Avengers, assemble the literature! A multi‐study review of consumption, environmental values, and planetary health research

Abstract

Mother Earth is dying. Humanity needs to step up. Otherwise, the planet we call home will soon be uninhabitable. The destiny of our planet inarguably depends on consumers, as their choices have the power to turn them into eco‐superheroes (sustainable consumption) or eco‐villains (unsustainable consumption). This article aims to review the current progress of consumption research and propose strategies to inspire consumers to embrace their inner eco‐warrior spirit, fostering sustainable behavior that protects the environment and supports human well‐being. To achieve this, this article employs an integrative approach, merging a meta‐perspective on theoretical development with a multi‐study methodological approach. Harnessing the power of scientometrics, this article delivers meta‐insights from a multi‐study analysis on consumption trends in relation to environmental values (micro‐perspective; Study 1) and planetary health (macro‐perspective; Study 2). These findings pave the way for future research and intervention strategies designed to nurture ecological sustainability and unleash the eco‐warrior in every consumer.

Too Good to be Nice: The interplay between the Cause marketing and information acquisition

“…As consumers pay more conscious about social issues, the “beyond profit” managerial objective is gaining momentum. Several empirical papers show that the firm’s responsible concern can serve as a way to differentiate from competitors and increase profitability by attracting more and better customers, employees, and investors [ 20 – 22 ]. For example, Lim [ 20 ] study the current situation of consumption research and present some ways to encourage consumers to embrace their inner eco-warrior spirit, fostering sustainable behavior.…”

“…Several empirical papers show that the firm’s responsible concern can serve as a way to differentiate from competitors and increase profitability by attracting more and better customers, employees, and investors [ 20 – 22 ]. For example, Lim [ 20 ] study the current situation of consumption research and present some ways to encourage consumers to embrace their inner eco-warrior spirit, fostering sustainable behavior. Fernández and Santaló [ 21 ] show that firm’s responsible concern as a device used by firms to differentiate their product from the rival’s products, which is a more valuable strategy in a more competitive market.…”

Guidelines for interpreting the results of bibliometric analysis: A sensemaking approach

“…This includes triangulation involving multiple methods to analyze and interpret the same dataset. For example, disciplinary coverage claims can be triangulated based on the most influential articles and prolific journals (Lim, 2023), whereas geographical coverage claims can be cross-validated based on countries/territories and institutions (Varma et al, 2023). Additionally, a co-word or co-occurrence of keywords analysis can be crossverified with a bibliographic coupling (Donthu et al, 2023;Saha et al, 2023) or a PageRank analysis (Kumar, Sahoo, Lim, & Dana, 2022;Kumar, Sahoo, Lim, Kraus, et al, 2022) to affirm the clustering of themes and topics.…”

Philosophy of science and research paradigm for business research in the transformative age of automation, digitalization, hyperconnectivity, obligations, globalization and sustainability

“…, 2022). Sustainability, the renewed focus on addressing current needs without jeopardizing future generations' ability to fulfill their own, is reflected in the mounting concern over climate change, inequality and poverty, as well as the increasing adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, green energy solutions and ESG reporting standards (Lim, 2022b, 2023a; Lim et al. , 2023a; Prasad et al.…”

“…Globalization, representing the pervasive intermingling of people, corporations and governments across borders, is illustrated by the proliferation of multinational entities, global supply chains and multicultural virtual teams (Donthu et al, 2021;Kumar et al, 2022;Lim, 2023c;Mandrinos et al, 2022). Sustainability, the renewed focus on addressing current needs without jeopardizing future generations' ability to fulfill their own, is reflected in the mounting concern over climate change, inequality and poverty, as well as the increasing adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, green energy solutions and ESG reporting standards (Lim, 2022b(Lim, , 2023aLim et al, 2023a;Prasad et al, 2022).…”