Modeling the Social Factors That Determine Sustainable Consumption Behavior in the Community of Madrid

Edna C. Figueroa-García, Juan J. García-Machado and Diana C. Pérez-Bustamante Yábar
Additional contact information
Edna C. Figueroa-García: Business Development Marketing Area, Technological University of Querétaro, Pie de la Cuesta 2501, Unidad Nacional, 76148 Querétaro, Mexico
Juan J. García-Machado: Department of Financial Economics, Accounting and Operation Management, University of Huelva, Plaza la Merced 11, 21071 Huelva, Spain
Diana C. Pérez-Bustamante Yábar: Business Department, University Rey Juan Carlos, Paseo de los Artilleros, 28032 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-16

Abstract: This paper defines the social factors that determine sustainable behavior and identifies the elements that promote such behavior. These factors are external from the individual and causal regarding sustainable behavior, an area that receives little attention in literature. It uses a theoretical model, based on existing research, which is tested through a questionnaire with 26 indicators adapted to the Spanish context. In an initial analysis, this model proposed, as determining social factors in the CCS, aspects such as government action, social pressure, influence of the social environment, demographic variables (age, gender, education level), education and information, and market conditions. Finally, it was concluded that 43.4% of the variance of the endogenous latent variable (SCC) can be explained only by three exogenous latent constructions: environmental influences (in particular the influence of family and friends, as well as that generated by cultural factors such as traditions), education and information (specifically related to information on sustainability and the effects of personal consumption on the environment), and market conditions (referring to the positive perception of sustainable products by consumers, including their willingness to pay higher prices than those of conventional products). The rest of the exogenous variables did not have a significant relationship with the endogenous variable. These results are very useful for government institutions, companies that operate in the sector and pro-environmental and pro-social groups, that knowing what motivates people to adopt this form of behavior can design relevant strategies to get positive answers about the environment, the economy and the society.

Keywords: sustainable consumer behavior; sustainability; ecology; social factors; PLS-SEM; structural equations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/8/2811/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/8/2811/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:8:p:2811-:d:162647

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().