Social responsibility through sustainable consumption behaviour: an Indian household appliance usage perspective

What the paper says

Purpose End-users’ behaviour has the potential to address environmental issues by adopting sustainable lifestyle patterns. There is a need to understand the factors that can influence individual consumption patterns. This research, conducted in India, aims to demonstrate that awareness of the environment, economy and society has a significant influence on the sustainable behaviour of consumers. Furthermore, consumers’ decision-making depends on how they analyse the information before adopting a consumption pattern. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research approach was used, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to 285 respondents. The analysis was conducted using SPSS 24 and AMOS 24, incorporating tests for convergent and discriminant validity, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling. Findings With a lens of cognitive experiential self-theory, the results show that consumers process information regarding their consciousness of the environment, economy and society. The findings suggest that among the three factors, economic consciousness contributes more to behavioural transformation. Practical implications The marketer can incorporate environmental information into product labelling and encourage consumers to adopt sustainable consumption practices. Simultaneously, policymakers can use this research in sustainable promotional strategies that will help achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12. Originality/value The novelty of the study contributes to addressing the intention–behaviour gap in sustainable consumption by applying cognitive experiential self-theory. This research provides an in-depth understanding of how people process sustainability-related information, filling the gap between their intention to act and their actual behaviour.