Umeå universitets logga

In an era when sustainability is of great importance it is necessary to seek ways to make peopleact more sustainably when it comes to consumption. From this the concept of proenvironmental behavior has arisen as movements that benefit the planet but also refraining frombehavior that cause harm to it. To be able to change consumption behavior and adopt proenvironmental behavior, one possible solution is to influence consumers to act more sustainablyduring the decision-making process through nudging techniques. We focus on the personal careindustry that has not gotten the same attention as the fashion industry when it comes tosustainability despite being large and influential in Sweden.

For that reason, this study aims to investigate how different personality traits affect thereceptiveness of Swedish consumers to green digital nudges when making an online purchase,more particular when purchasing a facial cream and lip balm. To bridge the identified researchgaps, the following research question has been formulated:

What are the effects of personality traits on the receptiveness to sustainability–focused nudgingtechniques within the personal care sector in Sweden?

Following a literature review, we applied quantitative quasi-experimental research design andcollected data through an online survey that specifically focused on the relationship betweenpersonality traits, nudging and the feelings towards nudging. The survey was distributedthrough a non-probability sampling method, namely, a convenience sample via social media. It resulted in 160 answers which also represents the study´s sample size.

The main findings of the study revealed that people who possess higher level of GreenValuesare significantly more receptive to digital sustainability-focused nudging techniques, whereasthose who are Skeptical are less receptive to nudges. Respondents who possess an openpersonality trait were receptive to the nudged lip balm but not the facial cream. The feelingstowards nudging showed that, in general, the respondents felt contemplative, attentive, andskeptical, which can be said that people do not know that nudging exists and by participatingin this study we opened up more knowledge about that. When it comes to the specific traits,GreenValues are associated with being attentive, excited, and annoyed. Skeptical withhappiness and Openness with being skeptical, attentive, happy, critical, and offended. Additionally, the personality traits GreenValues and Openness, but not Skepticism, have astatistically significant effect on finding the eco-labels and nudged product description helpfulin making the product choice.