The Antecedents of Collaborative Behavior for Climate Change Mitigation among South Koreans: The Moderation Analyses of a Sense of Community as Responsibility, Neighborliness, and Trust

Abstract

The collective efforts of various social actors from different sectors have contributed to climate change mitigation. Identifying the important antecedents of collaborative behavior to address climate change helps us understand the underlying process. This study focused on important theoretical frameworks that determine collaborative behavior as civic engagement. Specifically, the study examines perceived societal risk to future generations, sense of community as responsibility (SOC-R), neighborliness, and trust in collaborative behavior to mitigate climate change. It also investigates the boundary conditions of the effects of societal risk perception on collaborative behavior change by examining the moderating roles of SOC-R, neighborliness, and trust. A nationwide online survey was conducted in South Korea. The findings reveal significant effects of societal risk perception and SOC-R on behavioral intention. Moreover, SOC-R and trust moderated the causal relationship between societal risk perception and behavioral intention, such that the relationship was more pronounced at lower SOC-R and trust. These findings have implications for communication practices and policy making that motivate collective action against climate change in South Korea.

Psychological Trust Dynamics in Climate Change Adaptation Decision-Making Processes: A Literature Review

“…Other quantitative studies [50,51] underlined that both community and institutional trust are precursors of risk perception, which, in turn, is a precursor of mitigation behaviors in the field of CCA. For example, Vainio and Paloniemi [52] found that institutional trust is a precursor of climate-friendly actions.…”