review · Resources Conservation & Recycling Advances
Understanding sustainable consumption behaviour is vital for tackling climate change and resource depletion. An analysis of sixty-four studies published between 2012 and 2022 identified key drivers across fourteen theoretical frameworks. The Theory of Planned Behaviour emerged as the most frequently used model, emphasising the roles of personal attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. Researchers frequently extended this model to incorporate additional factors such as altruism and environmental concern. Other notable frameworks include Social Cognitive Theory, Value-Belief-Norm Theory, and Diffusion of Innovation Theory. The evidence shows that while internal motivations strongly shape sustainable habits, external elements such as social norms and policy interventions are equally significant. Crucially, a persistent gap remains between consumer intentions and actual actions. Addressing this gap requires an integrated approach that connects psychological, social, and contextual elements through a two-pathways guidance framework.
Shifting consumer choices towards sustainability is critical to combating environmental degradation and climate change. However, people often intend to act sustainably but fail to follow through in practice. Clarifying how personal values, societal expectations, and policy interventions interact helps organisations and decision-makers design more effective interventions that bridge this intention-action gap and encourage greener day-to-day decisions.
This work provides an early-stage theoretical framework rather than a direct commercial product. The synthesis of behavioural drivers could assist market researchers, corporate sustainability managers, and policy designers in structuring greener marketing strategies and consumer adoption programmes. Because the findings are drawn from an academic review of literature, practical application remains at an early concept stage, requiring translation and empirical testing in specific retail or community settings.
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• Key drivers of sustainable consumption behavior (SCB) were identified using 14 theories, models and subject. • Theory of Planned Behavior is the most widely employed theory in SCB research. • Internal motivations strongly influence SCB in addition to external factors like social norms and policy interventions. • A multi-dimensional (psychological, social, and contextual) approach is needed to address the limitations of the attitude-behavior gap. • Contextual nuances and interdisciplinary collaboration are important in SCB research. • Following the review, a two-pathways guidance framework for SCB studies is presented. Sustainable consumption behavior (SCB) has gained increasing importance in addressing global challenges such as climate change and resource depletion. This paper presents a systematic review of theories and models applied to understanding SCB. A total of 64 studies, published between 2012-2022, were analyzed, utilizing 14 theories, models and subjects to identify key drivers of SCB. Among the theories, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was the most frequently employed, with 29 studies, highlighting the influence of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on sustainable consumption. Other prominent frameworks include Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), used in 5 studies, and the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) Theory, applied in 4 studies. The review identified a trend toward expanding TPB to include factors such as altruism and environmental concern to better capture SCB's complexity. Moreover, models like the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (used in 4 studies) emphasize the role of innovation adoption in promoting sustainability. Key findings also suggest that while internal motivations (e.g., personal values, attitudes) strongly influence SCB, external factors like social norms and policy interventions also play a crucial role. A notable challenge is the gap between intention and actual behavior, with several studies emphasizing the need for multi-dimensional approaches that integrate psychological, social, and contextual factors. This review consolidates diverse approaches into a guiding framework for future SCB studies, emphasizing the importance of contextual nuances and interdisciplinary collaboration to foster sustainable consumer behaviors across various domains.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.rcradv.2024.200232
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