Motivating consumers to collaborate in reducing single-use plastic bottle pollution using an extended social identity model of collective action

Jamšek, Simon (author), Culiberg, Barbara (author)

Purpose – The ever-increasing production of single-use disposable plastics represents a serious environmental concern, increasing both interest in and the need for reusable products. This study aims to empirically investigate the drivers of collective action intentions in reducing single-use plastic bottle pollution by extending the social identity model of collective action (SIMCA) and providing insights to enhance social marketing campaign strategies aimed at encouraging sustainable behaviour change at a collective level. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 430 respondents from the UK, this study evaluates three original predictors from SIMCA, i.e. perceived anger, social identity and group efficacy, alongside two new antecedents: temptation to freeride and perceived size of collective action impact. Findings – The empirical findings reveal that all three original SIMCA predictors positively influence collective action intentions. Among the added predictors, temptation to freeride significantly and negatively impacts collective action intentions, while the perceived size of collective action impact does not have a direct effect. Notably, the perceived size of collective action impact, temptation to freeride and group efficacy indirectly influence intentions via anger, highlighting anger’s important role as a mediator. Originality/value – The findings expand the authors’ understanding of the factors influencing collective action intentions in preventing single-use plastic bottle pollution and suggest new SIMCA connections. These insights help refine social marketing messages for collective action by emphasising the pro-environmental impact of the entire nation, specifically for using the reusable water bottles.

• Language: English
• Keywords: marketing, consumer, consumer behaviour, sustainability, SIMCA, social identity, collective action impact, impact size, temptation to freeride
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 539-562
• Numbering: Vol. 15, no. 4
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-177365
• UDC: 339.138
• ISSN on article: 2042-6763
• DOI: 10.1108/JSOCM-02-2025-0037
• COBISS.SI-ID: 257006339
• Publication date in RUL: 22.12.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of social marketing
• Publisher: Emerald
• ISSN: 2042-6763
• COBISS.SI-ID: 518010393

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: trženje, potrošnik, vedenje potrošnikov, trajnostna uspešnost