Classifying environmental publics: a public segmentation framework to predict climate change-related information seeking and activism

Purpose This study aims to propose a theoretical framework for public segmentation to identify various publics and conceptualize an activist public concerned with environmental issues, focusing specifically on the issue of climate change. Design/methodology/approach By incorporating the summation method of public segmentation from strategic communication research and levels of anger, this study identifies four types of environmental publics, using a survey with 585 people in the United States of America. Findings This study identifies four distinct environmental publics in relation to the climate change issue: (1) activist public (high activeness/high anger), (2) active-calm public (high activeness/low anger), (3) inactive-angry public (low activeness/high anger) and (4) unconcerned public (low activeness/low anger). This study explores the relationships between four environmental publics and their information seeking on climate change and engagement in environmental activism, both online and offline. Originality/value The study provides a segmentation framework for conceptualizing environmental publics and examines the relationships between environmental publics and their information seeking and activism behaviors. It contributes to existing segmentation literature by providing a new framework that can be used in segmenting publics. Also, the findings help practitioners strategically manage communication with different publics.