Self expression versus the environment: attitudes in conflict

Young Consumers Self expression versus t he environment : at t it udes in conf lict Parker Lukas Aleti Watne Torgeir Brennan Linda Trong Duong Hue Nguyen Dang Article information: To cite this document: Parker Lukas Aleti Watne Torgeir Brennan Linda Trong Duong Hue Nguyen Dang , (2014),"Self expression versus the environment: attitudes in conflict", Young Consumers, Vol. 15 Iss 2 pp. 138 - 152 Permanent link t o t his document : http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/YC-06-2013-00383 Downloaded on: 20 August 2014, At : 21: 28 (PT) Ref erences: t his document cont ains ref erences t o 96 ot her document s. To copy t his document : permissions@emeraldinsight . com Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) Access t o t his document was grant ed t hrough an Emerald subscript ion provided by 393177 [ ] For Authors If you would like t o writ e f or t his, or any ot her Emerald publicat ion, t hen please use our Emerald f or Aut hors service inf ormat ion about how t o choose which publicat ion t o writ e f or and submission guidelines are available f or all. Please visit www. emeraldinsight . com/ aut hors f or more inf ormat ion. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com Emerald is a global publisher linking research and pract ice t o t he benef it of societ y. The company manages a port f olio of more t han 290 j ournals and over 2, 350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an ext ensive range of online product s and addit ional cust omer resources and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. *Relat ed cont ent and download inf ormat ion correct at t ime of download. Self expression versus the environment: attitudes in conflict Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) Lukas Parker, Torgeir Aleti Watne, Linda Brennan, Hue Trong Duong and Dang Nguyen Lukas Parker is an Assistant Professor based at Centre of Commerce and Management, RMIT University Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Torgeir Aleti Watne is based at Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Linda Brennan is a Professor based at RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Hue Trong Duong and Dang Nguyen are based at RMIT University Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to present the findings of a survey into attitudes towards the environment and the pro-environmental behaviours of young adults in Vietnam. Design/Methodology/Approach – An online survey was administered to university students in Vietnam’s two most populous cities, Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City (N ⫽ 391). Findings – The results suggest that environmental considerations are not taken into account in young Vietnamese adults’ purchase intentions. This is more evident in expressive purchases, but also, to some degree, in utilitarian purchases. Practical implications – For the marketers of environmentally friendly products, this represents at least two key challenges: first, to try to shift the attitudes of young adult consumers towards thinking of environmental friendliness as an attractive characteristic and status-filled activity for potential expressive purchases. Second, making environmentally friendly alternatives of expressive goods more visible and more widely available in Vietnam. Social implications – Non-government organisations and governments seeking to protect the environment need to consider this unique dynamic in social marketing campaigns to increase the desirability of pro-environmental product choices and other pro-environmental behaviours. Originality/value – This paper examines pro-environmental behaviours and intentions of young adults in Vietnam for the first time. The paper establishes that self-expression is more important than the environment, and it is also evident that these young consumers are still vulnerable to perceived social pressure when it comes to expressing themselves. Keywords Young consumers, Consumer behaviour, Asian values, New ecological paradigm, Proenvironmental behaviour Paper type Research paper Introduction The two most populous cities in Vietnam, Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, are facing environmental problems typical to that of most major cities in developing countries in Southeast Asia. Such problems include airborne pollution, water contamination and treatment and problems associated with hard waste management, recycling and disposal. For Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, some of these concerns have manifested themselves in traffic congestion, water-borne disease and rolling scheduled electricity supply cuts (Dung, 2011; Thanh Niên, 2011; VietNamNet, 2009). In addition to infrastructure and developmental pressures, there is the pressure of a rapidly growing middle class (General Statistics Office, 2009). Received 29 June 2013 Revised 6 September 2013 Accepted 19 October 2013 PAGE 138 YOUNG CONSUMERS The newly arising middle class in Vietnam is both large and relatively wealthy (Penz and Kirchler, 2012). Middle classes are often characterised by their accelerated consumption patterns (Hanser, 2010). With this increased consumption comes an added burden to an already stressed environment. With this in mind, this paper investigates young Vietnamese attitudes and intentions towards the environment when making purchase decisions. VOL. 15 NO. 2, 2014, pp. 138-152, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1747-3616 DOI 10.1108/YC-06-2013-00383 The middle classes often aspire to the products and services that endow them with social status, prestige and an appearance of “taste” (Hughes and Woldekidan, 1994; Singh, 2005). As such, expressive purchases are paramount (Holt, 2004; Nayeem, 2011; Ogden et al., 2004). Kim (2011) found that this need for self-expression in purchasing could be taken to extremes in the Korean cultural context, with some young people financially ruining themselves in the search for the status that comes with conspicuous consumption. Kim (2011) linked this to Asian cultural values such as collectivism, which emphasises the importance of cohesion within social groups such as family, and love of authenticity, combined with an “indiscreet” adoption of Western consumption values. The widespread adoption of Western consumerism is a serious concern throughout Asia, including Vietnam, primarily because of the potential impact on the environment (Bardhan, 2006; Sheth, 2011; Sheth et al., 2011). Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) Environmental attitudes and behaviour research Environmental awareness and active environmentally responsible behaviour is a relatively new phenomenon in Vietnam. Studies as far back as 2002 reported a lack of environmental awareness among Vietnamese people (Nguyen and Amin, 2002). In more recent times, new items about environmental issues in the industrial context (Hoang and Duc, 2012; Thu, 2012) have profiled cases of large multinational businesses acting environmentally recklessly (VietNamNet, 2009). These news items have served to generate awareness and anger among the general population and, in some cases, have led to the tightening up of environmental protection laws and prosecution (Thanh Niên, 2011). However, this does not appear to have led to any identified behaviour change with regard to pro-environmental activities in an individual level. In a Vietnamese context, the actions that an individual can take to protect the environment are not well defined or described. As yet, we have found no evidence of social marketing campaigns advocating individual behaviour change in the Vietnamese context. Evidence elsewhere suggests that a higher level of concern for the environment will lead to greater degrees of effort with regards to conservation (Cleveland et al., 2012; Roberts and Bacon, 1997). However, Schroeder (2011) identifies a belief, held by many consumers, that science and technology can resolve what individuals cannot. Further, Xiao’s (2013) research found that a belief in the efficacy of science and technology in resolving environmental problems was causally linked to attitudes and concern for the environment. Thus, the individual’s acceptance of a need for independent action with regard to protecting the environment may not be as great, if there is a sense that “someone else” can, and will, take care of the problem (Cin, 2013). In these cases, the individual does not accept the responsibility and, therefore, does not act in relation to the issue. Explanatory theories for where this occurs are as diverse as prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky, 1984; Tversky and Kahneman, 1981), diffusion of responsibility (Mynatt and Sherman, 1975; Wallach et al., 1964) and self-protection motivation (Floyd et al., 2000; Fritsche and Hafner, 2011). However, regardless of the theory, the practical consequence is that individuals do not act if they do not feel the need to. When it comes to environmental issues, individual responsibility may be more diffused in domains with lower levels of understanding of the capabilities of technology at the grass-roots level, such as that which exists in some areas of Vietnam. That is, a level of knowledge about the environment is a necessary precursor to action. Furthermore, as pointed out by Kurz and Baudains (2012), the success of any environmental effort is inseparably linked to the way the human members of the ecosystem think and behave. Whether consumers in Vietnam personally take action in relation to pro-environmental consumption decisions has so far not been investigated. Further, while there is evidence in other contexts such as that of young environmentalists in Australia (Perera and Hewege, 2013), this has not been extended to the developing country context. VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 YOUNG CONSUMERS PAGE 139 In addition to individual motivations and actions, is the broader social context of such behaviours. Even though behavioural aspects of consumption are culturally bound (Blodgett et al., 2008; de Mooij and Hofstede, 2002; Soares et al., 2007), most marketing theories rely on what can be referred to as a “Western” perspective of the individual as an independent autonomous identity, free to make decisions based on purely personal desire and affiliations (Roll, 2006). This approach to human behaviour and behavioural intent is reflected in many well-established Western theories used in marketing. For example, Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs is to be found in most basic marketing and consumer behaviour textbooks. An alternative to Maslow’s (1943) theory was proposed by Schütte and Ciarlante (1998) and was termed an Asian hierarchy of needs. As opposed to Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy, the needs on the top of the Asian pyramid relate to social needs such as status and admiration rather than self-esteem and self-actualisation. This theory indicates greater importance of the collective in Asian societies. Triandis and Gelfand (1998) emphasised that collectivist cultures have ascribed greater interdependence among its members, place greater importance on in-group goals and place more weight on norms than on attitudes. Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) Support for Schütte and Ciarlante’s (1998) contention that status is the highest-ranking need in the Asian hierarchy can be seen in the geographic breakdown of the $35 billion global luxury goods market. Fully 20 per cent of industry sales are generated in Japan alone, with another 22 per cent of sales occurring in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. Nearly half of all sales revenues of Italy’s Gucci Group are generated in Asia (Keegan and Green, 2010). Thus, in a Vietnamese context, expressing status and admiration may be more important than concerns for the environment in expressive product categories such as apparel. In these circumstances, the challenge becomes: how to get individuals to behave in an environmentally significant (and conscious) way? Stern (2000) proposed four distinct environmentally significant behaviour categories: environmental activism, non-activist behaviours in the public sphere, private sphere environmentalism and other environmentally significant behaviours. In line with Stern (2000), the current study focuses on private-sphere environmentalism because, unlike other public-sphere environmentalism activities, these individual behaviours have direct environmental consequences (Osbaldiston and Sheldon, 2003) and are most relevant to consumer decision-making. Environmental concern and consumer behaviour A large body of research into environmental attitudes or concerns has emerged recently (for a brief selection, see Amburgey and Thoman, 2012; Corral-Verdugo et al., 2008; Deng et al., 2006; Johnson et al., 2004). A core concept within this domain is that of attitudes leading to intentions and, therefore, behaviours. That is, behaviours are planned or reasoned outcomes of intentions and prior attitudes. These are largely based on the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen , 1991) and its earlier variant, the theory of reasoned action (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). A first step in these models is that of determining prevailing attitudes. This step is instrumental in determining whether or not attitudes and intentions may lead to behaviours in the environmental domain. A common method of measuring attitudes towards the environment is that of the new environmental paradigm, first used by Dunlap and Van Liere (1978), and its later hybrid, the new ecological paradigm (NEP) (Dunlap et al., 2000). Surveys using their scales have been undertaken in hundreds of studies and many countries (Hawcroft and Milfont, 2010), including other developing countries in the region, like, for example, China (Chung and Poon, 1999, 2001), India (Schultz et al., 2005) and Indonesia (Watson and Halse, 2005). In addition to attitudes, values and social norms need to be understood (Schwartz, 1992; Schwartz et al., 2001; Thogersen and Ölander, 2003). Thogersen (2006) and Thogersen and Ölander (2003) found limited evidence that environmentally friendly consumption PAGE 140 YOUNG CONSUMERS VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) patterns spread through social groups; however, others have found that group norms are powerful motivators for specific behaviours (Cialdini et al., 1990; Kallgren et al., 2000; Lapinski and Rimal, 2005; Schultz et al., 2007). Furthermore, while norms may be the impetus for action, according to Stern et al. (1993), the value orientation of the individual is potentially more important with regards to propensity to pay more or perception of the severity of the threat to their environment. Other dimensions related to environmentally friendly consumption patterns are perceived behavioural control (Cleveland et al., 2012; Munro et al., 2007) or self-efficacy (Rosentrater et al., 2012) and sense of responsibility (Cheng and Monroe, 2012). In addition, there are deeper cultural values that have been demonstrated to be influential, especially in relation to the NEP (Johnson et al., 2004; Vikan et al., 2007). While the above argument establishes the antecedents to people’s concern about the environment, what action they take in relation to these concerns is less clear. Moreover, given that social norms regarding consumption can be destructive in some cases (Kim, 2011), it is important to understand the link between self-expressive purchases and environmental concerns. In spite of this, knowledge about whether or not young people in developing countries are willing to limit their consumption of self-expressive products as a result of their stated concerns is limited. Some limited research in other countries in the region has been conducted (Ngai and Cho, 2012; Lee et al., 2013). Further, research demonstrates that young people are often more environmentally conscious than their older counterparts (Nooney et al., 2003) and that they can be influential regarding environmental behaviours in the household (Watne and Brennan, 2011). Thus, they hold a promise for the future if they can be persuaded to consume responsibly (Cini et al., 2012). Individual human beings must make the requisite changes to their own behaviours in terms of (say) consumption of energy, water, products and waste to decrease demand for environmentally costly products and services. Thus, in this paper, we examine the relationship between attitudes towards the environment and environmentally friendly intentions regarding consumption in Vietnam. The fundamental premise is that environmentally responsible behaviour is an outcome of considered action on behalf of an individual. Expressive products are status-“filled” and as such make public representations about the person in relation to their potentially hidden beliefs about themselves. As a result, the social risk associated with purchase potentially outweighs concern for the environment. Thus, we aimed to establish if pro-environmental beliefs are a driver of consumption intentions when it comes to self-expressive products. Research questions and hypotheses First of all, this project investigated young Vietnamese’ attitude towards the environment. As mentioned, the NEP is commonly used to measure this attitude. Typical items in the NEP are “We are approaching the limit of the number of people the earth can support” and “When humans interfere with nature it often produces disastrous consequences”. To ascertain if attitudes towards the environment would moderate stated intentions regarding behaviours and product categories, the following hypothesis was established: H1a. Young adults will adjust their stated intentions regarding purchases in accordance to their stated attitudes; positive attitudes towards the environment will lead to an increase in consideration for the environment in their purchase intentions. The importance of considering the environment in a broad range of product categories was investigated. Categories were further classified into utilitarian (e.g. food at home, paper for printing and motorbikes) and expressive (e.g. clothes, books, laptops and mobile phones) purchases. The proposition is that young Vietnamese may be less likely to consider the environment with regards to expressive purchases because of the cultural importance placed on status symbols. Therefore, following two hypotheses were suggested: VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 YOUNG CONSUMERS PAGE 141 H1b. Positive attitudes towards the environment will lead to an increase in consideration for the environment in the young adults’ purchase intentions in terms of expressive products. H1c. Positive attitudes towards the environment will lead to an increase in consideration for the environment in the young adults’ purchase intentions in terms of utilitarian products. In addition to these hypotheses, those factors that had been previously identified (in other studies cited earlier in this paper) as pertaining to environmental attitudes and behaviours lead to the following hypothesis and sub-hypotheses: H2a. Young adults’ perceived self-efficacy in relation to their own pro-environmental activities is not influenced by their attitudes towards the environment. H2b. Young adults’ perceived importance of pro-environmental activities is not influenced by their attitudes towards the environment. H2c. Young adults’ sense of personal reward related to participating in pro-environmental activities is not influenced by their attitudes towards the environment. H2d. Young adults’ frequency of participating in pro-environmental activities is not influenced by their attitudes towards the environment. Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) H2e. Young adults’ beliefs about how often their significant others participate in pro-environmental behaviours are not influenced by their attitudes towards the environment. This second set of hypotheses was used as a form of benchmark for the first set of hypotheses in terms of variance and relative means. Thus, they were used as a baseline measure for all variables. Methodology Data were collected by online survey in English from upwardly mobile Vietnamese students studying at an English-speaking university in Vietnam. An online survey was developed based on focus group outcomes and existing validated scales drawn from the literature and an email invitation with a link to the survey was sent to all current students of the university. Online surveys are a means to reach a wider audience in Vietnam, as most middle class Vietnamese have ready access to and are active users of the Internet (General Statistics Office, 2009). They also respond relatively readily to surveys of this kind. Sax et al. (2008) found that response rates and bias by standard mail or email request were not essentially different. The survey was designed to investigate the level of agreement (7-point Likert-style, disagree to agree) with a set of statements regarding: 1. Perceived severity of the threat and attitudes towards the environment using the NEP scale of Dunlap et al. (2000) (15-item measurement scale). 2. Perceived effectiveness of a series of proposed pro-environmental activities in responding to environmental threat (Fritsch and Hafner, 2011). Participants were asked about the effectiveness of 11 pro-environmental behaviours using a 7-point Likert-style measure; very effective ⬎ not very effective. 3. How usual the behaviour was within the immediate social circle (social norms; Cordano et al., 2011; Nordlund and Garvill, 2002; Thogersen, 2006; Widegren, 1998). These descriptive norms were assessed by asking participants to rate the frequency of seven pro-environmental activities undertaken by family members (7-point Likert-style; everyone does it ⬎ no one does it). These are called “family norms” in the results section. PAGE 142 YOUNG CONSUMERS VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) 4. The importance of undertaking specific pro-environmental behaviours was ascertained using a 7-point Likert-style extremely important to not really important scale. This set of questions were designed to ascertain “importance” rather than “severity” perceptions. 5. Perceived level of control over whether or not that behaviour could be undertaken (self-efficacy; Donovan and Henley, 2003; Homburg and Stolberg, 2006; Zavestoski, 2002). Respondents were asked about the level of control they have over the seven environmental behaviours from always in control-to-never in control (7-point Likert-style scale). 6. Reported frequency of environmentally friendly behaviours by the individual (Bonnes et al., 2011; Nisbet et al., 2009). The frequency of the seven behaviours was measured using the anchors “all the time” to “never” (7-point Likert-style scale). 7. Perceived rewards associated with pro-environmental behaviour (for example, giving up “something” to be “green” is a negatively framed reward) (Hallin, 1995). Whether or not participants believed that the seven behaviours were personally worthwhile was measured by using a 7-point Likert-style scale with anchors of very worthwhile⬎not all at worthwhile. 8. Whether or not participants would consider the environmental impact of their future purchases (buying intention [BI]) for utilitarian purchases was measured using a 7-point Likert-style scale (very important ⬎ not very important). The question “When you are buying new things, how important is the environmental impact of this product in making your choice?” was asked about five product categories. 9. Whether or not participants would consider the environmental impact of their future purchases (BI) for expressive purchases was measured using a 7-point Likert-style scale (very important ⬎not very important). The question “When you are buying new things, how important is the environmental impact of this product in making your choice?” was asked about six product categories. Environmental behaviours that were measured included use of reusable shopping bags, minimising the use of air conditioning, waste and recyclables separation, disposing of trash in the bin and unplugging appliances that use standby power. Reliability of the scales and sub-scales was tested in terms of internal consistencies with Cronbach’s alpha (Cronbach, 1951). The Cronbach’s alpha values for all items ranged between 0.68 and 0.91 which is considered as being reliable (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2005). Using the process suggested by De Vellis (2003), the sub-scales were, subsequently, combined to generate a single item or index variable. Of the 391 responses to the survey, 60.4 per cent of the respondents were female and 97.7 per cent were between the ages of 18 years and 25. 86.5 per cent of the respondents were living in Ho Chi Minh City, with the remainder living in Ha Noi. While there are differences in cultural background between these regions, the results demonstrated sufficient homogeneity to combine into a single data set for analysis. Of the 81.8 per cent studying bachelor-level degrees, 10.0 per cent were enrolled in university English programmes and the remaining studying for various postgraduate degrees. Results Table I shows the summary statistics for which all the data are available. The significance of the differences is indicated in the final column. The relationship between attitudes towards the environment as expressed in the NEP and the other variables is significant at the 0.10 level for importance of action and BI for expressive purchases. Results are significant at the 0.05 level for perceived effectiveness of action, usual behaviour in the immediate social circle (family norms), perceived importance, self-efficacy and control, VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 YOUNG CONSUMERS PAGE 143 Table I Summary statistics for measures 1 NEP Summated scale 2 Effectiveness of action 3 Family norms 4 Importance of action 5 Self efficacy and control 6 Frequency of individual action 7 Reward for behaviour 8 BI Utilitarian purchases 9 BI Expressive purchases Valid N (listwise) N Minimum Maximum Mean SD Variable Significance 391 391 391 391 391 391 391 391 391 391 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 6 6 6 7 6 7 7 7 3.1 2.7 3.7 2.4 3.3 3.4 2.4 3.3 4.2 0.68 0.89 0.98 0.89 1.05 0.93 0.96 1.50 1.49 0.46 0.79 0.95 0.80 1.11 0.87 0.93 2.24 2.23 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.00 0.01 0.04 0.01 0.08 frequency of individual action, rewards associated with pro-environmental behaviour and BI for utilitarian purchases. As a result of these significant differences, the Pearson product–moment coefficients of correlation were calculated for all nine variables in the model. The outcome of this analysis is shown in Table II. Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) The outcome demonstrated a significant number of associations between the variables. To further understand the scope and extent of the associations between the variables, the data were then graphed using the NEP index variable as the dependent variable. Figure 1 illustrates an inverted U-shaped curve. Thus, the relationship between the variables is not perfectly linear in nature. Alpha for all scales was ⬎ 0.7. As a result, we combined all scales into single variables by summing the items and averaging the results (De Vellis, 2003). The items were then recoded to discrete numbers (for example, 0-1.49 ⫽ 1). The analysis showed that collinearity between the variables was ⬍ 0.8 and, thus, it is permissible to run regression analysis. The plots indicated a linear relationship and that the data are relatively homoscedastic. The data are not completely linear and follow a curve (Figure 1). Notwithstanding the potential curvilinear nature of the data, we ran linear regression on the two variables: expressive and utilitarian purchases. The results are presented in Tables III and IV. In terms of the original hypotheses, the benchmark variable “attitudes towards the environment” as measured by the NEP, is positively associated with all the variables, but at differing levels. Table V summarises the hypotheses and outcomes of the research. Discussion and conclusion While “greenness” of a product appears to be a moderate consideration for utilitarian purchases, the findings from this study suggest that environmental friendliness is, at best, Table II Correlations among independent variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 NEP summated scale Effectiveness of action Family norms Importance of action for the environment Self efficacy and control Frequency of individual action Reward for behaviour Utilitarian purchases Expressive purchases ** 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0.14* 0.21** 0.11* 0.13* 0.10* 0.09 0.16** 0.12* 1 0.11* 0.50** 0.21** 0.08 0.26** 0.10* 0.06 1 0.22** 0.50** 0.37** 0.23** 0.14** 0.22** 1 0.39** 0.15** 0.41** 0.16** 0.22** 1 0.44** 0.34** 0.21** 0.29** 1 0.24** 0.31** 0.33** 1 0.20** 0.19** 1 0.61** 1 Notes: Correlation is significant at the 0.001 level (two-tailed); *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (two-tailed) PAGE 144 YOUNG CONSUMERS VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) Figure 1 Comparison of means compared with NEP concern for the environment low on the list of concerns for this market when deciding on an expressive purchase. For the marketers of environmentally friendly products, this represents at least two key challenges: 1. first, to try to shift the attitudes of these upwardly mobile and influential consumers towards thinking of environmental friendliness as an attractive characteristic for potential expressive purchases; and 2. second, making environmentally friendly alternatives of expressive goods more visible and more widely available in Vietnam. Table III Coefficients with utilitarian purchases with the dependent variable Unstandardised coefficients B Standard error (constant) 1 NEP summated scale 2 Effectiveness of action 3 Family norms 4 Importance of action for the environment 5 Self efficacy and control 6 Frequency of individual action 7 Reward for behaviour Standardised coefficients Beta t Significance 95.0 per cent confidence interval for B Lower bound Upper bound 0.80 0.26 0.00 ⫺0.05 0.46 0.11 0.11 0.09 0.12 0.00 ⫺0.03 1.74 2.34 0.00 ⫺0.56 0.08 0.02 0.99 0.57 ⫺0.11 0.04 ⫺0.21 ⫺0.23 1.70 0.49 0.21 0.13 0.11 0.06 0.39 0.14 0.11 0.10 0.08 0.09 0.06 0.04 0.27 0.09 0.93 0.60 4.71 1.52 0.36 0.55 0.00 0.13 ⫺0.12 ⫺0.13 0.23 ⫺0.04 0.33 0.25 0.55 0.31 Table IV Coefficients with expressive purchases as the dependent variable Unstandardised coefficients B Standard error (constant) 1 NEP summated scale 2 Effectiveness of action 3 Family norms 4 Importance of action for the environment 5 Self efficacy and control 6 Frequency of individual action 7 Reward for behaviour Standardised coefficients Beta t Significance 95.0 per cent confidence interval for B Lower bound Upper bound 1.78 0.15 ⫺0.14 0.05 0.45 0.11 0.10 0.09 0.07 ⫺0.08 0.04 3.94 1.31 ⫺1.36 0.60 0.00 0.19 0.17 0.55 0.89 ⫺0.07 ⫺0.35 ⫺0.12 2.67 0.36 0.06 0.23 0.23 0.16 0.35 0.06 0.11 0.10 0.08 0.09 0.13 0.11 0.25 0.04 2.04 1.66 4.34 0.71 0.04 0.10 0.00 0.48 0.01 ⫺0.03 0.19 ⫺0.11 0.45 0.35 0.51 0.24 VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 YOUNG CONSUMERS PAGE 145 Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) Table V Results of hypothesis testing Hypothesis Outcome H1a. Young adults will adjust their stated intentions regarding purchases in accordance to their stated attitudes: positive attitudes towards the environment will lead to an increase in consideration for the environment in their purchase intentions H1b. Positive attitudes towards the environment will lead to an increase in consideration for the environment in the young adults’ purchase intentions in terms of expressive products H1c. Positive attitudes towards the environment will lead to an increase in consideration for the environment in the young adults’ purchase intentions in terms of utilitarian products H2a. Young adults’ perceived self-efficacy in relation to their own pro-environmental activities is not influenced by their attitudes towards the environment H2b. Young adults’ perceived importance of proenvironmental activities is not influenced by their attitudes towards the environment Positive correlation between NEP and purchase behaviours Statistically significant at 0.05 level Accepted H2c. Young adults’ sense of personal reward related to participating in pro-environmental activities is not influenced by their attitudes towards the environment H2d. Young adults’ frequency of participating in proenvironmental activities is not influenced by their attitudes towards the environment H2e. Young adults’ beliefs about how often their significant others participate in pro-environmental behaviours are not influenced by their attitudes towards the environment The result was not significant at the 0.05 level. However, a difference at the 0.10 level indicating some support for this hypothesis Rejected Result significant at the 0.05 level Accepted Result significant at the 0.05 level Accepted The result was not significant at the 0.05 level. However, a difference at the 0.10 level indicating some support for this hypothesis Rejected Result significant at the 0.05 level Accepted Result significant at the 0.05 level Accepted Result significant at the 0.05 level Accepted The shift towards environmentally friendly products being considered as desirable has been an emerging trend in other developed countries (Hartmann and Apaolaza-Ibáñez, 2008; Whitmarsh and O’Neill, 2010), including some in Asia (Lee, 2009). However, this trend has not yet reached Vietnam, and while environmental awareness is generally regarded as positive, environmental friendliness is not normally considered during purchase of expressive goods. Perhaps this attribute may not be seen as a means to gain admiration from others, nor to reinforce one’s own status among peers and outsiders. Furthermore, green products may not necessarily equate to luxuriousness in consumers’ minds, or even worse, these products may be seen as the reverse: not desirable because they are seen as inferior or less elegant alternatives. Historically, Vietnamese citizens have a comparatively good track record of waste reduction, reuse and recycling, in many cases out of economic necessity. However, in a time of growing prosperity this necessity is lessened and these types of behaviours and perhaps may be considered a signal to others of frugality, less success or, at worst, possibly backwardness. Other studies have suggested weak links between clothing purchases and concerns for the environment. Kim and Damhorst (1998) studied young Americans and found that environmental concerns (NEP) did not clearly relate to environmentally responsible apparel consumption. That finding is, in line, with the results of this study, although Kim and Damhorst’s (1998) data were collected more than a decade ago and a major shift in awareness, attitudes and behaviour has occurred in the meantime. Rhee and Johnson’s (2012) more recent work indicates that liking for an apparent brand is linked to adolescents’ ideal social self concept (Rhee and Johnson, 2012). Therefore, there is hope that given the positive attitudes towards the environment, the possibility that this may one day shift into desirability of environmentally sustainable expressive products. PAGE 146 YOUNG CONSUMERS VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) While environmentally sustainable utilitarian products have been increasingly available in the market in recent years, environmentally sustainable expressive products are not yet widely available, nor are they widely promoted or visible. This lack in availability of modern high-quality green alternatives for expressive products may have lead to the idea of these products being more ambiguous or possibly even less desirable. In a market where self-expression and status are paramount, this confusion or association greenness with purely utilitarian purchases may heighten this dissonance. Whether certain reported behaviours were caused by certain attitudes cannot be positively determined because the data in this study are correlational and not experimental nor longitudinal. Furthermore, the non-linear nature of the results provides potential to explore the relationships between variables in an entirely different manner to that previously applied to the problem. While the inverted U-shaped curve presented a somewhat surprising result, the curve also presents implications for possible underlying (non linear) factors, as yet unexplored. The inverted U-shaped curve has been used in environmental economics (List and Gallet, 1999; Harbaugh et al., 2002), marketing and advertising (Nordhielm, 2002; Halkias and Kokkinaki, 2011) and has a long history in consumer psychology (cf. Yerkes and Dodson, 1908; Teigen, 1994). In this context, however, the results are “new news” and provide a rich source of potential for developing strategies based on income, information sources used and the types of consumption patterns adopted by young people when considering self-expressive purchases. Purveyors of green products and ideas, such as governments seeking to protect the environment might find social marketing to be necessary to increase the desirability of pro-environmental products choices. However, there is an optimal level of response to environmental threats, as Figure 1 shows. It would appear that the reward for social status associated with expressive products sufficiently outweighs concern for the environment and related threat perceptions. Furthermore, our data show that family norms are the second most important factor influencing intention to purchase environmentally friendly products. This again, provides a social context for decision-making that is unusual in adolescents, certainly in Western cultures. While this may be an artefact of collectivism, it is worthy of consideration in future studies. How these family dynamics play out will be important to explore. This research illustrates that the current sample of Vietnamese consumers, both upwardly mobile and young, do not consider the environment important with regards to expressive purchase decisions. Nevertheless, they do consider the environment important and, relating to more utilitarian types of purchases, they indicate environmental concern at a higher level. However, as these upwardly mobile young adults are increasingly able to buy and consume material goods, this dichotomy is problematic for those concerned with environmental issues. To establish pro-environmentalism as a worthwhile and appropriately status-filled activity within a context such as this, marketers will perhaps need to change the position green products have in the mind of these consumers. References Ajzen, I. (1991), “The theory of planned behavior”, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 50 No. 2, pp. 179-211. Ajzen, I. and Fishbein, M. (1980), Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Amburgey, J.W. and Thoman, D.B. (2012), “Dimensionality of the new ecological paradigm: issues of factor structure and measurement”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 44 No. 2, pp. 235-256. Bardhan, P. (2006), “Crouching tiger, lumbering elephant-the rise of China and India in a comparative economic perspective”, Brown Journal of World Affairs, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 49-62. Blodgett, J.G., Bakir, A. and Rose, G.M. (2008), “A test of the validity of Hofstede’s cultural framework”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 6, pp. 339-349. VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 YOUNG CONSUMERS PAGE 147 Bonnes, M., Passafaro, P. and Carrus, G. (2011), “The ambivalence of attitudes toward urban green areas: between proenvironmental worldviews and daily residential experience”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 43 No. 2, pp. 207-232. Cheng, J.C.H. and Monroe, M.C. (2012), “Connection to nature”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 44 No. 1, pp. 31-49. Chung, S.-S. and Poon, C.-S. (1999), “The attitudes of Guangzhou citizens on waste reduction and environmental issues”, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 35-59. Chung, S.-S. and Poon, C.-S. (2001), “A comparison of waste-reduction practices and new environmental paradigm of rural and urban Chinese citizens”, Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 62 No. 1, pp. 3-19. Churchill, G.A. and Iacobucci, D. (2005), Marketing Research: Methodological Foundations, 9th ed., Thomson South-Western, Mason, OH. Cialdini, R.B., Reno, R.R. and Kallgren, C.A. (1990), “A focus theory of normative conduct: recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 58 No. 6, pp. 1015-1036. Cin, C. K. (2013), “Blaming the government for environmental problems: a multilevel and cross-national analysis of the relationship between trust in government and local and global environment concerns”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 45, No. 8, pp. 971-992. Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) Cini, F., Leone, L. and Passafaro, P. (2012), “Promoting ecotourism among young people”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 44 No. 1, pp. 87-106. Cleveland, M., Kalamas, M. and Laroche, M. (2012), “‘It’s not easy being green’: exploring green creeds, green deeds, and internal environmental locus of control”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 29 No. 5, pp. 293-305. Cordano, M., Welcomer, S., Scherer, R.F., Pradenas, L. and Parada, V. (2011), “A cross-cultural assessment of three theories of pro-environmental behavior”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 43 No. 5, pp. 634-657. Corral-Verdugo, V., Carrus, G., Bonnes, M., Moser, G. and Sinha, B.P. (2008), “Environmental beliefs and endorsement of sustainable development principles in water conservation: toward a new human interdependence paradigm”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 40 No. 5, pp. 703-725. Cronbach, L.J. (1951), “Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests”, Psychometrika, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 297-334. de Mooij, M. and Hofstede, G. (2002), “Convergence and divergence in consumer behavior: implications for international retailing”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 78 No. 1, pp. 61-69. De Vellis, R.F. (2003), Scale Development: Theory and Applications, 2nd ed., Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. Deng, J., Walker, G.J. and Swinnerton, G. (2006), “A comparison of environmental values and attitudes between Chinese in Canada and Anglo-Canadians”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 22-47. Donovan, R. and Henley, N. (2003), Social Marketing Principles and Practice, IP Communications, East Hawthorn Victoria. Dung, T. (2011), “Craft villages cause environment pollution”, The Saigon Times, available at: http:// english.thesaigontimes.vn/Home/business/environment/19401/ (accessed 18 July 2011). Dunlap, R.E. and Van Liere, K.D. (1978), “The ‘new environmental paradigm’: a proposed measuring instrument and preliminary results”, The Journal of Environmental Education, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 10-19. Dunlap, R.E., Van Liere, K.D., Mertig, A.G. and Jones, R.E. (2000), “Measuring endorsement of the new ecological paradigm: a revised NEP scale”, Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 56 No. 3, pp. 425-442. Floyd, D.L., Prentice-Dunn, S. and Rogers, R.W. (2000), “A meta-analysis of research on protection motivation theory”, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 30 No. 2 pp. 407-429. Fritsche, I. and Hafner, K. (2011), “The malicious effects of existential threat on motivation to protect the natural environment and the role of environmental identity as a moderator”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 44 No. 4, pp. 570-590. PAGE 148 YOUNG CONSUMERS VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 General Statistics Office (2009), The 2009 Vietnam Population And Housing Census: Major Findings,  Ðièˆu Tra Dân Séˆ và Nhào ’ Trung Uong, Têng  Cu Ban Chı Ða ьo Têng ьc Théˆng Kê (Central Population and Housing Census Steering Committee, General Statistics Office), Hanoi, Vietnam. Halkias, G. and Kokkinaki, F. (2011), “Increasing advertising effectiveness through incongruity-based tactics: the moderating role of consumer involvement”, Journal of Marketing Communications, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 182-197. Hallin, P.O. (1995), “Environmental concern and environmental behavior in foley, a small town in Minnesota”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 558-578. Hanser, A. (2010), “Uncertainty and the problem of value: consumers, culture and inequality in urban China”, Journal of Consumer Culture, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 307-332. Harbaugh, W.T., Levinson, A. and Wilson, D.M. (2002), “Reexamining the empirical evidence for an environmental Kuznets curve”, Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 84 No. 3, pp. 541-551. Hartmann, P. and Apaolaza-Ibáñez, V. (2008), “Virtual nature experiences as emotional benefits in green product consumption”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 40 No. 6, pp. 818-842. Hawcroft, L.J. and Milfont, T. (2010), “The use (and abuse) of the new environmental paradigm scale over the last 30 years: a meta-analysis”, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 43-148. Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) ng n ước tha i ra kênh”, Tuoi tre Newspapers, 21 August, available Hoang, L. and Duc, T. (2012), “Xa thă at http://thethao.tuoitre.vn/The-thao/502464/Xa-thang-nuoc-thai-ra-kenh.html (accessed 15 November 2013). Holt, D.B. (2004), How Brands Become Icons: The Principles Of Cultural Branding, Harvard Business Press, Boston, MA. Homburg, A. and Stolberg, A. (2006), “Explaining pro-environmental behavior with a cognitive theory of stress”, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 1-14. Hughes, H. and Woldekidan, B. (1994), “The emergence of the middle class in ASEAN countries”, ASEAN Economic Bulletin, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 139-149. Johnson, C.Y., Bowker, J.M. and Cordell, H.K. (2004), “Ethnic variation in environmental belief and behavior”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 36 No. 2, pp. 157-186. Kahneman, D. and Tversky, A. (1984), “Choices, values, and frames”, American Psychologist, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 341-350. Kallgren, C.A., Reno, R.R. and Cialdini, R.B. (2000), “A focus theory of normative conduct: when norms do and do not affect behavior”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 26 No. 8, pp. 1002-1012. Keegan, W.J. and Green, M. (2010), Global Marketing: Global Edition, 6th ed., Pearson Higher Education, NJ. Kim, H.-S. and Damhorst, M.L. (1998), “Environmental concern and apparel consumption”, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 126-133. Kim, Y. (2011), “The social foundation of luxury good obsession in South Korea”, Unpublished Master’s thesis, The Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Global Studies, Brandeis University. Kurz, T. and Baudains, C. (2012), “Biodiversity in the front yard an investigation of landscape preference in a domestic urban context”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 44 No. 2, pp. 166-196. Lapinski, M.K. and Rimal, R.N. (2005), “An explication of social norms”, Communication Theory, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 127-147. Lee, J.Y., Halter, H., Johnson, K.K. and Ju, H. (2013), “Investigating fashion disposition with young consumers”, Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 67-78. Lee, K. (2009), “Gender differences in Hong Kong adolescent consumers’ green purchasing behavior”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 87-96. List, J.A. and Gallet, C.A. (1999), “The Kuznets Curve: what happens after the inverted u?” Review of Development Economics, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 200-206. Maslow, A.H. (1943), “A theory of human motivation”, Psychological Review, Vol. 50 No. 4, pp. 370-396. VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 YOUNG CONSUMERS PAGE 149 Munro, S., Lewin, S., Swart, T. and Volmink, J. (2007), “A review of health behaviour theories: how useful are these for developing interventions to promote long-term medication adherence for TB and HIV/AIDS?”, BMC Public Health, Vol. 7 No. 104, available at www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/7/ 104. Mynatt, C. and Sherman, S.J. (1975), “Responsibility attribution in groups and individuals: a direct test of the diffusion of responsibility hypothesis”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 32 No. 6, pp. 1111-1118. Nayeem, T. (2011), “A comparative study of individualist and collectivist consumer’s decision making styles in high involvement purchase situations: a case of automobile purchase”, Unpublished doctoral thesis, Faculty of Business and Enterprise, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria. Ngai, J. and Cho, E. (2012), “The young luxury consumers in China”, Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 255-266. Nguyen, T.B.M. and Amin, A.T.M.N. (2002), “The role of foreign direct investment in urban environmental management: some evidence from Hanoi, Vietnam”, Environment, Development and Sustainability, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 279-297. Nisbet, E.K., Zelenski, J.M. and Murphy, S.A. (2009), “The nature relatedness scale”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 41 No. 5, pp. 715-740. Nooney, J.G., Woodrum, E., Hoban, T.J. and Clifford, W.B. (2003), “Environmental worldview and behavior”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 35 No. 6, pp. 763-783. Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) Nordhielm, C.L. (2002), “The influence of level of processing on advertising repetition effects”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 371-382. Nordlund, A.M. and Garvill, J. (2002), “Value structures behind proenvironmental behavior”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 34 No. 6, pp. 740-756. Ogden, D.T., Ogden, J.R. and Schau, H.J. (2004), “Exploring the impact of culture and acculturation on consumer purchase decisions: toward a microcultural perspective”, Academy of Marketing Science Review, Vol. 3, pp. 1-22, available at: www.amsreview.org/articles/ogden03-2004.pdf (accessed 15 November 2013). Osbaldiston, R. and Sheldon, K.M. (2003), “Promoting internalized motivation for environmentally responsible behavior: a prospective study of environmental goals”, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 349-357. Penz, E. and Kirchler, E. (2012), “sex-role specialization in a transforming market: empirical evidence from Vietnamese Middle-class households”, Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 61-73. Perera, L.C.R. and Hewege, C.R. (2013), “Climate change risk perceptions and environmentally conscious behaviour among young environmentalists in Australia”, Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 139-154. Rhee, J. and Johnson, K.K. (2012), “Investigating relationships between adolescents’ liking for an apparel brand and brand self congruency”, Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 74-85. Roberts, J.A. and Bacon, D.R. (1997), “Exploring the subtle relationships between environmental concern and ecologically conscious consumer behavior”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 40 No. 1, pp. 79-89. Roll, M. (2006), Asian Brand Strategy: How Asia Builds Strong Brands, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY. Rosentrater, L.D., Sælensminde, I., Ekström, F., Böhm, G., Bostrom, A., Hanss, D. and O’Connor, R.E. (2013), “Efficacy trade-offs in individuals’ support for climate change policies”, Environment and Behavior. Vol. 45 No. 8, pp. 935-970. Sax, L.J., Gilmartin, S.K., Lee, J.J. and Hagedorn, L.S. (2008), “Using web surveys to reach community college students: an analysis of response rates and response bias”, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, Vol. 32 No. 9, pp. 712-729. Schroeder, J. (2011), “Back to basics: redefining the biotechnology message”, Industrial Biotechnology, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 192-193. Schultz, P.W., Gouveia, V.V., Cameron, L.D., Tankha, G., Schmuck, P. and Franek, M. (2005), “Values and their relationship to environmental concern and conservation behavior”, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 36 No. 4, pp. 457-475. PAGE 150 YOUNG CONSUMERS VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 Schultz, W.C., Nolan, J.M., Cialdini, R.B., Goldstein, N.J. and Griskevicius, V. (2007), “The constructive, destructive and reconstructive power of social norms”, Psychological Science, Vol. 18 No. 5, pp. 429-434. Schütte, H. and Ciarlante, D. (1998), Consumer Behavior in Asia, New York University Press, New York, NY. Schwartz, S. H. (1992), “Universals in the content and structure of values: theory and empirical tests in 20 countries”, in Zanna, M. (Ed), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Academic Press, New York, Vol. 25, pp. 1-65. Schwartz, S.H., Melech, G., Lehmann, A., Burgess, S., Harris, M. and Owens, V. (2001), “Extending the cross-cultural validity of the theory of basic human values with a different method of measurement”, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 32 No. 5, pp. 519-542. Sheth, J.N. (2011), “Impact of emerging markets on marketing: rethinking existing perspectives and practices”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 75 No 4, pp. 166-182. Sheth, J.N., Sethia, N.K. and Srinivas, S. (2011), “Mindful consumption: a customer-centric approach to sustainability”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 21-39. Singh, N. (2005), “The idea of South Asia and the role of the middle class”, SCCIE Working Paper No. 05-08, University of California. Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) Soares, A.M., Farhangmehr, M. and Shoham, A. (2007), “Hofstede’s dimensions of culture in international marketing studies”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 60 No. 3, pp. 277-284. Stern, P.C. (2000), “New environmental issues: toward a coherent theory of environmentally significant behavior”, Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 56 No. 3, pp. 407-424. Stern, P.C., Dietz, T. and Kalof, L. (1993), “Value orientations, gender and environmental concern”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 322-348. Teigen, K.H. (1994), “Yerkes-Dodson: a law for all seasons”, Theory and Psychology, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 525-547. Thanh Niên (2011), “Residents clash with polluters”, Thanh Niên, available at: www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20110903171113.aspx (accessed 21 October 2011). Thogersen, J. (2006), “Norms for environmentally responsible behaviour: an extended taxonomy”, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 247-261. Thogersen, J. and Ölander, F. (2003), “Spillover of environment-friendly consumer behavior”, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 225-236. Thu, H. (2012), “Công ty Dьêt 19-5 xa tha i hu y diьêt môi tr ướng”, Ha Noi Moi Newspapers, 10 August, available at: http://hanoimoi.com.vn/newsdetail/Moi-truong/555918/cong-ty-det-195-xa-thai-huy-dietmoi-truong.htm (accessed 15 November 2013). Triandis, H.C. and Gelfand, M.J. (1998), “Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism”, Journal of Personality and Social Psycology, Vol. 74 No. 1, pp. 118-128. Tversky, A. and Kahneman, D. (1981), “The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice”, Science, Vol. 211, pp. 453-458. VietNamNet (2009), “In HCM city, traffic jams have become a way of life”, VietNamNet, available at: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/reports/2009/07/856640/ (accessed 18 July 2011). Vikan, A., Camino, C., Biaggio, A. and Nordvik, H. (2007), “Endorsement of the new ecological paradigm”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 217-228. Wallach, M.A., Kogan, N. and Bem, D.J. (1964), “Diffusion of responsibility and level of risk taking in groups”, The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, Vol. 68 No. 3, pp. 263-274. Watne, T. and Brennan, L. (2011), “Behavioral change starts in the family: the role of family communication and implications for social marketing”, Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 367-386. Watson, K. and Halse, C.M. (2005), “Environmental attitudes of pre-service teachers: a conceptual and methodological dilemma in cross-cultural data collection”, Asia Pacific Education Review, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 59-71. VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014 YOUNG CONSUMERS PAGE 151 Whitmarsh, L. and O’Neill, S. (2010), “Green identity, green living? The role of pro-environmental self-identity in determining consistency across diverse pro-environmental behaviours”, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 30 No. 3, pp. 305-314. Widegren, O. (1998), “The new environmental paradigm and personal norms”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 75-100. Xiao, C. (2013), “Public attitudes toward science and technology and concern for the environment: testing a model of indirect feedback effects”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 45 No. 1, pp. 113-137. Yerkes, R.M. and Dodson, J.D. (1908), “The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation”, Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, Vol. 18 No. 5, pp. 459-482. Zavestoski, S. (2002), “The social-psychological bases of anticonsumption attitudes”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol 19 No. 2, pp. 149-165. About the authors Lukas Parker is an Assistant Professor in the Centre of Commerce and Management at RMIT University, Vietnam. His research interests are social marketing and environmental sustainability. Lukas Parker is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: [email protected] Downloaded by RMIT University At 21:28 20 August 2014 (PT) Linda Brennan is the Deputy Head of Centre, Commerce and Management at RMIT University, Vietnam, where she is on secondment from the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University in Melbourne. Her research interests are social and government marketing and, especially, the influence of marketing communications and advertising on behaviour. Torgeir Watne is a Lecturer in Marketing at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. His research interests are consumer socialisation with a specific focus on how consumers learn new behaviour and pass it on to others. Hue Duong is a Lecturer in Centre of Communication and Design at RMIT University, Vietnam. His research interests are health communication and communication strategies in non-profit sector. Dang Nguyen holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and plans on pursuing a doctorate in the same field. Her research interests include communication theories, media studies and gender studies. To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email protected] Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints PAGE 152 YOUNG CONSUMERS VOL. 15 NO. 2 2014