The Relationship Between Consumption Value and Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyle and Effect on Environmentally Responsible Consumerism

Abstract

Environmentally responsible consumerism is defined as consumers' tendency to evaluate the environmental attributes of products before making buying decisions. Environmentally responsible consumerism is ethical consumption, and this consumption is affected by many factors. Two of these factors are voluntary simplicity lifestyle, and consumption values. Voluntary simplicity lifestyle is defined as a way of life that rejects the high-consumption, materialistic lifestyles, and affirms what is often called 'the simplicity life'. Consumption value is defined as consumer's overall assessment of the utility of a product and service. These values are defined as conditional, functional, emotional, social, and epistemic environmental values. In this study, it is aimed to examine the relationship between consumption value and voluntary simplicity lifestyle, and consider the impact of voluntary simplicity lifestyle and consumption values on environmentally responsible consumerism. The data were collected from undergraduates at Ege University in Izmir and Mus Alparslan University in Mus which are in the West and East of Turkey, respectively. According to the results, there is a relationship between consumption value and voluntary simplicity lifestyle and effect of these factors on environmentally responsible consumerism.

A comparative analysis on the hedonic consumption and lifestyle of voluntary simplicity behaviors of gastronomy tourists

“…Similarly, the findings on the lifestyle of voluntary simplicity of the gastronomy tourists are congruent with the findings of the previous studies in the literature (Özgül, 2011;Aydın and Kazançoğlu, 2017;Bayat and Sezer, 2018;Chang, 2018). This study examined the correlation between the lifestyle of voluntary simplicity and demographic variables and found significant differences in terms of civil status and educational level.…”

The role of cultural values in green purchasing intention: Empirical evidence from Chinese consumers

“…The work of Lee et al () has also emphasized that sustainable values have an influence on environmentally friendly lifestyle when it comes to clothing purchases. What can be considered an environmentally friendly lifestyle will encompass characteristics such as preferences for natural resources conservation, self‐sufficiency, voluntary simplicity and sustainable development (Aydin & Kazancoglu, ; Binder & Blankenberg, ). Due to the features of the Doctrine of the Mean that emphasize one’s pursuing harmony with nature and a long‐term perspective, the consumers that identify with such cultural values will be interested in living a simple and frugal life at present in order to prosper in the future (Haws, Winterich, & Naylor, ).…”

Trajectories towards a voluntary simplicity lifestyle and inner growth

“…For instance, Van Dijk (2013) finds that VS leads to greater security, autonomy, competence, and relatedness for individuals. Additionally, several studies have found that VS behaviors are associated with reducing income (Chhetri et al, 2009; Alexander and Ussher, 2012) and increased happiness and life satisfaction (Aydin and Kazancoglu, 2017; Balderjahn et al, 2013; Bayat and Sezer, 2018; Rich et al, 2017; Walther et al, 2016). Furthermore, Peyer et al (2017) found that VS individuals exhibit a greater environmental and social consciousness and share more universalistic values compared to mainstream consumers.…”