Challenging the Status Quo through Social Influence: Changes in Sustainable Consumption through the Influence of Social Networks

The Effects of Social Network and Institutional Embeddedness on Household Consumption: Evidence from China Household Finance Survey

Consumer behavior is embedded in a certain social structure and social networks, and the scale and density of household social networks will be likely to affect consumption expenditure. To explore the impact of social networks and institutional embeddedness on household consumption, this study constructs a model of consumption influencing factors, and devises an empirical study using the data of China Household Finance Survey (CHFS). The results show some innovation. (1) The impact of household social networks on total household consumption is significant. A 1% increase in social networks spending boosts household consumption spending by 0.364%. (2) The institutional embeddedness will affect household consumption. Every 1% increase of social security account balance (the proxy variable of institutional embeddedness) can boost household consumption by 0.196%. This proves that the social insurance institution can enhance consumer confidence and promote current consumption growth. (3) The results of the robustness test confirmed that even after replacing the dependent variable with “the proportion of developmental consumption in total household consumption,” the influence of social networks and institutional embeddedness on consumption is still significant. Using the variable “communication expenses” instead of “gift income and expenditure” as the proxy variable of social networks, the estimation result is still robust. (4) Social networks have a significant influence on all types of household consumption except medical care consumption, but the degree of influence is different. Further discussion revealed that the estimation results are different for different regions in China, but the coefficients of core independent variables are not significantly different. This conclusion is different from people’s intuition, which holds that people in regions with low economic development rely more on social communication and spend more on social communication to maintain a certain social status. The conclusion of this paper is of great significance for formulating policies and institutions affecting residents’ consumption.

Social Media Engagement in Shaping Green Energy Business Models

Recent years have seen an increase in the role of social media in the communication of energy sector companies (ESCs) with consumers. Currently, consumers look for information, create it themselves, and share it with other Internet users. eWOM communication means that energy companies, firstly, must be present in social media so that consumers can get to know them better, and secondly, they must consciously shape their image according to the expectations of their customers. One-way communication, such as customer satisfaction measurements, is no longer enough to know their preferences. Market trends indicate that for current buyers—both consumer and non-consumer products—the image of a “green product” or a “green company” is expected. Only a few companies report that they are harmful for environment. All companies report that they are generally community friendly. The consumer would like to know, in particular, about the harmfulness to the environment. Thus, there is a knowledge gap that the companies are not filling. In addition to the advertised satisfaction indicators, you can also test customers’ perceptions of environmental responsibility. That is, the research and results in the area of social responsibility must also be accompanied by environmental responsibility. Therefore, the article aims to indicate whether the level of consumer engagement in social media affects the perception of the green energy business model and how the attitude and pro-environmental behavior of social media users affects this perception. The paper also identifies factors related to social media that influence the perception of ESCs.