A Comprehensive Model to Explain Europeans’ Environmental Behaviors

Öykü Hazal Aral and Jordi López-Sintas
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Öykü Hazal Aral: Department of Business, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
Jordi López-Sintas: Department of Business, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-27

Abstract: Understanding the nature of consumers’ environmental behaviors will help design better environmental policies for a sustainable future. Drawing on the responsible environmental behavior (REB) theoretical framework, we disentangle the effects of social and psychological environmental factors on Europeans’ behaviors, considering that living contexts vary from country to country. Using data on attitudes to the environment sourced from the 2017 Eurobarometer, we measure the socio-psychological factors and environmental behaviors using exploratory factor analysis. A multilevel model measures the effect of individual-level environmental factors and analyzes the impact of the country context on Europeans’ environmental behaviors. Results show that the three tested environmental behaviors (eco-friendly purchasing, public transport use, and reduced resource consumption) are explained by individual-level environmental factors as well as by country differences, but the effects differ depending on the behavior considered. We also find that the effects of knowledge, attitudes, and perceived behavioral control are mediated by a set of social indicators (age, gender, education, and income). We conclude with a discussion of the implications for policymakers.

Keywords: REB theory; eco-friendly purchasing; public transport use; reduced resource consumption; sustainable development; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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