Intergenerational transmission of sustainable consumption practices: Dyadic dynamics of green receptivity, subjective knowledge, peer conformity, and intra-family communication

Lissillour, Raphael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6952-0774, Essiz, Oguzhan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8976-7800, Boninsegni, Melanie Florence ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7807-7348 and Song, Zhiping (2025) Intergenerational transmission of sustainable consumption practices: Dyadic dynamics of green receptivity, subjective knowledge, peer conformity, and intra-family communication. Journal of Environmental Management, 378. 124754. ISSN 0301-4797

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Abstract

The urgent need to tackle climate change and encourage responsible consumption patterns within the framework of environmental management and sustainable development has amplified the significance of understanding how sustainable consumption practices are passed down through generations. The purpose of this research is to expand the understanding of the intergenerational transmission of sustainable consumption. Drawing upon consumer socialization theory and taking a reverse socialization perspective, our research explores how sustainable consumer attitudes and behaviors are transmitted across generations, particularly within mother-daughter dyads in a collectivistic culture: China. Four factors—intra-family communication effectiveness, receptivity to green marketing communication, green subjective knowledge, and peer conformity—are examined as potential influencers of the intergenerational transmission process, using the co-orientational model and the nominal dyad method. After quantifying dyadic raw agreement scores and accounting for nominal effects, the current findings reveal the presence of intergenerational similarity in sustainable consumer attitudes and behaviors and demonstrate that higher green receptivity, subjective knowledge, and intra-family communication between mothers and daughters enhances intergenerational agreement, while stronger peer conformity on daughters diminishes intergenerational transmission. Further, a significant reverse environmental transmission effect from daughters to mothers was documented, underscoring the role of younger generations in promoting sustainable practices within families. Overall, this research sheds light on the relational dynamics of sustainability practices in families. It also highlights the importance of intergenerational impacts in promoting sustainable consumption within dyadic relationships, providing invaluable guidance for marketing and environmental managers seeking to leverage these dynamics.