This research aims to explore the attitudes and consumer behavior of Thai people in Bangkok regarding environmental and social sustainability in order to understand their behavior as a society so that the results can be used to guide the management of the government or companies in Thailand in a way that effectively would promote more sustainable behavior for the country as a whole. Data were collected quantitatively via an online questionnaire from 87 respondents who are Thais living in Bangkok. The definition of sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs", this concept was defined by the United Nations in 1987 (UN General Assembly, 1987).
This is especially true for larger companies and multinational corporations that can have a greater impact, both negative and positive, on society and the environment as a whole. Furthermore, business practices regarding other ethical issues, building on the ethics of reducing negative environmental impacts, have also gained increasing awareness and attention from consumers and the general public in recent years. Ethical issues I would like to focus on in this article relate to the treatment and welfare of people, animals and the environment.
And consumers play an important role, not just companies and governments, as their purchasing behavior directly affects the environment and the people and animals behind the companies. From my experience living in Thailand and the UK, I got the impression that Thais don't care as much about the environment and ethical practices in businesses compared to people in other countries. This study examines Thais' attitudes towards sustainability and ethical issues and their consumer behavior in accordance with these issues.
This research aims to provide understanding of the sustainable consumer behavior and attitudes of Thai people to understand their behavior as a society so that the findings can be used to guide the management of the government or businesses within.
Research Scope
Expected Benefit
LITERATURE REVIEW
- Consumer Behaviour
- Consumer Buying Process
- Problem Recognition
- Information Search
- Evaluation of Alternatives
- Purchase Decision
- Post-purchase
- Multilevel Perspective of Consumer Behaviour
- Proposed Framework and Hypothesis
The process starts with problem recognition, which is when the consumer identifies a need and realizes that they want to buy a product or service to satisfy that need or want. Consumers may first undergo an internal search in which they recall brands from memory, called the evoked set, for suitable alternatives, which will typically be very few (3–5) brands (Reilly & Parkinson, 1985). Therefore, consumers can also gather information from external search to expand their elicited set of suitable brands.
However, having brands in their recalled set does not mean they will buy from those brands; similarly, it is not enough for consumers to be aware of the sustainability issue to realistically consider incorporating that knowledge into decision making as a viable purchase option. Two products with the same functional benefits where one is sustainable and the other is not, may offer different psychosocial benefits that the consumer will choose based on their values as they represent personality related characteristics. Therefore, sustainable consumers can choose products that represent their sustainable values and evaluate products in terms of how sustainable they are.
Once the consumer has decided to buy a product, there may be barriers to purchase, such as difficulty finding retailers that sell the product, or the consumer waiting for a promotion. For sustainable products, consumers may have to trade off environmental benefits with a higher price, poorer performance or design compared to a non-sustainable product and this may influence the purchase decision. After the product is used, consumers can decide what to do with the product, including whether and how to keep, reuse, recycle and dispose of the product.
Although purchases can often be viewed simply as an individual-level decision, as explained by the consumer's buying process, a holistic view of the buying process reveals that there is a system of factors that drive the outcome of the entire process. This section will discuss the multi-level perspective of the buying process, or the environmental stimuli according to Figure 1, which are economic, technological, political, socio-cultural and natural stimuli. Multilevel studies that collected data from more than 30 countries found that environmentally sustainable behavior and attitudes positively correlate with income, education level, general trust in other individuals and postmaterialist values (values autonomy and self-expression) (Gelissen, 2007) (Franzen & Vogl, 2013).
At the national level, national wealth (GDP per capita) is generally associated with greater sustainable behavior and attitudes, as people are more interested in environmental protection and are more willing to make sacrifices in terms of financing for the environment (Milfont & Markowitz, 2016). Cultural norms in each country also influence the values and attitudes people have towards sustainable behaviour. Based on the multi-level perspective of consumer behavior, the hypotheses will be that for Thai consumers, the factors influencing sustainable behavior are income, education level, gender, availability of alternatives and pro-environmental attitudes.
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Data Collection
- Population
- Sampling
Data Analysis
FINDINGS
- Respondents’ Demographics
- Descriptive Analysis of Attitudes
- Ethically-Minded Consumer Behaviour Scale
- Consumer Behaviour
- Consumer behaviour regarding food
- Consumer behaviour regarding shopping
- Consumer behaviour regarding transportation
- Personal Views Toward Sustainability
- Factors Affecting Sustainable Consumption and Behaviour
- Influence of Demographics on Sustainable Attitude and Behaviour From ANOVA analysis for the EMCB scale comparing all the de-
Respondents highly agree that "climate change and environmental concerns are an urgent global issue" with an average of 4.5, indicating that they are well aware of the magnitude of the current climate crises and the urgency they pose. However, they felt less strongly that they "care about the environment" with an average of 4.2, suggesting that knowledge and awareness are not enough to influence attitudes. In addition, respondents agreed that "it is important for consumers to make conscious lifestyle choices that reduce the negative impacts on the environment" with an average of 4.3, but agreed less that "their personal consumption behavior (sustainable or not) affects the world generally influenced ” with an average of 3.4.
Respondents "care about human rights and human welfare issues" as much as they care about the environment, with an average of 4.2, and care less about "animal cruelty and animal welfare issues" with an average of 4. This is also supported by an average of 3.5 for "companies that are not moving towards more sustainable should not be supported", both have quite low scores as people do not have strong feelings towards environmental boycott. This is also supported by a score of 3.1 or "sometimes" for "I look for and buy products that use recycled materials" and "I use reusable containers to bring my own drinks or when I buy drinks".
It has an average of 3.6, suggesting that people are more likely not to buy from socially irresponsible companies than they are to not buy environmentally harmful products. But they "look for and buy products with the Fairtrade logo or other symbols representing fair labor treatment" only between "rarely" and "sometimes" with a score of 2.6, which is a low score and is less than buying eco. - friendly (3.3) and minimal plastic (3.1) products. Since most people (83%) say they do not know any unethical brands (Figure 4.3), and a score of 3.3 for "I have knowledge or seek information about corporate sustainability and ethical practices", CSR-Boycott cannot accurately measure people's actual behavior in this regard because it assumes that people are aware of companies' business practices.
Respondents “reject plastic straws” somewhere between sometimes and often, with an average of 3.5, indicating that they are generally aware of the environmental impact of straws. However, they were less likely to agree that they "use reusable containers to bring their own drinks or when buying drinks" with a mean of 3.1, indicating a stronger attitude towards plastic straws than single-use plastics, and they are less willing to to sacrifice convenience. Respondents "generally reject plastic bags" almost as often with an average of 3.7, which is more often than they would reject plastic straws.
The mean for purchasing behavior regarding environmental sustainability is a mean of 3.2 for “I look for and buy products that are environmentally friendly”, “have the least amount of plastic packaging” and. Shopping behavior regarding "looking for and buying products that are not tested on animals, cruelty-free or vegan-friendly" scores less with an average of 2.9 and even less for "I look for and buy products with the Fairtrade logo or other symbols representing fair treatment of labor" with a mean of 2.6. Overall, respondents do not feel strongly that they have "changed some parts of their lifestyle for environmental/ethical reasons" with a mean of 3.6, which is fully consistent with the results of their consumer behavior in terms of relative passivity towards sustainability.
Furthermore, they do not feel strongly that "there is social pressure for me to behave more sustainably" with an average of 3.3, where the lack of strong attitude and sustainable behavior from others creates a culture that does not prioritize action for sustainability, on despite having stronger views on the subject. Interestingly, they are also neutral to slightly disagree that "there is social pressure for me to behave unsustainably", with a mean of 2.6, suggesting that few people feel pressure contrary to the global trend and climate crisis, which can mean that they feel pressure. from people who aren't aware of the issues, or don't care.
CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions
Recommendations
Limitations and Further Research
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Questionnaire
- Personal Information 1. What is your age?
- Attitudes Toward Sustainability
- Ethically-Minded Consumer Behaviour Scale
- Sustainable Lifestyle
It is important for consumers to make conscious lifestyle choices that reduce the negative impact on the environment. It is important for all companies to be more sustainable (environmentally, socially and ethically). When there is a choice, I always choose the product that contributes to the least environmental damage.
I go out of my way to purchase paper products (toilet paper, tissues, etc.) made from recycled paper. I won't buy a product if I know the company selling it is socially irresponsible. I do not buy products from companies that I know use sweatshop labor, child labor or other poor working conditions.
I look for and buy products that are not tested on animals, cruelty-free or vegan-friendly. I look for and buy products with the Fairtrade logo or other symbols that represent a fair attitude to work.
