Intuition or Rationality? A Revised Knowledge‐Attitude‐Behaviour Framework in Sustainable Consumer Behaviour

ABSTRACT The paper provides a revised knowledge–attitude–behaviour (KAB) framework to explain sustainable consumption. Drawing on the dual‐process perspective, the study investigates how intuitive and rational cues shape the translation of objective product knowledge into sustainable attitudes and consumption. The empirical analysis is based on (i) a controlled experiment conducted in a virtual supermarket, where 181 Generation Z consumers make wine purchase decisions under different settings, and (ii) a post‐experiment questionnaire. The results show that intuitive cues drive immediate purchases independent of attitude change, whereas rational interventions weaken attitude–behaviour alignment. Meanwhile, product knowledge moderates the effectiveness of both approaches, contingent on consumers' product baseline understanding. These findings clarify how external sustainability stimuli and product knowledge jointly shape the attitude–behaviour relationship in sustainable consumption.

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Publication Details

Journal
Business Strategy and the Environment
Published
2026-08-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.71380
Primary Topic
Environmental Sustainability in Business
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Intuition or Rationality? A Revised Knowledge‐Attitude‐Behaviour Framework in Sustainable Consumer Behaviour

Lorenzo Zanni, Elena Casprini, Valerio Natale, Alberto Massacci
Business Strategy and the Environment
Environmental Sustainability in Business
article

Intuition or Rationality? A Revised Knowledge‐Attitude‐Behaviour Framework in Sustainable Consumer Behaviour

Lorenzo Zanni, Elena Casprini, Valerio Natale, Alberto Massacci
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The paper provides a revised knowledge–attitude–behaviour (KAB) framework to explain sustainable consumption. Drawing on the dual‐process perspective, the study investigates how intuitive and rational cues shape the translation of objective product knowledge into sustainable attitudes and consumption. The empirical analysis is based on (i) a controlled experiment conducted in a virtual supermarket, where 181 Generation Z consumers make wine purchase decisions under different settings, and (ii) a post‐experiment questionnaire. The results show that intuitive cues drive immediate purchases independent of attitude change, whereas rational interventions weaken attitude–behaviour alignment. Meanwhile, product knowledge moderates the effectiveness of both approaches, contingent on consumers' product baseline understanding. These findings clarify how external sustainability stimuli and product knowledge jointly shape the attitude–behaviour relationship in sustainable consumption.

Business Strategy and the Environment
University of Siena (IT)
Responsible consumption and production
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Environmental Sustainability in Business
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