Toward a personology of green consumers: an application of personal projects

Abstract

With the aim of enriching the personology of green consumption, this paper draws from a social constructionist view of identity to propose the construct of personal projects as an adequate analytical unit for the study of green identity to explain the adoption of sustainable lifestyles. Using the personal project analysis methodology in a study with 103 adults and 510 personal projects, the current paper examines the thematic structure of personal projects that are more strongly associated with the adoption of sustainable consumption (SC); in addition, this study tests the mediating role of personal projects in the relationship between self-transcendence values and SC and the moderation of project manageability in the relationship between personal projects and SC. The results show that the formulation of sustainable personal projects is significantly associated with the adoption of SC and that personal projects mediate the relationship between self-transcendence values and SC. The results also suggest the moderating role of stressfulness. The paper shows the potential of personal projects as an analytical construct with which to study green consumers' identity.