Publication Type
PhD Dissertation
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
4-2025
Abstract
The past decade has seen an increased interest in environmental sustainability. Yet, few studies have examined the relationship between culture, sustainable consumption intention (SCI), and sustainable consumption behaviour (SCB). This study addresses this gap by examining the roles of values, norms and CTL in an integrative model to predict SCI and SCB. This study focuses on four types of values that are considered most relevant in environmental research (biospheric, altruistic, egoistic, and hedonic). Drawing on data from a sample across the 10 most culturally "tight" and 10 most culturally "loose" states in the US, this study applied multilevel modelling to analyse both individual- and state-level factors, and linear regression for individual-level factors. The findings show that biospheric values demonstrate the strongest positive effect on SCI, while hedonic values have a negative effect in both models. This study presents an interesting finding which goes against prediction, with egoistic values being found to have positive effect on SCI in both models. Personal norms is the strongest and most consistent predictor or SCI and SCB in both models. Both descriptive and injunctive social norms significantly predicted SCI at the individual-level. Notably, personal norms significantly mediated both types of social norms on SCI in both models. In understanding moderator roles, personal norms moderate biospheric values on SCI at both individual- and state-levels, and moderate hedonic values on SCI at individual-level. CTL was found to marginally moderate the influence of descriptive social norms on SCI at the individual-level. Finally, SCI has a significant positive effect on SCB, with CTL moderating this relationship at individual-level. This study contributes to cultural psychology in the sustainability field by integrating CTL into value-norm-behaviour models. The findings also have policy and business implications. It highlights the importance of cultivating stronger personal norms on sustainability and focus on self-interest based on egoistic values to tailor SCB interventions by including cultural context in targeted populations.
Keywords
Environmental values, Social norms, Personal Norms, Sustainable Consumption Intention, Sustainable Consumption Behaviour
Degree Awarded
Doctor of Business Admin
Discipline
Organizational Behavior and Theory
Supervisor(s)
CHUA, Yong Joo
First Page
1
Last Page
144
Publisher
Singapore Management University
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
SUM, Au Sook.
Culture and sustainability: Understanding the roles of values, norms, and cultural tightness in sustainable consumption behaviour. (2025). 1-144.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/740
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.