Transformative consumer research to support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: Lessons from and for social and consumer psychologists

Nea North and Cornelia (Connie) Pechmann

Chapter 29 in Handbook of Social Psychology and Consumer Behavior, 2026, pp 427-446 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In 2006, the transformative consumer research movement launched, encouraging consumer researchers to focus more on how to address large societal issues. In addition, the United Nations, an intergovernmental global organization, developed 17 goals for helping people and the planet to prosper. Throughout this chapter, we use the lens of the UN goals to discuss the scale and scope of global problems. We also present several key papers in the transformative consumer research area that have used social psychology theories and approaches to tackle societal problems including unhealthy consumption, irresponsible maladaptive consumption, poverty, hunger, inequality, and marginalization of groups. We highlight various psychological theories (e.g., related to emotions, self-regulation, and perceptions of control) that have been pivotal in providing consumer researchers with insights on how to address global issues. We conclude by encouraging researchers to join the transformative consumer research movement and produce impactful research that addresses pressing global issues.

Keywords: Poverty; Hunger; Inequality; Health; Addiction; Maladaptive consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035327591
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