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Consumer Behaviour and Sustainable Decision-Making: Bridging the Gap Between Awareness and Action

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 January 2026 | Viewed by 4558

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Elisabetta Savelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics, Politics, Society, University of Urbino, Urbino, Italy
Interests: consumer behaviour; food sector; retail management; sustainable consumption
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Consumer behaviour plays a pivotal role in driving sustainability transitions, as individual choices significantly impact environmental and socio-economic systems. However, a significant "intention-behaviour gap" still persists, whereby consumers express positive attitudes towards sustainability but often fail to translate them into action. This Special Issue, “Consumer Behavior and Sustainable Decision-Making: Bridging the Gap Between Awareness and Action”, examines the critical relationship between consumer behaviour and sustainable development, focusing on the complexities and obstacles involved in encouraging pro-environmental actions across various contexts.

Focusing on recent advancements in the fields of behavioural economics, psychology, and sustainability science, this Special Issue will address the cognitive, emotional, and social factors that shape sustainable consumption. The purpose of this collection is to deepen our understanding of the drivers behind eco-conscious consumer decisions, while also scrutinizing the barriers preventing the widespread adoption of sustainable practices (White et al., 2019).

By building on the existing literature, including insights into the "value-action gap" and sustainable marketing strategies (Kushwah et al., 2019; Emekci, 2019), this Special Issue will provide a comprehensive framework for encouraging sustainable consumption behaviours. Moreover, it will explore how targeted interventions, such as sustainability labels, behavioural nudges, and policy incentives, can effectively close the attitude–behaviour gap (Balasubramanian and Sheykhmaleki, 2024). This collection will also build on recent discussions around sustainable apparel, food, and energy consumption to provide actionable insights for policymakers and businesses alike (Emekci, 2019; Gallenti et al., 2020).

Dr. Elisabetta Savelli
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable consumption
  • pro-environmental behaviour
  • consumer decision-making
  • value-action gap
  • behavioural interventions
  • sustainability marketing
  • environmental psychology
  • eco-conscious choices
  • sustainability transitions
  • policy interventions

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 1354 KiB  
Article
Influence of Creative Tourist Experiences and Engagement on Gen Z’s Environmentally Responsible Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model
by Wenjun Lu, Pimlapas Pongsakornrungsilp, Sukhuman Klamsaengsai, Kanokkan Ketkaew, Sasawalai Tonsakunthaweeteam and Long Li
Sustainability 2025, 17(11), 4992; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17114992 - 29 May 2025
Viewed by 1179
Abstract
In the contemporary Chinese tourism market, Generation Z constitutes a key consumer segment whose environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) is crucial to achieving the sustainable development of destinations. Drawing on the self-regulation of attitude theory and the cognitive–affective–conative (CAC) framework, in this research, we [...] Read more.
In the contemporary Chinese tourism market, Generation Z constitutes a key consumer segment whose environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) is crucial to achieving the sustainable development of destinations. Drawing on the self-regulation of attitude theory and the cognitive–affective–conative (CAC) framework, in this research, we examined the influence of emotional factors on ERB among Generation Z tourists. In particular, we investigated the effect of creative tourism experiences (CTEs) on ERB, with tourist engagement (TE) and place attachment (PAT) serving as mediators. Data from 639 valid online questionnaires were analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that CTE and TE significantly impact ERB, while TE and PAT mediate the relationship between CTE and ERB. Moreover, self-efficacy (SE) positively moderates both the direct and indirect effects. Given the limited integration of the self-regulation of attitude theory and the CAC framework in ERB research, these results provide novel insights and valuable recommendations for the sustainable development of creative tourism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behaviour and Sustainable Decision-Making: Bridging the Gap Between Awareness and Action)
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17 pages, 1193 KiB  
Article
Method Review for Assessing Damage to Human Health in LCA: Implementation in the Production of Selected Food Products
by Matjaž Denac and Tinkara Ošlovnik
Sustainability 2025, 17(11), 4825; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17114825 - 23 May 2025
Viewed by 583
Abstract
Agriculture and food production can cause a variety of adverse environmental impacts. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the only standardised method so far that provides a comprehensive assessment of the environmental burden of products. LCA results can be expressed as environmental impacts (midpoint [...] Read more.
Agriculture and food production can cause a variety of adverse environmental impacts. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the only standardised method so far that provides a comprehensive assessment of the environmental burden of products. LCA results can be expressed as environmental impacts (midpoint level) or environmental damage (endpoint level). Communication on environmental impact is mostly carried out as a part of the Carbon Footprint (CF) or Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), while reporting on environmental damage is rarely used. Due to the growing interest of consumers in ‘healthy’ food, it is important that food producers address the environmental damage. Therefore, an overview of existing Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods that provide insight into endpoint indicators describing damage to human health has been performed and presented in this paper. The application of the selected LCIA methods is demonstrated for the case of food products, highlighting the fact that the results obtained by different LCIA methods are not directly comparable due to a variety of methodological limitations, such as the existence of different environmental indicators and their structure. Finally, the usage of the LCA method for designing food products is presented, with the aim of enabling consumers to choose diets with lower environment and human health impacts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behaviour and Sustainable Decision-Making: Bridging the Gap Between Awareness and Action)
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18 pages, 906 KiB  
Article
Influencing Path of Consumer Digital Hoarding Behavior on E-Commerce Platforms
by Zhikun Yue, Xungang Zheng, Shasha Zhang, Linling Zhong and Wang Zhang
Sustainability 2024, 16(23), 10341; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310341 - 26 Nov 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2009
Abstract
Although digital hoarding behavior does not directly affect physical space, with the popularization of cloud storage services, its impact on energy consumption has become increasingly significant, posing a challenge to environmental sustainability. This study focuses on the factors influencing consumer digital hoarding behavior [...] Read more.
Although digital hoarding behavior does not directly affect physical space, with the popularization of cloud storage services, its impact on energy consumption has become increasingly significant, posing a challenge to environmental sustainability. This study focuses on the factors influencing consumer digital hoarding behavior on e-commerce platforms, aiming to provide management decision-making references for e-commerce enterprises to deal with consumer digital hoarding phenomena and improve transaction effectiveness. Based on the Motivation–Opportunity–Ability (MOA) Theory and through the Adversarial Interpretive Structure Modeling Method (AISM), this study systematically identifies and analyzes the influencing factors. The findings reveal that emotional attachment, burnout, and fear of missing out are the main motivational factors directly affecting consumer digital hoarding behavior, with strong interconnections between these factors. Perceived usefulness and platform interaction design are significant opportunity factors, indirectly affecting digital hoarding behavior by improving user experience and satisfaction. E-commerce platform convenience, anticipated ownership, perceived economic value, emotional regulation ability, auxiliary shopping decision-making, perceived behavioral control, and information organization ability are the foundational and intermediate factors. The research results emphasize the importance of understanding consumer digital hoarding behavior in the context of sustainable development. This is not only conducive to optimizing the shopping cart function and data management strategy of e-commerce platforms and improving transaction conversion rates but also provides a reference for policymakers to formulate data management and privacy protection policies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behaviour and Sustainable Decision-Making: Bridging the Gap Between Awareness and Action)
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