In this thesis we examine the prevailing dilemma concerning fast fashion and an increased attitude-behaviour gap. Many previous studies have explored the subject of fast fashion and also tried to solve the problem with the attitude-behaviour gap. We want to take this a step further by investigating what influence fast fashion may have on consumers' perception of value. By exploring this we hope to gain further knowledge concerning the attitude-behavior gap.Our focus is on young female consumers, since previous studies show the likelihood of the gap between intent and action being the largest in this consumer group. To a certain extent it can be explained by their frequent purchase of fast fashion, but also the fact that younger consumers are more influenced by fashion press and celebrity culture. This study is foremost based on qualitative research and is completed with the use of two focus groups, as well as a more quantitative research in the form of a content analysis of the Swedish fashion magazine, Sofis Mode. The study has a deductive approach.The theoretical perspectives consist of theories concerning value; value in relation to price and the concept of value. We also present a redefined model of perceived value. The results show evidence of increased focus and exposure of low priced fashion and that the low perceived monetary price has a significant impact of consumers‟ perceived value of clothing. The focus on selling low price instead of value inclines that clothes have lost its intrinsic value, as a result making clothes easily replaceable. Our study further shows a smaller attitude-behaviour gap among consumers with a high knowledge of textiles and textile production. / Program: Master in Fashion Management with specialisation in Fashion Marketing and Retailing

Modebranschen är i ständig förändring. Den härda konkurrens som idag existerar i industrin sätter press på̊ företag, samtidigt är den moderna kunden ombytlig. Därmed blir relationen mellan kund och företag allt viktigare utifrån ett marknadsföringsperspektiv. För att skapa en relation mellan kund och företag väljer många företag därför att etablera kundklubbar. Kundklubbar kan även ses som ett effektivt sätt att påverka sina kunders köpbeteende och verka som attiydförändrare. Etiska och sociala avseenden blir allt viktigare för konsumenten, något som bekräftas i studien. Kunders köpbeteende kan förklaras med att det finns ett gap mellan attityd och agerande i en köpsituation, ett så kallat attitude-behaviour gap. Flera dimensioner finns i förklaringen till detta gap. Störst fokus ligger på̊ konsumentens bristande kunskap om hållbarhet vilket studien visar. Följande studie har undersökt värdet av kundklubbar ur både företagets och kundens perspektiv i en fast-fashion kontext. Genom intervjuer, fokusgrupp samt en enkät kunde frågeställningen besvaras och bekräftas. Utbildning av personal och Event Driven Marketing (EDM) i form av riktad marknadsföring är centrala lösningar som genomsyrar studiens resultat, vilket kan minska gapet. Genom utbildning kan företag effektivisera kommunikationen till kunden. Studien visar att en fortsatt implementering av EDM i kundklubben skapar ett ökat förtroende och lojalitet från kund till företag. Studien visar även att en kundklubb kan vara en effektiv marknadsföringskanal och fungera som ett verktyg för attitydförändring. En kundklubb utgör ett värde som nödvändigtvis inte behöver resultera i ett lojalitetsskapande men verka som attitydförändrare.

Introduktion: Utbrottet av Covid-19 pandemin har lett till förändrade vanor och beteenden. Det framhålls att konsumenter blir alltmer miljömedvetna samtidigt som hushållen är den sektor där mest matsvinn uppstår. Författarna har via redan existerande forskning funnit att uppkomsten av matsvinn har förändrats i hushållen som påföljd av Covid-19 pandemin i andra länder. Forskning på huruvida det har påverkat uppkomsten av matsvinn i Sverige existerar inte i dagsläget.  Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur en disruptiv händelse som en global pandemi påverkar den upplevda förändringen i uppkomsten matsvinn hos svenska konsumenter. Vidare syftar studien till att identifiera och analysera konsumenters förändring i inköp av livsmedel till följd av Covid-19 pandemin. Studien ämnar att undersöka konsumenters miljömedvetenhet och om det finns några attityd-beteendegap för matsvinn och hållbara livsmedel.  Metod: Denna fallstudie av induktiv karaktär har en kvalitativ forskningsdesign. Den empiriska datainsamlingen består av 13 stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer med svenska konsumenter.  Slutsats: Studiens datainsamling visar att det föreligger förändringar i konsumenters inköp av livsmedel innan och under covid-19 pandemin. Faktorer till uppkomsten av matsvinn har visat liten skillnad innan och under Covid-19 pandemin. Fortsättningsvis visar resultatet att konsumenter inte agerar i enlighet med sina attityder om hållbara livsmedel. Samtliga konsumenter anser att matsvinn är ett miljöproblem men det finns diskrepanser mellan deras attityder och beteenden. / Introduction: Food waste is a complex problem which affects the environment, the economy and social factors. The outbreak of the Covid-19 virus has led to dramatic changes in habits and behaviours. It is accentuated that consumers are more and more environmentally aware but at the same time the consumer household is the sector where most of all food waste emerges. The following study has, through already existing research conducted in other countries, found that the occurrence of food waste has been altered. Research about the changes in food waste emergence caused by the Corona pandemic in Sweden does not exist by the time of this investigation.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how a disruptive event such as a global pandemic affects the perceived alteration of food waste emergence produced by Swedish consumers. Furthermore, this study aims to identify and analyze the altered buying process of daily goods caused by the Corona pandemic. The paper also intends to study the environmental awareness of the consumers and if there exists any attitude behaviour gaps in food waste and sustainable food products.  Method: This case-study is of an inductive character and has a quantitative research nature. The empirical data collection consists of thirteen semi-structured interviews with Swedish consumers.  Conclusion: From the data collection of the study, it is found that there exist changes in the consumers’ food buying behaviours before and during the pandemic. Causes for the perceived emergence of food waste have shown small changes before and during Covid-19. Further, the result shows the consumers do not behave in accordance with their attitudes towards sustainable products. Every consumer considers food waste to be an environmental problem however there exists discrepancies between their attitudes and behaviours.

Introduction: Recent trends have shown a steady growth regarding environmental concerns along with the pro-environmental attitudes among the consumers, yet a contradicting behaviour is observed in the purchase of environmentally friendly products, giving birth to the phenomena of attitude-behaviour gap. A fair amount of researchers have studied this attitude-behaviour gap over the recent years, investigating this very inconsistency in order to present a solution. This specific study is based on the findings of Davari & Strutton in relation to this attitudebehavior gap, where the researchers presented a simplified model of their study as an effort in overcoming this inconsistency. This specific study is based on the simplified model, where the research unearths the effect of green marketing mix elements on four dimensions of consumerbased brand equity with Swedish Generation Y and clothing fashion industry in perspective. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explain the impact of green marketing mix elements (product, price, place and promotion) on dimensions of consumer-based brand equity (brand loyalty, brand association, brand trust and perceived brand quality). Methodology: The research is based on quantitative approach designed in respect with the explanatory purpose. A closed-end online questionnaire was designed as the data collection method, resulting in 127 responses. The results were based on the multiple regression analysis, while the validity was tested against pearson's correlation method and reliability was tested through cronbach’s alpha. Conclusion: The study did not measure significant results, where green product stands out as the only element on the green marketing-mix having a positive relationship on one consumerbased brand equity dimension in this case, brand loyalty. Whereas the other elements were concluded as having no significance. Even t

Bakgrund: I Sverige har intresset för att investera i hållbara fonder ökat rejält de senaste åren och med detta följer också en stor ökning i utbudet av hållbara fonder. Känt sedan tidigare är också att det råder en definitionsproblematik på ämnet som adderar komplexitet till marknaden, detta då hållbarhet i sig är svårdefinierat. Indikationer visar att det kan råda en skillnad mellan andelen människor som är intresserade av att investera hållbart och de som faktiskt gör det. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att slå fast huruvida det råder ett attitude-behaviour gap på marknaden för hållbara fonder. Vidare ämnar uppsatsen att uppskatta storleken på fondförmögenheten som finns i svenska hållbara fonder, detta för att få en bättre bild av marknaden och dess omfång. Till sist vill uppsatsförfattarna på villkoret att det råder ett attitude-behaviour gap undersöka de faktorer som kan tänkas föranleda det. Genomförande: För att kunna genomföra studien och besvara dess frågeställningar har två kvantitativa samt en kvalitativ metod använts. De kvantitativa delarna har genomförts med dels en enkät för att slå fast huruvida det finns ett attitude-behaviour gap samt databaser med fonddata där syftet har varit att slå fast mängden kapital som finns allokerat till svenska hållbara fonder. Den kvalitativa delen har genomförts med hjälp av semistrukturerade-intervjuer med främst privatpersoner men också en expert på området. Slutsats: Studien har slagit fast att det råder ett attitude-behaviour gap på svenska marknaden för hållbara fonder. Vidare har slutsatsen dragits att det ej går att fastslå mängden kapital placerat i svenska hållbara fonder, detta med motiveringen att definitionsproblematiken och brist på vedertagna tredjepartsmärkningar gör det alltför osäkert. Slutligen har studien kommit fram till en rad olika faktorer som ligger till grund för attitude-behaviour gapet, bland dessa framträder oro kring avkastning, definitionsproblematik, kunskap och information som de mest avgörande. / Background: The interest in sustainable mutual funds and the supply of them has rapidly grown in Sweden during the last years. It is previously known that there is a problem with the definition of what a sustainable mutual fund is, which adds a layer of complexity to the market. Indications shows that there might be a discrepancy between the number of people that are interested in sustainable mutual funds and those who buys them. Purpose: The aim with this study is to determine whether an attitude-behaviour gap exists on the market for sustainable mutual funds. Furthermore, the study intends to estimate the amount of capital invested in the Swedish market for sustainable funds, that is to broader the perspective of the market and its size. Finally, if there is an existing attitude- behaviour gap, the authors want to examine the factors behind the gap. Completion: To be able to carry out the study, both quantitative and qualitative methods have been used. The quantitative parts were made with both a survey to determine whether there is an attitude-behaviour gap and data collection concerning the amount of capital allocated to Swedish sustainable mutual funds. The qualitative part has been carried out with the help of semi-structured interviews with mainly private savers but also an expert in the field. Conclusion: The study has established that there is an attitude-behaviour gap in the Swedish market for sustainable funds. Furthermore, the conclusion has been drawn that it is not possible to determine the amount of capital invested in Swedish sustainable mutual funds, the reason being that the definition problem and the lack of accepted third- party labels make it too uncertain. Finally, the study has come up with several different factors that form the underlying reasons of the attitude behaviour gap, concerns about yield, definition problems, knowledge and information as the most crucial.

How companies in the apparel industry produce their products is receiving increasingly more attention, both in the society and marketplace, as well as by consumers. Despite the increasing amount of corporate scandals and corporate irresponsibility within the apparel industry, the previous research conducted within this field has mainly focused on how positive CSR affects consumers. This thesis aims to investigate how Swedish consumers’ attitude and behaviour are affected by negative CSR in the apparel industry. In order to fulfil the purpose of this thesis, a mix of quantitative and qualitative research was used to conduct an abductive study. The data was gathered through a survey posted on social media and by performing semi-structured interviews with participants consisting of Swedish consumers. The authors of this thesis have identified that Swedish consumer’s attitude is affected by negative CSR performed by apparel companies. However, the change in consumer attitude did not necessarily transfer into a change in behaviour, which generates an attitude-behaviour gap. The key barriers identified contributing to this gap are Swedish consumers’ lack of knowledge, and that they generally value personal needs and wants such as price, quality, and style greater than social responsibility.

Within western societies the act of consumption is not merely concerned with satisfying basic human needs. Rather, consumption has become a source of leisure and self expression for the masses (Belk, 1988). This has meant that humankind’s wants have tended to outstrip the world’s finite resources available, leading to environmental damage, questionable farming practice and the widespread abuse of human labour. In response to these issues the phenomena of ethical consumption was born. Ethical consumption attempts to limit the environmental, human and animal costs of our spending via the favouring of products that are deemed to be for the betterment of wider society. At face value ethical consumption has been hugely successful in terms of market share, with sales of products stressing their ethical credentials having grown rapidly in recent years (Cooperative Bank 2011). However, despite this success, ethically branded products still represent a minority of purchases (Thøgersen, 2006). Psychological research exploring the reasons why consumers purchase ethically is dominated by papers focusing upon consumers’ attitudes, values and intentions (Andorfer & Liebe, 2012, Milfont & Duckitt, 2004). However, consumers’ attitudes do not always mirror actual spending (Auger, Burke, Devinney & Louviere., 2003; Auger & Devinney, 2007). Whilst one third of consumers describe themselves as being ethical spenders, only 1-3% of products purchased are Fair Trade certified (Cowe & Williams, 2000). The divergence between attitude and behaviour has been referred to as the ‘ethical purchasing gap’ (Andorfer & Liebe, 2012, Clayton & Brook, 2005). One factor that may be partially responsible for the divergence between purchase intention and actual behaviours is self-regulatory fatigue (ego depletion). Chapter one of the thesis presents the argument for ethical spending being affected by, amongst other things, our ability to suppress our impulsive desires via a process known as self-regulation (Bagozzi, 1992; Baumeister, 2002; Baumeister & Vohs, 2007). According to the self-regulatory fatigue literature, self-control requires the expenditure of blood glucose (Gailliot, 2008, Inzlicht & Gutsell, 2007). However, the available level of blood glucose temporarily diminishes with continued use of the self-regulatory system. In response to the lower availability of blood glucose, individuals begin to limit all non-essential cognitive expenditure, including further acts of self-regulation. Individuals who have exhausted their capacity for self control are said to be ego depleted or in a state of self-regulatory fatigue (Baumeister & Heatherton, 1996; Hofmann. Friese & Strack, 2009; Muraven & Baumeister, 2000) Chapter one argues that self-regulatory fatigue may restrict an individual’s capacity to consider the social and long-term impacts of their spending to resist the temptation of cheap consumer goods. As a result, it is predicted that ethical spending may be negatively affected by self-regulation fatigue. Following this theoretical foundation, Chapter two presents the methodological rationale for the research project that set out to test various aspects of this foundational hypothesis. Chapter three presents the findings of the first empirical study. The purpose of the study was to use open-ended questionnaires to explore the principles that guided participants’ spending, as well gaining an insight into instances where there was a discrepancy between spending and principle. The study is included within the thesis primarily to show the genesis of the research agenda. The study indicated that consumers within the sample were primarily concerned with traditional forms of ethical consumption, namely environmental, human and animal welfare concerns. Participants justified non-principled purchasing as being a result of financial consideration or impulsive urge. It was thus decided to explore the possibility that self-regulation fatigue may have a potentially negative impact upon ethical spending, due to its known relationship with impulsive spending (Vohs & Faber, 2007). Chapter four explores the effects of self-regulation fatigue upon socially-minded economic behaviour within the controlled setting of a social dilemma game. Ethical consumption can be considered to be a prime example of a ‘social dilemma’ in the sense that decisions relating to whether or not to consume ethically involve a direct conflict between an individual’s short term interests (e.g. to save money) and the collective interests of wider society (Gattig & Hendrickx, 2007; Milfont & Gouveiac, 2006). Therefore it was decided to measure the effects of self-regulatory fatigue within an experimental social dilemma task. The task used was based upon the forest game, which was first outlined by Sheldon and McGregor (2000), with the white bear thought suppression task (Wegner, Schneider, Carter, & White, 1987) being utilised to manipulate self-regulatory fatigue. The results revealed a clear divergence in behaviour within the game as a function of the manipulation of self-regulatory fatigue, with non-depleted groups sustaining the central resource longer than their depleted counterparts. Chapter five builds on the findings of chapter four through an exploration of the relationship between ego depletion and participants’ willingness to pay for ethical goods. The study utilised a discrete choice measure in order to measure participant’s willingness to pay for ethical goods. The findings did not show a significant effect of self-regulatory fatigue on the willingness to pay for ethical goods. However a potential explanation for this result was the fact that the decision-making processes involved in this study were less arduous than those required within a real-life shopping environment (or, for that matter, than the decisions required in the forest game reported in chapter four). It is possible that the complexity of the choice presented may have been insufficient for the decision to be negatively affected by self-regulatory fatigue. The study is thus included in order to illustrate the importance of utilising more realistic measures of spending that incorporate more of the complexity of decision-making required in real-world contexts. Chapter six presents four separate experiments exploring the relationship between self-regulatory fatigue and ethical spending. The first study utilised an online supermarket simulation and asked participants to go shopping for one week’s worth of groceries after either completing, or not completing, the white bear thought suppression task. The simulated supermarket allowed participants to select from a range of over 1900 products. The pattern of results indicated that participants in a state of self-regulatory fatigue spent significantly less on ethically branded products than their non-depleted counterparts. However, this was only true for individuals with a high food budget. Those with a low budget were not significantly affected, presumably due to having relatively little flexibility in terms of product choice and/or having established shopping habits focusing upon value. The second study in chapter six explored the ways in which social appeals interact with self-regulatory fatigue. Participants were presented with an attention control task before reading either an article praising students for their ethical behaviours or a control article. Participants were then asked to “go shopping” within the online store. Results once again indicated that self-regulatory fatigue reduced spending on ethically branded goods. However, contrary to predictions, the social appeal had no significant effect on levels of ethical spending either as a main effect or in interaction with self-regulatory fatigue.

Sustainability, and especially sustainable consumption, has become more important throughout the years in line with the challenges of climate change. A large majority of Swedish consumers have a positive attitude towards sustainable consumption. However, their actions do not speak louder than words. Many have the intention of buying sustainable products, but fewer actually buy sustainable products causing an attitude behaviour gap. This study aims to investigate the relation between green marketing and consumer decision making. Diving deeper into the grocery sector as well as the clothing sector the study examines the differences regarding the matter of green marketing and consumer decision-making.  With a theoretical starting point in the Theory of Planned Behaviour as well as green marketing, this quantitative study shows that green marketing has an effect on a consumer’s perceived behavioural control which in turn has an effect on the intention. However, the study also states that there is a gap between the intention of buying sustainable products, influenced by attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control, and the actual behaviour to buy sustainably. The study finds a moderately strong correlation between perceived behavioural control and green marketing. Further on, the study also notices a difference between the two sectors, where consumers are reached as well as affected by green marketing to a higher extent within the grocery sector than in the clothing sector.

Planned Obsolescence is a threat to sustainability and is a practice that has increased in recent years. Manufacturers and companies are often blamed, but recent research has shown that consumers play a significant role and thus hold considerable responsibility for Planned Obsolescence practices. This thesis explores the effect that Planned Obsolescence in smartphones has on sustainable consumers who reside in Sweden. Focus groups and individual interviews were carried out with sixteen participants who were identified as sustainable consumers. The results were diverse and related to different situational, social, and psychological aspects classified into four categories: social elements, implied premature upgrading, psychological elements, and misalignment in sustainable values and behaviour. The study concludes that Planned Obsolescence in smartphones creates a social barrier that does not allow sustainable consumers to maintain their sustainable consuming habits within this sector and provokes negative feelings within them, which interlink with social circumstances. Moreover, this phenomenon affects consumers by implying that they constantly should replace their devices even though they are rather satisfied with their current ones. Finally, Planned Obsolescence in smartphones broadens the gap between consumers’ sustainable values and behaviours, and this inconsistency seems to be more significant for smartphones than in other sectors.

Ständig förändring är strakt förknippat med modeindustrin, då nya trender och stilar tenderar att förändras kontinuerligt. I västvärlden konsumerar människor betydligt mer modeprodukter än vad naturens resurser tillåter. Modekonsumenterna fick dock en insyn av textilbranschens negativa miljöpåverkan år 2017. Det skrevs då en ny lag som föreskriver att modeföretag måste informera sina modekonsumenter om bärkassarnas, speciellt plastbärkassens, negativa påverkan. I samband med att lagen stiftades, skapades organisationen One Bag Habit som fick modekonsumenterna att tänka en extra gång innan de konsumerar bärkassar i modebutikerna. På grund av bland annat One Bag Habit avstår modekonsumenter numera att konsumera bärkassar på grund av miljöaspekter, dock fortsätter de att konsumera mängder av modeprodukter utan att blicka. Modekonsumenter har sedan år 2017 blivit medvetna om de problem som bärkassen medför och väljer då att avstå dessa, men när det kommer till modeprodukter finns troligtvis en medvetenhet om problemet där också men konsumtionen fortsätter ändå. Detta har lett till att denna uppsats belyser hur denna kontrast bildas mellan att konsumera modeprodukter och att avstå från bärkassen på grund av miljöskäl. Denna studie undersöker detta gap genom att fokusera på hur modekonsumenter förhåller sig till konsumtion av bärkassar i förhållande till modeprodukter. Resultatet ger en förståelse för varför det blir en kontrast mellan konsumtion av bärkassar och modeprodukter. Därav kommer resultatet resultera i en djupare förståelse kring varför ett attityd-beteende gap skapas och en stadig grund för vidare forskning. För att förstå och tolka det empiriska materialet modifierades en modell av attityd-beteende gapet. Utöver det kommer behovsidentifikation att ligga till grund för den teoretiska referensramen. En kvalitativ intervju, tre fokusgruppsintervjuer och en observation utgör det empiriska materialet. Urvalet bestod av studenter från tre olika högskolor i Sverige (Textilhögskolan i Borås, Göteborgs Universitet och Mälardalens högskola i Västerås). Slutsatserna av studien är att modeföretagen måste börja informera modekonsumenterna varför och hur de kan agera hållbart, istället för att informera att de ska agera hållbart. Utöver det måste de hållbara modeprodukterna vara prismässigt jämförbart med inte hållbara modeprodukter, för att modekonsumenterna ska agera hållbar. Slutligen krävs det att de hållbara modeprodukterna har tillräckligt attraktiv design för att modekonsumenterna ska investera i hållbara modeprodukter. / Constant change is closely associated with the fashion industry, as new trends and styles tent to change continuously. In the Western world, people consume considerably more fashion products than what the natural resources allow. The fashion consumers, however, gained an insight into the fashion industry´s negative environmental impact in 2017. A new law was founded to alert the fashion consumers of the negative effect of the shopping bags, especially made with plastic. In association with the new law, an organization, naming One Bag Habit was created. This led the fashion consumers to think extra before deciding to consume a shopping bag when they made a purchase of fashion item. Due to One Bag habit, fashion consumers now avoid from consuming shopping bags because of environmental aspects. The reluctance to consuming a shopping bag in addition to the fashion purchase has decreased yet impacts on the actual fashion consumption have not changed. Previous research has identified an attitude-behaviour gap between how fashion consumers value sustainable products and their actual behaviour in accordance with these values. This has led to this paper highlighting how this contrast is formed between consuming fashion products and refraining from the shopping bags because of environmental reasons. This study has a textile management approach, which means that the study is primarily aimed at companies in order to help them understand how fashion consumers value and act in different purchasing situations. This study will examine how fashion consumers consume shopping bags in relation to fashion products. The findings will contribute to creating an understanding of the created contrast between sustainable consumption regarding shopping bags and non-sustainable one regarding fashion consumption itself. Moreover, the findings will contribute to a deeper understanding of why the attitude-behaviour gap has created such a contrast among the fashion consumer. In order to understand and interpret the empirical material of this study, a theoretical model of attitude-behaviour gap was created. In addition, an understanding of how needs are created among consumers will be contributing to the formation of the theoretical framework. Furthermore, data was collected through qualitative interviews, three focus groups, and an observation. The data sample frame consisted of students from three different universities in Sweden (the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås, University of Gothenburg and Mälardalens University in Västerås). The findings of the study show that fashion companies need to be more specific when informing the fashion consumers on why and how they can act more sustainably when consuming fashion and shopping bags. In addition, the sustainable fashion products should be comparable in prices terms to non-sustainable fashion products in order for fashion consumers to act sustainable. Finally, it is suggested that the sustainable fashion products have an appealing designs in order for the fashion consumers to invest in sustainable fashion products.