Individual Environmental Responsibility and its Role in Public Environmentalism

1993 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 1743-1758 ◽  
Author(s):  
S E Eden
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
The Self ◽  
Environmental Responsibility ◽  
Environmental Groups ◽  
Environmental Behaviour ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Green Consumerism ◽  
Environmental Behaviours

Individual environmental responsibility has been used by business and government in promoting public environmentalism through, for example, green consumerism, passive membership of environmental groups, and domestic recycling. Such responsibility has not yet been adequately addressed in academic work, although associated concepts of environmental concern, values, and behaviour have been studied in the last two decades. The author therefore looks at the role of environmental responsibility in public environmentalism and particularly at how this notion is articulated by individuals involved in a range of pro-environmental behaviours. Environmental responsibility is shown to be most significant where an individual believes in the efficacy of their pro-environmental behaviour and where the self is perceived to be a responsible agent compared with other social agents. The translation of this environmental responsibility into consistent behaviour proves to be complex and dependent upon the individual's social context as well as upon organised environmentalism.

Death, exchange and reproduction in the British Bronze Age

2006 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Brück
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
The Self ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Interpersonal Ties ◽  
The Relationship

This article examines the character and role of exchange in Bronze Age Britain. It critiques anachronistic models of competitive individualism, arguing instead that the circulation of both artefacts and the remains of the dead constructed the self in terms of enduring interpersonal ties. It is suggested that the conceptual divide between people and things that typifies post-Enlightenment rationalism has resulted in an understanding of Bronze Age exchange that implicitly characterizes objects as commodities. This article re-evaluates the relationship between people and things in Bronze Age Britain. It explores the role of objects as active social agents; the exchange of artefacts and of human remains facilitated the production of the self and the reproduction of society through cyclical processes of fragmentation, dispersal and reincorporation. As such, Bronze Age concepts of personhood were relational, not individual.

scholarly journals How Consumer Environmental Responsibility Affects the Purchasing Intention of Design Furniture Products

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6140
Author(s):  
Marica Barbaritano ◽  
Elisabetta Savelli
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Environmental Responsibility ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Green Consumption ◽  
Purchasing Intention ◽  
Design Attributes ◽  
The Relationship

Consumer environmental responsibility has been commonly considered as an antecedent to green consumption intention and eco-design purchases. However, little research has investigated how environmental concern affects the relationship between design attributes and purchasing intention, especially in the furniture setting, where companies are often involved in design-intensive processes and environmental problems. This study investigates (i) how consumers perceive the different dimensions of design and which attributes most affect their purchasing intention of furniture items; and (ii) the role of consumers’ environmental responsibility on the relationship between design attributes and purchasing intention. An online questionnaire survey was employed to collect data from 350 Italian consumers. The findings reveal that design can be intended as a three-dimensional construct, based on functional, aesthetic, and symbolic attributes. While functional and aesthetic features can be considered as relevant factors affecting the consumers’ perception of design, the purchasing intention is mainly influenced by the symbolic dimension of design. Moreover, environmental concern moderates the relationship between the symbolic dimension of design and purchasing intention, that is, when consumers are highly concerned about environmental issues, they tend to be more influenced by the symbolic dimension of design. Several theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Seeing Green and Becoming Green: Applying Normative Social Influence to Promote Pro-Environmental Behaviour Across Two New Zealand Contexts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Benjamin A Tilyard
Keyword(s):  
Social Norm ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Household Energy ◽  
Environmental Behaviour ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Social Reference ◽  
Normative Messages ◽  
Environmental Behaviours

<p>Intervention programmes aimed at promoting pro-environmental behaviours typically rely solely on information-only appeals. However, research has shown that information-based interventions do not often lead to behaviour change, instead presenting the use of social norms as a better catalyst for change (see, e.g., Cialdini, 2003; Schultz, 1998; Schultz & Kaiser, forthcoming). The current research adds to a growing body of literature that employs normative influence (information regarding the behaviour commonly conducted by others) to promote pro-environmental behaviour. Two experimental studies compared the effectiveness of normative information with information-only environmental messages. Study 1 used a survey questionnaire to measure participants’ self-reports of household energy efficiency and Study 2 used a field experiment to directly measure hotel guests’ towel reuse. Results indicated that individuals provided with social norm information engaged in more pro-environmental behaviour than those who were presented solely with environmental information. The findings also suggest that there is a need to distinguish between types of pro-environmental behaviour and the role of social reference groups when designing normative messages. The implications of these findings are discussed along with directions for future research.</p>

scholarly journals Why Employees Contribute to Pro-Environmental Behaviour: The Role of Pluralistic Ignorance in Chinese Society

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 239
Author(s):  
Hao-Fan Chumg ◽  
Jia-Wen Shi ◽  
Kai-Jun Sun
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Subjective Norms ◽  
Pluralistic Ignorance ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Environmental Behaviour ◽  
Social Norms Theory ◽  
Chinese Term ◽  
Considerable Support

In light of the importance of sustainable development, this study aims to deepen and extend our understanding of employees’ pro-environmental behaviour in the workplace in a Chinese context. Drawing on the complex phenomenon of social norms theory concerning misperceptions (i.e., pluralistic ignorance) and supervisor–subordinate guanxi (which is a Chinese term signifying human connection), we present a novel model in which employees’ pro-environmental behaviour is the result of multiple social and individual psychological factors. Through the integration of previous literature from the fields of the psychology of individuals, social psychology, and environmental psychology, the major assumption is that the pro-environmental behaviour of employees is affected by their level of pluralistic ignorance, environmental concern, and subjective norms; these, in turn, are influenced by supervisor–subordinate guanxi and social identity in the collective spirit of Chinese society. Data, which were analysed empirically, were gathered from 548 Chinese employees from the Jiangsu province of China. This study consequently reveals the subtle interplay among employees’ pluralistic ignorance, supervisor–subordinate guanxi, social identity, subjective norms, environmental concern, and their pro-environmental behaviour, while the deeper analysis offers considerable support for environmental management research and practice.

Factors affecting consumers' pro-environmental behaviour in nutricosmetics consumption: the role of perceived environmental responsibility as a mediator

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 671-689
Author(s):  
Ruzanna Shahrin ◽  
Farzana Quoquab ◽  
Jihad Mohammad ◽  
Rossilah Jamil
Keyword(s):  
Health Beliefs ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Environmental Responsibility ◽  
Environmental Behaviour ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Mediating Role

Purpose This study aims to examine the direct effect of compensatory health beliefs (CHBs), environmental self-identity and perceived environmental responsibility (PER) towards consumers' pro-environmental behaviour (PEB). Moreover, this study also investigates the mediating role of PER. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from nutricosmetics consumers in Malaysia. A questionnaire survey was carried out in three major shopping complexes in Klang Valley areas, which generated 448 completed usable responses. The partial least square technique (SmartPLS, version 3) was used to analyse the data and to test the study hypotheses. Findings The results revealed that CHBs, environmental self-identity and environmental perceived responsibility positively affect consumers’ PEB in nutricosmetics consumption. Additionally, data supported the mediating role of PER in the relationship between CHB, environmental self-identity and PEB. Practical implications It is expected that the study findings will provide significant insights to help marketers and policymakers about consumers’ nutricosmetic products consumption. It will help the marketers to plan for effective marketing strategies to produce environmentally friendly products and to serve the green consumer segment effectively. Moreover, companies attempting to launch new nutricosmetics brands may find the results helpful in understanding PEB. Originality/value This study is among the pioneers to examine consumers’ PEB of nutricosmetics products. Moreover, there is a dearth of studies that have investigated the PEB of consumers in regard to the CHBs, environmental self-identity and PER towards nutricosmetics consumption. Additionally, this study examines the mediating role of PER between “CHBs and PEB” and “environmental self-identity and PEB”, which are yet to examine in the past literature in the field.

scholarly journals The Green Accommodation Management Practices: The Role of Environmentally Responsible Tourist Markets in Understanding Tourists’ Pro-Environmental Behaviour

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2326
Author(s):  
Aise Kim ◽  
Ki Pyung Kim ◽  
Tan Hai Dang Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Environmental Responsibility ◽  
Environmental Behaviour ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Environmental Management Practices ◽  
Environmentally Responsible

The green accommodation sectors are increasingly committed to implementing environmental management practices while enhancing guests’ pro-environmental behaviour. However, it is not easy to change tourists’ behaviour as there are many factors influencing tourists’ participation in green management actions. This paper argues that a combination of multiple factors such as visitor characteristics or previous environmental experience needs to be examined to determine how these factors are differently associated with the type of pro-environmental behaviour. In particular, this study also investigates how environmentally responsible tourist markets can engage differently in different types of pro-environmental behaviour. Visitors staying at the green accommodation in Kangaroo Island, South Australia, were studied using self-administered questionnaires. The findings of this study confirmed the significant role of environmentally responsible travel experience as a strong predictor of two types of pro-environmental behaviour (e.g., energy-saving and recycling vs. eco-product consumption behaviour) and its moderating effects on the relationship between visitor characteristics and pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs). Furthermore, this environmental-responsibility-based segmentation approach provides green-oriented accommodation sectors with some managerial implications for improving green accommodation practices that can be operated on different principles for two different targeted markets based on their environmental responsibility. This study recommends that more in-depth investigations of other barriers or facilitators of pro-environmental behaviour are necessary to fully address this issue and to ultimately influence tourists’ responsible support for environmental management practices implemented by the green accommodation sector.

scholarly journals Understanding the Motivational Dynamics Among Unemployed Individuals: Refreshing Insights from the Self-Determination Theory Perspective

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten Vansteenkiste ◽  
Anja Van den Broeck
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Job Search ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Human Motivation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Similarities And Differences

Although the role of motivation has been emphasized in the field of unemployment and job search, the motivational dynamics underlying unemployed individuals’ behavior have not yet received the attention they deserve. In this chapter, we present a motivational perspective grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), a macrotheory focusing on human motivation in the social context. We discuss basic principles of SDT and formulate seven propositions that have direct relevance for the fields of unemployment and job search. In discussing these propositions, we elucidate similarities and differences between SDT and various frameworks in the unemployment and job search literature and cover the available empirical evidence in the realm of SDT in these fields. Given that the literatures on job search and unemployment have been developed fairly independently, we conclude that SDT represents a promising theory to bridge these two fields and may equally provide useful guidelines for practitioners in the field.

scholarly journals Seeing Green and Becoming Green: Applying Normative Social Influence to Promote Pro-Environmental Behaviour Across Two New Zealand Contexts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Benjamin A Tilyard
Keyword(s):  
Social Norm ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Household Energy ◽  
Environmental Behaviour ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Social Reference ◽  
Normative Messages ◽  
Environmental Behaviours

<p>Intervention programmes aimed at promoting pro-environmental behaviours typically rely solely on information-only appeals. However, research has shown that information-based interventions do not often lead to behaviour change, instead presenting the use of social norms as a better catalyst for change (see, e.g., Cialdini, 2003; Schultz, 1998; Schultz & Kaiser, forthcoming). The current research adds to a growing body of literature that employs normative influence (information regarding the behaviour commonly conducted by others) to promote pro-environmental behaviour. Two experimental studies compared the effectiveness of normative information with information-only environmental messages. Study 1 used a survey questionnaire to measure participants’ self-reports of household energy efficiency and Study 2 used a field experiment to directly measure hotel guests’ towel reuse. Results indicated that individuals provided with social norm information engaged in more pro-environmental behaviour than those who were presented solely with environmental information. The findings also suggest that there is a need to distinguish between types of pro-environmental behaviour and the role of social reference groups when designing normative messages. The implications of these findings are discussed along with directions for future research.</p>

scholarly journals Does acculturation influence immigrants’ level of environmental engagement? The case of Vietnamese in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tram Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Environmental Engagement ◽  
Propensity Matching ◽  
Environmental Behaviours

<p>Within the current global context, research on human-environment interaction has extended its scope to examine environmental concern and pro-environmental behaviours across cultures. Although few studies have considered acculturation as a determinant of environmental concerns, attitudes, and pro-environmental behaviours, its role in human-environment interaction remains unanswered. We conducted two studies to examine the role of acculturation for environmentalism in Vietnamese immigrants living in New Zealand. Since the New Zealand context is better regarding environmental quality and practices when compared to Vietnam, we predicted Vietnamese living in New Zealand would show greater pro-environmental concern and behaviours than Vietnamese in Vietnam due to their acculturation to the newer environmentalism -prone context. In Study 1, we tested our hypotheses by conducting an online survey with Vietnamese living in New Zealand (N = 114) and a propensity matching sample of Vietnamese living in Vietnam (N = 114). Rejecting our predictions, results indicated no differences in environmental concern and pro-environmental behaviours between Vietnamese in New Zealand and those in Vietnam. Partially supporting our predictions, however, regression results indicated that acculturation orientation towards New Zealand positively correlates with pro-environmental behaviours, but not with environmental concern. In Study 2 (N = 12), we conducted four focus groups with Vietnamese living in New Zealand to gather information about their acculturation experiences regarding environmentalism, and data were analysed thematically. We found that most participants have perceived influences of living in New Zealand on their pro-environmental behaviours and believe these acculturation influences would not last long if they went back to live in Vietnam. Findings indicate that context matters when examining human-environment interaction, but the effect of acculturation still needs further examination.</p>

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