A multilevel perspective to explain recycling behaviour in communities

Abstract

a b s t r a c tPrevious research on the motivation for environmentally responsible behaviour has focused mainly on individual variables, rather than organizational or collective variables. Therefore, the results of those studies are hardly applicable to environmental management. This study considers individual, collective, and organizational variables together that contribute to the management of environmental waste. The main aim is to identify, through the development of a multilevel model, those predictive variables of recycling behaviour that help organizations to increase the recycling rates in their communities. Individual (age, gender, educational level, self-efficacy with respect to residential recycling, individual recycling behaviour), organizational (satisfaction with the quality of the service provided by a recycling company), and collective (community recycling rates, number of inhabitants, community efficacy beliefs) motivational factors relevant to recycling behaviour were analysed. A sample of 1501 residents from 55 localities was surveyed. The results of multilevel analyses indicated that there was significant variability within and between localities. Interactions between variables at the level of the individual (e.g. satisfaction with service quality) and variables at the level of the collective (e.g. community efficacy) predicted recycling behaviour in localities with low and high community recycling rates and large and small populations. The interactions showed that the relationship between self-efficacy and recycling is stronger in localities with weak community efficacy beliefs than in communities with strong beliefs. The findings show that the relationship between satisfaction with service quality and recycling behaviour is stronger in localities with strong community efficacy beliefs than in communities with weaker beliefs and a smaller population. The results are discussed accordingly in relation to theory and possible contribution to waste management. Those findings may be incorporated in national and international environmental policies in order to promote environmentally responsible behaviour in citizenship.

You did, so you can and you will: Self-efficacy as a mediator of spillover from easy to more difficult pro-environmental behaviour

“…Spillover from easy to more difficult behaviour has been implicitly assumed by some policy and behaviour change practitioners, so this information is encouraging for intervention planning. The direct effect of self-efficacy on difficult intentions is also supportive of other research that has linked self-efficacy to pro-environmental behaviours (Lam, 2006;Tabernero et al, 2015). Finally, the direct effect of environmental identity on difficult intentions is in line with research M A N U S C R I P T…”

“…Self-efficacy M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 5 motivates behavioural engagement; it can influence the acquisition and retention of new types of behaviour (Bandura, 1977) and influence behavioural choice (Bandura, 2002). Past research has shown that self-efficacy encourages pro-environmental behaviour, such as recycling behaviour (Tabernero & Hernández, 2011;Tabernero et al, 2015) and using reusable shopping bags (Lam, 2006). It can also influence how much effort people exert toward a behaviour (Bandura, 1977(Bandura, , 2002.…”

Modeling the Social Factors That Determine Sustainable Consumption Behavior in the Community of Madrid

“…The social pressure exerted by norms constructed through community life can act as a form of persuasion on everything, from group work to the individual [19], leading to a form of behavior derived from the interest in trying to adhere to these norms. Firstly, in terms of personal values and The inclusion of constructs and the relationships between them to establish the model are based on prior knowledge and research as well as relevant studies on the subject of the motivators for sustainable consumption behavior.…”

“…The social pressure exerted by norms constructed through community life can act as a form of persuasion on everything, from group work to the individual [19], leading to a form of behavior derived from the interest in trying to adhere to these norms. Firstly, in terms of personal values and then, in response to what is imposed by reference groups, particularly if individuals wish to belong to these groups [27].…”

“…The social factors that are presented as exogenous variables that conform the basis for this theoretical model are: environmental influences, education and information, government actions, social pressure, market conditions and demographic variables as age, gender and educational level. By implementing this type of study, it is possible to design pertinent policies and actions oriented towards the promotion of this conduct both nationally and internationally [19]. This model will be tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), and using SmartPLS version 3.2.7 statistical software.…”