Low-Carbon Literacy of Exhibitors in the Exhibition Industry in China

Abstract

While low-carbon and environmentally friendly construction by the exhibition industry has gradually improved, there is a lack of relevant research on whether exhibition-relevant personnel have corresponding low-carbon knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours to jointly assume the responsibility of developing low-carbon exhibitions. This research draws on the literature regarding low-carbon literacy and applies it to the exhibition industry to preliminarily assess the level of low-carbon literacy in China. A questionnaire was formulated through expert surveys and a pre-test. During the formal investigation, 412 valid questionnaires were obtained from exhibitors at seven Chinese exhibition events. The results revealed seven important dimensions of low-carbon literacy in exhibitions, namely, altruistic behaviour, values, low-carbon sensitivity, locus of control, low-carbon knowledge, low-carbon consumption, and action strategies. Low-carbon knowledge and low-carbon sensitivity ranked at the bottom, and middle- and high-level managers and exhibitors with large booth areas exhibited relatively insufficient performance regarding some low-carbon literacy factors. Based on the results, insights for exhibition management and future research directions are proposed in this paper.

1. Introduction

As the largest exhibition market in Asia and with the opening of the world’s largest exhibition centre, Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center [1], China is deeply aware of the importance of low-carbon environmental protection in conjunction with vigorously developing the exhibition industry. According to Cheshmehzangi et al., Shenzhen has been selected as an International Low Carbon City (ILCC) providing advanced information communication technology (ICT), some of which is being presented in the current convention and exhibition centre as a green building demonstration [2]. In 2015, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China implemented China’s first green exhibition standard, i.e., “Regulation for energy saving and consumption reducing in convention and exhibition industry” [3], which put forward practical standards for reducing carbon emissions, conserving energy and reducing consumption by the exhibition industry. In 2019, the Ministry of Commerce implemented the “Booth environmental evaluation criteria” [4], clarifying the design, material, environment, building and construction requirements for environmentally friendly booths. Low-carbon and environmentally friendly construction by and transformation of the exhibition industry is strongly reflected in exhibition hall construction, booth design, exhibition decorations, mechanical and electrical equipment. Specifically, with the rapid development of the exhibition industry, a large amount of waste products is generated; for instance, booth designs often fail to follow the green design concept, resulting in disposable materials and special booth applications that aggravate carbon emissions and environmental problems. Exhibition waste is the primary source of the exhibition industry’s ecological impact, which not only causes great damage to the environment but is also energy and resource intensive [5,6].

As low-carbon and environmentally friendly construction by the exhibition industry has gradually improved, it is unknown whether stakeholders and participants in exhibition events, including organisers, suppliers, exhibitors, sponsors and audiences, possess the corresponding knowledge, attitudes and behaviours regarding low-carbon standards to jointly assume the responsibility of developing low-carbon exhibitions. Only the synergy between “hardware” and “personnel” can lead to truly low-carbon exhibitions. Mensah claims that the success of a “green” business strategy depends primarily on cooperative employees [7]. Huang and Gao investigate the influence mechanism between commuters’ low-carbon literacy and intention of mode choice. They indicate that policies instituted alone cannot support long-term success in personal modal shifts. The challenge is the need to enhance the volitional behaviour of commuters [8]. Therefore, individuals’ knowledge of and attitudes towards low-carbon issues are among the most pressing challenges facing exhibition management. However, there are very few studies on the low carbon content of stakeholders involved in exhibitions. Therefore, this study adopts the concept of low-carbon literacy and applies it to the exhibition industry. Low-carbon literacy includes awareness, attitudes and behaviours, meaning that individuals understand the purpose of energy conservation and carbon reduction (ECCR), integrate that knowledge into daily life, take a positive attitude before implementing actions, and have the willingness to make a difference [9]. Why is literacy important? According to DeWaters and Powers, an energy-literate individual has a sound conceptual knowledge base as well as a thorough understanding of how energy is used in everyday life, understands the impact of energy production and consumption on all spheres of our environment and society, and strives to make choices and exhibit behaviours that reflect these attitudes [10]. Teng et al. also noted that individuals with energy literacy are more likely to make responsible decisions, choices and actions regarding energy-related issues, i.e., individuals with high energy literacy may be more intentional about and more active in energy conservation [11]. Therefore, an individual with low-carbon literacy should demonstrate appropriate understanding and knowledge of carbon emissions, be aware of and concerned about low-carbon issues, and be willing to implement low-carbon practices [12,13,14].

It is imperative to cultivate practitioners with low-carbon literacy [11,13], but most studies have studied only employees in the hotel and tourism industry, paying less attention to the literacy structure of employees in the exhibition industry. The awareness and attitudes of exhibition participants regarding low-carbon environmental issues are urgent issues that must be addressed by exhibition management. Low-carbon literacy based on evidence is particularly important for the exhibition industry. For example, Horng et al. indicated that as the competitiveness and complexity of the industry increase, participants should be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to support ECCR through their actions [13]. The exhibition industry is no exception.

2. Literature Review

Existing international research on low-carbon literacy focuses on hotels [11] and university student education [9], whereas Chinese studies on the topic have focus on travel agencies [15] and college and high school education [16,17]. By contrast, research on low-carbon literacy in the exhibition industry is relatively scarce.

Three major domains, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours, serve as the fundamental components of literacy [8,10,18,19,20]. Researchers have recognised that these domains are integral to low-carbon literacy [9,13]. In terms of the factors contained in each domain, the knowledge domain incorporates low-carbon knowledge and ecological concepts, the attitudes domain includes values, sensitivity, and locus of control, and the behaviour domain comprises behavioural intentions and actions [11,21]. First, low-carbon knowledge refers to the degree of understanding of carbon emissions, including ecological and low-carbon concepts. From an ecological perspective, the goal is to understand the interdependence of human beings and the ecosystem as well as the impact of industrial development on the environment. Low-carbon knowledge refers to the degree of knowledge about climate warming, renewable energy, carbon emissions, low-carbon buildings, and low-carbon materials. Different low-carbon strategies can generate different positive benefits. For example, increased low-carbon knowledge can aid decision makers in the tourism industry draft better and more effective policies [22]. Horng et al. also noted that companies can use a low-carbon literacy scale as a reference for hiring new employees as well as training tools for new employees and on-the-job training for current employees [13]. According to the study of tourism geography literacy, tourist knowledge refers to the extent of a tourist’s self-assessed travel knowledge, covering emergencies, travel documents, local tourist attractions, restaurants, and lodging. When tourists have geographic knowledge, their perceptions of destination risks decrease [23]. Lee et al. indicated that individuals with greater environmental knowledge had more positive attitudes [24]. Liu et al. (2017) found that low-carbon knowledge indirectly influences travellers’ intentions to choose a low-carbon mode [25]. Jia et al. (2018) believed that low-carbon knowledge affects individuals’ degree of concern for ecological issues and that people with richer knowledge of environmental protection are more inclined to choose low-carbon transport [26]. Therefore, a clear understanding of the extent and content of exhibitors’ low-carbon knowledge, which is also related to individuals’ decision-making behaviours, affects the implementation and promotion of low-carbon exhibitions.

Low-carbon attitudes embody the basic views and values pertaining to low-carbon issues. Knowledge can help individuals establish the meaning and value of low-carbon strategies, thereby leading to positive low-carbon behaviours [11,13,27]. Attitudes are an important force that drives the behaviours of individuals or organisations. In a study of household water-saving equipment, Millock and Nauges found that environmental protection attitudes have a great impact on the implementation of environmental protection behaviours [28]. Among attitude factors, valuing low-carbon strategies lead to positive attitudes by individuals that reinforce the meaning and value of low-carbon strategies, thereby forming a strong belief in and demonstration of low-carbon behaviours [6]. Sreen et al. indicated that residents with a stronger belief in collectivist values could hold more positive attitudes towards collective goals, have a stronger perception of favourable conditions for achieving these goals and be more willing to overcome unfavourable conditions [29]. In terms of sensitivity, Horng et al., Hu et al., and Lai and Mao all assert that sensitivity reflects an individual’s ability to perceive low-carbon status or changes and to search for or follow related information [9,13,16]. Locus of control is also an important factor in attitude formation; when individuals possess an internal locus of control, they are confident in their ability to change an environment through their behaviour [11,30]. Therefore, those more inclined to positive values have more positive attitudes towards low carbon consumption behaviour and stronger perceived behavioural control.

Low-carbon behaviours are based on the attitudes of individuals [31]. Engaging in behaviours consistent with self-worth and judgement is an external behavioural response tendency. Individuals may implement ECCR practices and may be willing to exert effort to implement low-carbon behaviours in their own daily life practices or through training or participating in government-sponsored green campaigns only when they have low-carbon intentions [11,32]. Moreover, individuals can reduce their carbon footprint in work processes and commit to improving environmental conditions through low-carbon behaviours. Tsaur and Dai subdivided low-carbon behaviours in his study on low-carbon tourism and proposed different scenarios, such as low-carbon transport and low-carbon consumption [33]. Tourists chose environmentally friendly low-carbon transportation methods, including walking, riding bicycles, and taking public transportation. Reusable shopping bags can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from consumption activities, reduce carbon consumption, and save energy. Ding et al. also indicated that low carbon consumption behaviour refers to residents’ consumption behaviour that is favourable to carbon emission reduction, including the purchase of environmentally friendly and energy-saving products, low-carbon lifestyles, such as energy savings and green travel, and other behaviours conducive to carbon emission reduction [34]. Kuo and Dai noted the importance of tourists’ intentions to engage in low-carbon tourism and their recommendation for relatives and friends to do the same [35]. This altruistic behaviour provided an example and drove others to engage in low-carbon tourism.

The existing literature is helpful for understanding low-carbon literacy. This study adopts the literature as the basis to investigate whether the main distinguishing domains and factors of low-carbon literacy are applicable to the exhibition industry and whether there are other important influencing factors.

3. Methodology

There were three main stages in the design of the study, namely, the questionnaire development, pre-test, and formal investigation. The first stage involved developing a questionnaire regarding low-carbon literacy in the exhibition industry. After reviewing and collating the literature, a preliminary questionnaire with 54 items, including 47 items about low-carbon literacy and 7 questions about respondent profiles, was generated. Considering that this study aims to investigate low-carbon literacy in the context of the exhibition industry, nine professional teachers in the industry and twelve exhibition participants who had at least five years of experience in exhibitions, were familiar with the work of exhibitors, and who worked in important exhibition-developing cities in China, including Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen, were invited to respond to the online questionnaire and provide feedback to improve the questionnaire. After the questionnaires were collected, each participant and the researchers agreed on a suitable time to discuss ideas and suggestions for revisions. The following recommendations were considered: (1) retain only one item if two items have repetitive and similar meanings, such as “riding a bicycle instead of driving” and “I mostly choose public transportation to attend exhibitions”; (2) revise the items to specifically address the exhibition industry, such as “I understand how exhibition activities affect biodiversity and the population of species in a region” and “I mostly bike or walk to attend exhibitions”; (3) revise items with unclear meanings, such as “I want to participate in a low-carbon exhibition by myself” and “I realize that I will always participate in low-carbon exhibitions as long as feasible”; and (4) add topics that specifically address the context of exhibitions, such as “I will use electronics during exhibition events (such as to make payments and access promotional materials)”. Through the above revision process, a preliminary questionnaire on low-carbon literacy was proposed. The final questionnaire had 48 questions, including 41 items about low-carbon literacy and 7 items regarding basic information.

For the pre-test, during the 14th Guangzhou Special Purchases for Spring Festival Fairs in 2019, 42 questionnaires were collected from exhibitors, and questionnaire items with measurement quality were confirmed through analyses, i.e., corrected item-total correlation method and discriminant analysis. Based on Churchill, the items with a corrected item-total correlation value less than 0.3 were deleted [36]. Four items were deleted: “I believe that reducing the carbon footprint of exhibitions is a matter of determination”, “I believe that enterprises’ long-term effort to promote low-carbon exhibitions will help improve the environment”, “I improve my work procedures to reduce the carbon footprint of the exhibition industry”, and “I am willing to participate in low-carbon exhibitions”. In the discriminant analysis, the performance of all items in the high-score and low-score groups was significant (p < 0.05), indicating that all items were discriminatory; therefore, no other items were deleted.

For the formal investigation, the official questionnaire on low-carbon literacy in the exhibition industry was applied; the questionnaire included 44 items, of which 37 items pertained to low-carbon literacy and 7 items asked about basic information. The questionnaires were disseminated at seven professional exhibition and consumer exhibition events in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhongshan that were all well-known and long-standing exhibitions in China or Guangdong Province. The survey was conducted mainly in the afternoon, and the exhibitors in the main venue were asked one by one to participate, as shown in

Table 1. Sample characteristics.

Exhibitions	Date	Sample Size
Guangzhou International Travel Fair (GITF 2019)	21 February 2019	74
2019 Exhibition Service and Green Material Fair (Guangzhou)	3 March 2019	73
2019 International Sign and LED Exhibition, Guangzhou	3 March 2019	68
Dental South China International Expo 2019	3 March 2019	93
Shenzhen Creative Week and 35th Shenzhen International Furniture Exhibition	20 March 2019	47
2021 Zhongshan Featured Products Expo and the Internet Celebrity Brand Fair	21 March 2021	44
2021 Animation Show Zhongshan	2 May 2021	24
Invalid questionnaires		11
Valid questionnaires		412

. A total of 423 questionnaires were returned, with 11 invalid questionnaires and 412 valid questionnaires. The effective response rate was 97.4%.

4. Results

A total of 412 valid questionnaires were obtained from exhibitors. Seven items were used to collect basic information, including gender, age and education level, and job information, including work, job title, exhibition experience, and booth area. There were 198 males and 214 females; 268 were 20–29 years of age, accounting for 65.0% of the total sample, followed by 81 who were 30–39 years of age, accounting for 19.7%. Most (n = 188) had an undergraduate education, accounting for 45.6%, followed by those (n = 107) with a junior college education, accounting for 26.0%. In terms of job-related information, 198 were employed in the sales sector, accounting for 48.1%; 245 were general employees, accounting for 59.5%; 136 had 0.5 to 1 year of exhibition experience, accounting for 33.0%; and 208 had a booth area between 10 and 36 m², accounting for 50.5%.

Exploratory factor analysis was conducted after the formal investigation to confirm whether each item of the initial questionnaire actually measured the intended factor and to determine whether any item needed to be deleted. The results are shown in

Table 2. Results for low-carbon literacy in the exhibition industry.

Dimension	Item	Factor Loading	Interpretation Variance %	Cronbach Alpha	Mean	Standard Deviation	Dimension Mean
Altruistic behaviour	I encourage others to reduce their carbon footprint while participating in exhibitions.	0.81	13.02	0.82	4.04	0.753	3.97
	I provide guidance for others to engage in low-carbon exhibitions.	0.78			4.03	0.751
	I remind or discourage others when I see non-low-carbon behaviours during exhibition events.	0.65			3.73	0.796
	I am willing to voluntarily participate in events related to low-carbon exhibitions.	0.62			4.04	0.772
	I am obligated to and responsible for participating in low-carbon exhibitions.	0.53			4.03	0.747
Locus of control	I believe that the effectiveness of low-carbon exhibitions can be achieved by enhancing management and audit systems.	0.87	24.76	0.85	4.03	0.801	4.24
	I think that exhibition facilities should include low-carbon systems.	0.86			4.08	0.779
	I believe that the government should formulate policies or regulations to encourage low-carbon exhibitions.	0.58			4.43	0.706
	I believe that low-carbon events require joint effort from all exhibitors while they participate in exhibitions.	0.57			4.36	0.750
	I support low-carbon events carried out by the government or other parties.	0.54			4.40	0.653
	I believe that the voluntary promotion of low-carbon events by exhibition companies will help improve the environment.	0.51			4.11	0.763
Low-carbon knowledge	I have knowledge regarding green technology for exhibitions.	0.87	35.40	0.83	3.33	0.920	3.52
	I have knowledge regarding green booth design and construction for exhibitions.	0.80			3.33	0.865
	I have knowledge regarding green consumption in exhibitions.	0.74			3.68	0.922
	I have knowledge regarding green materials for exhibitions.	0.70			3.44	0.922
	I have knowledge regarding green and clean exhibitions, such as reuse and recycling.	0.63			3.82	0.883
Low-carbon consumption	I bring my own tableware (such as cups, chopsticks, and tissue paper) to exhibition events.	0.82	45.88	0.87	3.33	1.094	3.54
	I use electronics during exhibition events (e.g., payments, access to promotional materials).	0.81			3.81	0.915
	I reduce my consumption of bottled beverages during exhibition events.	0.79			3.31	1.074
	I purchase green products during exhibition events.	0.78			3.72	0.921
Values	It is acceptable to pay extra costs for low-carbon items/services while participating in exhibitions.	0.88	55.53	0.85	3.75	0.857	3.78
	I understand the interdependence between human beings and the ecosystem.	0.87			3.70	0.858
	I will adjust my participation habits if doing so contributes to a low-carbon exhibition.	0.65			4,00	0.748
	I understand the balance between livelihood and the need to conserve the natural environment.	0.61			3.90	0.783
Action strategy	I use mostly public transportation to attend exhibitions.	0.78	63.33	0.80	4.16	0.848	4.13
	I participate in training sessions to learn how to implement low-carbon exhibitions.	0.76			3.93	0.957
	I consciously dispose of trash properly during exhibition events.	0.53			4.30	0.810
Low carbon sensitivity	I can easily determine whether an exhibition event is low-carbon.	0.85	69.82	0.80	3.63	0.771	3.50
	I know the energy consumption and carbon emission levels associated with my work.	0.83			3.37	0.904
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy							0.864
Bartlett’s test of sphericity (significance level)							0.000

. According to Hair et al., items with a factor loading less than 0.5 and items that have high factor loading with other factors should be deleted [37]. Following this rule, a total of eight items were deleted: “I believe that energy and carbon data analysis will help promote low-carbon exhibitions”, “I realize the need for low-carbon exhibitions”, “I pay attention to low-carbon information or achievements in the exhibition industry”, “Exhibition companies should specifically standardise and improve the efficiency of low-carbon exhibitions”, “I have knowledge regarding carbon emissions”, “I have knowledge regarding energy, such as alternative energy”, “Reducing waste is part of my daily practice”, and “I have knowledge regarding green buildings”. For the dimension extraction, the KMO value was 0.864, and the p-value of the Bartlett sphere test was less than the significance level (0.001), indicating that the items for measuring low-carbon literacy were appropriate. In terms of explaining variation, 7 factors with characteristic values greater than 1 were extracted, and these factors explained 69.82% of the total variation. Cronbach’s α value for each dimension was greater than 0.7, indicating that the measurement items were credible and measured exhibitors’ understanding of the concept of low-carbon literacy. The preliminary analysis resulted in the identification of seven dimensions of low-carbon literacy in exhibitions. Based on the literature review, the dimensions were altruistic behaviour, locus of control, low-carbon knowledge, low-carbon consumption, values, action strategies, and low-carbon sensitivity.

Among the factors related to low-carbon literacy in the exhibition industry, a larger average value indicated a greater degree of agreement among exhibitors. Overall, the first three factors with the highest degree of agreement were, in order: “I believe that the government should formulate policies or regulations to encourage low-carbon exhibitions”, “I support low-carbon events carried out by the government or other parties”, and “I believe that low-carbon events require joint effort from all exhibitors in exhibitions”. All of these factors were within the locus of control dimension. Factors with the lowest degree of agreement were, in order: “I bring my own tableware (such as cups, chopsticks and tissue paper) to exhibition events”, “I have knowledge regarding green booth design and construction for exhibitions”, and “I have knowledge regarding green technology for exhibitions”. Among all dimensions, locus of control had the highest degree of agreement, and low-carbon sensitivity had the lowest degree of agreement.

This study analysed exhibitors’ jobs, titles, exhibition experiences, booth areas, and degrees of low-carbon literacy agreement. In terms of jobs, as shown in

Table 3. Variance analysis of jobs.

Jobs	Sample Size	It Is Acceptable to Pay Extra Costs for Low-Carbon Items/Services While Participating in Exhibitions	I Will Adjust My Participation Habits if Doing so Contributes to a Low-Carbon Exhibition	I Can Easily Determine Whether an Exhibition Event Is Low-Carbon	I Believe That the Government Should Formulate Policies or Regulations to Encourage Low-Carbon Exhibitions
Sales	198	3.87	4.05	3.76	4.48
IT	36	3.75	4.00	3.75	4.47
Design	42	3.38	3.69	3.33	4.4
Planning	54	3.69	4.04	3.46	4.61
Administration	70	3.71	4.07	3.54	4.21
Other	12	3.87	3.50	3.33	4.08
F-value		2.661	2.907	3.654	2.891
p-value		0.022 *	0.014 *	0.003 **	0.014 *
Scheffe’s test		1, 5 > 3	1, 4, 5 > 3	1, 2 > 3	1, 4 > 5

Notes: * p < 0.05 ** p < 0.01.

, the one-way analysis of variance results indicated that four factors significantly differed based on job position. The Scheffe method showed that design positions had a lower degree of agreement than did other positions for three factors, namely, “It is acceptable to pay extra costs for low-carbon items/services while participating in exhibitions”, “I will adjust my participation habits if doing so contributes to a low-carbon exhibition”, and “I can easily determine whether an exhibition event is low-carbon”, while sales and planning positions had a higher degree of agreement than did administrative management positions regarding the factor “I believe that the government should formulate policies or regulations to encourage low-carbon exhibitions”.

As shown in

Table 4. Variance analysis of job title.

Job Title	Sample Size	I Encourage Others to Reduce Their Carbon Footprint While Participating in Exhibitions	I Remind or Discourage Others When I See Non-Low-Carbon Behaviours During Exhibition Events	I Am Willing to Voluntarily Participate in Events Related to Low-Carbon Exhibitions	I Believe That the Voluntary Promotion of Low-Carbon Events by Exhibition Companies Will Help Improve the Environment
Staff	245	4.08	3.72	3.98	4.02
First-line managers	72	4.14	4.03	4.31	4.44
Mid-level managers	74	3.92	3.54	4.08	4.03
High degree managers	21	4.08	3.57	3.76	4.19
F-value		2.637	5.200	4.418	6.233
p-value		0.049 *	0.002 **	0.005 **	0.000 ***
Scheffe’s test		1, 2 > 4	2 > 1, 3, 4	2 > 1, 4	2 > 1, 3

Notes: * p < 0.05 ** p < 0.01 *** p < 0.001.

, four factors were significantly different based on job title. The Scheffe method shows a relatively high degree of agreement among first-line managers on four factors, namely, “I encourage others to reduce their carbon footprint while participating in exhibitions”, “I remind or discourage others when I see non-low-carbon behaviours during exhibition events”, “I am willing to voluntarily participate in events related to low-carbon exhibitions”, and “I believe that the voluntary promotion of low-carbon events by exhibition companies will help improve the environment”. Compared with the agreement among first-line managers, there was a lower degree of agreement among senior managers on three of the four factors. Compared with the agreement among first-line managers, there was a lower degree of agreement among mid-level managers on the factor: “I believe that the voluntary promotion of low-carbon events by exhibition companies will help improve the environment”.

As shown in

Table 5. Variance analysis of exhibition experience.

Exhibition Experience	Sample Size	I Think That Exhibition Facilities Should Include Low-Carbon Systems
Half a year<	90	4.22
Half a year to one year	136	4.10
One to two years	66	4.12
Two to three years	44	3.77
>Three years	76	4.00
F-value		2.783
p-value		0.026 *
Scheffe’s test		1, 2, 3 > 4

Notes: * p < 0.05.

, one factor is significantly different based on the exhibition experience. The Scheffe method shows that, compared with the exhibitors with two to three years of experience, there is a lower degree of agreement among the exhibitors with less than two years of experience on the factor: “I think that exhibition facilities should include low-carbon systems”.

As shown in

Table 6. Variance analysis of booth area.

Booth Area	Sample Size	I Provide Guidance for Others to Engage in Low-Carbon Exhibitions	I Am Obligated to and Responsible for Participating in Low-Carbon Exhibitions	I Consciously Dispose of Trash Properly during Exhibition Events	I Participate in Training Sessions to Learn How to Implement Low-Carbon Exhibitions	I Believe That the Government Should Formulate Policies or Regulations to Encourage Low-Carbon Exhibitions	I Use Mostly Public Transportation to Attend Exhibitions
9 m2<	96	4.15	4.31	4.42	4.23	4.50	4.35
10 to 36 m2	208	4.06	4.00	4.42	3.86	4.48	4.18
>37 m2	108	3.87	3.85	3.94	3.81	4.28	3.94
F-value		3.776	10.559	14.705	6.259	3.558	6.238
p-value		0.024 *	0.000 ***	0.000 ***	0.002 **	0.029 *	0.002 **
Scheffe’s test		1, 2 > 3	1 > 2, 3	1, 2 > 3	1 > 2, 3	1, 2 > 3	1, 2 > 3

Notes: * p < 0.05 ** p < 0.01 *** p < 0.001.

, six factors are significantly different based on the booth area. The Scheffe method shows that, compared with that for the exhibitors with booths of 37 m² and larger, there is a higher degree of agreement among the exhibitors with booths of 9 m² and smaller and 10 to 36 m² on 4 factors, namely, “I provide guidance for others to engage in low-carbon exhibitions”, “I consciously dispose of trash properly during exhibition events”, “I believe that the government should formulate policies or regulations to encourage low-carbon exhibitions”, and “I use mostly public transportation to attend exhibitions”; additionally, compared with that for the exhibitors with booths of 10 to 36 m² and 37 m² and larger, there is a higher degree of agreement among the exhibitors with booths of 9 m² and smaller on 2 factors, namely, “I am obligated to and responsible for participating in low-carbon exhibitions” and “I participate in training sessions to learn how to implement low-carbon exhibitions”.

5. Discussions

Under the trend of emphasising the development of low-carbon environmental protection, the construction of the global exhibition industry has been vigorously promoted, thus producing exhibition personnel with low-carbon goals. This research draws on literature relating to low-carbon literacy, applies it to the case of the exhibition industry, and preliminarily investigates the level of low-carbon literacy in the exhibition industry through expert surveys, a pre-test, and a formal investigation with exhibitors.

In this study, seven essential dimensions of low-carbon literacy were preliminarily established for the exhibition industry, namely, altruistic behaviour, values, low-carbon sensitivity, locus of control, low-carbon knowledge, low-carbon consumption, and action strategies. The dimensions cover the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours regarding the fundamental components of low-carbon literacy. The results of this study reflect the dimensions reported in other literature on low-carbon literacy, including locus of control, low-carbon knowledge, values, action strategies, and low-carbon sensitivity. Horng et al., Teng et al., and Hu et al. all mentioned these dimensions, indicating that these five dimensions are the core of low-carbon literacy [9,11,13]. However, this study also revealed different dimensions of low-carbon literacy, namely, altruistic behaviour and low-carbon consumption, preliminarily indicating that low-carbon literacy in the exhibition industry has unique features. The results of this study indicate the crucial attributes of low-carbon literacy that are necessary for exhibition practitioners and are highly beneficial to the sustainable development of this industry.

The research herein extends the range for each dimension of low-carbon literacy in the exhibition industry. For low-carbon knowledge, in addition to the original factors of climate warming, carbon emissions, and energy, other factors, such as booth design, technology, and buildings, are added as they relate to the context of the exhibition industry. The results show that exhibitors have more knowledge of green and clean exhibitions, but less knowledge of technology, materials, booth design, and construction. The dimensional average value for low-carbon knowledge is also relatively low, indicating that the low-carbon knowledge of exhibitors merits attention and should be a focus of improvements in the future.

Among the low-carbon literacy dimensions, locus of control has the highest average value. Exhibitors are confident that they and the exhibition industry can improve the environment by adopting low-carbon strategies. Low-carbon exhibitions require the joint effort, cooperation, and participation of multiple parties. Governments can formulate policies or regulations to encourage low-carbon exhibitions, and the voluntary promotion of low-carbon events by exhibition companies can also improve the environment. In other words, the promotion of low-carbon exhibitions entails the participation of both the government and enterprises, echoing the statement by Horng et al. that key figures in energy conservation and emission reduction include governmental and nongovernmental organisations [13].

However, the respondents perceived themselves as lacking low-carbon sensitivity, and the dimensional average value was lowest among the dimensions for the exhibitors (e.g., “I know the energy consumption and carbon emission levels associated with my work”). Sivek and Hungerford noted that environmental sensitivity is a key predictor of responsible environmental behaviour [38], and Jiang et al. added anticipated guilt to the model of the theory of planned behaviour and found that it played a significantly positive role in the intention of low carbon consumption behaviour [39]. The more guilty they feel about their non-low-carbon consumption behaviour in anticipation, the more positive their intention of low-carbon consumption behaviour is. The results of this study indicate that the exhibition industry should emphasise the development of low-carbon sensitivity among relevant staff to contribute to the formation of low-carbon behaviours.

Furthermore, the respondents generally exhibit strong action strategies, and this finding is consistent with that of Teng et al., indicating that exhibitors are willing to adopt low-carbon measures both in daily life and in the workplace [11], for example, “I participate in training sessions to learn how to implement low-carbon exhibitions”. Through effective lessons and training, exhibitions can understand the benefits of adopting low-carbon strategies and be motivated to implement these strategies and encourage others to do the same.

This study also revealed two different dimensions of low-carbon literacy in the exhibition industry, namely, altruistic behaviour, and low-carbon consumption. Altruistic behaviour refers to exhibitors positively guiding and encouraging other stakeholders at exhibition events to save energy and conduct low-carbon events. As proposed by a study of tourist citizenship behaviours, customers are no longer viewed as mere service recipients but as potential human resources to assist with various organisational activities, such as participating in and providing feedback on companies’ activities and assisting other customers [40]. Tourists, team leaders, drivers, and other members of tour groups must be united, this includes mutual assistance, sharing, reminding, tolerating, self-sacrificing qualities for the convenience of tour members.

Low-carbon consumption refers to actively engaging in low-carbon emission and environmentally friendly consumption strategies during exhibition events. The research results show that low-carbon consumption is relatively lacking among exhibitors. For example, factors, such as bringing tableware and reducing bottled water purchases, were not prevalent. Kuo and Chen used a life cycle assessment method to explore the impact of island tourism on the environment [41]. Based on MJ of energy, L of water, and g of CO2, CO, HC, and NOx emitted, those researchers established the environmental load caused by each visitor’s transportation, accommodation, and activities, and reported that many tourism behaviours generate or produce high energy consumption or carbon emission. However, some convention centres have taken the lead in addressing this aspect of low-carbon consumption. For example, the Beijing National Convention Center replaced 550 mL bottled water with 380 mL bottled water, and water bottle labels were designed to write or mark on, thus helping prevent people from taking the wrong water bottles and leading to more participants taking their water with them. Another example is convention centres providing hot water in designated areas and encouraging participants to bring their own cups. Clearly, exhibitors’ low-carbon consumption habits need to be adjusted.

Based on the analysis of variance results, mid-level and high-level managers and exhibitors with large booth areas exhibit relatively insufficient performance regarding some low-carbon literacy factors, highlighting areas of focus for promoting low-carbon exhibitions. As the main management power within exhibition enterprises and the leaders of junior personnel, mid-level, and high-level managers have a substantial impact on enterprises’ future low-carbon decision making and operations. Additionally, compared with the exhibitors with small booth areas, there is a lower degree of agreement among exhibitors with large booth areas and some low-carbon literacy factors, especially sensitivity and locus of control. Although exhibitors with large booth areas may provide high economic contributions to exhibition events, exhibiting corporate social responsibility is more important for resources that are relatively abundant. If exhibitors with large booth areas can increase their efficiency or emphasise energy conservation and low-carbon strategies, small and medium exhibitors will follow suit, and, consequently, low-carbon literacy can be accelerated.

6. Conclusions

6.1. Research Contributions

The results of this study provide several contributions to exhibition management. First, explicit items were used to investigate the level of low-carbon literacy in the exhibition industry, and key low-carbon literacy dimensions and corresponding factors that exhibitors must possess were established; these dimensions and factors can be used to expand exhibitors’ understanding of low-carbon concepts, knowledge, and actions. Second, for human resource management within exhibition enterprises, the measurement of low-carbon literacy can be used to determine the advantages and disadvantages of new or current exhibition personnel and to provide training courses or strengthen and improve continuing education to enhance employee attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours towards low-carbon issues. Third, the results are helpful for relevant government departments and units for understanding the level of exhibitors’ low-carbon literacy when formulating low-carbon policies for exhibitions, for example, the education and certification of low-carbon personnel.

6.2. Limitations and Directions for Future Research

This research has limitations that need to be addressed in future studies. First, while this research explores the level of low-carbon literacy in participants at exhibitions, only exploratory factor analysis was used to determine potential dimensional factors, from which preliminary dimensions, which were few in number and quite related to each other, were developed. In the future, confirmatory factor analysis should be adopted to assess the appropriateness of the measurement tool via a second investigation and to develop a low-carbon literacy scale for exhibitions. Second, exhibitors’ low-carbon literacy may be affected by other factors. For example, exhibitors at energy-themed, green-themed, and energy-saving-themed exhibitions might demonstrate different levels of low-carbon literacy. Further comparisons can be made between low carbon-related exhibitions and non-low carbon-related exhibitions. Third, there are many stakeholders involved in exhibition events. The low-carbon literacy of organisers and public visitors is also worth investigating. Fourth, this study uses a Chinese sample to explore the level of low-carbon literacy. The results of this study may thus not be representative of exhibitors from other countries and regions. A cross cultural approach is recommended to further investigate the stability of low-carbon literacy levels and to assess the external validity of the results reported herein.