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: 26 May 2025
Special Issue Editor
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
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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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