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PSYC 515 Frances, Bailey & Jenna

To be or not to be green: Exploring individualism and collectivism as antecedents of environmental behavior. PSYC 515 Frances, Bailey & Jenna. Literature Review.

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PSYC 515 Frances, Bailey & Jenna

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  1. To be or not to be green:Exploring individualism and collectivism as antecedents of environmental behavior • PSYC 515 • Frances, Bailey & Jenna

  2. Literature Review • Sustainability & environmental initiatives are increasingly receiving attention by corporations, consumers, and individuals in general. • World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) • Japan, China, and South Korea have made efforts • Eco-minded individuals have changed lifestyles & consumer behavior

  3. Study’s Aims • To increase understanding of sustainability by examining different cultures. • Looks to find how culture affects environmental behaviors.

  4. Value-belief norm theory (VBN) • Individuals’ beliefs affect their values and actions. • Researchers explain attitude formation about environmental concerns and issues using their beliefs. • Values individuals hold are represented by their cultural orientation.

  5. Cultural Orientation • Specific types of cultural variables used: • Horizontal-vertical (H-V) • Horizontal → self and others • Vertical → self over others • Individualism-collectivism (I-C) • Individualism → independent, personal goals • Collectivism → interdependent, group interests

  6. Cultural Orientation • Individualism emphasizes uniqueness and self-reliance, but vertical individualistscompete to be the “best” • Collectivism consider interdependence important, but vertical collectivists are willing to sacrifice personal goals for group’s goals.

  7. Cultural Orientation • Critics • 4 types may not accurately capture all cultural values • Some may fall in between categories • Addition of Confucian collectivism • group behavior regulation, group conformity, interdependence, and face-saving

  8. Perceived Consumer Effectiveness • When a person believes they can make a difference in the solution to a problem, e.g., pollution or global warming • Effectiveness of PCE depends on: • how much a person believes they have contributed to an issue, and • how much a person believes in their ability to make a difference

  9. Perceived Consumer Effectiveness • Pro-environmental behaviors may depend on cultural orientation, but there is limited research. • Kim & Choi (2005): Collectivism and PCE are positively related • Individualists do not perceive their efforts as making a difference

  10. Hypothesis 1 • H1a - Horizontal individualism and vertical individualismnegatively affect perceived consumer effectiveness • H1b - Horizontal collectivism, vertical collectivism, and Confucian collectivism positively affect perceived consumer effectiveness.

  11. Environmental Attitude • The way one views the natural environment • either favor or disfavor • learned predisposition originating from culture and how one was raised

  12. Environmental Attitude • Past research: • positive relationship with perceived consumer effectiveness → pro-environmental beliefs → ecologically conscious consumer behavior • Individualists are eco-friendly to feel better about themselves • Collectivists may have more enhanced attitudes toward the environment

  13. Hypothesis 2 & 3 • H2a - Horizontal individualism and vertical individualismpositively affect environmental attitude. • H2b - Horizontal collectivism, vertical collectivism, and Confucian collectivismpositively affect environmental attitude. • H3 - Perceived consumer effectivenesspositively affects environmental attitude.

  14. Environmental Commitment • Is what individuals actually do or have done in regards to environmental issues. • Just because people have concern for the environment, does not mean they will take action • “Behavioral Greens” • People who make environmentally-friendly changes to their behavior • Have higher perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE)

  15. Hypothesis 4 & 5 • H4 - Perceived consumer effectiveness positively affects environmental commitment • H5 - Environmental attitudepositively affects environmental commitment.

  16. Materials and Methods • Data from South Korea & United States • maximize range of cultural breadth • N = 726 (undergrad students, ages 18-33) • 50% Male, 50% Female • 55% US, 45% SK • Voluntary participation • Survey given in respective languages

  17. Measures • PCE, environmental attitude, and environmental commitment were measured using a 1-7 Likert scale • 1- strongly disagree; 7- strongly agree • Horizontal individualism, horizontal collectivism, vertical individualism, and vertical collectivism were measured using a 5 item 1-7 Likert scale • 1- “does not describe me at all” & 7-”describes me very well”

  18. Results • Negatively affected perceived consumer effectiveness: • Vertical individualism • Positively affected environmental attitude: • Horizontal collectivism • Horizontal individualism • Confucian collectivism • Perceived consumer effectiveness

  19. Results • Positively affected environmental commitment: • Environmental attitude • There was no relationship between PCE and environmental attitude

  20. Discussion • US & SK did not exhibit expected cultural differences • “new consumers”, variation may come from personal differences rather than cultural • Westernization of South Korea • Future studies - Are cultural beliefs more important than personal beliefs?

  21. Discussion • Individualism aspect of culture only received empirical support in terms of influencing perceived consumer effectiveness and environmental attitude directly. • Horizontal collectivism has a positive impact on both PCE and EA combined with the impact of Confucian collectivism on EA.

  22. Discussion • Vertical collectivism influenced environmental attitudein opposite direction of hypothesis • In addition, the scales used to measure cultural orientations need to be reassessed to improve reliability and validity.

  23. Discussion • PCE did not directly influence environmental commitment • Individuals who believe they can make a difference have a positive attitude about purchasing green products & believe that doing so is favorable. • PCE had an influence on environmental attitude • Positive EA → stronger action

  24. Discussion • Companies have started to become aware that it is important to be sustainable • Important to raise consumer awareness about the positive difference they can make • Additional research could study: • A wider range of age groups • Other countries

  25. Video: TED Talk Tim Jackson Economics of Climate Change • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp29wq5F4Fw

  26. Discussion Questions • 1. Given this info, do you think cultural orientation significantly affects people’s environmental behavior and attitude? • 2. Do you think there is a way to make individualistic culture more environmentally friendly? • 3. Do you think you’re influenced by your cultural orientation when it comes to environmental issues?

  27. References • Cho, Y., Thyroff, A., Rapert, M. I., Park, S., & Lee, H. (2013). To be or not to be green: Exploring individualism and collectivism as antecedents of environmental behavior. Journal of Business Research, 66(8), 1052-1059.

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