Daniel Hanss
Address: Hochschule Darmstadt - University of Applied Sciences
Fachbereich Gesellschaftswissenschaften
Haardtring 100
64295 Darmstadt
Germany
Fachbereich Gesellschaftswissenschaften
Haardtring 100
64295 Darmstadt
Germany
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Papers by Daniel Hanss
(e.g., organic and fair trade foods) and perceived self-efficacy with regard to sustainable development can be
strengthened through persuasive information.
One hundred forty-five Norwegian consumers were randomly assigned to one of two groups: an intervention
and a control group. Participants in the intervention group were informed about how they can promote
sustainable development through everyday consumption behaviors and presented with various tasks to reflect
upon the provided information. Participants in the control group were presented with tasks unrelated to the
topic of sustainable consumption.
We found that the intervention increased consumers’ intentions to purchase domestic, seasonal, and organic
products. In addition, actual purchases of organic and fair trade products increased as a result of the
intervention. Contrary to our assumption, the campaign had no effects on self-efficacy beliefs. Alternative
explanations of how the campaign may have affected purchasing intentions and actual purchases are
discussed.
In the present study, we took a broader perspective: We addressed consumer behavior that contributes to a sustainable development (more specifically, intentions to purchase “sustainable” groceries, i.e., groceries that help to promote environmental preservation, a socially fair distribution of resources, and economic welfare) and measured self-efficacy with regard to sustainable development (SDSE, i.e., beliefs in one’s ability to contribute to a sustainable development).
In an online survey among students (N = 194) of different majors we explored the dimensionality of SDSE and investigated if SDSE predict intentions to purchase sustainable groceries (PI). SDSE was measured by means of 28 questionnaire items and PI was measured by means of 31 questionnaire items.
A factor analysis indicated that six facets of SDSE can be distinguished (67 % explained variance, cumulated): Four facets represent self-efficacy beliefs regarding one’s ability to directly contribute to different aspects of sustainable development (i.e., the perceived ability 1. to contribute to social fairness and economic welfare, 2. to contribute to environmental preservation and securing the needs of future generations, 3. to help improving social services and securing the basic needs of people in developing countries, 4. to reduce the ecological stress from agriculture); Two facets represent self-efficacy beliefs regarding one’s ability to indirectly contribute to sustainable development through motivating other consumers to promote sustainable development (i.e., the perceived ability 1. to encourage other consumers to purchase sustainable groceries and to think about environmental preservation, 2. to draw other consumers’ attention to a socially fair distribution of resources and economic welfare).
Multiple regression analyses revealed that the six SDSE facets differed with regard to their role in predicting PI. Two SDSE facets were particularly important in predicting PI: Consumers’ perceived ability to reduce the ecological stress from agriculture and consumers’ perceived ability to draw other consumers’ attention to a socially fair distribution of resources and economic welfare.
Our findings suggest that self-efficacy beliefs regarding one’s direct and indirect contribution to sustainable development play a role in decisions to purchase sustainable groceries. An interesting question for future research is if interventions to strengthen SDSE allow for promoting sustainable consumption.