Basic Psychological Needs and Self-Determined Motivation as Drivers of Voluntary Simplistic Clothing Consumption Practices in South Africa

Hanri Taljaard and Nadine Sonnenberg
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Hanri Taljaard: Department of Consumer and Food Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, Pretoria 0002, Gauteng, South Africa
Nadine Sonnenberg: Department of Consumer and Food Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, Pretoria 0002, Gauteng, South Africa

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: Consumers’ clothing consumption is the cause of many social and environmental consequences, especially in emerging economies where consumption continues to escalate. It is therefore vital that consumers adopt more voluntary simplistic lifestyles with sustainable clothing practices. This study relies on the self-determination theory to explore the influence of basic psychological needs (i.e., competence, autonomy, and connectedness) and self-determined motivation (i.e., identified- and integrated regulation as well as intrinsic motivation) on female consumers’ voluntary simplistic clothing practices. Data were derived from 469 online questionnaires and structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypotheses. Competence was identified as the most influential basic psychological need, followed by the need for connectedness and autonomy. Moreover, intrinsic motivation is the strongest predictor of voluntary simplistic clothing practices, while integrated regulation is deemed insignificant and identified regulation has a negative association with the practices in question. In summary, it would seem that female consumers are keen on adopting voluntary simplistic clothing behaviors. This may be due to their intrinsic motivation and competence rather than their exposure to extrinsic influences. This study provides valuable insight into the motivational determinants of voluntary simplistic clothing consumption in South Africa and may thus serve as a platform for further investigation into other emerging markets.

Keywords: clothing consumption; voluntary simplicity; well-being; self-determination theory; self-determined motivation; basic psychological needs; sustainability; structural equation modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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