Recycling shopping behaviour in Australian circular economy: An examination through central and peripheral routes

Under the operation of circular economy to tackle the waste crisis in Australia, there is an imperative call for boosting consumers’ recycling shopping behaviour. Part of the process lies in recyclable packaging and how consumers make purchase decisions based on these types of packaging’s information. Despite the urgency, how consumers process and respond to recyclable packaging cues – the very communication of packaging recyclability, including packaging materials, colour, and recycling signs remains equivocal in both literature and practice. The paper proposed an integrated framework by combining the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Theory of Planned Behaviour, in which the motivations and outcomes of both central and peripheral routes of processing these cues on recyclable packaging were explored, examining how each processing route would result in differentiated influences on purchasing intention. This is considered within the context of fast-moving consumer goods. Using Structural Equation Modelling and AMOS 29 software, the research confirmed the sole effect of the central route on attitudinal change through semiotic knowledge as a new construct and mediator, addressing the limitations of the Elaboration Likelihood Model and the issue of the circular economy in consumers’ dimensions. Recommendations were proposed to manufacturers in retail environments and policymakers towards enhancing consumers’ knowledge of recycling signs for circular economy. Through the introduction of semiotic knowledge, the research makes crucial theoretical contributions to addressing packaging waste by extending the two models and provides scholars and practitioners with an understanding of the implications involved and how they can assist in achieving a circular economy.