| dc.description.abstract | Current linear human consumption patterns are not sustainable and a shift to more circular consumption is needed. This shift also entails increasing secondhand consumption. This current study investigates the values underlying secondhand consumption. Earlier studies have shown contrasting effects. On the one hand, Value-Belief-Norm theory has shown that altruistic and biospheric values lead to more pro-environmental behavior whereas egoistic and hedonistic values lead to less pro-environmental behavior. On the other hand, literature on secondhand consumption has demonstrated that financial, hedonism, and ethical motivations lead to more engagement. In this study, it will be tested whether, besides altruistic and egoistic values, especially biospheric and hedonistic values lead to more SHC since they most closely match the motivations for SHC. Moreover, as lower socioeconomic positions have long been associated with secondhand consumption, the role of an individual’s socioeconomic position will also be studied, hypothesizing that the relationships between values and SHC are likely stronger for individuals with a high socioeconomic position since low SEP individuals want to distance themselves from the stigma around SHC which likely leads to less SHC. A quantitative study was done with the use of data from the LISS Panel in the Netherlands. While not all hypotheses were fully supported by the data, the results did show that the relationship between altruistic values and secondhand consumption is stronger for high socioeconomic position individuals. This study contributes to the field of pro-environmental behavior studies by showing that, in line with Value-Belief-Norm Theory, self-transcending values lead to more secondhand consumption and self-enhancing values lead to less secondhand consumption. However, the strength of these relationships is not exactly the same for those in low socioeconomic positions and those in high socioeconomic positions. | |
