Social influence on sustainable consumption: evidence from a behavioural experiment

International Journal of Consumer Studies - Tập 37 Số 2 - Trang 172-180 - 2013
Helen Arce Salazar1, L.A.G. Oerlemans2, Saskia van Stroe‐Biezen1
1Department of Innovation Management in International Perspective, Fontys International School of Economics (FIHE), Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Venlo, The Netherlands
2Department of Organisation Studies and Center for Innovation Studies, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

Tóm tắt

AbstractAlthough social influence on consumers’ behaviour has been recognized and documented, the vast majority of empirical consumer studies about sustainable products considers mainly, if not only, individual characteristics (socio‐demographic attributes, individual environmental attitudes, etc.), to explain the decision to buy sustainable products. Making use of experimental methods, this paper studies the social influence that peer groups like colleagues, family and friends may exert in the decision to choose for environmentally friendly products rather than conventional ones. We also test for different types of social influence, in particular for ‘herd behaviour’ vs. ‘social learning’. In our experimental setting, the relevance of peer effects is corroborated. We find clear evidence for ‘herd behaviour’ and the data indirectly support the presence of ‘social learning’ effects. The results also suggest heterogeneous impact of specific social groups.

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International Journal of Consumer Studies

Tập 37 Số 2

172-180

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