永續消費行為研究－臺灣、德國之比較

Abstract

noneThis master thesis examines the relationship of cultural factors and sustainable consumption behavior in the context of a comparison between Germany and Taiwan. The climate crisis is calling for a systemic and structural paradigm shift, which requires a deeper understanding of how sustainable consumption behavior can be fostered and accelerated. At the same time, current consumption and production patterns are constantly growing, and the impacts on the natural environment and on all living-beings are devastating. In terms of globalization, comparing two culturally different countries can deliver new insights on how cultural aspects impact sustainable consumption behavior. The research conceptualized the Theory of Interpersonal Behavior by Triandis (1971) and integrated collectivism, long-term orientation and man-nature orientation as cultural factors into the framework. The research focused on consumption fields of food, clothing and home. A quantitative research method was applied to collect and analyze the data. The results show that collectivism and long-term orientation do affect sustainable consumption behavior positively. However, other factors have a stronger effect on sustainable consumption. Nevertheless, this thesis argues that cultural factors play an important role within the multidimensional construct of consumption behavior. Though, thy might be minor for of sustainable consumption behavior. Moreover, the results indicate that Taiwanese and German participants’ results differ in terms of social factors, sustainability knowledge, perceived policy economic and economic conditions, habit and attitudes. However, they do not suggest any significant differences across collectivism, long-term orientations and affection.