The diffusion of environmental behaviours; the role of influential individuals in social networks Report 2: The evidence A research report completed for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by Brook Lyndhurst September 2009 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Nobel House 17 Smith Square London SW1P 3JR Tel: 020 7238 6000 Website: www.defra.gov.uk © Queen's Printer and Controller of HMSO 2007 This publication is value added. If you wish to re-use this material, please apply for a Click-Use Licence for value added material at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/value-added-licence-information/index.htm Alternatively applications can be sent to Office of Public Sector Information, Information Policy Team, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ; Fax: +44 (0)1603 723000; email: [email protected] Information about this publication is available from: Sustainable Behaviours Unit Defra Zone 5C, 5th Floor, Ergon House c/o Nobel House, 17 Smith Square London SW1P 3JR Email: [email protected] Published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The diffusion of environmental behaviours; the role of influential individuals in social networks. Report 2: the evidence Final Report to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Suggested citation for this report: Fell D., Austin A., Kivinen E., Wilkins C. (2009). The diffusion of environmental behaviours; the role of influential individuals in social networks. Report 2: The evidence A report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Brook Lyndhurst. Defra, London. This research was commissioned and funded by Defra. The views expressed reflect the research findings and the authors’ interpretation; they do not necessarily reflect Defra policy or opinions. The research team for this study was led by Brook Lyndhurst Ltd, with support from Opinion Leader and Dr Julie Barnett of University of Surrey. We would like to thank all those that contributed to the research process, in particular Theresa Dow, Susan Wright, Hayley Bloom, Debra Dias and Gail Whattingham for helping us to find the catalytic individuals we interviewed; and to those catalytic individuals themselves. Brook Lyndhurst warrants that all reasonable skill and care has been used in preparing this report. Notwithstanding this warranty, Brook Lyndhurst shall not be under any liability for loss of profit, business, revenues or any special indirect or consequential damage of any nature whatsoever or loss of anticipated saving or for any increased costs sustained by the client or his or her servants or agents arising in any way whether directly or indirectly as a result of reliance on this report or of any error or defect in this report. Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 Part 1: Literature review .................................................................................. 6 1 Social networks ............................................................................................. 7 2 Norms ........................................................................................................ 16 3 Diffusion .................................................................................................... 26 4 Catalytic individuals ..................................................................................... 58 5 Examples from marketing ............................................................................. 74 6 Pro-environmental behaviours....................................................................... 86 Part 2: Primary research ................................................................................ 97 1 Interviews with marketing professionals ......................................................... 98 2 Interviews with catalytic individuals ..............................................................105 Part 3: Conclusions ....................................................................................... 127 1 Conclusions ...............................................................................................128 Part 4: Appendices ....................................................................................... 143 Appendix 1: Extended (paraphrased) extracts from Rogers (2003) .........................144 Appendix 2: Axes of opinion leadership ...............................................................154 Appendix 3: Opinion leader recruitment methods .................................................155 Appendix 4: Recruitment process and script.........................................................156 Appendix 5: General public interview topic guide ..................................................177 Appendix 6: References and bibliography ............................................................184 © Brook Lyndhurst 2009 This report has been produced by Brook Lyndhurst Ltd under/as part of a contract placed by Defra. Any views expressed in it are not necessarily those of Defra. Brook Lyndhurst warrants that all reasonable skill and care has been used in preparing this report. Notwithstanding this warranty, Brook Lyndhurst shall not be under any liability for loss of profit, business, revenues or any special indirect or consequential damage of any nature whatsoever or loss of anticipated saving or for any increased costs sustained by the client or his or her servants or agents arising in any way whether directly or indirectly as a result of reliance on this report or of any error or defect in this report. Investigating influential individuals | A Brook Lyndhurst report for Defra Introduction Introduction Preamble This report is the second of a pair prepared for Defra‘s Environmental Behaviours Unit. The first report – the key findings and conclusions – presents a narrative summary of the overall findings from a research programme conducted in 2008, together with the conclusions and recommendations developed in the light of the research. This second volume presents the research findings themselves, in some detail. Given the nature of the material, and some of the conclusions derived from that material, the research team concluded that it was appropriate to prepare a particularly detailed report. Whilst we acknowledge that the report is not necessarily an ‗easy read‘, we are of the view that some of the concepts and issues covered by the research are challenging or novel and warrant careful and thorough exposition. We hope we have achieved this over the pages that follow. The Questions The research programme proceeded under the lengthy title ―Investigating mavens with regard to environmental behaviours and the linkages between mavens, social norms, identity and trust for mainstream consumers‖. The principal research objectives were three-fold: to investigate how the concept of ‗mavens‘ is applicable when considering pro- environmental behaviours; to identify how mavens operate, their motivations, key attributes, and information sources, as well as whether those around them are conscious of their influence; to assess how mavens may fit with our existing understanding of the more familiar factors influencing environmental behaviour change of self-identity, social networks and social norms, as well as the role of trust. It is important to note that the target individuals of the research – ‗mavens‘ - were not celebrities or community leaders or other high profile individuals that might be expected to influence the masses. The individuals we were interested in were ordinary people who, by virtue of some characteristics or attributes, were a particularly trusted source of information and advice within their own social circles. As well as understanding more about these individuals and how they function in the arena of pro-environmental behaviours, a further requirement of the research was to enhance Defra‘s ability to work with mavens as part of their policy objective to encourage a shift towards more sustainable consumption patterns. During the course of the research, without ever losing sight of these objectives, it became clear that a number of assumptions under-pinning these questions were themselves questionable. The approach we adopted to the research had been designed to stay flexible in the face of emerging findings; and this proved to be a wise decision. 1 Investigating influential individuals | A Brook Lyndhurst report for Defra Introduction The Approach Our approach to these questions comprised three main elements: a literature review; a programme of interviews with marketing professionals; and a programme of interviews with members of the public. The research work was conducted primarily by Annie Austin, Eve Chabord, David Fell, Elina Kivinen and Corinne Wilkins of Brook Lyndhurst Ltd. Dr Julie Barnett, of the University of Surrey, provided expert guidance and support at key points during the research; and Opinion Leader worked closely with the Brook Lyndhurst team on the programme of interviews with members of the public, helping to develop the recruitment methodology, undertaking the recruitment and conducting some of the interviews. Brook Lyndhurst has been responsible for the preparation of this report, and takes responsibility for any and all errors contained herein. We worked closely with our project managers and the project‘s Steering Group throughout the research. As we have inferred, as the findings of the research unfolded there were