To Örebro University

Policymakers are increasingly implementing transport policies to encourage sustainable transport behaviors. However, research on how these policies influence the adoption of sustainable transport remains limited, particularly from the individual consumer’s perspective. This study examines how consumers’ emotional acceptance of transport policies—specifically, the anticipated pride and guilt-relief associated with the policies shape their intention to adopt sustainable transport. Using the case of Sweden’s environmental transport policy aimed at achieving fossil fuel independence by 2030, we surveyed 342 adults and analyzed the data using structural equation modeling. Our findings reveal that emotional acceptance of the policy significantly increases the likelihood of adopting sustainable trans-port (i.e. willingness to adopt an alternative fuel vehicle). Policy-related emotions enhance individuals’ perceptions of the policy’s effectiveness and foster greater support, which in turn promotes the adoption of sustainable transport options. These insights offer valuable guidance for policymakers: by complementing structural measures (such as subsidies and infrastructure investments) with communication strategies that evoke positive emotional responses, it is possible to strengthen public support for environmental transport policies and accelerate the uptake of sustainable transport.

Purpose: This research intends to show the role of communicating information about environmental issues in quantitative, i.e. numeric, versus qualitative, i.e., textual, format in enhancing individuals’ support for environmental public policies.

Design: We used four experimental studies to test the hypotheses.

Findings: The results of our studies show that when receiving quantitative information, the support for environmental policies increases due to a higher evaluation of environmental issues' importance. We rule out alternative explanations for this effect and propose a boundary condition. Our findings show that quantitative information significantly motivates individuals with low, but not the ones with high, consideration of future consequences to show higher support for environmental policies. This paper has important theoretical and practical implications for social marketing and environmental policy promotion.

Originality: We are the first to show that environmental information format, impacts environmental policy support by providing a mechanism (perceived importance of environmental issues), and a boundary condition (consideration of future consequences).

Despite regulatory efforts and market availability, the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the road freight sector is limited. This paper investigates the influence of managers' policy mix perceptions on the uptake of ZEVs in Sweden. Based on a survey of transport operation managers, we analyse the interaction between their perceptions of how technology-neutral the prevailing policy mix is, the anticipated regret of premature technology adoption, the rate of technology change and their mutual influence on the decision to delay ZEV adoption. The study's findings reveal a positive correlation between managers' perceptions of technology neutrality and adoption delay. We further explain the mechanism in this relationship by confirming that anticipated regret mediates the positive correlation between perceived technology neutrality and the ZEV adoption delay decision: The more technology-neutral the policy mix is perceived, the more anticipating regret over adopting ZEVs is expressed by the managers, which, in turn, increases the likelihood to delay ZEV adoption. Moreover, managers' perceptions of the rate of technological change affect their anticipated regret. The work contributes to the transition literature by unveiling how a specific policy mix perception, namely technology neutrality, could delay the adoption of ZEVs and calls for a nuanced re-evaluation of the current policy mix to facilitate a faster transition towards net-zero goals. It also underscores the importance of paying closer attention to how individual actor-internal factors (such as perceptions and emotions) of individual decision-makers in organisations may influence transition processes.

Purpose – This literature review aims to synthesise the research on various sustainable product branding activities and their impact on consumer responses to sustainable products and brands.

Design/methodology/approach – This literature review is semi-systematic and can be classified as a domain-based review. The search strategy was systematic and well-defined.

Findings – The authors identified four themes: building brand equity, brand communication, product development and third-party labels and ratings, within the sustainable product branding activities that influence consumers’responses to sustainable products and brands. The study’s findings revealed diverse, and not always favourable, types of behavioural and attitudinal responses from consumers. As for the positive consumer responses, the authors found positive attitudes towards brands, willingness to pay a premium price and positive word-of-mouth intentions. As for the negative consumer responses, the authors found perceived greenwashing, negative brand evaluations and resistance to sustainable products with unfamiliar third-party labels. Several future research propositions and implications for research and practice are discussed.

Originality/value –Despite the large number of studies that look at sustainable branding strategies, there is a gap in terms of synthesising the knowledge on consumer responses to sustainable product branding strategies. This paper intends to fill this gap.

This paper investigates the potential tensions that may arise between technology-neutral innovation policy and the advancement of sustainability-related objectives, specifically in the context of road freight transport. Despite the availability of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and regulatory actions, widespread adoption of ZEVs among transport operators has been slow. To shed light on potential reasons for this, the paper examines the relationship between perceived technology neutrality of existing policies, contestations over future technological pathways, and anticipated regret on innovation adoption intentions of transport operators with a survey. The findings suggest that technology-neutral policies may contribute to increased uncertainties over future technology pathways and anticipated regret over adoption decisions which may make transport operators hesitant to invest in already available ZEVs. The paper contributes, therefore, to innovation policy development by high-lighting the need to reconsider the principle of technological neutrality and calls for caution when implementing such policies, as it underscores the importance of considering sector-specific challenges and uncertainties when designing effective sustainability-oriented innovation policies.

Prior research conceptually assumes that sponsorships might have a stronger impact on brand attitude than do celebrity endorsements primarily due to the more indirect and less commercial intent to persuade. However, empirical evidence is lacking on why and under what conditions this assumed effect of sponsorships actually occurs. This paper empirically analyses potential mediating and moderating drivers of the effect of sponsorships compared with that of celebrity endorsements. The results reveal that higher level of perceived brand authenticity mediates the effect of sponsorships versus celebrity endorsement on brand attitude. Furthermore, the effect of sponsorships on brand authenticity is superior when (a) relative corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending in the industry is low and (b) the corporate reputation of the firm is good.

Investing in multimedia-guides is discussed as a strategic decision for visitor attractions. Previous research shows that multimedia-guide usage increases customer interaction and satisfaction. However, current literature lacks empirical evidence on whether in nostalgia evoking visitor attractions, multimedia-guide usage increases satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth or not. Moderating effect of multimedia-guide usage on the nostalgia and willingness to share positive word-of-mouth association was analysed using a field-experiment in a German Wax museum (N = 241). A moderated moderation included perceived visitor attraction content age as a three-way-interaction. Results show that the positive impact of perceived nostalgia on willingness to share positive word-of-mouth is weaker for multimedia-guide users. The older visitors perceive visitor attraction’s content, the weaker is the negative moderating effect of multimedia-guide usage on the nostalgia to positive word-of-mouth association. Our results indicate that nostalgic visitor attractions might need to rethink multimedia-guide usage.

Public policymakers have made substantial efforts to promote individuals’ pro-environmental behavior. However, knowledge is sparse on why people support these initiatives and, most importantly, why and how these efforts shape consumers’ direct or activist pro-environmental behavior. Therefore, the present study examines how consumers’ emotions towards the outcomes of an environmental policy affect both indirect or non-activist (ie support for policy) and direct or activist pro-environmental behavior (ie purchase intention for fossil fuel free cars). The findings of an empirical study among Swedish consumers show that feelings of pride and guilt-relief associated with the outcome of an environmental policy positively influence activist and non-activist pro-environmental behavior through perceptions of policy effectiveness. The findings help academics to understand consumers’ pro-environmental behavior from a policy perspective and yield insights for policymakers and practitioners.

Within the tourism industry is customer satisfaction creation crucial for companies’ success. As visitor attractions are operating in the highly relevant and competitive tourism industry, satisfaction generation for their visitors is a key to success and a competitive advantage. To positively affect visitor satisfaction (VS), existing research mostly suggest increasing visit durations (VD) (i.e., a positive effect of VD on VS). However, contrary findings also appeared; thus, it remains unclear why and under which conditions the positive effect occurs and is leveraged or weakened. This study empirically analyses moderating and mediating effects on the VD-VS association using a visitor survey. Visitors' previous experience with other related visitor attractions, importance of recommendations by others to the visitation decision, and visitors' personal life satisfaction were included as moderating variables, value for money was added as the mediating variable. Results indicate that the VD–VS association is strengthened, with higher levels of visitors' previous experience with other related visitor attractions, with decreasing levels of importance of recommendations by others to the visitation decision, and with decreasing levels of visitors' personal life satisfaction. Moreover, value for money mediates the effect of visit duration on visitor satisfaction. As such, this study provides practical insights into a more visitor segment-specific utilization of VD for managing VS more efficiently and contributes to the visitor attraction literature by investigating variables influencing the VD–VS relationship.

Understanding public responses to environmental policies can help in achieving a move towards more renewable energy. Focusing on two types of public responses to a policy, namely public acceptance and public support, this study utilizes a survey of car owners (N = 1422) to explore public responses to an environmental transport policy in Sweden. The results demonstrate higher levels of public acceptance than support for the policy and that adopters of Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) are more prone to accept and support the policy by expressing higher intentions for continuous AFV adoption. Results of regression analyses show that policy acceptance can be explained by environmental beliefs and previous experience with AFVs. In addition, public support is also explained by public acceptance, even when controlling for other factors, which lends support to the deduction that policy acceptance can be theorized as antecedent to policy support. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding different types of public responses to an energy policy in order to recognize drivers for, and barriers against, successfully implementing a policy and communicating it with the public.