An Exploration of the Role of Refined Value Importance in Consumers’ Sustainable Disposal Behaviors

Abstract

Research shows that consumers’ personal values influence their pro-environmental behaviors. However, studies of values and proenvironmental behavior have not examined how refined values relate to a range of sustainable disposal behaviors. In the current study, we examine associations between consumers’ refined value priorities and their behavior in four sustainable product disposal domains (recycling, donating, composting, and membership of giving/sharing groups) in a large and diverse sample of Australian adults. We show clear evidence of systematic relations between refined values and behaviors in each of these domains. While we show that motivationally aligned refined self-transcendence values are positively and self-enhancement values negatively associated with recycling, donating, and composting, we find the reverse relations for membership of giving/sharing groups. Our findings suggest that the study of consumers’ refined values across a range of behaviors can offer a more nuanced understanding of what motivates them to engage in sustainable product disposal behaviors, with the potential to inform the development of more targeted policies and initiatives encouraging consumer participation.

Keywords

• personal values
• product disposal behavior
• recycling
• composting
• donating
• sustainable consumer behavior