Skip to main content

Understanding and Raising Consumers’ Normative Motivation for Sustainable Consumption

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Socially Responsible Consumption and Marketing in Practice

Abstract

Many practitioners in marketing and policy are concerned with the means by which to encourage consumers to adopt more sustainable consumption patterns and lifestyles. Frequently utilized approaches emphasize personal benefits (e.g., healthier, more energy efficient) that are accompanied by green consumption alternatives. However, many sustainable products and services cannot provide added personal value to their nongreen counterparts, thereby leaving companies and policy with the question of how to encourage sustainable consumption in these domains. To this end, the current chapter aims to illuminate major research strands and empirical results that provide insights into the basic approaches of a normatively shaped motivation for sustainable consumption. Based on these approaches, the present chapter outlines potential means and activities that illustrate how these approaches might be implemented in marketing strategies. These illustrations are deemed to serve as starting points for further developments and adaptive extensions to the specific contexts that practitioners cope with.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Balderjahn, I., Buerke, A., Kirchgeorg, M., Peyer, M., Seegebarth, B., & Wiedmann, K.-P. (2013). Consciousness for sustainable consumption: Scale development and new insights in the economic dimension of consumers’ sustainability. AMS Review, 3(4), 181–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-013-0057-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bamberg, S., & Möser, G. (2007). Twenty years after Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera: A new meta-analysis of psycho-social determinants of pro-environmental behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27(1), 14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2006.12.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F. (2002). Yielding to temptation: Self-control failure, impulsive purchasing, and consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 28(4), 670–676. https://doi.org/10.1086/338209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bazerman, M. H., Tenbrunsel, A. E., & Wade-Benzoni, K. (1998). Negotiating with yourself and losing: Making decisions with competing internal preferences. Academy of Management Review, 23(2), 225–241. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1998.533224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caruana, R., & Chatzidakis, A. (2014). Consumer social responsibility (CnSR): Toward a multi-level, multi-agent conceptualization of the “Other CSR.” Journal of Business Ethics, 121(4), 577–592. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1739-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B. (2007). Descriptive social norms as underappreciated sources of social control. Psychometrika, 72(2), 263–268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11336-006-1560-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B., Demaine, L. J., Sagarin, B. J., Barrett, D. W., Rhoads, K., & Winter, P. L. (2006). Managing social norms for persuasive impact. Social Influence, 1(1), 3–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/15534510500181459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B., Kallgren, C. A., & Reno, R. R. (1991). A Focus Theory of Normative Conduct: A Theoretical Refinement and Reevaluation of the Role of Norms in Human Behavior. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 24, pp. 201–234). Academic Press, San Diego. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60330-5

  • Cialdini, R. B., Reno, R. R., & 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, 58(6), 1015–1026. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.58.6.1015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B., & Trost, M. R. (1998). Social influence: Social norms, conformity and compliance. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology (pp. 151–192). McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demarque, C., Charalambides, L., Hilton, D. J., & Waroquier, L. (2015). Nudging sustainable consumption: The use of descriptive norms to promote a minority behavior in a realistic online shopping environment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 43, 166–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.06.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doran, R., & Larsen, S. (2016). The relative importance of social and personal norms in explaining intentions to choose eco-friendly travel options. International Journal of Tourism Research, 18(2), 159–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrich, K. R., & Irwin, J. R. (2005). Willful ignorance in the request for product attribute information. Journal of Marketing Research, 42(3), 266–277. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.2005.42.3.266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fricke, V., & Schrader, U. (2011). Corporate communication to promote consumers’ social responsibility? Ă–kologisches Wirtschaften - Fachzeitschrift, 25(4), 25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, N. J., Griskevicius, V., & Cialdini, R. B. (2007). Invoking social norms. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 48(2), 145–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golob, U., Podnar, K., KokliÄŤ, M. K., & Zabkar, V. (2019). The importance of corporate social responsibility for responsible consumption: Exploring moral motivations of consumers. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(2), 416–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haidt, J. (2001). The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment. Psychological Review, 108(4), 814–834.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haidt, J. (2007). The new synthesis in moral psychology. Science (New York, N.Y.), 316(5827), 998–1002. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1137651

  • Hansen, U., & Schrader, U. (1997). A modern model of consumption for a sustainable society. Journal of Consumer Policy, 20(4), 443–468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harland, P., Staats, H., & Wilke, H. A. M. (2007). Situational and personality factors as direct or personal norm mediated predictors of pro-environmental behavior: Questions derived from norm-activation theory. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 29(4), 323–334. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973530701665058

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, T. (2005). Motivating sustainable consumption. Sustainable Development Research Network, 29, 30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joanes, T. (2019). Personal norms in a globalized world: Norm-activation processes and reduced clothing consumption. Journal of Cleaner Production, 212, 941–949.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser, F. G., Hubner, G., & Bogner, F. X. (2005). Contrasting the theory of planned behavior with the value-belief-norm model in explaining conservation behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35(10), 2150–2170. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2005.tb02213.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilian, S., & Mann, A. (2020). When the Damage is Done: Effects of moral disengagement on sustainable consumption. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 20(1), 120–132. https://doi.org/10.33423/jop.v20i1.2764

  • Lindenmeier, J., Schleer, C., & Pricl, D. (2012). Consumer outrage: Emotional reactions to unethical corporate behavior. Journal of Business Research, 65(9), 1364–1373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.09.022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loewenstein, G. (1996). Out of control: Visceral influences on behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 65(3), 272–292. https://doi.org/10.1006/obhd.1996.0028

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luce, M. F. (1998). Choosing to avoid: Coping with negatively emotion-laden consumer decisions. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(4), 409–433. https://doi.org/10.1086/209518

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melnyk, V., van Herpen, E., Fischer, A. R. H., & van Trijp, H. C. M. (2013). Regulatory fit effects for injunctive versus descriptive social norms: Evidence from the promotion of sustainable products. Marketing Letters, 24(2), 191–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-013-9234-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NIKE. (2011). Nike introduces the Legend Pant Collection. Retrieved Mai 15, 2021, from https://news.nike.com/news/nike-introduces-the-legend-pant-collection

  • Osterhus, T. L. (1997). Pro-Social Consumer Influence Strategies: When and How Do They Work? Journal of Marketing, 61(4), 16. https://doi.org/10.2307/1252084

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pristl, A.-C., Kilian, S., & Mann, A. (2020). When does a social norm catch the worm? Disentangling social normative influences on sustainable consumption behaviour. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 20(3), 635–654.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prothero, A., Dobscha, S., Freund, J., Kilbourne, W. E., Luchs, M. G., Ozanne, L. K., & Thøgersen, J. (2011). Sustainable consumption: Opportunities for consumer research and public policy. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 30(1), 31–38. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.30.1.31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reczek, R. W., Irwin, J. R., Zane, D. M., & Ehrich, K. R. (2018). That’s not how i remember it: Willfully ignorant memory for ethical product attribute information. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(1), 185–207. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Remberg, A. (2021). OTTO startet Nachhaltigkeitskampagne „Veränderung beginnt bei uns”. Retrieved Mai 15, 2021, from https://www.otto.de/unternehmen/de/news-presse/otto-startet-nachhaltigkeitskampagne

  • Reno, R. R., Cialdini, R. B., & Kallgren, C. A. (1993). The transsituational influence of social norms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(1), 104–112. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.64.1.104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rozin, P., Lowery, L., Imada, S., & Haidt, J. (1999). The CAD triad hypothesis: A mapping between three moral emotions (contempt, anger, disgust) and three moral codes (community, autonomy, divinity). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(4), 574–586. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.76.4.574

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., Sheldon, K. M., Kasser, T., & Deci, E. L. (1996). All goals are not created equal: An organismic perspective on the nature of goals and their regulation. In P. M. Gollwitzer & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), The psychology of action: Linking cognition and motivation to behavior (pp. 7–26). The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, P. W., Nolan, J. M., Cialdini, R. B., Goldstein, N. J., & Griskevicius, V. (2007). The constructive, destructive, and reconstructive power of social norms. Psychological Science, 18(5), 429–434. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01917.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, W. P., Khazian, A. M., & Zaleski, A. C. (2008). Using normative social influence to promote conservation among hotel guests. Social Influence, 3(1), 4–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15534510701755614

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. H. (1977). Normative Influences on Altruism. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 10, pp. 221–279). Academic Press, New York. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60358-5

  • Steg, L. (2015). Environmental psychology and sustainable consumption. In L. Reisch & J. Thøgersen (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Sustainable Consumption (pp. 70–83). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781783471270.00012

  • Steg, L., Bolderdijk, J. W., Keizer, K., & Perlaviciute, G. (2014). An integrated framework for encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: The role of values, situational factors and goals. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 38, 104–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.01.002

  • Steg, L., & de Groot, J. (2010). Explaining prosocial intentions: Testing causal relationships in the norm activation model. The British Journal of Social Psychology, 49(Pt 4), 725–743. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466609X477745

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stern, P. C., Dietz, T., Abel, T., Guagnano, G. A., & Kalof, L. (1999). A value-belief-norm theory of support for social movements: The case of environmentalism. Human Ecology Review, 6(2), 81–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H., Turner, J. C., Austin, W. G., & Worchel, S. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. Organizational Identity: A Reader, 56(65), 33–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thøgersen, J., & Ă–lander, F. (2006). The dynamic interaction of personal norms and environment-friendly buying behavior: A panel Study. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36(7), 1758–1780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, K., Habib, R., & Hardisty, D. J. (2019). How to SHIFT consumer behaviors to be more sustainable: A literature review and guiding framework. Journal of Marketing, 83(3), 22–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919825649

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, C., Bagozzi, R. P., & Grønhaug, K. (2015). The role of moral emotions and individual differences in consumer responses to corporate green and non-green actions. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(3), 333–356. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0394-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

Additional Readings

  • Harrison, R., Newholm, T., & Shaw, D. (Eds.). (2005). The Ethical Consumer. Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Devinney, T. M., Auger, P., & Eckhardt, G. M. (2010). The Myth of the Ethical Consumer. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Trijp, H. C. (Ed.). (2013). Encouraging Sustainable Behavior: Psychology and the Environment. Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sven Kilian .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kilian, S., Pristl, AC., Mann, A. (2022). Understanding and Raising Consumers’ Normative Motivation for Sustainable Consumption. In: Bhattacharyya, J., Balaji, M.S., Jiang, Y., Azer, J., Hewege, C.R. (eds) Socially Responsible Consumption and Marketing in Practice. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6433-5_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics