Can spirituality drive sustainable consumption intention?

Abstract

The climate change and environmental depletion has made sustainable consumption a rising area of investigation with the purpose of understanding the factors influencing such phenomenon. Nevertheless, with the external factors such as infrastructural, institutional and policy changes have been recognized as insufficient, there does not exist a concrete consensus on which factors may drive an individual towards sustainable consumption. Hence, the present paper aims to examine possible factors which may have an influence on sustainable consumption intention incorporating spirituality through the contribution of Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Social Cognitive Theory of Moral Agency. A cross sectional survey was conducted in the study with a sample of 250 urban-educated consumers in the Colombo District using a convenience sample. The data collection was conducted with a self-administered questionnaire while Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with AMOS was utilized for the analysis. The findings revealed a positive impact from both attitude towards sustainable consumption and perceived behavioral control on sustainable consumption intention. In contrast, subjective norms were recognized as statistically insignificant in its impact. Spirituality was revealed with a positive impact on attitudes towards sustainable consumption leading to sustainable consumption intention. Thus, this study contributes to the enhancement of the prediction power of Theory of Planned Behavior with spirituality as a behavioral belief. Hence, the findings reflect that inner changes in an individual have the possibility that may drive sustainable consumption intention. The paper, therefore, concludes with the strong revelation that spirituality plays a major role in an individual, affecting the attitudes towards sustainable consumption, ultimately resulting in sustainable consumption intention. Further, the paper suggests the policymakers and environmental authorities on the importance of incorporating spirituality enhancement programs in driving an individual towards sustainable consumption.