cross-national examination of cultural values, belief systems and sustainable consumer attitudes ...

128 Pages·2017·1.35 MB·English

CROSS-NATIONAL EXAMINATION OF CULTURAL VALUES,
BELIEF SYSTEMS AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMER ATTITUDES
AND BEHAVIOURS

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE BOARD OF CAMPUS GRADUATE PROGRAMS
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
NORTHERN CYPRUS CAMPUS

BY

ANIL BERKİN

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN
SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY SYSTEMS
PROGRAM

JANUARY 2018
Approval of the Board of Graduate Programs

__________________________
Prof. Dr. Gürkan Karakaş
Chairperson
I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree
of Master of Science.
__________________________
Assist. Prof. Dr. Carter Mandrik
Program Coordinator

This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully
adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science.
__________________________
Assist. Prof. Dr. Carter Mandrik
Supervisor
Examining Committee Members

Assist. Prof. Dr. Business Administration
Carter Mandrik METU Northern Cyprus Campus ______________

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Business Administration
Oğuz Solyalı METU Northern Cyprus Campus ______________

Prof. Dr. Assoc. Dean of Graduate School
Yeqing Bao University of Alabama in Huntsville ______________
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained
and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I
also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully
cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this
work.

Name, Last name : Anıl Berkin
Signature :

iii
ABSTRACT

CROSS-NATIONAL EXAMINATION OF CULTURAL VALUES,
BELIEF SYSTEMS AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMER ATTITUDES
AND BEHAVIOURS

Berkin, Anil
M.Sc., Department of Sustainable Environment and Energy Systems
Program
Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Carter Mandrik

January 2018, 112 pages

Since the 1970’s concern about the environment has been growing and with
this growth the concept of sustainability has started to become integrated into
the business world. One of the main goals of sustainability is to meet full
environmental costs of production and consumption to create a sustainable
economy. Necessarily, behaviour of consumers also plays a role in
sustainability. Sustainable consumption mainly focuses on the environmental
impacts of consumers’ habits, their food choices or their transportation.
Research has shown that sustainability-relevant behaviours may be
influenced by the cultural values and belief systems that consumers possess.
Thus, differences in values and belief systems are important in understanding
the adoption of a sustainable consumption lifestyle .
iv
The present research attempts to understand whether and how the cultural
values and belief systems affect sustainable consumption attitudes and
behaviours. Specifically, it will examine the role of religiosity and
spirituality, which past research has shown to be relevant to consumption
practices generally. An online survey is used to collect data from participants
from different backgrounds and cultures using multi-cultural organizations’
Facebook groups, such as American Field Service. Results of the study show
that religiosity and spirituality are related to sustainable consumption
attitudes and behaviours. Outcomes of this thesis are believed to help better
understanding of how religiosity relates to sustainability and the important
role spirituality plays to studying sustainable consumption, and possible
enhancements of sustainability marketing efforts.

Keywords: Sustainable Consumer Behaviour, Religiosity, Spirituality

v
ÖZ

KÜLTÜREL DEĞER, İNANÇ SİSTEMLERİ VE SÜRDÜRÜLEBİLİR
TÜKETİCİ TUTUM VE DAVRANIŞLARININ ULUSLARARASI
İNCELENMESİ

Berkin, Anil
Yüksek Lisans, Sürdürülebilir Çevre ve Enerji Sistemleri Programı
Tez Yöneticisi: Yrd. Doc. Dr. Carter Mandrik

Ocak 2018, 112 sayfa

1970’lerden beri çevre hakkındaki endişe büyümektedir ve bu büyümeyle
sürdürülebilirlik kavramı iş dünyasına entegre edilmeye başlamıştır.
Sürdürülebilirlik kavramının ana hedeflerinden biri de üretim ve tüketim
esnasındaki çevre maliyetini karşılayabile n, sürdürülebilir bir ekonomi
yaratmaktır. Sürdürülebilir tüketim, genellikle tüketicilerin alışkanlıklarının,
yiyecek tercihlerinin veya ulaşım tercihlerinin çevreye verdiği etkiye
odaklanmaktadır. Yapılan araştırmalara göre, sürdürülebilir tüketim
davranışları, kültürel değerler ve tüketicilerin sahip olduğu inanç
sistemlerinden de etkilenmektedir. Bu yüzden, sürdürülebilir bir hayat
adaptasyonunda, kültürel değerlerdeki ve inanç sistemlerindeki farklılıklar
önemlidir.
vi
Bu araştırma, kültürel değer ve inanç sistemlerinin sürdürülebilir tüketici
tutum ve davranışlarının etkisini anlamak için yazılmıştır. Özellikle, önceki
araştırmalarda da bir etkisi olduğu ortaya çıkan, dindarlık ve tinsellik
kavramlarının etkisi incelenecektir. Farklı geçmiş ve kültüre sahip
katılımcılardan veri toplamak için, bir çevrim içi anket Facebook’taki
uluslarası kültürlerden insanları barındıran gruplar, American Field Service
grubu gibi, kullanılmıştır. Bu araştırmanın sonuçları dindarlık ve tinsellik
kavramlarının, sürdürülebilir tutum ve davranışlarına nasıl bir etki yaptığını
gösterir. Çıkan sonuçların, dindarlığın sürdürülebilirlik üzerinde etkisinin
anlaşılmasına, tinselliğin oynadığı rolün öneminin anlanmasına ve
sürdürülebilir pazarlama alanınının geliştirilmesi için yardımcı olacağı
beklenmektedir.

Anahtar kelimeler: Sürdürülebilir tüketim davranışı, dindarlık, tinselli k

vii
To my parents and friends

viii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor,A ssist. Prof.
Dr. Carter Mandrik for his support, mentorship, guidance, advice, criticism
and encouragements throughout the research. Being his student for six years,
including my Bachelor’s I have learned a lot from him, which I will never
forget.
Besides my supervisor, I would like to thank Instr. Dr. Buçrak Özoğlu, for
her support and positive attitude during my assistantship and my study who
helped me a lot morally. Also, I am very grateful to Assist. Prof. Dr. Hande
Sözer and Assoc. Prof Dr. Yasemin Merzifonluo ğlu Uzgören for their support
and encouragements both during my Bachelors and Masters degrees.
My special thanks go to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Oğuz Solyalı and Prof. Dr. Yeqing
Bao for being my examining committee member.
I would thank all my friends, who believed in me, who supported me, who
stood with me and who laughed with me. Especially , my dearest friends Melih
and Efe who are for me the meaning of friendship. Also, I am very grateful
to these special and beautiful people whom I met at METU NCC for being in
my life: Güzin, Yiğit, Hüseyin, Erdem, Burak, Melike, Ege, Berk, Özgün,
Akif and Simge.
Finally, I would like to thank my parents. My mother, Sevin ç Erol and my
father Koray Berkin. Thank you for everything.

ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................... iv
ÖZ ....................................................................................................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................. ix
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................ xii
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................... xiii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................... xiv
1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1
2. BACKGROUND OF SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIOUR ............................... 5
2.1. Socio-demographic and economic variables ..................................... 13
2.2. Psychological Factors ......................................................................... 15
2.3. Environmental values and concern ................................................... 17
3. RELIGION, RELIGIOSITY, AND THEIR EFFECT ON
SUSTAINABLE CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOURS .............. 21
3.1. Religious Affiliation ........................................................................... 22
3.2. Religiosity ........................................................................................... 24
4. SPIRITUALITY AND ITS INFLUENCE ON SUSTAINABLE
CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOURS .......................................... 29
5. CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT .......................................................... 33
6. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES ................................................................... 36
6.1. Religiosity and SCAs/SCBs ................................................................ 36
6.2. Spirituality and SCAs/SCBs .............................................................. 37
7. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 41
7.1. Religiosity Measurement ................................................................... 41
7.2. Spirituality Measurement .................................................................. 45
7.3. Sustainable Consumer Attitudes Measurement ................................ 49
7.4. Sustainable Consumer Behaviour Measurement .............................. 52
8. RESULTS .................................................................................................. 55
8.1. Test of Hypothesis 1a ......................................................................... 58
8.2. Test of Hypothesis 1b ......................................................................... 59
8.3. Test of Hypothesis 2a ......................................................................... 60
x