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Contagious consumption : how workplaces promote their employees’ organic food consumption : the case of preschools in Lund

Brand, Lasse LU (2015) In Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science MESM01 20151
LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
Abstract
Given unsustainable food consumption patterns and current policies’ ineffectiveness to change them, new approaches are needed to promote sustainable food practices. In this thesis, I focus on the workplace as a leverage point for change. By studying the case of preschools in Lund with a mixed-methods approach that combines statistical and contextual analysis, I abductively develop a model of how the workplace influences its employees’ organic food purchases. My results indicate that preschools influence their employees through two mechanisms – social comparison and deliberation. These mechanisms are conditioned by the level of exposure to the topic at work, supportiveness of the social context, and economic situation. I conclude that... (More)
Given unsustainable food consumption patterns and current policies’ ineffectiveness to change them, new approaches are needed to promote sustainable food practices. In this thesis, I focus on the workplace as a leverage point for change. By studying the case of preschools in Lund with a mixed-methods approach that combines statistical and contextual analysis, I abductively develop a model of how the workplace influences its employees’ organic food purchases. My results indicate that preschools influence their employees through two mechanisms – social comparison and deliberation. These mechanisms are conditioned by the level of exposure to the topic at work, supportiveness of the social context, and economic situation. I conclude that social interaction at the workplace is an important driver for increased organic food consumption, and that sustainable consumption policies need to better include the relational dimension of behaviour to overcome the existing gap between science and society. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Brand, Lasse LU
supervisor
organization
course
MESM01 20151
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
behaviour change, spillover, diffusion, workplace, sustainability science, organic food, sustainable consumption and production (SCP)
publication/series
Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science
report number
2015:007
language
English
id
5465901
date added to LUP
2015-06-05 17:55:11
date last changed
2015-06-05 17:55:11
@misc{5465901,
  abstract     = {{Given unsustainable food consumption patterns and current policies’ ineffectiveness to change them, new approaches are needed to promote sustainable food practices. In this thesis, I focus on the workplace as a leverage point for change. By studying the case of preschools in Lund with a mixed-methods approach that combines statistical and contextual analysis, I abductively develop a model of how the workplace influences its employees’ organic food purchases. My results indicate that preschools influence their employees through two mechanisms – social comparison and deliberation. These mechanisms are conditioned by the level of exposure to the topic at work, supportiveness of the social context, and economic situation. I conclude that social interaction at the workplace is an important driver for increased organic food consumption, and that sustainable consumption policies need to better include the relational dimension of behaviour to overcome the existing gap between science and society.}},
  author       = {{Brand, Lasse}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science}},
  title        = {{Contagious consumption : how workplaces promote their employees’ organic food consumption : the case of preschools in Lund}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}