What Is in the Context? Motivations and Implications of an Integrated Model of Environmental Behavior

Abstract

There is growing interest among activists, policymakers, academicians, and practitioners in understanding and promoting sustainable consumption. Research in environmental psychology has largely concentrated on Western societies, while the global south, a major player in the global sustainability transition, is under-represented. This sample skewness has undermined the role of context and a restricted conceptualization of environmental behavior. Furthermore, there is a research need to incorporate environmental behaviors that are driven by cultural beliefs, practices, and evolving local context, more so in non-Western societies. Motivated by these gaps, we discuss and develop a model integrating contextual influences on environmental behavior, outline its antecedents, and its research and managerial implications. We focus on attitudinal factors and external factors as antecedents of environmental behavior and highlight the contextual influence with specific reference to India. We identify six dimensions under attitudinal factors—individual-nature, individual-individual, individual-time, individual-life, individual-technology, and individual-waste—and monetary, social, and physical categories in external factors. We present an integrated model to stimulate more studies on environmental behavior and guide behavior change interventions in non-Western contexts. The model provides a theoretical lens to extend our understanding of the nature and dynamics of contextual influences on environmental behavior. Furthermore, practitioners could leverage the model to aid strategic interventions for business and policy outcomes.