country panel study
Goedertier, Frank Weijters, Bert Van den Bergh, Joeri Schacht, Ole
Goedertier, Frank
Weijters, Bert
Van den Bergh, Joeri
Schacht, Ole
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Publication Type
Journal article with impact factor
Editor
Supervisor
Publication Year
2024
Journal
Marketing Letters
Book
Publication Volume
35
Publication Issue
Publication Begin page
317
Publication End page
377
Publication Number of pages
Collections
Abstract
In developed countries, sustainability is increasingly an active agenda topic for businesses. Yet a view on what sustainability exactly means in the minds of consumers is missing. In response to this research opportunity, online panel respondents from seven advanced economies (France, UK, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, N = 5620) were surveyed in two cross-sectional waves. Factor analytical results show that consumers associate sustainability with three key subdimensions: ‘social equality’ (e.g., fair wages), ‘circularity’ (e.g., recycling) and ‘naturalness’ (e.g., avoiding use of pesticides and GMOs). This observation offers inspiration to update the traditional two-dimensional (social vs. environmental) structure of sustainability advanced in previous literature. In addition, the identified ‘naturalness’ dimension may point to a new route to stimulate pro-environmental behavior as it has both a strong link with the environment and may introduce an affective undertone. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications, and report observed country, gender, and age differences.
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Keywords
Consumer Perceptions, Sustainable Consumption, Cross-National Survey, Structural Equation Modeling, Dimensionality of Sustainability