Towards the Circular Economy:

The Role of Culture in Enhancing Sustainable Consumption in Asia

Anh Nguyen-Thi-Phuong

, Nguyen To-The

1,2 b

Huong Nguyen-Thi-Lan

and Tuan Nguyen-Anh

1,* d

VNU University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University Hanoi, Vietnam

Timas, Thang Long University, Hanoi, Vietnam

Keywords: Sustainable Consumption, Circular Economy, Culture, TPB.

Abstract: Sustainable consumer behaviour is considered a pillar in the transition to a circular economy. Although

sustainable consumption is not a new concept, that in a circular economy has been documented to a humble

extent, and the research results remain diversified. This is due to observations in prior research having

different cultural and social backgrounds. Thus, investigating the role of culture is appropriate for gaining a

better insight into sustainable consumer behaviour towards a circular economy. By applying the Theory of

Planned Behaviour framework and the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) model,

this study verifies the role of cultural dimensions in shaping sustainable consumer behaviour towards a

circular economy. In particular, collectivism is the most influential cultural dimension. This paper

successfully enriches the literature on the role of culture in increasing the number of sustainable consumers,

especially in Asian countries. Therefore, it offers important implications for marketers and policymakers.

1 INTRODUCTION

Natural resources are crucial to the survival of the

human race; however, they are being exploited faster

than their regeneration capacity (Kirchherr et al.,

2017). Global governments soon realised this

situation and perceived that the circular economy was

the solution to harmonise human's desire of economic

growth and natural resource protection (Kirchherr et

al., 2017). This is because the circular economy aims

to close the loops of material within industrial

ecosystems by turning end-of-life products into input

resources for others (Stahel, 2016).

In the circular economy, consumer buying

behaviour plays a central role in ensuring the

circularity of resources and encouraging firms to

design circular production (Kirchherr et al., 2017).

Different consumerism concepts have been given to

describe consumer behaviour towards the circular

economy. Among those, sustainable consumption is

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Corresponding author

the most widely approached since its goals strongly

link to the principles of the circular economy as

maintaining the value of products and materials for as

long as possible (Kirchherr et al., 2017).

The notion of sustainable consumption has been

widely introduced in the past, nonetheless, its practice

remains humble since most consumers admit that they

have not formed sustainable purchase intentions

during their purchasing yet (Han et al., 2010).

Without intention, consumers’ motivation and their

effort towards sustainable consumption are fragile

(Ajzen, 1991). To improve the situation, investigating

the drivers shaping consumers' intention is vital so

that proper strategies can be given to raise consumers'

sustainable consumption intention, thereby

promoting the conversion into actual behaviour

(Yadav & Pathak, 2017). Among the factors that have

been investigated, culture is a complex but crucial one

enabling a better view of the distinction of consumers'

purchase behaviour (Lobo et al., 2017). Nevertheless,

Nguyen-Thi-Phuong, A., To-The, N., Nguyen-Thi-Lan, H. and Nguyen-Anh, T.

Towards the Circular Economy: The Role of Culture in Enhancing Sustainable Consumption in Asia.

DOI: 10.5220/0012008000003536

In Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Water, Ecology and Environment (ISWEE 2022), pages 261-267

ISBN: 978-989-758-639-2; ISSN: 2975-9439

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

261

because of its complexity, examining the role of

culture on sustainable consumption intention attracts

modest attention (Sreen et al., 2018). Thus, this paper

attempts to enrich the literature in this field and

examines whether and to what extent culture can

influence consumers' intention towards sustainable

consumption.

Human culture varies across countries and areas

within the country, but the primary classification is

often shown between the East and the West. On the

one hand, Asia people focus on the correlation

between all factors of the universe, including the local

culture, to make decisions; meanwhile, Western

culture prefers analytic thinking and tends to separate

factors independently when making the decision

(Kitayama & Salvador, 2017). It seems quite clear

that Asians with holistic thinking will be affected by

the cultural factor more than Westerners with analytic

thinking during the cognitive processes and

behavioural decisions. For that reason, this study

prioritised to observed citizens from Asia to examine

the influence of culture on sustainable consumption.

The cultural background of humans in this study

is measured through two fundamental dimensions,

namely man-nature orientation (MNO) and long-term

orientation (LTO). This can be explained because (i)

the nature of sustainable consumption is aligned with

MNO and LTO; and (ii) they are among the most

accepted values to measure an individual's culture

towards sustainability (Lobo et al., 2017; Sreen et al.,

2018). Next, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)

is applied to assess consumer's behavioural intention

because it has substantial power to predict human

behaviour and is frequently used to support

consumption experiments on psychology (Al-Swidi

et al., 2014; Yadav & Pathak, 2017).

After developing the cultural and behavioural

framework, the study collects primary data by

surveying 412 consumers and assessing data by the

Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling

(PLS-SEM) method. The findings successfully

affirmed the significant impacts of culture on the

sustainable consumption intention of consumers.

Thus, our paper contributes a broad context for

practitioners and policymakers to understand the role

of culture in motivating consumers' sustainable

intentions, thereby providing them with different

approaches to eliminate the obstacles on their path to

promoting sustainable consumption. Moreover, we

provide crucial evidence for marketers to formulate

suitable strategies applicable to markets for

sustainable products and services.

The remainder of this paper is organized as

follows. Section 2 reviews the relevant literature and

develops hypothesis, while Section 3 describes the

model specifications, data, and sample selection.

Section 4 discusses the main results and presents the

robustness tests, Section 5 provides some additional

analyses, and Section 6 concludes the paper.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND

HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

2.1 Theory of Planned Behavior

Since this study applied the Theory of Planned

Behaviour (TPB) from Ajzen (1991), there are three

constructs that are able to explain purchasing

intention, namely attitudes, social norms, and

perceived behavioral control (PBC). The following

part will utilize these primary factors of TPB to

examine consumers' intentions towards sustainable

consumption.

Attitude Towards Sustainable Consumption

Attitude can be defined as an individual's degree of

positive or negative evaluation of the performance of

a particular behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). It is often

formed by an individual's beliefs about the

consequences of engaging in a behaviour as well as

the consequences of that behaviour (Lobo et al.,

2017). A positive attitude can lead to a positive

intention of sustainable consumption, such as

purchasing eco-friendly products or green services

(Arli et al., 2018; Han et al., 2010). If customers

intend to engage in activity towards sustainable

consumption, they must have obtained a positive

attitude toward that activity (Arli et al., 2018)

Social Norms

Social norms are the societal pressures people believe

they are under to behave differently (Ajzen, 1991).

The perceived opinions of significant people who

have an impact on their decision-making, such as

family or friends, are referred to as social norms.

When an individual's sense of community is higher,

social norms are thought to have a more decisive

impact since the opinions of others will be more

important (Sreen et al., 2018). They may seek

encouragement from others, especially if they are

unsure about the repercussions of a specific behaviour

(Lobo et al., 2017). In numerous settings in

consumers' intention toward sustainable behaviour,

the importance of social norms as a predictor of

behavioural intention has been widely established

(Al-Swidi et al., 2014, Han et al., 2010)

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Perceived Behavioral Control

PBC is one’s self-evident about the resources (such

as time, expertise, and skillset) and opportunities

available, which is, to some extent, dictate the

likelihood of behavioural achievement (Ajzen, 1991).

In common parlance, PBC is often assessed by the

ease or difficulty of the behavior (Wallston, 2015).

Existing studies indicate that individuals who can

better manage resources when undertaking certain

behaviours are more likely to engage in those

behaviours (Han et al., 2010; Sreen et al., 2018). The

same applies to sustainable consumption if people

believe sustainable consumption is convenient or

reasonably priced, they are more likely to develop

their intention, leading to their inquiry into the

product.

2.2 Culture Measurement

Man-Nature Orientation

The concept of MNO was coined by Rokeach (1973)

and was further developed by Kluckhohn and

Strodtbeck (1961). It is defined as the ability of an

individual to live in harmony with nature because

they love nature and desire to protect nature

(Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, 1961). This cultural

dimension is reflected more in Asian people, contrary

to Western people, who are more characterized by

Anthropocene

(Steffen et al., 2011). Consumers

possessing a high degree of man-nature believe they

should have a positive attitude towards eco-friendly

products (Chekima et al., 2016). The significant

relationship between individuals’ man-nature and

purchase intention has been confirmed through both

direct and indirect effects through attitude (Sreen et

al., 2018). Based on the review literature, the

hypothesis is proposed as follows.

Hypothesis 1: MNO has a positive direct effect on

consumers’ sustainable consumption intention and

indirect effects on that via consumer’s attitude.

Long-Term Orientation

LTO individuals tend to foster virtues oriented

towards future rewards, in particular, perseverance

and thrift (Hofstede, 2001). This is a prominent facet

of measuring people’s culture, especially ones rooted

from Asian countries (Chekima et al., 2016). That

explains the reason why several studies researching

the role of culture on human behaviour in Asia

considered LTO in their studies (Lobo et al., 2017).

Previous research has shown that long-term

oriented consumers often have positive attitudes

In the Anthropocene concept, humans assume that they

dominate the planetary system (Steffen et al., 2011)

towards consumption behaviour, especially

sustainable consumption (Lobo et al., 2017; Sreen et

al., 2018). Sharma (2010) additionally noted that if

people are unsure about the future benefits, long-

term-oriented people will seek the advice of others

before making any buying decision. Accordingly,

social norms perform as a key characteristic in

determining sustainable consumption intention.

Recent articles have also revealed that LTO has a

significant relationship with their PBC (Lumpkin et

al., 2010). As a result, the hypothesis is formatted as

follows.

Hypothesis 2: LTO is indirectly and significantly

positive to sustainable consumption intention through

attitude, social norms, and PBC.

Based on the discussion about the influence of

cultural values on consumers, the following

hypothesis is formulated as figure 1.

Figure 1: Conceptual framework.

3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Data Collection

The data was collected in Vietnam, an emerging

Asian country with high MNO and LTO values

(Hofstede, 2021). Since Vietnam is vigorously

promoting sustainable consumption, Vietnamese

consumers are familiar with the concept, which can

facilitate the survey process (Lobo et al., 2017).

A questionnaire was developed to assess the target

variables and additional background variables. The

survey was distributed in various locations to increase

the number of respondents. The measure for

constructs used in the study was based on the five-

point Likert scale, which is validated by previous

literature available in the field of pro-environmental

behaviours, such as the work of Sharma (2010) and

Sreen et al. (2018).

Towards the Circular Economy: The Role of Culture in Enhancing Sustainable Consumption in Asia

263

We have collected 412 questionnaires from

Vietnamese consumers. Hair (2019) suggests that a

ratio as low as ten samples per variable would be

sufficient for normally distributed data when latent

variables have multiple indicators. Our study consists

of 33 items, so our sample of 412 meets the priori

condition. The demographic composition of the

respondents is mentioned in Table 1.

Table 1: Respondent profile.

3.2 Measurement Model

Since our paper assesses latent variables with many

constructs, indicator variables, and structural paths to

test theoretical extensions from assumptions, the

partial least squares structural equation modelling

(PLS-SEM) is the most suitable method to measure

the relationship between dependent variables and

independent variables (Hair, 2019). The suitability of

PLS-SEM for this study is also consolidated via its

capability of working efficiently with small sample

sizes. The data were analyzed using STATA16.

4 RESULTS

4.1 Data Analysis

Following the guidelines of Hair (2019), a multi-stage

process that involves the models' specifications has

been implemented. The first step is external model

evaluation, also known as the measurement models,

which are used to evaluate the relationships between

the indicator variables and their corresponding

construct.

The values of Cronbach's alpha which indicates

the reliability measure of items of each construct with

the acceptable value in the range of 0.72 to 0.90. All

of our Cronbach's alpha measures are qualified for the

range. Next, a preliminary test is done to remove

measures of each construct that cannot explain

enough variance in the construct. Two different tests

are conducted named the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin

(KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett's

Test of Sphericity. KMO is a test conducted to

examine the strength of the partial correlation

between the variables with the values of at least 0.5

for factor analysis to commence (Kaiser, 1975).

Meanwhile, Bartlett's test of Sphericity is used to test

the null hypothesis that the correlation matrix is an

identity matrix. A significant statistical test should be

less than 0.05, which shows that the correlation

matrix is not an identity matrix. All of our results are

qualified, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Bartlett test of sphericity and KMO measure of

sampling adequacy

To provide acceptable item reliability, factor

loading scores are calculated for each measure of

each construct. Measures with factor scores of less

than 0.5 are removed from the model because they

cannot indicate more than 50 per cent of the

indicator's variance (Hair, 2019). Each variable is

removed a few measures, the kept measures are

represented in Table 3.

Then, to ensure a representative set of all possible

items within a construct's conceptual domain, the

average variance extracted (AVE) test is

implemented to assess the validity of indicators

(Fornell, 1981). The AVE value is higher than 0.5 and

smaller than 0.95 are considered acceptable in

exploratory research (Hair, 2019). In our research, the

AVE of all measures is from 0.5 to 0.9, which is

qualified for the tests. Next, a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin

(KMO) test is used to determine the sampling

adequacy of suitable data to run the factor analysis.

The KMO statistic is a measure of 0 to 1, which the

closer to 1, the better. Our KMO is qualified with a

value of 0.939.

Once the outer model is established, several steps

need to be taken to evaluate the hypothesized

relationships within the inner model. Regarding inner

models, several indicators, including coefficient of

determination (R2), path coefficients, and collinearity

test, are taken to evaluate the relationships between

the indicator variables and their corresponding

construct. While the p-value range should be from 0

(no chance) to 1 (absolute certainty), the acceptable

R2 must be within 0,25 and 0.75. Our R2 value is

Chi-

= 8369.

Degrees of freedom = 561

H0: variables are not intercorrelated

KMO = 0.939

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264

0.36, which describes substantial levels of predictive

accuracy. Finally, we measure the collinearity of the

formative indicators by the variance inflation factor

(VIF). Our VIF values vary from 1.3 to 1.4, satisfying

the ideal range of VIF above 1 and lower to 3 (Hair,

2019).

Table 3: Measurement model - Standardized Loadings.

4.2 Hypotheses Testing

When all measurement model assessment is

satisfactory, we evaluate the structural results to test

the hypothesis. We focus on the coefficient of

determinants and the statistical significance. Table 4

outlines the hypothesis testing. All of our hypotheses

were found to have a significant impact on their

outcome. The regression path of attitude, social

norms, and PBC to sustainable consumption intention

and the path from MNO and LTO to TPB’s construct

is significant, indicating that the two cultural

dimensions have statically and indirectly significant

on consumers’ intention toward sustainable

consumption. Thus, the hypotheses H1 and H2 were

supported.

Table 4: Structural model - Standardized path coefficients.

Variable Attitude Norm Control Intention

Attitude

0.250***

Norm

0.151***

Control

0.267***

MNO

.386***

0.291***

LTO 0.240*** 0.427*** 0.490***

5 DISCUSSION

The study has successfully verified the influence of

individual culture (MNO, LTO) on the sustainable

consumption intention towards the circular economy.

This result is in line with the work of Samarasinghe

(2012), Lobo et al. (2017) and Sreen et al. (2018)

when investigating consumers’ cultural value in

Asian countries, e.g. China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka or

India. It seems that not only in Vietnam but also in the

context of other Asian nations, consumers who set a

higher MNO and LTO will demonstrate a greater

intention for sustainable consumption.

Specifically, regarding MNO, this value

significantly influences consumers’ green purchase

intention through both direct and indirect paths of

attitude. This result is in line with the works of Sreen

et al. (2018) and Chekima et al. (2016). It reminds the

educators, parents, and consumers themselves of the

importance of building individuals’ values towards

nature from an early time. In Asian countries, where

MNO emerges as a shared feature among people in

the society, the authorities should keep the

preservation of traditional values along with the

process of modernization so that their people can

have a better standard of living but not at the expense

of nature.

LTO also shows the indirect effects through all

TPB constructs with the highest effect on consumers'

attitudes. As a result, marketers should approach

consumers with advertisements emphasizing the

long-term benefits of green products for better

reactions from clients. Proper communication of

firms' sustainable values can partly increase the

perceived value of sustainable consumption and

enhance the trust among consumers (Segev et al.,

2022). Governments are advised to guarantee the

release of reliable advertisements, and punish

manufacturers who provide wrong information about

their products and services.

Our results also underpin the notable roles of the

TPB framework in measuring consumers’ sustainable

Variables Code

Reflective of

Attitude

Ref

Subject

norms

Reflective of

PBC

Reflective of

Intention

Reflective of

MNO

Reflective of

LTO

Attitude

at3 0.944

at4 0.931

Subject

norms

sn1

0.782

sn2

0.853

sn3

0.898

sn4

0.868

sn5

0.858

PBC

pbc3

0.846

pbc4

0.865

pbc5

0.826

Intention

intent1 0.770

intent2

0.878

intent4

0.880

intent5

0.898

MNO

man1

0.961

man2

0.960

LTO

lto1 0.734

lto2

0.813

lto3

0.784

lto4

0.817

lto5

0.802

Towards the Circular Economy: The Role of Culture in Enhancing Sustainable Consumption in Asia

265

behaviour intentions. All the elements (attitude,

social norms, and PBC) within the TPB framework

significantly influenced consumers’ intention

towards sustainable consumption.

6 CONCLUSIONS

Existing literature has called for research on the

influence of cultural values on green purchase

intention in diversified settings. This is because

consumers’ willingness to purchase green products

might vary based on cultural differences. This study

has documented the role of cultural values in

influencing consumers’ green purchase intention. A

total of 412 Vietnamese consumers participated in the

completion of questionnaires regarding their green

purchase behavior following TPB’s constructs and

cultural values with two dimensions, including LTO

and MNO.

The results reveal three essential findings. First,

cultural values significantly impact consumers' green

purchase intention. Second, TPB is an effective

framework for illustrating cultural values' direct and

indirect influence on consumers' green purchase

intention. Finally, the proposed cultural framework

shows the power of quantifying culture to explore its

influence on consumer psychology and behavior.

We acknowledge that the consumers' intention

may exist a particular gap with their actual behavior.

Therefore, future research may consider actual

behavior instead of behavioral intention and compare

consumer intention across countries.

Despite such limitations, this study contributes to

the fosterage of a more thorough understanding of

cultural dimensions that shape consumers' sustainable

consumption in particular Vietnam and Asian

countries in general. It will serve as a benchmark for

companies planning to target the Asian market and

strategically establish marketing methods and sales

policies to encourage consumer purchases to use eco-

friendly products and services intentionally. This

research can also act as a reference for future research

to replicate the model with additional elements or

share specific findings with countries in the region

with comparable cultural, geographical, and

economic characteristics.

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