Managing Sustainability: The Role of External Factors in Achieving Sustainable Consumption

Individual goal-oriented consumers are attributed much of the blame for sustainability issues in the literature as they attempt to satisfy their personal, social and ecological needs through consumption (Cherrier et al., 2012;... [ view full abstract ]

Individual goal-oriented consumers are attributed much of the blame for sustainability issues in the literature as they attempt to satisfy their personal, social and ecological needs through consumption (Cherrier et al., 2012; Davies and Gutsche, 2016). This ‘insatiable desire for more’ by consumers is encrypted in both the ideological foundation and institutional structure of the market (Jackson, 2005, p.24). However, if our global economy is already consuming more than the Earth can provide, how can we alter our current situation? One answer to this question has been to encourage consumers to be more environmentally conscious in their consumption. There is extensive research in the field of sustainable consumption, which has many emphases (e.g. McDonald et al., 2006; Peattie, 2009; Harris et al., 2016; Shaw et al., 2016; Carrigan, 2017; Verplanken, 2017). Research over the past 40 years has segmented the green consumer market with an aim to understand and direct lower levels of consumption. However, there is considerable contention that this segmentation process and the following interventions have not brought about the desired change in behaviour (Peattie, 2010; McDonald et al., 2012). There is an implicit assumption within the literature that individuals want to help the environment and are just lacking the ‘know how’ and once they receive information on what pro-environmental actions they can take, it ‘awakens a latent sense of responsibility’ (Hobson, 2002, p.103). However, relying on the contention that consumers have an inherent responsibility for the environment, and are motivated to act on this responsibility, may be inaccurate and unreliable (Hobson, 2002). That leaves us questioning how we can effectively progress sustainability from the consumer perspective in ways that have significant, practical implications for the sustainability agenda. Continuing our quest in understanding consumer behaviour in this context, this paper explores the behaviours of mainstream consumers in relation to sustainable consumption.

Efforts to motivate sustainable consumption have been extensive but have produced conflicting results (Jackson 2005; McDonald et al., 2006; Freestone and McGoldrick 2008; Adams and Raisborough 2010; Young et al., 2010; Carrigan 2017). An important aspect of uncovering what motivates behaviour change is to garner a greater understanding of how consumers make decisions in a consumption context. In this endeavor, several social-psychological theories have been used in the literature to model and explain decision-making and behaviour change. The two most prominent theoretical approaches have been Hunt and Vitell’s (1986) general theory of marketing ethics and Ajzen’s (1985, 1991) attitude-intention-behaviour model. These two models rest on the fundamental premise that individual intentions are consistent with ethical judgments. However, there is clear evidence of attitude-intention-behaviour gaps where consumers ethical attitudes and intentions do not always result in ethical behaviour (Carrigan and Atalla, 2001; Chatzidakis et al., 2006; Carrington et al., 2010; Carrington et al., 2014). The positivist perspective used across green consumption research has led to significant bias towards research examining cognitive and rational aspects of consumer behaviour (Ajzen, 1991; Chatzidakis et al., 2006; Auger and Devinney, 2007). Although studies have claimed there is a demand for ethical alternatives this interest has not filtered through to the checkout (Belk et al., 2005; Auger and Devinney, 2007; Carrington et al., 2010). Ethical consumers do not always ‘walk their talk’ (Carrington et al., 2010, p.141). Understanding the gap between what consumers say they will do/purchase and what consumers actually do/purchase is an important academic, managerial and social objective (Carrington et al., 2010). These inconsistencies have suggested that the notion of a true ‘ethical consumer’ is indeed a myth (Carrigan and Attalla, 2001; Nicholls and Lee, 2006; Eckhardt et al., 2010; Moraes et al., 2012). It is contended that the ideology of an ‘ethical consumer’ is false and misplaced and despite high ethical intentions, no consumer acts in an ethical manner for each of their consumption choices (Peattie, 1999). However, consumer behaviour models of attitude-intention-behaviour may have falsely isolated decision-making from the external effects of the environment and ignoring these contextual elements has contributed to false representations of consumer behaviour (Schaefer and Crane, 2005; Carrington et al., 2010).

Consumers, both as individuals and as members of households, are relied upon to purchase ethically and dispose of materials effectively (Tudor et al., 2011). McDonald et al. (2009, p.139) conceptualize green consumption as a process whereby consumers ‘make sense of themselves and relationships with others’ all the while behaving within the constraints of societal structures and norms. Viewing consumption as socially and culturally embedded (Dolan, 2002) this paper aims to explore if, and how sustainable behaviours in the home are practiced. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants. Unlike much research in this context, participants were not required to self-identify as ethical consumers. Participants in this research represent ‘mainstream’ consumers, meaning that they do not profess to overly care or have a sense of responsibility for environmental issues.

Findings suggest that sustainable behaviours in the home, such as sustainable waste management, do occur, even where participants present as ‘mainstream’ consumers. Therefore, positive behaviour is occurring in the absence of positive attitudes. This positive behaviour appears to be prompted and maintained by external factors:

“I think its legislation. I don’t think somebody is going to go out there and appeal to somebody’s better nature […] so I think its legislation so people will have no choice. And at the end of the day I think people will probably accept it – the plastic bags were a classic one. There was so much talk about that and then it was like a whimper…we all just adapted and now we are a leading light”

Michelle

This participant claims that behaviour changed when people have ‘no choice’. Interestingly, Michelle makes reference to the plastic bag example in Ireland as consumers having ‘no choice’ meaning that people don’t view it as a choice due to the cost implications, and society adapted with ease. Similarly, waste management companies have reportedly altered behaviours:

“To be honest with you, when the bin man wanted it done that way…we didn’t give it a lot of thought prior to that”                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Kate

“We have recycling, we do recycling so I’d wash the tins out and the bottles and all the rest and they go into the one bin…because that is what the company wants”                                                                                                                                                           Susan

“I recycle because the bin is there so I might as well be using it”                                                                                                                                                                    Valerie

Waste management and recycling behaviours altered when waste management companies dictated how their waste is to be sorted and collected, and similarly when government legislated with plastic bag charges. Behaviour change did not occur because of an overriding responsibility or care for the environment. Participants also situate certain appliances or facilities in their home that make it easy for them to behave sustainably:

“I put in a new kitchen about seven years ago and I put in the two bins, one for recycling and one for waste so that made it very handy…the fact that the two bins were together when I opened the drawer as opposed to chucking it all in one bin…so it makes it more simple”                                                                                                                                    Tina

Discussions here suggest that if behaviours are to be changed and sustained, external factors, such as legislation and/or authority in some form, or structural design within the home plays a crucial role. Interestingly, respondents seem to have a passive attitude to their behaviour change. It seems as if there is very little resistance to changing their behaviours once it has been enforced on them through authoritative figures or external forces. Despite respondents not portraying much pro-active behaviour in light of pressing environmental concerns, their behaviours, albeit passive, are having a positive net result for the environment.

The findings presented in this paper are part of a wider research study on sustainable behaviour practices in the home. The findings presented here suggest that rather than trying to ‘motivate’ sustainability we may need to focus more on trying to ‘manage’ sustainability among consumers either via legislation or provisioning. Positive consumption practices are occurring in the home due to external factors such as the requirements by waste-management companies rather than any internal concern or positive attitude for the environment. These findings have important implications in this research area in terms of who we research; this research suggests that mainstream consumers are in fact behaving sustainably, albeit, passively, and more research should be done on this segment. It also suggests that managing sustainability via external factors and/or forces enables sustainable consumption, which contributes to our understanding of how to achieve behaviour change in this context. These findings also have important practical implications for organisations that are trying to make an effort in terms of sustainability – knowing that consumers may willingly adapt may allow companies to be more innovative with their solutions. And finally, these findings have substantial social implications in terms of the net positive outcomes; although attitudes don’t appear to change, and consumers are not necessarily motivated to be responsible, their behaviour is, at least in part, representative of the desirable ‘ethical consumer’