What Do Coffee Shop Entrepreneurs Need to Do to Raise Pro-Environmental Customer Behavioral Intentions?

Abstract

Our research framework, built on the norm activation model (NAM), was designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the formation of consumers’ pro-environmental behavioral intentions in an eco-friendly coffee shop. We employed the NAM to test its mediating effect of personal environmental norms (PEN), social environmental norms (SEN), and ascription of responsibility (AR) and the moderating effect of the overall green image (OGI) on pro-environmental behavioral intentions. Data were collected through a survey of 530 customers who frequently visited a coffee shop in Korea, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses. The findings generally supported the hypothesized associations of the study variables within our proposed theoretical framework (PEN, SEN, and AR in order of the mediating effect on pro-environmental behavioral intentions) and confirmed OGI’s moderating effect. In addition, the study’s results have important (1) theoretical and (2) practical implications for the environment. (1) They expand the original NAM by explaining the effect of the relationship between SEN and PEN on pro-environmental customer behavioral intentions (PCBI) and confirm the mediating effect of the NAM (SEN, PEN, AR) on PCBI, as demonstrated in previous studies. (2) Moreover, the findings herein may encourage coffee shops to participate in the prevention of environmental problems by restricting the use of products such as plastic coffee cups and straws.

How Will Changes toward Pro-Environmental Behavior Play in Customers’ Perceived Value of Environmental Concerns at Coffee Shops?

“…Recently, the food service industry has begun performing pro-environmental management, thereby fulfilling its social responsibility through environmental protection, saving resources, and removing environmental pollution [10,[31][32][33][34]. The Green Restaurant Association (GRA) defines a pro-environmental food service company as a company that saves water and energy, decreases and recycles waste, and uses non-chemical and pro-environmental products in the long term.…”

“…These changes suggest that eco-friendly consumption is now an obligation, not a choice. Thus, it is possible to assert that environmental concerns can enhance awareness of environmental consequences, which in turn prompts pro-environmental behaviors/intentions such as visiting green coffee-shops and making commitments [7][8][9][10]. Coffee shops in South Korea have joined this eco-friendly vibe already.…”

Spatial Distribution of Eco-Friendly Coffee Shops in Malang City

“…On the other hand, there were coffee shops that promoted the usage of tumbler and steel straw in order to reduce the plastic waste (9%). In other parts of the world, the reduction of plastic straws and plastic cups is rising, especially in Korea (Yun & Kim, 2019). This also applies to food containers or packaging listed on the menu.…”

“…Along with increasing the population and people's lifestyle in consuming coffee, the number of coffee shops has increased significantly (Si et al, 2015;Yun & Kim, 2019).…”

Design and Validation of a Computational Program for Analysing Mental Maps: Aram Mental Map Analyzer

“…[16] or in particular points that are required for research. For example, in research that studies the marketing impact on people's perception, key points are supermarkets and shopping centres or in study on thermal comfort, the key points are places where people feel warm [78][79][80]. Furthermore, regarding social studies on safety, places may be considered that have the most sense of safety and night lighting.…”