How Will Changes toward Pro-Environmental Behavior Play in Customers’ Perceived Value of Environmental Concerns at Coffee Shops?

Influences of Social-Psychological Constructs in Predicting Taiwanese Pro-Environmental Behaviors

A value-belief-norm (VBN) model for understanding the pro-environmental behaviors (PEB) of Taiwanese was developed. This formulated VBN model included personal values, openness to change, awareness of consequences, personal norms, social norms, and PEB. Ecological world view and ascription of responsibility were excluded to develop a tighter model. A total of 1079 completed questionnaires were collected and structural equation modelling was utilized, where standard estimates and coefficients of determination validated the formulated VBN model's effectiveness. Each construct served its role as the mediator between its distal variable and outcome variable, with a substantial level of predictive accuracy, and 74.3% of the variance in PEB was accounted for. Further findings found that mature individuals had a stronger tendency towards awareness of consequences due to personal values; the young had a stronger tendency towards personal norms due to awareness of consequences; men had a stronger tendency towards personal norms due to awareness of consequences; and women had a weaker tendency due to a greater emphasis on altruism. Future interventions, such as sharing of personal pro-environmental lifestyles verbally or through social media, periodically decluttering personal items and maintaining a minimalist lifestyle, where these personal norms are in line with collective social norms, could help to strengthen PEB.

Understanding employees’ voluntary pro-environmental behavior in public organizations – an integrative theory approach

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the impact of situational factors and internal psychological states on employees’ decisions to perform voluntary pro-environmental behavior. This study used a model combining the theory of planned behavior, norm activation model and comprehensive action determination model. This stud also explored the moderating role of habit (HAB) on the relationship between intention and actual voluntary pro-environmental behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through three waves of time-lagged survey questionnaires from 519 employees of public organizations in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Findings

Employees’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) had a significant impact on intention to perform voluntary pro-environmental behavior, as did all other variables except perceived behavioral control. HABs related to pro-environmental behavior enhanced the relationship between intention and actual behavior.

Practical implications

The main factors influencing employees’ voluntary pro-environmental behavioral intentions were perceived CSR, personal moral norms, organizational citizenship behaviors toward the environment and attitude. Public organization planners, managers and practitioners can use these findings to improve their organization’s environmental performance, leveraging nonmandated actions.

Social implications

Employees can achieve a better work–life balance in organizations with flexible CSR policies and which sponsor social activities to improve public well-being and individuals’ life quality. Positive sense-making of corporate social activity helps employees develop social interactions with stakeholders, increasing their involvement in society and decreasing work stress.

Originality/value

This study sheds light on the factors influencing employees’ voluntary pro-environmental behavior. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of its kind to combine these three models to explain the variables affecting intent to perform voluntary pro-environmental behavior in the workplace.

Research Framework Built Natural-Based Solutions (NBSs) as Green Hotels

In this study, value-belief-norm (VBN) theory and the social exchange theory (SET) were applied to predict hotel customers’ pro-environmental responsibility behavior intention (PRBI) for the characteristics of NBSs in green hotels—specifically, to investigate the relationship between NBSs as green hotel and PRBI, and to test its mediating effect on pro-environmental perceived (PPV), pro-environmental perceived belief (PPVBE), personal pro-environmental norms (PPN), attitude toward environmental behavior (ATEB), mental health (MH), well-being (WB), and satisfaction (SA) and the moderating effect of locations (urban, rural) among these variables toward pro-environmental responsibility behavior intention (PRBI). Data were collected using a survey of 440 customers who had visited green hotels in the Republic of Korea within the last 12 months. We used to test the research hypotheses by structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings generally supported the hypothesized associations between variables within our proposed theoretical framework and confirmed the moderating effect of location. The study’s results have important theoretical and practical implications for the environment. We investigated the relationship between the characteristics of NBSs and PRBI of green hotels, and we investigated the relationship between psychological state, attitude, and behavior of green hotel customers by applying variables suitable for ART, SET, and VBN. In addition, we verified the moderating effect of customers’ green behavior and attitudes toward green hotels located in urban and rural areas. Moreover, these findings herein may encourage green hotels to participate in preventing environmental problems. It provides primary data on customers’ perception of ecofriendliness in establishing corporate management strategies.

Impact of Environmental Moral Education on Pro-Environmental Behaviour: Do Psychological Empowerment and Islamic Religiosity Matter?

In light of increasing concerns about global environmental problems, environmental moral education is assumed to have a significant influence on the pro-environmental behaviour of students. Within the past decade, several higher education institutes have acknowledged the importance of integrating sustainability into the educational curriculum to have a focused and explicit impact on society. The current study investigated the relationship between environmental moral education and pro-environmental behaviour while drawing upon insights from the conservation of resource theory. The relationship among the aforementioned variables was studied for the mediating role of psychological empowerment and the moderating effect of Islamic religiosity. Data were collected from 429 university students with a cross-sectional approach. The data were analysed using “structural equation modelling” and “PROCESS” analytical techniques. The results of the study followed the predicted conceptual model, that is, environmental moral education was positively related to pro-environmental behaviour. Furthermore, psychological empowerment partially mediated the aforementioned relationship, while Islamic religiosity moderated the relationships between environmental moral education and pro-environmental behaviour as well as between environmental moral education and psychological empowerment. These findings reinforce the importance of environmental moral education and Islamic religiosity in understanding the Muslim student’s ecological behaviours.

The Impacts of Fear and Uncertainty of COVID-19 on Environmental Concerns, Brand Trust, and Behavioral Intentions toward Green Hotels

This study aimed to investigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry. We examined the interplay between consumers’ fear and uncertainty of COVID-19, their trust in green hotel brands, and their behavioral intentions in relation to staying at green hotels. Analysis of 613 completed responses to a survey instrument revealed that fear and uncertainty of COVID-19 have increased consumers’ environmental concerns and green hotel brand trust, which in turn have promoted their willingness to pay more and willingness to make sacrifices to stay at green hotels. The paper contributes to research on green consumption behavior in the hotel industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

e-Commerce Sustainability: The Case of Pinduoduo in China

Internet-based platforms are competing fiercely in the Chinese market by fostering an omni-channel shopping ecosystem. Companies have grouped under two giants, Alibaba and Tencent, leading to one-to-many competition dynamics in the Chinese market. In the midst of this competition, the three-year-old Pinduoduo has gained attention with its fast growth, positioning itself as the third biggest e-commerce platform in China with 19.4% of the market share. Pinduoduo has targeted a niche market made up of cheap products, low-income workers, and small business owners in small cities. Recently, however, many Pinduoduo users have returned to their former platforms, due to the proliferation of fake and low-quality products on the platform. Our study aims to investigate the reasons that prompted users to return to other platforms after their Pinduoduo experience. We conducted in-depth interviews to understand this phenomenon and built a research model based on risk theory and the customer resistance to change (CRC) framework. Results suggest that switching costs and relative attractiveness influence CRC, while risk perceptions form negative attitudes toward CRC, which finally result in negative word of mouth. Finally, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.