Environmentally Friendly Consumer: From Determinism to Emergence

Satu Reijonen

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Several attempts have been made by academics in the past to explain the so-called ‘environmentally conscious’ consumer. These explanations share an important feature, namely determinism. This paper identifies three different sources of determinism that are distinguished in recent literature on the green consumer: cultural determinism, psycho-socio-demographic determinism and calculative determinism. An explanation of the green consumer in these terms, however, loses sight of the emergence and processuality of consumer behaviour. Process oriented constructionism, by contrast, is useful to recover these important aspects. This paper suggests a research agenda focused on socio-material processes and situated actions that lead to the emergence and stabilization of a particular type of consumer behaviour.
Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Consumer Studies
Volume35
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)403-409
ISSN1470-6423
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2011

Keywords

  • Consumer Research
  • Sustainable Consumption
  • Process Orientation
  • Green Consumer
  • Environmental Friendliness

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