Disclosing antecedents of consumers' materialistic and green values conflict: an exploratory study

PurposeIt is known that a conflict exists between consumers’ materialistic and green values. Previous research has focused on values conflict consequences. Antecedents of consumers’ materialistic and green values conflict remain understudied. This study aims to explore the antecedents of consumers’...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Management of environmental quality 2024-06, Vol.35 (5), p.1078-1095
Main Authors: Markauskaitė, Rita, Rūtelionė, Aušra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive dissonance
Consumer behavior
Consumers
Consumption
Content analysis
Decision making
Emotions
Materialism
Qualitative research
Research design
Sustainability
Sustainable consumption
Sustainable use
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Summary:PurposeIt is known that a conflict exists between consumers’ materialistic and green values. Previous research has focused on values conflict consequences. Antecedents of consumers’ materialistic and green values conflict remain understudied. This study aims to explore the antecedents of consumers’ materialistic and green values conflict.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory type research design was applied. Overall 22 interviews were conducted with consumers that had materialistic and green values conflict. The transcripts of the interviews were analyzed using content analysis with Maxqda software.FindingsThe findings demonstrate consumers' negative attitudes towards consumption, understood as consumerism. Results indicate that value conflict is related to unpleasant emotions such as guilt, anxiety, helplessness and remorse. Guilt is the most prominent emotion associated with the conflict of values. The study identifies dissonant information, environmental knowledge, social norms, impulsive buying and mindfulness as antecedents of materialistic and green values conflict.Originality/valueThe novelty of the study is the antecedents of the materialistic and green values conflict. This study makes a valuable contribution to the academic discourse on sustainable consumption, consumer materialism and green values by providing a deeper understanding of the values conflict experienced by consumers who hold materialistic and green values. The main significance of this study is that it provides valuable insights from qualitative research into the antecedents of the conflict between consumers' materialistic and green values.
ISSN:1477-7835
1758-6119
DOI:10.1108/MEQ-08-2023-0275