Sustainable consumption communication: A review of an emerging field of research

JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION

卷:300

Review

Fischer, Daniel^1,2,9  Reinermann, Julia-Lena^3,4,9  Mandujano, Georgina Guillen^5,9  DesRoches, C. Tyler^2,6  Diddi, Sonali^7,9  Vergragt, Philip J.^8,9 

[1] Wageningen Univ & Res, Strateg Commun Chair Grp, Wageningen, Netherlands

[2] Arizona State Univ, Sch Sustainabil, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA

[3] Inst Adv Study Human, Essen, Germany

[4] Fernuniv, Hagen, Germany

[5] Tampere Univ, Fac Informat Technol & Commun Sci, Gamificat Grp, Tampere, Finland

[6] Arizona State Univ, Sch Hist Philosoph & Religious Studies, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA

[7] Colorado State Univ, Dept Design & Merchandising, Ft Collins, CO 80523 USA

[8] Clark Univ, George Perkins Marsh Inst, Worcester, MA 01610 USA

[9] Working Grp Commun, Future Earth Knowledge Action Network Syst Sustai, Worcester, MA USA

关键词: Sustainable consumption;    Communication;    Marketing;    SDG12;    Consumer communication;    Consumer behavior;    Narrative synthesis;    Systematic literature review;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126880

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Communication plays an important role in promoting sustainable consumption. Yet how the academic literature conceptualizes and relates communication and sustainable consumption remains poorly understood, despite growing research on communication in the context of sustainable consumption. This article presents the first comprehensive review of sustainable consumption communication (SCC) research as a young and evolving field of scholarly work. Through a systematic review and narrative synthesis of N = 67 peer-reviewed journal articles, we consolidated the research conducted in this field into four distinct types: communication as an approach to (1) behavior change, (2) self-empowerment, (3) systems change, and (4) reflection on current discourses and practices around sustainable consumption. Our findings reveal that most journal articles focus on incremental changes in individual consumer behavior (weak sustainable consumption) and employ communication as an intervention tool with little reference to communication science and theory. They also reveal integration challenges arising from the disciplinary diversity and fragmentation characteristic of the research field. Future research should develop shared frameworks and terminology, diversify its foci, synthesize relevant evidence, and innovate critical perspectives that go beyond one-way business-to-consumer communication. The results of our review can serve researchers engaged in sustainable consumption communication to better systematize their efforts and contribute more effectively to changing systems of consumption in the future. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

【 授权许可】

Free