The New Ecological Paradigm, Pro-Environmental Behaviour, and the Moderating Effects of Locus of Control and Self-Construal

Lukasz Andrzej Derdowski, Åsa Helen Grahn, Håvard Hansen and Heidi Skeiseid
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Lukasz Andrzej Derdowski: The Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, Norway
Åsa Helen Grahn: The Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, Norway
Håvard Hansen: The Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, Norway
Heidi Skeiseid: The Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, Norway

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: Acquiring a better understanding of what drives pro-environmental and sustainable behaviour is important for both researchers and practitioners alike. The purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating role of locus of control and self-construal on the relationship between pro-environmental beliefs and pro-environmental consumer behaviour. We explicitly model the endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) as a predictor of three specific types of environmental behaviour—travel, purchasing and day to day activities. The results show a positive and significant association between the endorsement of NEP and a person’s pro-environmental traveling behaviour, purchasing behaviour and day to day activities. Moreover, we find that the effects are moderated by a person’s locus of control, specifically, it remains positive and significant only for people with an internal locus of control. However, we found no moderating effect of a person’s self-construal on the association between NEP and pro-environmental behaviour. The findings are important in the continuing work to understand what is limiting consumers to behave according to their beliefs. Practical and theoretical implications of the results as well as suggestions for future research are presented.

Keywords: new ecological paradigm; locus of control; self-construal; pro-environmental behaviour; moderator effect (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 (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:18:p:7728-:d:415573

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