Open this publication in new window or tab >>2025 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]
Amid escalating global sustainability challenges, tourism and hospitality (T&H) has emerged as an important arena for understanding and fostering pro-sustainable consumer behaviour. The hedonic priorities and complexity of decision-making in T&H often exacerbate the gap between stated attitudes and actual pro-sustainable behaviour, which contributes to issues like climate change. However, these contexts also offer opportunities to better understand and influence pro-sustainable behaviour through tailored interventions.
Behavioural interventions like nudges have shown promise in terms of guiding behaviour towards desirable outcomes by modifying decision-making environments based on behavioural economics. However, gaps remain with regard to understanding pro-sustainable behaviours across diverse T&H settings and developing effective interventions that T&H providers can implement to enhance informed consumer choices without compromising their experience.
This thesis addresses these gaps by using a mixed-method field experimental approach to study pro-sustainable behaviour in two distinct T&H contexts: donations for mountain-biking trails in Rörbäcksnäs, Dalarna (Sweden), and climate-friendly food choices in restaurants in the Swedish locations of Sälen, Dalarna, and Stockholm. Each setting involved two field experiments – testing social norms and carbon label interventions – which together constitute four independent papers. This field experimental approach not only provides insights into real-life behavioural processes but also incorporates providers’ perspectives on promoting pro-sustainable options, informing the design of context-relevant interventions.
The findings culminate in a framework that researchers, providers, and policymakers can use to design and test behavioural interventions that foster pro-sustainable consumer behaviour in T&H and other out-of-home consumption domains. Methodologically, this framework emphasises the importance of collaborative design and iterative adaptation of interventions based on field experiments, to effectively bridge theory and practice in T&H sustainability. Theoretically, the research offers new insights into pro-sustainable consumer behaviour, highlighting the significant influence of social norms and contextual factors across diverse T&H settings. Practically, the study stresses the need to align interventions with the context-specific goals of consumer segments, showcasing the value of tailored social norm interventions, carbon labels, and staff engagement in promoting pro-sustainable choices while preserving the overall consumer experience.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sundsvall: Mid Sweden University, 2025. p. 282
Series
Mid Sweden University doctoral thesis, ISSN 1652-893X ; 418
Keywords
sustainable behaviour, behavioural interventions, nudge, field experiments, restaurants, food-choice, mountain-biking, donations, social norms, carbon label
National Category
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-53698 (URN)978-91-89786-97-4 (ISBN)
Public defence
2025-03-07, F234, Kunskapens väg 8, Östersund, 09:30 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Projects
Boosting the sustainable food choice to reduce climate footprint at winter tourism destinationsInnovative business models for sustainable nature based tourism via Gamification and Nudge
Funder
The R&D Fund of the Swedish Tourism & Hospitality Industry (BFUF)Dalarna UniversityRegion Dalarna
Note
At the time of the doctoral defence the following paper was unpublished: paper 4 in manuscript.
Vid tidpunkten för disputationen var följande delarbete opublicerat: delarbete 4 manuskript.
2025-01-312025-01-302025-01-31Bibliographically approved