How cultural values influence sustainable consumption behavior? An empirical investigation in a non-Western context

Abstract

The current study aims to investigate the role of cultural values in shaping Sustainable consumption behavior in a non-Western setting. The primary data on cultural orientation and consumption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products is collected from about 347 Indian consumers. Four consumption culture dimensions-Environmental Fatalism, Comfort-centric Outlook, Spiritual Outlook, and Techno-criticism-were derived from primary data using factor analysis. Consumption culture dimensions are shown to have a direct influence on sustainable consumption behavior and indirect influence through personal environmental stewardship. Environmental Fatalism and Comfort-centric Outlook showed negative relationship, while Spiritual Outlook had a positive relationship with Sustainable Consumption Behavior-Techno-criticism was found to be insignificant. Further analysis revealed that Personal Environmental Stewardship partially mediates the relationship between consumption culture dimensions and sustainable consumption behavior. The study findings extend the existing theoretical knowledge by offering a model that can be leveraged to validate the influence of cultural variables, including general attitudes toward waste and technology, on sustainable consumption behavior of high environmental impacts and spanning multiple consumption phases. Results from our study provide practical insights for educators, marketers, campaign managers and religious leaders to develop pedagogical practice and design culturally-relevant messaging to activate norms relevant for pro-environmental behaviors. The current study is among the first to focus on (i) an impact-based operationalization of sustainable consumption behavior and (ii) the consumption area of electronics. Further, the current study also contributes to a rather nascent stream of research embedded in non-Western contexts.