Facilitators and inhibitors of different forms of sustainable consumption: Consumer surveys in Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

Consumers tend to perceive sustainable consumption as a complex and difficult to understand phenomenon. This particularly applies when being confronted with different forms of sustainable consumption. Therefore, we explore individual and joint facilitators and inhibitors of different forms of sustainable consumption, i.e., green buying, local buying, and environmental saving. Our online surveys conducted with consumers from Australia (n = 3561) and New Zealand (n = 2597) demonstrate that strong environmental attitudes increase green buying, local buying, and environmental savings, albeit to varying extents. Consumers' perceived financial ability is negatively associated with environmental savings and positively with the other forms. Additionally, environmental savings are negatively related to green buying. We identify further managerially relevant facilitators and inhibitors of sustainable consumption. Thus, we contribute to the literature by considering diverse forms of sustainable consumption and their tensions, and exploring the interplay of consumers’ environmental attitudes and perceived (rather than actual) financial ability.