Sustainability in action

: unraveling the drivers behind purchase intent for circular products

Abstract

The circular economy, an innovative approach towards the pivotal and ever-growing discourse on sustainability. The circular economy presents itself as a concept applicable at the many levels of our society through businesses, governmental policies, and individual daily practices. The circular economy embodies a transformative economic approach. Despite its acknowledged benefits, mainly at the social and environmental level, in relation to the conventional economic models, the circular economy seems to be experiencing a degree of stagnation in its widespread adoption worldwide. This thesis seeks to explore factors that influence individuals in their intention of purchasing goods derived from the circular economy. The latter is done through an empirical study conducted on the general public through an online experiment. The selection of variables has been thoughtfully considered, drawing from their widespread use in sustainability discourse. The dissertation utilizes an extended version of the well-known Theory of Planned Behavior, including a total of five variables. Attitude, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioral Control, Environmental Awareness and Green Brand Awareness are the variables that have been chosen for this study. The findings of the study indicate a strong correlation between attitude and environmental awareness with the purchase intention of circular goods. Moreover, the study reveals that subjective norm and green brand awareness exert a medium sized effect on purchase intention. Perceived behavioral control emerges as a variable with no significant impact on the decision to purchase circular products. These findings contribute towards building a stronger foundation in the yet underdeveloped literature on customer consumption within the circular economy.

Date of Award	26 Jan 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Marta Bicho (Supervisor)