Cutting the Internet's Environmental Footprint: An Analysis of Consumers' Self-Attribution of Responsibility

Leïla Elgaaïed-Gambier (), Laurent Bertrandias () and Yohan Bernard ()
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Leïla Elgaaïed-Gambier: TBS - Toulouse Business School
Laurent Bertrandias: TBS - Toulouse Business School, IUT Paul Sabatier - Institut Universitaire de Technologie - Paul Sabatier - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse
Yohan Bernard: CREGO - Centre de Recherche en Gestion des Organisations - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UB - Université de Bourgogne - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] - UFC - Université de Franche-Comté - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE]

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Abstract: This research project investigates consumers' willingness to adopt online pro-environmental behaviors. First, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study that revealed respondents' low awareness of the environmental impact of Internet usage and reluctance to change their online behaviors. Consumers tend to decline all responsibility and expect companies and public authorities to take the necessary measures. Moreover, they are led by contradictory motives: not harming the environment on the one hand and continuing to use the Internet the way they currently do on the other. Based on these findings, two quantitative studies were conducted to investigate the determinants of consumers' self-attribution of responsibility to reduce the digital footprint of their online activity (e.g., using an eco-friendly search engine). Our conceptual model emphasizes the mechanisms of cognitive dissonance and highlights the crucial role of skepticism toward pro-environmental solutions. Implications for IT companies and public policy makers are discussed.

Keywords: Green computing; Green IT; Online pro-environmental behavior; Self-attribution of responsibility; Environmental skepticism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-05
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in Journal of Interactive Marketing, 2020, 50, pp.120-135. ⟨10.1016/j.intmar.2020.02.001⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02553306

DOI: 10.1016/j.intmar.2020.02.001

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