The Role of Consumer Perception and Behaviour in the Transition towards the Circular Economy

The success of the transition to a circular economy is conditional upon consumers’ adoption of sustainable consumption behaviours (SCB). Extant SCB research identifies the intentions-behaviour gap (IBG) as a significant problem in assessing progress in the transformation to sustainable consumption. That is, self-reported intentions fail to match observations of real SCB. The IBG poses a barrier to knowledge on SCB, and therefore also to progress towards a circular economy.

This Thesis elucidates theoretical and methodological solutions to the IBG capable of achieving more realistic results. An experiment rooted in the common pool resource framework is designed and conducted (N=295), enabling the observation of representative behaviour directly. Self-reported intentions with framings of varying ambiguity/abstraction are measured along other relevant psychometric, demographic and institutional factors. These include: dispositions toward sustainable consumption, psychological distance to climate change, risk aversion and gender. Institutional setting is operationalised through information quality (treatment), others’ consumption and resource size. Structural equation and mixed effects modelling are employed in data analysis.

Findings suggest that intentions are a significant predictor of SCB only when unambiguously framed, and depending on institutional setting. Psychological factors are significant, but often conditionally to their interaction with others’ consumption. Behavioural rebound effects arise for dispositions and psychological distance as low levels of others’ consumption reverse their effect. The IBG worsens for females who only enact more SCB when reacting to others’ behaviour, in contrast with recent self-report reliant findings.

Overall, the present research argues theoretically and empirically for the importance of concretely operationalising self-reported intentions to address the IBG. It also demonstrates the fragility of psychological- and demographic-behavioural effects when setting is accounted for. This Thesis contributes to circular economy research by offering a critical perspective on SCB and testing a new methodological approach for its appraisal.