The Role of Consumer's Self-Identity on Pro- Environmental Behavioral- and Loyalty Intentions
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The Role of Consumer’s Self-Identity on Pro- Environmental Behavioral- and Loyalty Intentions An Empirical Study in the Shopping Mall Context by Buster Chuck Allan Grunau Milou Cornelia Henrica Klijn May 2020 Master’s Programme in International Marketing & Brand Management Supervisor: Ulf Elg Examiner: Jon Bertilsson ‘Don’t be distracted by the myth that “every little bit helps”. If everyone does a little, we’ll achieve only a little.’ - David McKay, (2009), p. 114 I Abstract Title: The Role of Consumer’s Self-Identity on Pro-Environmental Behavioral- and Loyalty Intentions – An Empirical Study in the Shopping Mall Context Date of the Seminar: 4th of June 2020 Course: BUS39 Degree Project in Global Marketing Authors: Buster Grunau and Milou Klijn Supervisor: Ulf Elg Keywords: Pro-Environmental Self-identity, Conspicuous Sustainability, Self-Congruence, Self-Brand Connection, Shopping Malls Thesis Purpose: We aim to enhance the understanding of why Swedish consumers perform pro-environmental behaviors and how this can be influenced by managers and marketers in the shopping mall environment, making the mall more attractive and shoppers more loyal. Theoretical Perspective: We take on a sociological perspective by researching constructs based on identity theory, conspicuous consumption, and the theory of self-congruity. Methodology/Empirical Data Collection: A deductive approach and thus a quantitative research strategy was chosen to fulfill the aim of this cross-sectional study. We made use of non-probability sampling and recruited respondents through a web survey (n=336). We performed non-parametric signed rank and ranked order correlation tests, as well as (moderated) mediated regression analyses to investigate the relationships between pro- environmental self-identity, social visibility, and social consumption motivation. We adopted a one-group pre-post design to investigate the attractiveness and loyalty of a mall in the current, and a future imagined setting through a story treatment. Findings/Conclusion: Pro-environmental self-identity positively predicts the intention to perform pro-environmental behaviors. Although social consumption motivation shows to be insignificant in the investigated context, the measure of social visibility indicates that social status motives matter in sustainable consumption. We contribute to a deeper understanding of Swedish shoppers’ motivation to perform pro-environmental behaviors. The reconstruction of their (pro-environmental) self-identity, as well as the public display, seem to be important factors. The adoption of pro-environmental behaviors leads to an increase in mall attractiveness which in turn increases mall loyalty. The identification with a mall and its shoppers predicts a great extent of shoppers’ loyalty intentions. As the identification with a mall and its shoppers has not been studied before but showed strong predicting effects on loyalty intentions, we deliver a major contribution to the limited literature on intangible cues. Practical Implications: Our study gives shopping mall management and marketers insights into how to increase mall attractiveness and loyalty intentions by truly understanding its customers. We recommend to use the pro-environmental self-identity construct to segment customers and consequently depict to what extent pro-environmental behaviors would be adopted. As these behaviors inhabit social status value, an increase in visibility through prompts and the use of social norms seem adequate to stimulate the adoption of such behaviors. To not threaten the identity of certain segments, and therefore, the possibility of losing them as shoppers, changes in the mall environment should be carefully considered. II Acknowledgment We wish to thank all the people whose assistance was a milestone in the completion of this thesis for the master's program International Marketing & Brand Management at Lund University. Foremost, we would like to express our deepest appreciation for our supervisor Ulf Elg. Without his guidance, insightful comments, stimulating discussions, and field-specific knowledge, this thesis would have not been possible. Besides our supervisor, we wish to express our gratitude to our statistics professor Antonio Marañon for his enthusiasm, time, and SPSS expertise. Our sincere thanks go to Ulf Johansson, for getting us in touch with INGKA Centres. Jenny Pigeon and Alma Jensen, thank you for your time and for giving us insights into the world of INGKA Centres. Additionally, we would like to thank all the astonishing teachers and professors at Lund University School of Economics and Management. You gave us the inspiration for this thesis and contributed to our academic development as well as our self-improvement. Likewise, we are grateful for the sparring sessions with fellow students, and the support from our friends and family. Last but not least, we want to say thank you to those who took the time to answer our survey and made this research possible. Lund, 29 May 2020 Buster Chuck Allan Grunau Milou Cornelia Henrica Klijn III Table of Contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Problematization.......................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 6 1.5 Intended Contributions ................................................................................................ 7 1.6 Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. 8 1.7 Disposition .................................................................................................................. 8 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................................... 9 2.1 We Need to Change Behavior ..................................................................................... 9 2.2 Consumers’ Self-Identity as Predictor for Behavior ................................................. 10 2.3 Social Consumption Motivation ............................................................................... 13 2.4 Conspicuous Sustainability and Social Visibility ..................................................... 15 2.5 Literature Framework Construct One ....................................................................... 17 2.6 Personal and Social Meaning in Public Spaces ......................................................... 18 2.7 Shopping Malls ......................................................................................................... 19 2.8 Mall Image and Self-Congruence ............................................................................. 21 2.9 Literature Framework Construct Two ....................................................................... 24 2.10 New Ways of Sustainability Marketing .................................................................... 25 3 Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses .......................................................................... 31 3.1 Adapted Conceptual Framework from Literature ..................................................... 31 3.2 RQ1: Conceptual Framework and Hypotheses ......................................................... 32 3.3 RQ2: Conceptual Framework and Hypotheses ......................................................... 34 4 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 36 4.1 Research Philosophy ................................................................................................. 36 4.2 Research Approach ................................................................................................... 38 4.3 Research Design ........................................................................................................ 40 4.4 Sampling Process ...................................................................................................... 47 4.5 Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 49 4.6 Data Analysis Methods ............................................................................................. 53 4.7 Research Quality Criteria .......................................................................................... 56 5 Analysis and results .......................................................................................................... 59 5.1 Preparation of Data.................................................................................................... 59 5.2 Descriptive Statistics ................................................................................................. 59 IV 5.3 Shopping Mall Frequencies and Analysis ................................................................. 60 5.4 Main Analysis: Research Question One.................................................................... 63 5.5 Main Analysis: Research Question Two ..................................................................