TY - JOUR A1 - Balderjahn, Ingo A1 - Buerke, Anja A1 - Kirchgeorg, Manfred A1 - Peyer, Mathias A1 - Seegebarth, Barbara A1 - Wiedmann, Klaus-Peter T1 - Consciousness for sustainable consumption : scale development and new insights in the economic dimension of consumers’ sustainability JF - AMS review : official publication of the Academy of Marketing Scienc N2 - The “triple bottom line” concept (planet, people, and profit) represents an important guideline for the sustainable, hence future-oriented, development of societies and for the behaviors of all societal members. For institutions promoting societal change, as well as for companies being confronted with growing expectations regarding compelling contributions to sustainable changes, it is of great importance to know if, and to what extent, consumers have already internalized the idea of sustainability. Against the background of existing research gaps regarding a comprehensive measurement of the consciousness for sustainable consumption (CSC), the authors present the result of a scale development. Consciousness was operationalized by weighting personal beliefs with the importance attached by consumers to sustainability dimensions. Four separate tests of the CSC scale indicated an appropriate psychometric quality of the scale and provided support for this new measurement approach that incorporates the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability. KW - Sustainability KW - Consciousness for sustainable consumption KW - Scale development Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-013-0057-6 SN - 1869-814X SN - 1869-8182 VL - 3 IS - 4 SP - 181 EP - 192 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Seegebarth, Barbara A1 - Peyer, Mathias A1 - Balderjahn, Ingo A1 - Wiedmann, Klaus-Peter T1 - The Sustainability Roots of Anticonsumption Lifestyles and Initial JF - The Journal of consumer affairs N2 - This article introduces the concept of sustainability-rooted anticonsumption (SRAC), which refers to consumers' anticonsumption practices of voluntary simplicity in living and, on a smaller level, collaborative consumption and boycotting with the goal of supporting sustainable economic development. The SRAC measurement approach is validated based on three empirical studies. Results of a representative German sample (Study 2) reveal that SRAC is predominantly negatively linked to consumer overconsumption dispositions. Exemplary, voluntary simplification and boycott intention may result in declining levels of indebtedness. Study 3 shows that psychosocial well-being is positively related to SRAC and overconsumption. However, a simplified lifestyle and a greater willingness to boycott are not necessarily associated with psychosocial well-being. This article provides insights for practitioners and policymakers to leverage existing SRAC values via “new” business models (sharing offers) or to influence the existing level of consciousness to effectively pave the way for solid progress in the sustainability movement. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12077 SN - 0022-0078 SN - 1745-6606 VL - 50 SP - 68 EP - 99 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Balderjahn, Ingo A1 - Seegebarth, Barbara A1 - Peyer, Mathias A1 - Wiedmann, Klaus-Peter T1 - The sustainability roots of anti-consumption lifestyles and initial insights regarding their effects on consumers' well-being JF - The Journal of consumer affairs : JCA N2 - This article introduces the concept of sustainability-rooted anticonsumption (SRAC), which refers to consumers' anticonsumption practices of voluntary simplicity in living and, on a smaller level, collaborative consumption and boycotting with the goal of supporting sustainable economic development. The SRAC measurement approach is validated based on three empirical studies. Results of a representative German sample (Study 2) reveal that SRAC is predominantly negatively linked to consumer overconsumption dispositions. Exemplary, voluntary simplification and boycott intention may result in declining levels of indebtedness. Study 3 shows that psychosocial well-being is positively related to SRAC and overconsumption. However, a simplified lifestyle and a greater willingness to boycott are not necessarily associated with psychosocial well-being. This article provides insights for practitioners and policymakers to leverage existing SRAC values via “new” business models (sharing offers) or to influence the existing level of consciousness to effectively pave the way for solid progress in the sustainability movement. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12077 SN - 1745-6606 VL - 50 IS - 1 SP - 68 EP - 99 PB - ACCI CY - Ames, Iowa ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Balderjahn, Ingo A1 - Peyer, Mathias A1 - Seegebarth, Barbara A1 - Wiedmann, Klaus-Peter A1 - Weber, Anja T1 - The many faces of sustainability-conscious consumers BT - a category-independent typology JF - Journal of Business Research N2 - Responding to the global call for a "sustainable economy" requires meaningful insights into sustainability-conscious consumers and their actual buying behaviors. Sustainable consumption is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon because it encompasses several distinct behavioral patterns and consumption types. Therefore, companies are well advised to recognize multiple types of sustainability-conscious consumers with different expectations, attitudes, and values and to implement targeting strategies that do not rest on the assumption of homogeneity. Thus, the objective of this study is to provide a more fine-grained picture of (un)sustainable consumer segments and their differentiated effects in different product markets. Based on three large datasets, we create a robust six-segment typology of consumer consciousness regarding sustainable consumption. By using panel data on actual purchases, the results show not only that sustainability concerns significantly positively influence actual sustainable purchases, as expected, but also that sustainable buying can occur independently of sustainability concerns. KW - Sustainability KW - Consumer typology KW - Consciousness regarding sustainable KW - consumption KW - Purchasing panel data KW - Human values Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.05.022 SN - 0148-2963 SN - 1873-7978 VL - 91 SP - 83 EP - 93 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hoffmann, Stefan A1 - Balderjahn, Ingo A1 - Seegebarth, Barbara A1 - Mai, Robert A1 - Peyer, Mathias T1 - Under which conditions are consumers ready to boycott or buycott? BT - the roles of hedonism and simplicity JF - Ecological economics N2 - There are two fundamental ways in which consumers can express their concerns and obligations for society through their consumption decisions: They can boycott companies that they deem to be irresponsible or they may deliberately buy from companies that they perceive to act responsibly (‘buycott’). It has been largely ignored that individuals are driven by different motivational mechanisms to join boycotts and buycotts (punishment vs. reward of corporate behaviors), and thus, these mechanisms have disparate implications for the participating individual (e.g., high vs. low subjective costs because of a restriction in consumption habits). This paper fills this void and develops a framework suggesting that the extent to which consumers translate their concerns and obligations for society into a willingness to boycott and/or buycott is bounded by self-interest. Using a unique, representative sample of 1833 German consumers, this study reveals that the effects of environmental concerns and universalism on buycotting are amplified by hedonism, while the effects of social concern on buycotting and boycotting are attenuated by hedonism and simplicity, respectively. These results have far-reaching implications for organizations and policy planners who aim to change corporate behavior. KW - Environmental concerns KW - Social concerns KW - Boycott KW - Buycott KW - Hedonism KW - Voluntary simplicity Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.01.004 SN - 0921-8009 SN - 1873-6106 VL - 147 SP - 167 EP - 178 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Balderjahn, Ingo A1 - Lee, Michael S. W. A1 - Seegebarth, Barbara A1 - Peyer, Mathias T1 - A sustainable pathway to consumer wellbeing BT - the role of anticonsumption and consumer empowerment JF - The Journal of consumer affairs N2 - This study investigates the effect of different anticonsumption constructs on consumer wellbeing. The study assumes that people will only lower their level of consumption if doing so does not also lower personal wellbeing. More precisely, this research investigates how specific subtypes of sustainable anticonsumption (e.g., voluntary simplicity, collaborative consumption, and debt-free living) relate to different states of consumer's wellbeing (e.g., financial, psychosocial, and subjective wellbeing). This work also examines whether consumer empowerment can improve personal wellbeing and strengthen the anticonsumption wellbeing relationship. The results show that voluntarily foregoing consumption does not reduce wellbeing and consumer empowerment plays a significant role in supporting sustainable pathways to consumer wellbeing. This study reasons that empowerment improves consumer sovereignty, but may be detrimental for consumers heavily concerned about debt-free living. The present investigation concludes by proposing implications for public and consumer policymakers wishing to promote appropriate sustainable (anticonsumption) pathways to consumer wellbeing. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12278 SN - 0022-0078 SN - 1745-6606 VL - 54 IS - 2 SP - 456 EP - 488 PB - Wiley CY - Malden, Mass. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Balderjahn, Ingo A1 - Seegebarth, Barbara A1 - Lee, Michael S. W. T1 - Less is more! BT - The rationale behind the decision-making style of voluntary simplifiers JF - Journal of cleaner production N2 - Enhancing consumer satisfaction and well-being is an important objective of companies, retailers and public policy makers. In the current debate on climate change, a consistent theme is that consumers in developed countries must learn to consume less. The present study (based on representative data sets from the US, N = 1,017, and Germany, N = 1030) addresses these issues by using a scenario-based experiment to analyze how satisfied voluntary simplifiers (people who voluntarily abstain from consumption) are with their purchase decisions in the case of a muesli brand. The research question is whether people who follow a sustainable, simple lifestyle are more satisfied with their daily consumption choices than people who have a more consumerist lifestyle. If so, it would be easier for many people to change their lifestyles and consume less. In addition, this scenario experiment manipulates consumer empowerment and decision complexity since both factors are supposed to influence purchase satisfaction. The results are consistent across both countries and indicate that voluntary simplifiers experience a higher level of purchasing satisfaction than non-simplifiers, whereby empowerment and decision complexity play different roles. KW - voluntarily simplicity KW - well-being KW - consumer empowerment KW - decision complexity KW - sustainable consumption Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124802 SN - 0959-6526 SN - 1879-1786 VL - 284 PB - Elsevier Science CY - Amsterdam ER -