Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Laura Salmivaara, Chiara Lombardini, Leena Lankoski
Summary: The study shows that the impact of social norms on sustainable food choice is more nuanced than previously thought. Descriptive social norms are significantly associated with both actual and intended food choice, while injunctive social norms are not related to either.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Y. Ran, A. Nilsson Lewis, E. Dawkins, R. Grah, F. Vanhuyse, E. Engstrom, F. Lambe
Summary: Consumers' decision-making in sustainable food shopping is influenced by external factors, and the change mechanisms of interventions are not well understood. Quality, health, locally produced food, animal welfare, and convenience are key factors motivating consumers to make sustainable choices, while price and time are the main constraints. Information can be a powerful tool for behavior change if tailored to the customer's full shopping journey, including planning, executing, and reflecting.
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Iljana Schubert, Judith I. M. de Groot, Adrian C. Newton
Summary: This study demonstrated that social network members have a stronger influence on sustainable food consumption choices compared to strangers, highlighting the significant impact of revealed injunctive norms on food consumption.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Armelle Garcia, Suzanne Higgs, Anne Lluch, Nicolas Darcel, Olga Davidenko
Summary: This study found that the perception of dietary changes by household members and relatives was associated with individual's dietary adjustments during lockdown. Positive perception from household members was more likely to help individuals maintain increased food consumption during this period.
Article
Ecology
Arianna Buratto, Lorenzo Lotti
Summary: Finding ways to steer consumers towards vegetarian and plant-based meals is important for reducing the environmental impact of diets. In this study, we investigated the use of nudges in restaurants to increase sales of vegetarian and plant-based dishes. We found that removing symbols for these dishes increased sales, while adding a low emissions symbol had no effect. However, when the nudge was made transparent through a statement, sales significantly increased. These findings support the use of nudges as cost-effective interventions to address unsustainable food consumption in the hospitality sector.
ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS
(2024)
Article
Development Studies
Diego Maiorano, Dishil Shrimankar, Suruchi Thapar-Bjorkert, Hans Blomkvist
Summary: This paper introduces a novel survey-based method for measuring people's empowerment, involving direct measurement of decision-making, assessment of the reasons for valuing choices, and consideration of social norms in strategic life decisions. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated using original survey data from India, highlighting the importance of the Empowerment score for policy applications and evaluations.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Diogo Goncalves, Pedro Coelho, Luis F. Martinez, Paulo Monteiro
Summary: Food choices are crucial to individual health, and supermarkets play a significant role in this decision-making process. Utilizing social norms nudges can effectively change food choices, particularly benefiting those with unhealthy purchasing habits.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Victoria Williams, Orla Flannery, Ajay Patel
Summary: Non-profit organisations have developed labelling strategies to communicate the environmental impact of food products, helping consumers make more informed purchase decisions. However, the effectiveness of environmental food labelling on changing consumer behavior towards eco-friendly meat choices is unclear. This study investigates consumer attitudes towards an eco-score label on meat products and identifies drivers and barriers to its use through a mixed-methods design.
FOOD QUALITY AND PREFERENCE
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Lily Hawkins, Claire Farrow, Jason M. Thomas
Summary: Experimental findings suggest that exposure to socially endorsed images of LED food on social media may influence individuals' eating behavior, prompting them to consume more low energy-dense foods.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Lukas Fesenfeld, Lukas Rudolph, Thomas Bernauer
Summary: This study demonstrates that specific policy framing, design, and feedback can increase public support for food waste regulations. Messages emphasizing national or international social norms, setting stringent reduction targets, and transparent monitoring can all contribute to increased support. Additionally, voluntary industry initiatives do not necessarily crowd out support for governmental regulation, but their effectiveness depends on their ambition.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Elif Naz Coker, Rachel Pechey, Kerstin Frie, Susan A. Jebb, Cristina Stewart, Suzanne Higgs, Brian Cook
Summary: A study found that displaying dynamic descriptive social norms in in-store restaurants of a major retail chain in the UK did not significantly impact the percentage sales of meat- vs plant-based dishes. Implementation of the intervention showed inconsistencies and challenges in a complex food purchasing environment.
Article
Business
Agnieszka Malecka, Maciej Mitrega, Barbara Mroz-Gorgon, Gregor Pfajfar
Summary: This study focuses on the cognitive factors that drive collaborative consumption, conceptualizing it as a social innovation adopted by consumers due to their pro-social thinking towards consumption process and outcomes. Pro-social factors such as trust, sociability, and novelty seeking, along with social norms, contribute to collaborative consumption intention. These findings are important for policy makers and businesses in the CEE region.
JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
A. Frehner, H. H. E. Van Zanten, C. Schader, I. J. M. De Boer, G. Pestoni, S. Rohrmann, A. Muller
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between sociodemographic and lifestyle factors and different sustainability impacts of diets in Switzerland. Results showed that actions on food groups for health, social, or environmental reasons may affect societal groups differently, with reductions of some food groups, especially different types of meat, offering large potentials for synergies on multiple impact categories.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Susan L. Slocum, Tatiana Drugova, Kynda R. Curtis
Summary: Attendance at Renaissance festivals is driven by subcultural identification and social norms, positively impacting sustainable consumption behaviors within the community. Demographics and social norms play a significant role in influencing sustainable consumption behaviors among festival-goers.
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Panos Louridas, Diomidis Spinellis
Summary: People exhibit their status through conspicuous consumption of particular goods or experiences. Higher income is often associated with higher status, but can also lead to unethical behavior. Some individuals engage in illegal activities, like bribery, to acquire restricted goods as a status symbol, as seen in the case of obtaining special license plates in Greece.
Article
Business
Susanne Pedersen, Ting Zhang, Yanfeng Zhou, Jessica Aschemann-Witzel, John Thogersen
Summary: Imports are necessary to meet the diverse demand for organic food from consumers. In developed economies, consumers tend to prefer domestic products, while consumers in developing and emerging economies prefer imported products. A comparative study in China and Germany found that Chinese consumers have a slight bias towards domestic organic food, although smaller than in Germany, and they trust the organic standards of developed countries more. Chinese consumers prioritize food quality and safety concerns when choosing organic foods, while German consumers prefer domestic and geographically close imports due to environmental concerns. The results suggest that consumer trust in institutions in developed countries is a competitive advantage for producers in both domestic and global organic food markets.
JOURNAL OF MACROMARKETING
(2023)
Article
Biology
I. Richter, B. R. Roberts, S. F. Sailley, E. Sullivan, V. V. Cheung, J. Eales, M. Fortnam, J. B. Jontila, C. Maharja, T. Ha. Nguyen, S. Pahl, R. A. Praptiwi, J. Sugardjito, J. D. C. Sumeldan, W. M. Syazwan, A. Y. Then, M. C. Austen
Summary: This article discusses the integration of data from different disciplines in order to improve resource management and communication strategies. The authors propose a standardized methodology to connect and explore various types of data, and demonstrate its application using examples from natural and social sciences.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Economics
Valeria Fanghella, John Thogersen
Summary: This study investigates the phenomenon of moral cleansing triggered by different types of immoral behaviors. The results of an online experiment show that recalling an immoral behavior, regardless of the domain, leads to more negative emotions compared to recalling a neutral event. Recalling immoral behaviors in the interpersonal domain increases the likelihood of engaging in costly moral cleansing and reduces engagement in costless moral cleansing. However, immoral behaviors in the environmental domain do not lead to even costless moral cleansing. Participants also show a preference for compensating in the same broad domain as the immoral behavior. This study extends the understanding of moral cleansing and has implications for policy-making, particularly in relation to pro-environmental behavior.
JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMICS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Marianne Aasen, John Thogersen, Arild Vatn, Riley Dunlap, Dana Fisher, Ottar Hellevik, Paul Stern
Summary: This study examines how people's climate change concern and norms influence their leisure air travel by surveying a representative sample of Norwegians. The findings suggest that leisure air travel is habituated and part of a lifestyle supported by social norms, self-enhancement values, and urban residency. Although personal norms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from flying are beginning to emerge, their effect on leisure air travel is small and only indirect. Interventions are needed to complement the emerging moralization process and support the development of new travel habits to substantially reduce emissions from leisure air travel.
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Alim Nayum, John Thogersen
Summary: This study investigates the impact of personal norms and compensatory beliefs on individuals' pro-environmental behaviors. The findings reveal that personal norms are the strongest predictor of such behaviors, while compensatory beliefs have a negative influence. Additionally, differences in compensatory beliefs were found between those interested in purchasing battery electric vehicles and owners of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
ENERGY RESEARCH & SOCIAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Editorial Material
Business
John Thogersen
RAUSP MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Economics
Ka Kit Sun, Sylvia Y. He, John Th ogersen
Summary: This paper examines the factors influencing EV purchase intention in Hong Kong and how they differ from the Western context, using Denmark as a low-density Nordic context. Survey results show that EV purchase intentions in Hong Kong are driven by social expectations and the assimilation to these expectations. Range anxiety is a direct deterrent to EV adoption even in compact cities. The availability of charging opportunities is critical in an individual's decision to adopt EVs in high-density cities.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Louise Randers, John Thogersen
Summary: Excessive consumption of meat poses challenges to global food security and environmental sustainability. Identity theory suggests that individuals hold multiple identities at different levels of abstraction, and this study explores how these identities interact and potentially determine intentions and behavior related to meat consumption. The findings suggest that more abstract identities primarily influence intentions to consume meat indirectly, mediated by more behavior-specific identities. However, some higher-order identities also have a direct impact on meat consumption intentions, indicating a less hierarchical structure manifesting itself.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Isabell Richter, Elizabeth Gabe-Thomas, Ana M. Queiros, Stephen R. J. Sheppard, Sabine Pahl
Summary: This conceptual paper proposes a scenario building approach that integrates psychological principles of future thinking with future scenario development to enhance the impact of scenarios. By understanding cognitive biases and psychological distance, the impact of scenarios can be improved. The paper suggests integrating emotional aspects into future scenario development through tailored narratives and visuals, adapting content to audiences in terms of time, space, and language, and engaging in inclusive and creative co-creation of scenarios and sustainable solutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marvin Helferich, John Thogersen, Magnus Bergquist
Summary: This study conducted a meta-analysis to examine the relationships between different norm constructs and pro-environmental behavior. The results showed that personal norms were consistently the strongest predictor of pro-environmental behavior, and that injunctive and descriptive norms influenced behavior through personal norms. Additionally, collectivism and behavioral cost did not moderate the predictive strength of social norms on pro-environmental behavior.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Louise Randers, John Thogersen
Summary: The reciprocal relationship between a person's identity and behavior is not well-studied, particularly the process of identity formation. Our research suggests that changes in behavior first lead to attitude changes before eventually leading to the adoption of a new identity. This has important implications for promoting pro-environmental behaviors and reducing meat consumption.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Agricultural Economics & Policy
John Thogersen
Summary: Research on the importance of food origin to consumers, its influence on consumer choices, and their understanding and trust in it is fragmented and contradictory. This systematic review provides strong evidence that origin information significantly impacts consumers' food decisions. Consumers generally prefer domestic or local/regional products over imported ones, regardless of country or product. However, origin becomes less important when trade-offs need to be made or when other quality cues, such as organic or eco-labels, are present. The review also highlights a strong ethnocentric bias among consumers, as well as a knowledge deficit in understanding origin information.
Article
Environmental Studies
Sascha Kuhn, John Thogersen, Florian Kutzner
Summary: Defaults, or pre-selected options, have been found to strongly influence choices. This study shows that trust in the choice architect plays a role in default effects, but even when the choice architect is untrustworthy, the default effect remains robust.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Isadora do Carmo Stangherlin, John Thogersen, Marcia Dutra de Barcellos
Summary: The transition to a circular economy requires consumers to take responsibility for acquiring and disposing of products. Recycling and buying circular products can reduce landfill waste and increase resource reuse. There is a mutual influence between consumers' emphasis on recycling and their inclination to buy circular products, and this behavioral influence is mediated through the strengthening of waste reduction goals.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Business
Gabriele Torma, John Thogersen
Summary: The current sustainability labeling landscape is accused of causing confusion among consumers due to excessive, complex, similar, and ambiguous information. Meta-sustainability labeling is proposed as a solution and this study provides evidence on its added value based on a survey conducted in the USA and Germany. The study confirms the preference for sustainability-labeled products in both countries, with the new common label design outperforming traditional labeling in the USA. In Germany, both the common labeling design and the meta label improved the effectiveness of sustainability labeling for certain consumer segments.
BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2023)