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Environmental Management

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15-05-2023

It Takes Two to Tango: How Ability and Morality Shape Consumers’ Willingness to Refill and Reuse

Authors: Prerna Shah, Janet Z. Yang

Published in: Environmental Management | Issue 2/2024

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Abstract

The waste problem in the U.S. has only intensified in recent years, first due to China’s National Sword Policy and then to the COVID-19 pandemic. One solution to this problem is to encourage people to adopt pro-environmental behaviors such as opting for reusables and products with plastic-free alternate packaging. In this study, we employ the value-belief-norm theory to examine whether its proposed causal chain predicts consumers’ willingness to use reusables and products with plastic-free alternate packaging. We also explore the moderating role of perceived behavior control, one of the strongest predictors of environmental behaviors. Our research provides support to the value-belief-norm theory in predicting behavioral willingness. The moderating role of perceived behavior control provides additional insight into the theoretical model and furnishes practical implications for strategic communication designed to encourage the adoption of reusables and alternative packaging.

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Title: It Takes Two to Tango: How Ability and Morality Shape Consumers’ Willingness to Refill and Reuse
Authors: Prerna Shah
Janet Z. Yang
Publication date: 15-05-2023
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Environmental Management / Issue 2/2024
Print ISSN: 0364-152X
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1009
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-023-01828-7

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