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When Do (and Don't) Normative Appeals Influence Sustainable Consumer Behaviors?
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The authors explore how injunctive appeals (i.e., highlighting what others think one should do), descriptive appeals (i.e., highlighting what others are doing), and benefit appeals (i.e., highlighting the benefits of the action) can encourage consumers to engage in relatively unfamiliar sustainable behaviors such as "grasscycling" and composting. Across one field study and three laboratory studies, the authors demonstrate that the effectiveness of the appeal type depends on whether the individual or collective level of the self is activated. When the collective level of self is activated, injunctive and descriptive normative appeals are most effective, whereas benefit appeals are less effective in encouraging sustainable behaviors. When the individual level of self is activated, self-benefit and descriptive appeals are particularly effective. The positive effects of descriptive appeals for the individual self are related to the informational benefits that such appeals can provide. The authors propose a goal-compatibility mechanism for these results and find that a match of congruent goals leads to the most positive consumer responses. They conclude with a discussion of implications for consumers, marketers, and public policy makers.
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... Marketing research provides a comprehensive toolbox that companies can use to motivate sustainable consumption (White et al., 2019a(White et al., , 2019b, including instruments such as appeal-based communication (White & Simpson, 2013). Apart from that, a few recent studies indicate that involving customers in a company's corporate sustainability (CS) efforts, which encompass social and environmental activities, improves their general attitudes and behaviors toward Matteo Montecchi served as Guest Editor for this article. ...
... These interventions include, for example, nudging techniques to influence individuals' judgment through signaling or labeling (Kristensson et al., 2017), and changing the physical purchase environment or the default option (Hankammer et al., 2021;Lehner et al., 2016;Pilaj, 2017). Another way to engage with customers is through appeal-based communication about sustainable behavior (Mai et al., 2021), such as need-based appeals (White et al., 2012), normative appeals (White & Simpson, 2013), benefit-oriented appeals (White & Peloza, 2009), and motivation-based appeals (Edinger-Schons et al., 2018). Marketing research provides valuable insights into understanding and leveraging the impact of these interventions on consumers. ...
... This research focus goes beyond prior marketing studies examining well-established marketing interventions to change consumer behavior in the sustainability context. Such prior work has focused on subjects like appeal-based one-way communication (e.g., White & Simpson, 2013) and choice of cause in cause-related marketing, where customers choose a specific philanthropic cause tied to a purchase (e.g., Robinson et al., 2012). Our findings demonstrate that a company's involvement of customers can shift consumer behavior toward replacing conventional products with sustainable ones. ...
Tackling grand challenges and making sustainable development a reality through sustainable consumption crucially depends upon both companies’ activities as well as individuals’ consumption choices. In opinion polls, many consumers claim to favor sustainable products over conventional ones. However, a large gap remains between their stated purchasing intentions and actual decisions, posing a challenge for companies in predicting product demand and strategically managing their product portfolios. In this study, we develop a conceptual framework to demonstrate how companies can encourage sustainable consumption behavior among their customers by involving them in their corporate sustainability (CS) activities. We introduce psychological ownership as the underlying mechanism explaining how customer involvement in CS activities translates into changes in their consumption choices. We further argue that the link between customer involvement and psychological ownership depends on the type of a company’s CS—that is, whether CS is embedded in or peripheral to the company’s core business. The results from three experiments, including one field experiment conducted in collaboration with a fashion retailer and involving real customer purchase decisions, support our theorizing. The findings reveal the power of customer involvement as a marketing tool in promoting sustainable consumption.
... Collective consciousness might also enhance selfconstrual priming effects (e.g., Brewer & Gardner, 1996). For example, conditions that activate collective consciousness might amplify effects whereby interdependent self-construal priming leads consumers to rely on feeling more than reason in decision-making (Hong & Chang, 2015), to be more responsive to social norms (White & Simpson, 2013), and to be more likely to donate to charity when they receive public recognition (Simpson et al., 2018). Future research could examine interactions between collective consciousness and self-construal. ...
We build on the construct of collective consciousness, which reflects a view that a person can see the self as the subject that is attending, experiencing, or acting as a unitary collective agent, that is, from the perspective of “we” as opposed to “I.” Shteynberg ( Journal of Consumer Psychology , 2024) proposes that collective consciousness can foster mutual trust and cooperation, thus having positive implications for both individuals and society. In this commentary, we discuss what the construct of collective consciousness might have to offer consumer researchers by considering when collective consciousness could be relevant in consumer contexts, its key psychological consequences, and how this theory could potentially build upon and interact with existing frameworks in consumer psychology. In addition, we consider some potential negative consequences of collective consciousness and point to potentially fruitful directions for future consumer research.
... Siz de yapabilirsiniz." ifadelerinin geri dönüşüme katılma oranını yaklaşık iki katı arttırdığı gösterilmiştir (White & Simpson, 2013). Aynı doğrultuda davranışın sosyal açıdan cazip bir hale gelmesi ve görünürlüğünün arttırılması faydalı olabilir. ...
... Numerous studies have focused on message effects (message appeals and framing) for an enhanced understanding of ethical consumerism. For example, White and Simpson (2013) studied how and why various types of normative message appeals (i.e., what others think one should do vs. what others are doing vs. benefits of the action) encourage consumers to engage in sustainable behaviors, finding that appeal effects depend on whether the individual or collective level of the self is activated. ...
Despite the economic, social, and environmental importance of emerging countries, most existing research into ethical consumerism has focused on developed market contexts. We introduce this Special Issue (SI) and provide a comprehensive thematic literature review considering three broad categories or aspects of ethical consumerism research, (1) contexts of ethical consumption, (2) forms of ethical consumerism, and (3) approaches to explaining ethical consumer behavior. We summarize the articles of this SI as part of the thematic literature review to provide an understanding of how these articles and this SI’s overall contribute to ethical consumerism research. Each article in this SI offers new insights into a specific field of ethical consumerism while focusing on emerging market contexts. Overall, this SI expands knowledge related to the dynamics and challenges of ethical consumerism and offers future research directions in this area.
... Previous research has concluded that the more injunctive norms managers perceive in their supply chains, the more they invest in green innovation to maintain trust and relationship commitments with their partners (Shou et al., 2023). Relatedly, White and Simpson (2013) argued that injunctive norms engender feelings of social obligation, increasing the tendency to exhibit more pro-environmental behaviors. In the context of sustainable shipping, if managers in an organization continue to receive requests from partners in terms of "doing good," they are more likely to make an effort to fulfill their expectations to earn their trust and foster long-term relationships. ...
Purpose-Sailing toward sustainability is becoming the strategic focus of shipping firms. Drawing on organizational information processing theory (OIPT) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), we investigated the impact of digital transformation (DT) on shipping firms' sustainable management performance and the boundary conditions guiding this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach-The authors examined the hypotheses by employing hierarchical linear modeling on two-wave time-lagged data from 189 shipping firm employees in China.
Findings-The results suggest that a shipping firm's DT is positively associated with its sustainable management performance and that the relationship is strengthened by having better cross-functional and customer coordination mechanisms. Furthermore, our three-way interaction analyses show that while injunctive norms in a shipping firm's networks can strengthen the contingency roles of both cross-functional and customer coordination mechanisms, descriptive norms alone significantly influence customer coordination.
Originality/value-Drawing on organizational information processing and planned behavior theories, the present research provides new insights into leveraging DT for sailing toward sustainable success. Moreover, this study extends the current understandings of the boundary conditions of the relationship between DT and sustainable management performance by showing the two-way and three-way interaction effects of coordination mechanisms and subjective norms. The findings of the present research can be utilized as effective strategies for promoting sustainable management performance.
... Sometimes, therefore, consumers need only a contextual push toward more ethical consumption behavior (Gajewski et al., 2021;Pilaj, 2017;Thaler & Sunstein, 2008). Recent research concludes that consumers will engage in more ethical behaviors in response to specific messages (Olsen et al., 2014;White et al., 2012;Winterich et al., 2019), normative appeals (White & Simpson, 2013), and priming (Karmarkar & Bollinger, 2015). As such, we believe that choice architecture-the different ways that choices can be presented to consumers-may offer another viable route to encourage more ethical consumption among middle-class consumers in emerging markets without evoking resistance. ...
Emerging markets are a growing force, and the resulting increase in wealth—especially among the middle class—promotes conspicuous consumption with potentially negative impacts for societal and environmental well-being. Efforts to encourage ethical consumer behavior in emerging markets often meet various forms of consumer resistance. One reason that ethical consumption may suffer in emerging markets is because consumers have difficulty considering ethical other-focused attributes, such as Fair Trade or eco-friendly options, especially if those attributes do not directly benefit the self. Our research demonstrates a simple way to encourage more ethical consumption in emerging markets, without economic incentives. In particular, when consumers see narrow (vs. broad) product categories, they are more likely to incorporate both salient (self-focused) and non-salient (other-focused) attributes into their decision. Thus, narrow product categories encourage consumers to consider ethical attributes to a greater extent than they normally would. This finding holds in private settings, across various product categories (i.e., coffee, tea, juice) and contexts (i.e., online and in the field), and in different emerging markets (e.g., India, South Africa, and Iran).
With the increasing trend in environmental protection awareness, consumers are likely to shift their purchasing towards green products. The traditional green marketing has focused on functionality and environmental benefits, with little emphasis on emotionally motivated design impact in consumer decision-making. Based on the Emotional Response Theory and the Affective Design Theory, through reviewing the literature and theoretically discussing how cute design can stimulate the emotional response of consumers and improve the market appeal of green products, this paper analyzes the following. The results indicated that cute design can stimulate positive emotions such as pleasure and caring more effectively, which in turn can promote consumers' environmental purchase intention. This result provides new perspectives on green marketing and emotional design strategies.
Although the sharing economy in tourism has garnered much positive attention, perennial ethical gray areas have been ignored. Drawing upon the ecological systems theory, we investigate the influence of different systemic factors, classified as individual differences and environmental context, on the ethical behavior of travelers (i.e., reporting malfunctions in a bike‐sharing context and saving water/electricity in a peer‐to‐peer accommodation context). PLS‐SEM and fsQCA are applied to analyze and examine proposed hypotheses. The results complement the factor configuration differences between the two behaviors. Moreover, this study provides new insights into the regulatory guidelines for shared service operators in the tourism industry.
Despite the growing need, nonprofit organization marketers have not yet fully delineated the most effective ways to position charitable appeals. Across five experiments, the authors test the prediction that other-benefit (self-benefit) appeals generate more favorable donation support than self-benefit (other-benefit) appeals in situations that heighten (versus minimize) public self-image concerns. Public accountability, a manipulation of public selfawareness, and individual differences in public self-consciousness all moderate the effect of appeal type on donor support. In particular, self-benefit appeals are more effective when consumers' responses are private in nature; in contrast, other-benefit appeals are more effective when consumers are publicly accountable for their responses. This effect is moderated by norm salience and is related to a desire to manage impressions by behaving in a manner consistent with normative expectations. The results have important managerial implications, suggesting that rather than simply relying on one type of marketing appeal across situations, marketers should tailor their marketing message to the situation or differentially activate public self-image concerns to match the appeal type.
In three experiments, respondents’ behavior conformed to the dictates of a relevant norm (the norm against littering) only under conditions of normative focus. This relationship held true across three types of procedures for producing normative focus (physiological arousal, modeling, and self-directed attention), across two types of settings (public and private), and across two types of norms (social and personal). Moreover, factors that would be expected to affect normative action were influential only when the norm was focal. These factors included the degree to which the action violated the relevant norm (Study 2) and the degree to which an individual subscribed to that norm (Study 3). Implications are discussed for developing campaigns to encourage prosocial behavior.
The current research explores the effects of dissociative reference groups on consumer preferences. Males had more negative evaluations of, and were less inclined to choose, a product associated with a dissociative (i.e., female) reference group than a neutral product (Study 1). This finding was moderated by whether the product was consumed in public or private (Study 2) and public self-consciousness (Study 3). We suggest the mechanism underlying our effects is a desire to present a positive self-image to others. The role of dissociative reference groups in marketing communications is discussed.
Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as garbage or trash, is generally produced from homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses, and consists of everyday items that we use and then throw away (e.g., containers, packaging, furniture, clothing, and newspapers). According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a total of 268 million tons of MSW was generated across the nation in 2017. MSW is typically disposed of in landfills and, to a lesser extent, processed in waste-to-energy and resource recovery facilities. Oftentimes, the MSW is transported from origin counties to destination facilities over many miles and across multiple states. Due to its volume and potential environmental impacts (e.g., spills, leakage, and contamination), it is important for policy analysts, planners, and decision-makers in the state and regional agencies to understand how, and how much, MSW is transported across the country. To this end, this study develops and applies a methodology to generate a county-to-county MSW flow matrix using available state solid waste management reports and datasets, as well as integrating other supplemental information. The generated flow estimates could be used by federal, state, and local agencies to better manage MSW, which could in turn help achieve environmental sustainability.
Environmental concerns have begun to reshape the landscape in which global organizations compete. The demands and influences of the environmental movement are evident in the dollar value size of the environmentally conscious marketplace. In addition, the growing regulatory concerns over the environmental impact of corporate practices have begun to influence corporate strategies. The authors discuss the concept of an enviropreneurial marketing strategy, which reflects the confluence of social performance goals, corporate entrepreneurship orientations, and marketing strategy by integrating environmental concerns when developing marketing policies and practices. They provide a brief overview of the emergence of the enviropreneurial strategy paradigm, identify three types of enviropreneurial marketing strategies, and develop a model of the antecedents and consequences of an enviropreneurial marketing strategy. Finally, they conclude with a brief discussion of future research needs.
Three aspects of the self (private, public, collective) with different probabilities in different kinds of social environments were sampled. Three dimensions of cultural variation (individualism-collectivism, tightness-looseness, cultural complexity) are discussed in relation to the sampling of these three aspects of the self. The more complex the culture, the more frequent the sampling of the public and private self and the less frequent the sampling of the collective self. The more individualistic the culture, the more frequent the sampling of the private self and the less frequent the sampling of the collective self. Collectivism, external threat, competition with outgroups, and common fate increase the sampling of the collective self. Cultural homogeneity results in tightness and in the sampling of the collective self. The article outlines theoretical links among aspects of the environment, child-rearing patterns, and cultural patterns, which are linked to differential sampling of aspects of the self. Such sampling has implications for social behavior. Empirical investigations of some of these links are reviewed.
Environmental concerns have begun to reshape the landscape i n~ which global organizations compete. The demands and influences of the environmental movement are evident in the dollar value size of the environmentally conscious marketplace. In addition, the growing regulatory concerns over the environmental impact of corporate practices have begun to influence corporate strategies. The authors discuss the concept of an enviropreneurial marketing strategy, which reflects the confluence of social performance goals, corporate entrepreneurship orienta-tions, and marketing strategy by integrating environmental concerns when developing marketing policies and prac-tices. They provide a brief overview of the emergence of the enviropreneurial strategy paradigm, identify three types of enviropreneurial marketing strategies, and develop a model of the antecedents and consequences of an enviro-preneurial marketing strategy Finally, they conclude with a brief discussion of future research needs. T he natural and physical environment, traditionally dis-cussed as an extemal influence on the process and content of managerial decision making, is now viewed as central to marketing and management strategy (Drumwright 1994; Hart 1995; Shrivastava 1994). Although the idea of integrating environmental issues into the process and the content of marketing strategy is not new (see Henion and Kinnear 1976; Kassarjian 1971), the idea of integrating has moved into mainstream marketing consciousness over the past ten years (cf. Drumwright 1994; McDaniel and Rylaiider 1993; Sheth and Parvartiyar 1995). Similarly, firms have already begun incorporating environmental crite-ria and/or environmental elements into their marketing strategies to remain competitive in the marketplace (cf. Drumwright 1994; Kirkpatrick 1990; Mason 1993). Con-sider the following developments within the investment, competitive, and regulatory arenas that have made environ-mental concems real and immediate for businesses.
The distinction between relatively independent versus interdependent self-construals has been strongly associated with several important cultural differences in social behavior. The current studies examined the causal role of self-construal by investigating whether priming independent or interdependent self-construals within a culture could result in differences in psychological worldview that mirror those traditionally found between cultures. In Experiment 1, European-American participants primed with interdependence displayed shifts toward more collectivist social values and judgments that were mediated by corresponding shifts in self-construal. In Experiment 2, this effect was extended by priming students from the United States and Hong Kong with primes that were consistent and inconsistent with their predominant cultural worldview. Students who received the inconsistent primes were more strongly affected than those who received the consistent primes, and thus shifted self-construal, and corresponding values, to a greater degree.
Using a design that also permitted an assessment of the extent to which any increase in grass-cycling behavior diffused to the neighbors of treated participants, two types of commitment strategies for promoting residential grass cycling (i.e., not bagging grass clippings) were investigated. Baseline data were collected over a period of 4 weeks to determine which residents in each of three homogeneous neighborhoods bagged grass clippings for curbside pickup. A total of 558 houses observed to bag grass clippings during this period were included as participants in the experiment. Following baseline, the neighborhoods were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. Results indicated that participants who made a commitment to grass cycle and to talk to their neighbors had grass bags present significantly less often than either the commitment-only or control participants. This effect was present during the 4-week intervention period and also was sustained during an immediate 4-week follow-up period and a delayed 4-week follow-up period 12 months later. There also was a diffusion effect in which the neighbors of targeted participants showed significantly more grass cycling than controls, and this effect continued to increase through the 1-year follow-up measure. On the other hand, neither commitment-only participants nor their neighbors differed from controls during any period of the experiment.