A pro-environmental behavior model for investigating the roles of social norm, risk perception, and place attachment on adaptation strategies of climate change

Media exposure to climate change information and pro-environmental behavior: the role of climate change risk judgment

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between exposure to climate change information in traditional and modern media, cognitive and emotional aspects of climate change risk judgment, and pro-environmental behavior (PEB).

METHOD

A cross-sectional online study was conducted on a quota sample of 1,075 participants (51.9% women) aged 18-79 years. Participants self-reported their exposure to climate change-related information in traditional (e.g. television) and modern media (e.g. social networks), cognitive assessment of climate change risk, level of worry about climate change, and the frequency of PEB.

RESULTS

Structural equation modeling showed a good fit for the parallel mediation model, involving cognitive risk judgment and worry as mediators between exposure to climate change information in traditional and modern media and PEB. Exposure to climate change information in traditional media had indirect effect on PEB through heightened worry, but not cognitive risk judgment. In contrast, exposure to climate change information in modern media had no indirect effect on PEB.

CONCLUSION

Since the link between exposure to climate change information in traditional media and PEB has been shown to be mediated by climate change worry, it is important to enhance the coverage of climate change in traditional media in Croatia, taking care to offer solutions to reduce possible negative impact on people's well-being.

The mediating role of pro-environmental attitude and intention on the translation from climate change health risk perception to pro-environmental behavior

Climate change is a serious environmental issue appearing in China. As a public service institution operating around the clock, the negative impact of hospitals on the environment is evident, promoting their workers' pro-environmental behavior (PEB) through increasing climate change health risk perception (CHRP) is an effective method to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development. This study investigates how CHRP shapes pro-environmental attitude (PEA), pro-environmental intention (PEI), and pro-environmental behavior (PEB) among hospital workers. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine the chain of causation from CHRP to PEB among hospital workers. The result shows that CHRP positively affects PEA and PEI, and PEI positively affects their PEB. In addition, although CHRP has no significant direct effect on PEB, it can play a crucial indirect effect through the mediating role of PEI. Moreover, the result of multiple regression shows that there are significant differences regarding PEA, PEI, and PEB.

Cosmetics and Detergents with Recycled CO2: A Cross-Country Study with a Modified by Risk Perception Values-Beliefs-Norms Model

This paper presents the examination of a values-beliefs-norms (VBN) model, modified by climate change risk perception, in France, Germany, and Spain, to investigate consumers' intentions to purchase personal and house care products that are going to contain innovative ingredients made from recycled CO₂. Electronic interviews were undertaken by a research agency on stratified (gender and age) samples in each country. Solely biospheric values indicated a statistically significant and positive causal relationship with risk perception. Risk perception provided the strongest of all impacts on awareness of consequences. Awareness of consequences affected the ascription of responsibility, and ascription of responsibility affected personal norms, which in turn generated consumption intentions. VBN was found powerful in explaining 58%, 60.2%, and 43.3% of the variance in intentions to buy CPGs with green chemical ingredients in French, German, and Spanish consumers, respectively. Moderation analysis indicated that the relationship between personal norms and consumption intentions is stronger in France and Germany than in Spain. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.

Examining COVID-19 vaccine attitude using SEM-Artificial Neural Networks approach: a case from Reddit community

As new coronavirus variants continue to emerge, in order to better address vaccine-related concerns and promote vaccine uptake in the next few years, the role played by online communities in shaping individuals’ vaccine attitudes has become an important lesson for public health practitioners and policymakers to learn. Examining the mechanism that underpins the impact of participating in online communities on the attitude toward COVID-19 vaccines, this study adopted a two-stage hybrid structural equation modeling (SEM)-artificial neural networks (ANN) approach to analyze the survey responses from 1037 Reddit community members. Findings from SEM demonstrated that in leading up to positive COVID-19 vaccine attitudes, sense of online community mediates the positive effects of perceived emotional support and social media usage, and perceived social norm mediates the positive effect of sense of online community as well as the negative effect of political conservatism. Health self-efficacy plays a moderating role between perceived emotional support and perceived social norm of COVID-19 vaccination. Results from the ANN model showed that online community members’ perceived social norm of COVID-19 vaccination acts as the most important predictor of positive COVID-19 vaccine attitudes. This study highlights the importance of harnessing online communities in designing COVID-related public health interventions and accelerating normative change in relation to vaccination.

The differences of climate change perception, responsibility and climate-friendly behavior among generations and the main determinants of youth's climate-friendly actions in the EU

The role of society to mitigate climate change is particularly important. However, generations, different age cohorts are differently related to and concerned about climate change. The main criticism of the young generation is that they talk about climate change a lot but do not behave in a climate-friendly manner. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyze the difference of climate change perception, responsibility and climate-friendly behavior among Baby Boomer generation, Generations X, Y and Z in all European Union (EU) countries. After applying the Chi-square test, the results showed that younger people in the EU tend to have the perception of climate change more often than their older counterparts. Moreover, people from younger generations tend to place responsibility of solving climate change on the business/industrial sectors and environmental groups more often than the preceding generations do. Furthermore, more of young people assumed personal responsibility, used environmentally friendly alternatives to personal cars, and considered carbon footprint before purchasing a product, as opposed to older generations. However, the youth separated waste and decreased the use of disposable items less comparing with older generations. Applying binary logistic regression, the results showed that climate change perception and placement of responsibility on environmental groups positively and statistically significantly influenced all climate-friendly actions of the youth. Personal responsibility statistically significantly decreased probability of all climate-friendly actions. Responsibility placement on the government and business/industrial sectors reduced the probability to carry out waste reduction behavior. Thus, this study revealed that young people are not always climate-friendly, and this study provides the insights into how to promote climate-friendly behavior among youths.

Do investors penalize the firms disclosing higher environmental performance? a cross cultural evidence

Climate change discourse integrates 3Ps - people, planet, and profit. However, we do not find any empirical study that integrates 3Ps. Therefore, using a large global panel dataset from 46 countries, this study intends to fill this gap by providing empirical evidence about investors' value proposition of corporate climate performance in different cultural environments. The results show that Hofstede's cultural dimensions affect corporate climate performance and its market pricing. We find that in cultures with high power distance, low individualism, high masculinity, high uncertainty avoidance, high long-term orientation, and high restraint, the investors generally penalize the firms disclosing higher environmental performance. Strangely enough, corporate waste production is universally value irrelevant. Our results indicate some policy implications.

How Do Collective Efficiency and Norms Influence the Social Resilience of Iranian Villagers Against the COVID-19? The Mediating Role of Social Leadership

The main purpose of the present research was to investigate the effects of collective efficacy and norms on the social resilience against the COVID-19 with the mediating role of social leadership. To this end, a cross-sectional survey was carried out in the Kerman and Fars provinces of Iran. Finally, 206 villagers were selected as the sample for collecting the required information. The research tool was a close-ended questionnaire whose validity and reliability was evaluated and confirmed. The results of testing direct hypotheses using structural equation modeling revealed that collective efficacy, social leadership, and norms had significant positive effects on social resilience against the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparison of the standardized effects demonstrated that collective efficacy is the most powerful predictor of the social resilience of villagers. Furthermore, testing indirect (mediation) hypotheses revealed that social leadership can successfully mediate the effect of collective efficacy on social resilience against the COVID-19. Investigating the moderated indirect hypotheses showed that governmental supports moderated the effect of collective efficacy on social resilience. Taken together, the independent variables could account for 62% of social resilience variance change. In the end, the practitioners, decision-makers, and interveners of the COVID-19 management programs in rural communities were provided with some applicable recommendations to be able to foster social resilience against the COVID-19.

Explicating the microfoundation of SME pro-environmental operations: the role of top managers

Purpose

By recognizing the decisive role of top managers (TMs) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this study attempts to explicate the microfoundation of pro-environmental operations of SMEs by examining the influence of institutional pressure on managerial cognition and subsequent SME pro-environmental operations. This study highlights the personal ethics of TMs, so as to examine the moderating effect of TMs' place attachment on SMEs' pro-environmental operations.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical data are collected from a questionnaire survey of 509 SMEs in China. Hierarchical regression results are subject to cross-validation using secondary public data.

Findings

This study demonstrates that coercive and mimetic pressures have inverted U-shaped effects, whilst normative pressure has a U-shaped effect on the threat cognition of TMs. The results also show that TMs' threat cognition (as opposed to opportunity cognition) positively influences SMEs' pro-environmental operations. Moreover, both the emotional (place identity) and functional (place dependence) dimensions of place attachment have positive moderating effects on the relationship between threat cognition and SMEs' pro-environmental operations.

Practical implications

Findings of this study lead to important implications for practitioners such as regulators, policy makers and trade associations. Enabling better understanding of the nature of SMEs' pro-environmental operations, they allow for more targeted development and the provision of optimal institutional tools to promote such operations.

Originality/value

This study allows some important factors that differentiate SMEs from large firms to surface. These factors (i.e. institutional pressures, managerial cognition and place attachment) and the interactions between them form important constituents of the microfoundations of SMEs' pro-environmental operations.

Understanding Preferences for Coastal Climate Change Adaptation: A Systematic Literature Review

Lack of public support for coastal adaptation can present significant barriers for implementation. In response, policy makers and academics are seeking strategies to build public support for coastal adaptation, which requires a deeper understanding of peoples’ preferences for coastal adaptation and what motives those preferences. Here, we conduct a systematic literature review to understand preferences for coastal adaptation options and the factors influencing these preferences. Ninety peer-reviewed publications meet the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed that hard protection options were often the most frequently preferred, likely due to a desire to maintain current shoreline, for the protection of recreational spaces and private property, and a perceived effectiveness of hard protection options. Soft protection, including nature-based approaches, accommodation, and no action were the next most preferred options. Finally, retreat options were the least preferred, often due to strong place attachment. We identify twenty-eight factors that could influence preferences, with risk perception, place attachment, and financial considerations occurring most frequently in the literature. In the conclusion, we outline the most significant research gaps identified from our analysis and discuss the implication for adaptation research and practice.

Changes in pro-environmental behaviour and its determinants during long-term period in a transition country as Lithuania

The changes in pro-environmental behaviour, whether people become more environmentally friendly or not, have been analysed very scarcely. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to analyse the changes in pro-environmental behaviour and its determinants in Lithuania as a transition European Union country comparing years 2011 and 2020. Applying Chi-Square and t test statistics, the results showed a significant increase in performance of pro-environmental behaviour in 2020. Waste sorting and purchase of environmentally friendly goods increased the most, meanwhile water and energy saving behaviour increased the least. Applying the value-belief-norm theory and leaner regression analysis, we analysed whether the same determinants influenced pro-environmental behaviour in 2011 and 2020. The results revealed that the impact of determinants differed. In 2020, the main factor of pro-environmental behaviour was the perception of environmental problems but not self-transcendence values dimension. Furthermore, self-enhancement values and awareness of behavioural consequences negatively influenced pro-environmental behaviour in 2020. Analysing the changes in these factors, an insignificant difference was observed in self-enhancement values. The changes in other factors were significant, particularly the changes in the level of environmental responsibility was the biggest. Therefore, implementation of environmental education and information programmes and various environmentally friendly public initiatives positively contributed to the enhancement of environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviour.

Environmental stressors and well-being on middle-aged and elderly people: the mediating role of outdoor leisure behaviour and place attachment

This study develops a relational model of how environmental stressors, place attachment and outdoor leisure are related to urban green zones and, accordingly, Fujian Province in China is studied as our case problem. The research is participated by primarily middle-aged and elderly residents. In total, 871 valid questionnaires are retrieved. Structural equation modelling and path analysis are used to verify the model's fitness. The results indicate that environmental stressors and outdoor leisure are significantly negatively correlated. In addition, the outdoor leisure and place attachment are significantly positively correlated. As such, the place attachment and well-being are significantly positively correlated. However, the place attachment and outdoor leisure mediated the relationship between environmental stressors and well-being. The mediating path indicated that middle-aged and elderly residents face severe environmental stressors and will engage in a few outdoor leisure activities, resulting in low well-being. Furthermore, when middle-aged and elderly residents face severe environmental stressors, they have increased place attachment, thereby increasing their well-being. The findings can serve as a reference for environmental management agencies and future researchers.

How important is community participation to eco-environmental conservation in protected areas? From the perspective of predicting locals' pro-environmental behaviours

Community participation is considered an effective measure to protect the eco-environment and to improve people's livelihoods in protected areas. However, it has not received enough attention at the practical level in most developing countries, and it is unclear how important it is in stimulating locals' pro-environmental behaviours to achieve eco-environmental protection goals. This study focuses on the relationship among community participation, perception changes in livelihood capitals and place attachment, which are related to residents' production, livelihoods, and pro-environmental behaviours. The study uses a convenience sampling method in the Nanling National Nature Reserve, China. Regression analysis results show that community participation is the most powerful predictor of pro-environmental behaviours. Furthermore, community participation moderates the relationship between place attachment and pro-environmental behaviours. In addition, perception changes in livelihood capitals positively affect pro-environmental behaviours in the high-level community participation group while having negative or positive results in the low-level community participation group. The findings, which emphasize the importance of community participation in conservation, provide a better understanding of the differences in pro-environmental behaviours between high and low community participation groups and will aid future development and conservation planning of these initiatives.

Proposing a Value Field Model for Predicting Homebuyers’ Purchasing Behavior of Green Residential Buildings: A Case Study in China

Understanding the motivations that stimulate homebuyers’ green purchasing behavior can increase market demand for green products, especially considering the comparably low market share of green products worldwide. In this context, various studies have been conducted examining consumers’ intentions to pay for green products. Nevertheless, there is still limited research on evaluating homebuyers’ purchasing behavior toward green residential buildings. This study argues that the value of green residential buildings (GRBs) affects their adoption, and thus exerts an invisible force on homebuyers’ purchasing behavior. It also finds that field theory provides a scientific perspective on this phenomenon. Thus, this paper proposes a value field model for evaluating homebuyers’ GRB purchasing behavior based on physical field theory and psychology field theory. In particular, physical field theory provides the measurement formula, while psychological field theory explains the effect of the force stimulating homebuyers’ purchasing intention, and ultimately influencing their purchasing behavior. The initial model consisted of a field source (green perceived value), target charge (GRB demand), distance (psychological distance), and value field factor. As the value field factor was calculated to be approximately equal to 1, the final model is a composite of a field source (green perceived value), target charge (GRB demand), and distance (psychological distance). The results validate the construction of the value field model on the basis of field theory. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by analyzing GRB value and provides a clearer understanding of how GRBs and the environment combine to fulfill homebuyers’ requirements and influence their GRB purchasing behavior.

The Impacts of Place Attachment on Environmentally Responsible Behavioral Intention and Satisfaction of Chinese Nature-Based Tourists

Increasing visits to protected areas in China have drawn public attention on the negative impacts on ecologically sensitive areas. Understanding potential determinants of the environmentally responsible behavioral intention of nature-based tourists has become a common focus in tourism studies. Scholars seek to explore potential determinants of visitors’ behavior, and the findings can be referenced by the managers of protected areas to formulate visitor management strategies. On the basis of a sample of 402 questionnaires collected in protected areas in South China, namely, Nanling National Forest Park and Dinghu Mountain National Nature Reserve, we explore the association between visitors’ place attachment and their satisfaction and environmentally responsible behavioral intention. The results show that place dependence and place identity are positively correlated with the satisfaction and environmentally responsible behavioral intention of visitors; thus, our results differ from those of previous studies on Western visitors. The lack of significant results regarding place social bonding revealed the shortcomings associated with visitor management in China’s protected areas. Chinese culture has a great influence on various findings in this study. All of the findings provide significant insights for management and policy-making regarding protected areas worldwide to accommodate the rising number of nature-based visitors to China.