Sustainable consumption behavior of Europeans: The influence of environmental knowledge and risk perception on environmental concern and behavioral intention

Saari, Ulla A.Jönköping University,IHH, Företagsekonomi,Industrial Engineering and Management, Faculty of Management & Business, Tampere University, PO Box 541, Tampere, FI-33101, Finland (author)

Sustainable consumption behavior of Europeans : The influence of environmental knowledge and risk perception on environmental concern and behavioral intention

This study explores how environmental knowledge and risk perception influence individuals' sustainable consumption behavior through the mediation of environmental concern and behavioral intention. The study combines constructs from earlier studies to form a novel theoretical model, which is tested and validated with an open data set from the Environment III 2010 module, which was collected by the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). Our sample consists of respondents from nine countries (N = 11,675) in the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The model indicates that environmental risk perception and environmental knowledge impact environmental concern significantly. Furthermore, environmental concern strongly influences behavioral intention, and these constructs, in turn, act as mediators of sustainable consumption behavior. The findings indicate that in Europe, sustainable consumption behavior can be associated with environmental concern, which is influenced by increased levels of environmental knowledge and environmental risk perception. The results provide a basis for future analyses once the Environment IV module is released. This will be of particular importance for tracking possible changes in the sustainable consumption behavior of Europeans when transitioning to a green and circular economy that is driven by the European Green Deal and EU Circular Economy Action Plan.

Damberg, S.Institute of Human Resource Management and Organizations (W-9), Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Am Schwarzenberg-Campus 4 (D), Hamburg, 21073, Germany (author)
Frömbling, L.Institute of Human Resource Management and Organizations (W-9), Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Am Schwarzenberg-Campus 4 (D), Hamburg, 21073, Germany (author)
Ringle, C. M.Institute of Human Resource Management and Organizations (W-9), Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Am Schwarzenberg-Campus 4 (D), Hamburg, 21073, Germany (author)
Jönköping UniversityIHH, Företagsekonomi (creator_code:org_t)

By the author/editor: Saari, Ulla A.; Damberg, S.; Frömbling, L.; Ringle, C. M.

About the subject

SOCIAL SCIENCES: SOCIAL SCIENCES; and Economics and Bu ...; and Business Adminis ...

Kungliga biblioteket hanterar dina personuppgifter i enlighet med EU:s dataskyddsförordning (2018), GDPR. Läs mer om hur det funkar här.
Så här hanterar KB dina uppgifter vid användning av denna tjänst.