Do Personal Values and Political Ideology Affect Sustainable Consumption?

Abstract

Previous research reports inconsistency in the relationship between political identity and orientations toward green consumption, and there is little information on the change mechanism(s) that link(s) political orientations and sustainable consumption behavior. In this study, we examine the mediating role of green values and beliefs about sustainability with respect to the relationship between a person’s political identity and personal values and his or her sustainable consumption behavior. Using structural equation modeling, the model was tested using data from an online survey of 179 adults. Results suggest that the effects of political identity and personal values on sustainable consumption behavior are mediated by green values and specific beliefs about sustainability, with conservatives being the least likely to adopt sustainable consumption habits. The findings also suggest that public policy makers attempting to persuade conservatives to adopt sustainable consumer behaviors may face an uphill task because deep-rooted values of conservatives might prevent them from accepting such messages in the belief formation stage. Implications of these findings for theory development and social scientists are also discussed.