What Do Coffee Shop Entrepreneurs Need to Do to Raise Pro-Environmental Customer Behavioral Intentions?

Sunmi Yun and Taeuk Kim
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Sunmi Yun: International Center for Hospitality Research & Development, Dedman School of Hospitality, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
Taeuk Kim: International Center for Hospitality Research & Development, Dedman School of Hospitality, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-19

Abstract: Our research framework, built on the norm activation model (NAM), was designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the formation of consumers’ pro-environmental behavioral intentions in an eco-friendly coffee shop. We employed the NAM to test its mediating effect of personal environmental norms (PEN), social environmental norms (SEN), and ascription of responsibility (AR) and the moderating effect of the overall green image (OGI) on pro-environmental behavioral intentions. Data were collected through a survey of 530 customers who frequently visited a coffee shop in Korea, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses. The findings generally supported the hypothesized associations of the study variables within our proposed theoretical framework (PEN, SEN, and AR in order of the mediating effect on pro-environmental behavioral intentions) and confirmed OGI’s moderating effect. In addition, the study’s results have important (1) theoretical and (2) practical implications for the environment. (1) They expand the original NAM by explaining the effect of the relationship between SEN and PEN on pro-environmental customer behavioral intentions (PCBI) and confirm the mediating effect of the NAM (SEN, PEN, AR) on PCBI, as demonstrated in previous studies. (2) Moreover, the findings herein may encourage coffee shops to participate in the prevention of environmental problems by restricting the use of products such as plastic coffee cups and straws.

Keywords: norm activation (NAM); environmental problem concern (EPC); social environmental norms (SEN); personal environmental norms (PEN); ascription of responsibility (AR); pro-environmental customer behavioral intentions (PCBI); overall green image (OGI); coffee shops (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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