Go Green, Go Social: Exploring the Antecedents of Pro-Environmental Behaviors in Social Networking Sites beyond Norm Activation Theory

Chia-Ying Li and Yu-Hui Fang ()
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Chia-Ying Li: Department of Business Administration, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung 404, Taiwan
Yu-Hui Fang: Department of Accounting, Tamkang University, No. 151, Ying-Chuan Rd., Tamsuip, New Taipei City 25137, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-25

Abstract: The paucity of environmental resources and the threatening warning of global climate change have led to increasing research on environmental issues [e.g., pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs)]. Although norm activation theory (NAT) is a well-recognized theory for approaching PEBs, existing works appear insufficient to explain PEB in the context of social networking sites (SNSs) without taking contextual, emotional, and social factors into account. Grounded in the egocentric tactician model (ETM), NAT, along with the notions of guilt and social stressors, this study integrates a new ETM path, a supplemented emotional path, alongside the conventional NAT path to achieve a more complete picture of what are crucial determinants of PEBs in the context of SNSs. Social stressors positively moderate the emotional path. Data collected from 897 Facebook users confirm all of our proposed hypotheses. Results indicate that beyond the traditional NAT path, the new ETM path and the emotional path add values to illustrate PEBs on SNSs, and new constructs of self-influence on SNSs (SIS) and guilt remarkably drive PEBs alongside personal norms. Implications for theory and practice are discussed, and guidelines for future research are identified.

Keywords: norm activation theory; pro-environmental behaviors; egocentric tactician model; guilt; social stressor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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