Our world is currently witnessing an unprecedented devastation of its environment, economy and society caused by humankind’s actions. Despite current efforts to bring about positive change through sustainability, there is still plenty of space to encourage the adoption of sustainable behaviours. Such encouragement could be provided by digital influencers, who have been shown to impact people’s decisions, attitudes and behaviours, specially those of women and younger generations. However, for an influencer to successfully impact their followers, they must be perceived as a credible source who is trustworthy, an expert and attractive. Thus, the present thesis aims to investigate the role of influencers and their credibility in the adoption of sustainable practices by female members of Generation Z. A qualitative methodology was adopted and three focus groups with a total of sixteen female participants from Generation Z were conducted to explore how influencers impact their sustainable behavioural intentions and how they can further encourage their adoption. Findings show that participants place great importance on influencer’s trustworthiness and expertise and that these two characteristics can impact their intentions of adopting sustainable practices suggested or adopted by influencers themselves. Results further suggest that there still are plenty of opportunities for influencers to encourage young people to become more sustainable. Participants considered that influencers should be responsible for diffusing information about sustainability due to their vast power and reach. However, they believe that influencers are currently not doing enough to promote sustainability.
Date of Award | 20 Oct 2022 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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Supervisor | Jorge Julião (Supervisor) & Marcelo Gaspar (Co-Supervisor) |
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- Digital influencers
- Social media
- Source credibility
- Sustainability
- Sustainable behaviours
- Behavioural intentions
- Generation Z
The role of digital influencers in the adoption of sustainable practices
Oliveira, C. G. (Student). 20 Oct 2022
Student thesis: Master's Thesis