Workplace waste recycling behaviour: a meta-analytical review.

In order to increase waste recycling, many studies have been conducted to understand factors that may influence waste recycling behaviour. However, these studies have focused on household contexts rather than other waste generation contexts. As a result, this paper seeks to provide a detailed analysis of previous studies on workplace waste recycling behaviour. Drawing from different databases, 51 relevant studies on workplace waste recycling attitudes and behaviour were meta-analysed. Findings showed that the highest percentage of the existing studies were conducted in the USA, focused on a single waste stream, were often conducted within academic contexts, adopted (or modified) an existing theoretical framework and were based on questionnaires which elicited self-reported behaviour. Some of the factors identified include demographics, situational variables, past behaviour, incentives, prompts and/or information, attitudes and identity. The findings highlighted the scale of challenges confronting waste management practitioners in understanding the factors that may affect waste recycling behaviour due to the complexity and heterogeneity of human behaviours. However, the results from the reviewed studies in this research suggest that a combination of different factors may be required to influence workplace waste recycling behaviour. This may provide effective incentives to develop a framework that may assist waste management stakeholders when addressing workplace waste management

Beyond the psychology of self and individual's pro-environmental behaviours: exploring how technology innovations can help organisations achieve and promote sustainability.

Purpose: This study proposes a new agenda for research and practice on pro-environmental behaviours in organisational settings by exploring the intersection between technology innovations and pro-environmental initiatives. The goal is to demonstrate the utility of digital technology in promoting and achieving sustainability by addressing the complexity and inconsistency in pro-environmental behaviours. Design/methodology/approach: Using relevant literature on pro-environmental behaviours, this study explores the possibility of embedding technology innovations in pro-environmental initiatives to promote and enhance sustainability in organisational settings. Findings: This study argues that the recent technological advancement and open innovation provide new insights into understanding and implementing pro-environmental initiatives in organisational settings. While pro-environmental behaviours studies have advanced over the past decades, this study shows that many pro-environmental activities do not require employees to change behaviour. According to this study, psychology and technology innovations offer various opportunities for businesses to effectively and pragmatically embed sustainability into their operations without necessarily changing employees' behaviour. Research limitations/implications: This conceptual study offers opportunities to empirically explore the collaborative nexus between "psychology-based pro-environmental behaviour research and technology innovation". Despite the plethora of studies on pro-environmental behaviours, results are mixed and inconclusive, raising questions about the dominant practice used for promoting pro-environmental initiatives and behaviours at the corporate level. This study, therefore, provides a new pathway for businesses to address their environmental aspects, demonstrating a pragmatic approach to resolving the complexity of pro-environmental behaviours. Originality/value: This study allows social investigators, policymakers, and technology developers to re-assess, revive and further investigate how they can collaborate to address practical environmental and social issues

Exploring learning for on-campus students transitioning to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: perceptions of students in the higher education.

Due to the emergence of COVID-19, the education sector has embraced online learning as the main delivery method to engage and impact knowledge and skills acquisition of their students. However, learning is not just about knowledge and skills acquisition but is an activity contributing to change and enrichment of the learner. This paper draws upon the results of a qualitative interview conducted amongst postgraduate students enrolled in an AMBA-accredited and top business school in the UK. The results revealed that students’ experience of the sudden transition to online learning is shaped by four distinct but interrelated areas: benefits of online learning, challenges of online learning, success factors in online learning and support in online learning. These findings will help higher education institutions and online learning tutors concentrate more on areas important to student learning when migrating from face-to-face to online modes of teaching

Understanding waste recycling behaviour in the UK: home-work consistency.

Despite the increasing attention being paid to waste recycling, there is a dearth of both empirical evidence on recycling at work and examination of any spillover effects of recycling behaviour from home to work. Situated at the confluence of three social science debates (the study of recycling set within the waste management literature; the examination of spillover in the social psychology literature, and the work on pro-environmental behaviour at work in the organisational behaviour literature), this research seeks to understand recycling at work and the relationship between recycling behaviour at home and recycling at work using a sequential mixed methods approach. Due to the complexity of human behaviours including the heterogeneity of the factors underpinning recycling, this research adopts a sequential mixed methods approach with its pragmatic philosophical assumptions to examine recycling at work. Initially, semi-structured interviews with 15 key informants from different organisations including environmental/waste organisations in the UK were conducted. The findings from the interviews were used along with the evidence from the literature to develop the conceptual model and the research hypotheses. The quantitative data were collected, using a web-based questionnaire survey, from 367 respondents representing 43 different organisations across the UK. The collected quantitative data were analysed using SPSS for windows and IBM AMOS for path and causal analyses. Based on the findings, this research demonstrates that contextual factors such as organisational support are better determinants of recycling at work than personality/psychological factors such as attitudes that have dominated empirical and theoretical studies on pro-environmental behaviours for decades. Also, the findings of this research suggest that the concept of spillover of recycling from home to work is complex and inconsistent. Whilst there is a tendency for spillover of recycling behaviour, there is a significant difference between recycling at home and at work with regards to the volume of materials, the range of materials, and frequency of recycling. Nonetheless, the PROCESS macro allows the identification of various conditions that are likely to facilitate spillover of recycling from home to work. As a result, factors that are likely to determine recycling at work including the possible spillover of recycling from home to work are classified into personal/psychological and situational factors. These findings contribute to the existing bodies of knowledge on recycling behaviour, spillover effects, and organisational citizenship behaviour for the environment (OCBE). Also, the findings could assist businesses in finding proactive measures to increase recycling within their organisations. This would consequently reduce the total amount of resources being disposed of in the UK landfill sites

Access over ownership: case studies of libraries of things.

Over the last decade there has been increasing interest in the concept of the sharing economy, which replaces the focus on individual ownership with a focus on access to goods and services through borrowing, hiring or sharing. This study investigates the efficacy of extending the library concept to include more items, such as those that are used infrequently. The aim is to explore how Libraries of Things (LoTs) operate and the potential to broaden their appeal, reach and sustainability. This study adopts a multiple case study method to provide a snapshot of six LoTs in the UK. Findings indicate that all LoTs shared common environmental and social values, with the most prevalent values being to use the library concept to reduce resource use and waste and to enable more equitable access to goods. All relied on volunteers and public support, in the form of free or discounted space and none were yet economically self-sufficient. This poses important questions about the future for LoTs and whether they could or even should, transition towards the mainstream to make a more substantive contribution to creating a more socially equitable and environmentally sustainable economy

Innovations in teaching and learning: exploring the perceptions of the education sector on the 4th industrial revolution (4IR).

Business operations are undergoing drastic changes due to the disruptive effects of technology innovations; however, there is insuffcient knowledge regarding the acceptability and consequences of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) in the education sector. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study explores the readiness of the education sector for 4IR. We adopted face-to-face semi-structured interviews to explore the views of 33 key stakeholders in the education sector, to understand the readiness and acceptability of 4IR in the sector. Findings show that the education sector, especially in Africa, is unprepared for 4IR, although there are indications for opportunities to harness the potential of the much-anticipated 4IR. Moreover, our study demonstrates a mutual symbiotic relationship between the education sector and technology innovations. The findings show that 4IR can facilitate students’ learning experience and transforms the workplace, although there is a need to assess the learning environment, to understand the facilitators and barriers to 4IR diffusion. The findings indicate the opportunity for the education sector to harness the innovations associated with 4IR through research and teaching to enhance learners’ experience; however, this may require a significant improvement in education curricula, as well as investments. The findings contribute to the theory and practice of technology in education and the limited literature on 4IR in the education sector, particularly in Africa

Ethical consumers: an exploratory investigation of the ethical food consumption behaviour of young adults in the North East of Scotland.

This study aims to explore the motivation as well as barriers for ethical food consumption behaviour by focussing on the food consumption pattern of young adults in the North East of Scotland. Considering the recent involvement of young adults in environmental activism, consumption behaviour of young adults in the North East of Scotland, an oil-based community, presents essential research interest to understand whether young adults often contemplate the consequences of their lifestyle. Design/methodology/approach:- The authors explored the perceptions of ten purposive recruited young adults using semi-structured interviews to understand factors underpinning consumer's decision-making towards ethical food products. Findings:- The study reveals three key factors influencing ethical food consumption behaviour among young adults. The findings show that personal health and well-being are the main reasons why consumers engage in ethical food consumption. Also, it is observed that information facilitates decision-making by raising awareness regarding the social, environmental and health consequences of food production and consumption. Further, the findings show that situational attributes, such as product price and product availability, are creating dissonance when engaging in ethical food consumption. Originality/value:- This study contributes to sustainability research and the ongoing debate on consumerism by exploring ethical food consumption behaviour and highlights the need to address situational challenges, such as product price and availability. The study suggests that interventions to address current consumption patterns should also emphasise the social and personal benefits of food consumption rather than the environmental benefits that have been the focus of prior research

The importance of specific recycling information in designing a waste management scheme.

Recycling information can be complex and often confusing which may subsequently reduce the participations in any waste recycling schemes. As a result, this research explored the roles as well as the importance of a holistic approach in designing recycling information using 15 expert-based (in-depth) interviews. The rationale was to offer a better understanding of what constitutes waste, recycling, and how recycling information should be designed and presented to make recycling more attractive/convenient. Based on the research participants' perceptions with supports from the existing studies, this research sub-categorised recycling information into three different themes, termed the 'WWW' (what, when, and where) of recycling information components. As a result, these components (or attributes) were extensively described (using findings of semi-structured interviews) to elicit pragmatic guidance for practitioners, policy-makers, and other stakeholders in designing structured communication or information strategies that may simplify and subsequently increase waste recycling practices. The policy implications of holistic information in enhancing recycling are further discussed

Designing effective waste management practices in developing economies: the case of Suriname.

Local authorities are responsible for the exponential increase of waste, estimated to be about 9 billion tonnes annually. However, developing economies face enormous waste management challenges compared to developed economies, suggesting the lack of effective waste management approaches in most developing economies, including the small island developing states (SIDS). This study explores waste management practices and behavior in Suriname in support of the government's ongoing efforts in developing a framework to integrate sustainable development goals into its national policies and strategies. The current research adopts a two-stage data collection method involving observation and semi-structured interviews. 15 key informants were purposively recruited and interviewed using the semi-structured interview method to understand the current perceptions and behavior towards waste production and management in Suriname. The results show that Suriname lacks a structured and formal waste management system like many other developing countries. Open dumping and uncontrolled incineration are the dominant waste treatment methods in the country. The semi-structured interviews show that many factors, such as the lack of government commitment, ineffective policies and regulations, lack of investment and infrastructure, and citizens' social-economic status, contribute to Suriname's current unsustainable waste management practices. Although the country faces many challenges, people, especially in villages, have positive attitudes towards the environment, enhancing their engagement in managing waste if the right schemes and facilities are installed. The study argued that the government should improve their participation and commitment to waste management, especially through installing, implementing and enforcing effective waste management policies and strategies. The study further demonstrates the need for collaborations between the government and other institutions, especially NGOs and private firms, to improve waste management investment and efforts. Using the ontology perspective, key findings are synthesized to highlight the practical and theoretical implications of the study. Limitations and future research are discussed

Household behaviour and sustainability: from inactive to involved, and what lies in-between.

In this working paper we present the initial findings from a 2013 postal survey into green and ethical household behaviour. 457 usable questionnaires were returned from 3000 householders in a large northern city in the UK, giving a response rate of 15%. Respondents provided details about their levels of participation in green and ethical activities, their attitudes towards such behaviour, recent purchase decisions in different product categories, and information use and dissemination. Questions were derived from an earlier piece of qualitative research in which we carried out in-depth interviews with self-identified green consumers and a previous quantitative questionnaire. Our latest findings provide evidence to support varying levels of involvement in green and ethical activities, with differences in participation, attitudes, and information seeking. These differences are discussed and marketing implications identified