COVID-19 and dynamics of environmental awareness, sustainable consumption and social responsibility in Malaysia

Influence of environmental awareness on the willingness to pay for green products: an analysis under the application of the theory of planned behavior in the Peruvian market

Introduction

This paper aimed to build a predictive model through an empirical study to examine the influence of environmental awareness (EA) on attitude (ATT) and perceived behavioral control (PBC), as well as to determine the influence of the three variables of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on willingness to pay (WP) for green products in the Peruvian market.

Methods

A total of 405 Peruvian consumers were surveyed. Most of them were between the ages of 18 and 30 and single. To test the hypotheses, partial least squares (PLS-SEM) were used using the SamrtPls4 software. The results show the significant positive effect of EA on ATT and PBC. The positive and significant effect of ATT, SN, and PBC on WP was also tested A total of 405 Peruvian consumers were surveyed. Most of them were between 18 and 30 years old and single. To test the hypotheses, partial least squares (PLS-SEM) was used using SamrtPls4 software.

Results

The results show the positive and significant effect of AD on ATT and PBC. The positive and significant effect of ATT, SN and PBC on WP was also tested.

Discussion

The research provides antecedents that allow evaluation of the possibility that companies and governments adjust the dissemination strategies and related public policies regarding the impact of environmentally responsible behavior in order to contribute to the development of environmental awareness as a variable that promotes the disposition of consumers to pay for environmentally friendly products.

Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of social media on awareness' socio-environmental and sustainable consumption: Consolidating lessons from the pandemic

Many impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were caused on people's health and the economy of countries in its first year, especially in emerging economies such as Brazil, were dire. Social distancing and the reduction of jobs caused impacts in many organizations, which led to the adoption of strategies allowing employees to work from home, adjusting family residences into home offices while facing reduction in industrial production and a decrease in economic activities. The pandemic also changed consumption behaviors, the use of social media (social networks), and people's socioenvironmental awareness. This research aims to evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of social media, on environmental awareness, on sustainable consumption awareness and on the social responsibility awareness of different generations in Brazil one year after the beginning of the pandemic. For data analysis, the structural equation modeling method was used from a final sample of 1120 respondents. The results indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic positively influences the growing in social media usage (environmental issues and social responsibility issues) and sustainable consumption awareness. The study highlights that social media usage has the ability to positively influence environmental awareness, sustainable consumption awareness, and social responsibility awareness. The results provide a framework to analyze the consequential factors of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainability awareness and the use of social media.

Exploring the impact of the pandemic on the relationship between individual types and the natural environment:

COVID-19 is a global event that has impacted every individual on earth in some way and can be viewed as a mortality salience trigger. Although there were reports of increased nature exposure across the world, research is needed to understand whether the pandemic event impacted the underlying psychology of the human-nature nexus. Given the likelihood of pandemics and environmental challenges increasing in frequency in the future, there is a need for a deeper understanding of how pandemics impact individuals' relationship with the natural environment in South Africa. To achieve this, the study applied psychological types (grouping individuals based on homogeneity) to explore potential shifts as human nature is neither fixed, nor universal. The study asked: Given the multiple significant impacts of COVID-19 on the African continent, how have perceptions and attitudes towards the natural environment changed within and between types of individuals from 2016 (pre COVID) to 2021 (COVID) in South Africa? In a longitudinal, quantitative study, separate samples 721 in 2016 and 665 in 2021 were obtained. Participants in 2021 were grouped into the same six types using the same criteria, for comparison with the 2016 data. The results showed limited potential for pandemics to act as catalysts for long-term individual change towards increased pro-environmentalism. The study confirmed the main tenets of Terror Management Theory that individuals tend to be driven to uphold worldviews when confronted with mortality. Furthermore, there was a reduced experience of personal control over outcomes that increased reliance on sources of control outside the self as an attempt to buffer against mortality concerns. The study contributes towards Terror Management Theory's application during pandemics, and how that relates to individual environmental attitudes and perceptions.

COVID-19 Effects on Environmentally Responsible Behavior: A Social Impact Perspective from Latin American Countries

The aim of the research is to examine the relationships between the following variables (a) Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), composed of Attitudes (ATT), Subjective Norms (SN), and Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC); and (b) Consciousness (EC) on the dependent variable Environmentally Responsible Purchase Intention (ERPI) from the perspective of the Latin American consumer in a pandemic. Currently, the literature on the relationships proposed in the explanatory model is still scarce at a theoretical and practical level, without empirical evidence in Latin America. The data collection is from 1624 voluntary responses from consumers in Chile (n = 400), Colombia (n = 421), Mexico (n = 401), and Peru (n = 402) collected through online surveys. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) and multi-group to test invariance analysis and the moderating effects, we can determine the relationship between the variables in the proposed model, generating evidence from Latin American countries. The empirical analysis verified that Attitude (ATT), Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC), and Environmental Consciousness (CE) have a positive and significant effect on Environmentally Responsible Purchase Intention (ERPI). The results also show that the generation variable presents invariance. Therefore, the groups are not different at the model level for the generation variable, becoming relevant to the difference at the path level. Therefore, the results of this study become a relevant contribution, indicating a moderating effect on the generation variable. This research provides insights for understanding Latin American consumers, and managerial implications are also provided for developing strategies to promote sustainable consumption.

COVID-19, social identity, and socially responsible food consumption between generations

Introduction

The objective of the research was to analyze the effect of COVID-19 with the predictors of the health belief model (perceived severity, perceived benefits, and cue to action) on the social identity of the consumer and the social identity of the socially responsible food consumption among four generation groups of adults based on the stimulus-organism-response model.

Methods

The study had a quantitative approach explanatory design and a cross-sectional temporal dimension. A total of 834 questionnaires were collected from adults in the metropolitan area of Mexico City, and the data were analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling.

Results

The results indicated that perceived severity, perceived benefits, and cue to action positively and significantly influenced social identity, and this positively and significantly influenced socially responsible consumption. In addition, identity was found to be a variable that had a total mediation effect between perceived severity and socially responsible consumption, perceived benefits and socially responsible consumption, and cue to action and socially responsible consumption. While the perceived barriers only had a direct effect on socially responsible consumption. Likewise, a difference was found between generation X and Y, generation Z and X, and generation Y and X in the relationship between cue to action, belonging to a social network group, and social identity.

Discussion

In this sense, these results allow us to consider that when environmental stimuli (predictors of the health belief model) affect the organism (social identity), it will respond with socially responsible food consumption. This type of consumption is explained through social identity and is modified according to the age of the consumers due to the effects of social networks.

COVID-19 impacts on household solid waste generation in six Latin American countries: a participatory approach

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the Americas, the continent with the highest number of COVID-related deaths according to WHO statistics. In Latin America, strict confinement conditions at the beginning of the pandemic put recycling activity to a halt and augmented the consumption of plastic as a barrier to stop the spread of the virus. The lack of data to understand waste management dynamics complicates waste management strategy adjustments aimed at coping with COVID-19. As a novel contribution to the waste management data gap for Latin America, this study uses a virtual and participatory methodology that collects and generates information on household solid waste generation and composition. Data was collected between June and November 2021 in six countries in Latin America, with a total of 503 participants. Participants indicated that the pandemic motivated them to initiate or increase waste reduction (41%), waste separation (40%), and waste recovery (33%) activities. Forty-three percent of participants perceived an increase in total volume of their waste; however, the quantitative data showed a decrease in household waste generation in Peru (-31%), Honduras (-25%), and Venezuela (-82%). No changes in waste composition were observed. Despite the limited sample size, this data provides a much-needed approximation of household waste generation and composition in the pandemic situation during 2021.

The management of Industry 4.0 technologies and environmental assets for optimal performance of industrial firms in Malaysia

The integration of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) has emerged as an innovative paradigm for industrial firms contemplating environmental and economic issues. This study explicates the role of I4.0 technologies (I4.0TEC) in reinforcing the management of environmental assets (ENVASS) as well as optimizing financial performance (FP). The data in this research was collected from 738 industrial firms in Malaysia between 2009 and 2018. The analyses of ordinary least square statistics (OLS) and structural equation modeling (SEM) delineated three major findings. The individual effect of ENVASS, robotization, and flexibility in production technologies has a marginal impact on sales, exports, and labor productivity indicators. The complementarities of these variables represent a similar effect on the performance indicators. The findings related to gross operating margin elucidate that ENVASS and I4.0TEC have neither individual nor complementarity effects. This was explained by developing a robust model by integrating ENVASS, I4.0TEC, spending and investing in R&D, flexibility in production, and human capital management. Our findings have confirmed that the proposed model offers a functional toolkit for the firms considering optimizing their profitability by leveraging ENVASS and I4.0TEC. This research also contributes to developing an ethical business model for the circular economy.

The Effect of Fear of COVID-19 on Green Purchase Behavior in Pakistan: A Multi-Group Analysis Between Infected and Non-infected

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its effects on an individual's life have altered the consumer behavior. In the context of purchase and consumption, a shift from conventional to green purchase has been noticed. Although the factors underlying this shift were relatively unexplored, the study aimed to identify the factors that influenced a significant role in the green purchases during the outbreak and the relationship of these factors with green purchase behavior (GPB). Subsequently, this study investigates and interprets the role of fear of COVID-19 (FCV), psychological distress (PD), and mortality salience (MS) in predicting consumer's GPB. This research adopted a quantitative methodology using data collected from 432 respondents in various cities across Pakistan. Smart-PLS 3 was used to evaluate the measurement model, structural model, and multi-group analysis (MGA). Despite having the negative psychological and physical impact of the pandemic, a significant proportion of customers have switched to healthier and sustainable products. This research revealed that the FCV, PD, and MS plays a substantial role in adopting GPB. All the direct relationships were positive and significant. In addition, MS and PD partially mediate the effect of FCV on GPB. Furthermore, the MGA revealed that the infected respondents were interested in purchasing green products than uninfected respondents due to their FCV; conversely, the PD and MS were higher in uninfected individuals than infected ones. However, there is a vast literature on GPB, but little has investigated the cumulative impact of FCV, PD, and MS on GPB.

Energy financing for energy retrofit in COVID-19: Recommendations for green bond financing

The aim of study is to estimate the role of energy financing for energy retrofit in COVID-19, with the intervening role of green bond financing. For this, Kalman technique is applied to infer the empirical findings. It is found that energy financing is significantly dependent on green bonds, and green bonds have a significant role in energy retrofit in E-7 economies specifically. It is further found that E-7 economies gained significant rise in energy efficiency financing green bonds financing, that has supportively extended energy retrofit - before and during COVID-19 crises. It is further found significant that the E-7 nations have to put alot of money into hydro and nuclear energy for energy retrofit, with low carbon emissions. In the light of COVID-19 crises, this study offers policy recommendations for effective energy management. However, such policy recommendations are expected to finely serve the financial intermediaries and national governments of E-7 economies to better optimize energy financing through green bond financing. The novelty of the study exists in topical framework and research directions, talking about the way forwards for energy efficiency financing - which is one of the latest issue of the recent times. Hence, this research provides some empirical verifications about energy financing in COVID-19 crises for energy retrofit, and shares some suggestions for stakeholders.

Short- and Mid-Term Impacts of COVID-19 Outbreak on the Nutritional Quality and Environmental Impact of Diet

Background

Changes in dietary behaviors that occurred at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak and in particular during the first national lockdowns have been extensively studied across countries. Beyond the understanding of contextual changes in diets due to a temporary lockdown, it is of interest to study longer-term consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak as sustained changes in diets may have both an impact on population health and the environment.

Objectives

This study aimed to examine both short- (after 1 month) and mid-term (after 1 year) impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on the nutritional quality and environmental impact of diets, and as a secondary objective on food choice motives.

Methods

We collected dietary data [food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)] and the importance of nine food choice motives through online questionnaires before, during, and after 1 year of the first lockdown for 524 French participants. Adherence to the French dietary recommendations was estimated using the simplified PNNS-GS2, which scores from −17 to 11.5. Environmental impact of diets was assessed by calculating greenhouse gas emissions in CO2eq/2,000 kcal.

Results

We showed a short-term decrease in nutritional quality (−0.26 points on sPNNS-GS2, p = 0.017) and environmental impact (−0.17 kg CO2eq/2,000 kcal, p = 0.004) but this decrease was only temporary, and nutritional quality (−0.01 points on sPNNS-GS2, p = 0.974) and environmental impact (−0.04 kg CO2eq/2,000 kcal, p = 0.472) were not different from their initial values 1 year later. Some of the food choice motives followed the trend of a short-term increase and a mid-term stability (health, natural content, ethical concern, and weight control). On the contrary, we showed both short- and mid-term decreases in convenience, familiarity, and price motives.

Conclusion

Changes in diets and motives observed during the first lockdown were mostly temporary. However, we highlighted a sustained decrease in the importance of perceived constraints due to food shopping and food preparation which may suggest a trend toward a more positive perception of food-related activities.

Construct and Priority Ranking of Factors Affecting Crowdfunding for Green Products

This article aims to target the key factors that could positively affect crowdfunding success for green products in order to promote crowdfunding efficiency and green supply chain management. Methods: Data were collected through expert interviews and questionnaires and then processed through analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis. Statistical tool: This study used Expert Choice as the software for AHP analysis. Sampling: There were 20 participants (20 effective) in pretesting and 30 (23 effective) in formal testing. Participants were followers of green products in Taiwan. Results: (1) Twenty-four factors were abstracted to form the final construct; (2) the 24 key factors could be divided into 2 hierarchies, with 5 primary factors and 19 secondary factors; (3) among the 5 primary factors, “green diversified context” was the most influential; (4) among the 19 secondary factors, “product material is safe and non-toxic” was the most important. Conclusions: Funders would be likely to finance green products on crowdfunding platforms if these products fit the 24 key factors in orders. Implications: This research contributes to product life cycle theory and crowdfunding theory and practically improves the sustainability of green products.

Circular dairy supply chain management through Internet of Things-enabled technologies

Internet of Things-enabled technologies help to collect data and make it understandable, especially in supply chain processes, thus minimizing the problems that may arise in supply chains. It is extremely important to support this process with Internet of Things-enabled technologies, especially in supply chains that are vulnerable to disruptions such as the dairy supply chain. Moreover, dairy supply chains are the type of supply chains where the most waste is generated; evaluating this waste is very beneficial to the circular economy. Therefore, monitoring data in dairy supply chains and using Internet of Things-enabled technologies prevent losses; it is critical to have Internet of Things-enabled circular dairy supply chains in operation. The aim of this study is to determine the success factors of Internet of Things-enabled circular dairy supply chains based on the various stages of these chains; we hope to match each dairy supply chain stage with a success factor of Internet of Things-enabled technology and determine a ranking for these factors. Hence, six success factors of Internet of Things-enabled circular supply chains are weighted for each stage of the chain; Internet of Things-enabled digital technologies are then matched with each stage of the chain, and the success factor is determined. The ranking of factors can then be drawn up through the integration of Step Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and Technique for Order Preference Similar to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The outcome of this study will provide managers and policy makers with insights into Internet of Things-enabled circular dairy supply chains.