Distinguishing between motivators, drivers and determinants of consumption

Earlier parts of this thesis have made the argument that in order for research to support policy and practice towards sustainable living, it is critical to be context-specific, to understand why people consume and what shapes the patterns of behaviours they manifest. People consume for multiple reasons; cognitive abilities, psychological, social, economic, and institutional frameworks all contribute to one-off decisions or patterns of behaviour. Max-Neef's (1991) framework of fundamental human needs and satisfiers suggests that people consume in order to meet essential needs such as nutrition and shelter. According to the theory of social practice, people consume in order to fulfil social functions/expectations such showering and dressing up to look presentable, and travelling to meet friends and maintain relationships (Spaargaren 2004; Gram-Hanssen 2009; Shove 2004). People also consume to satisfy personal desires, preferences and tastes, as per neoclassical economic and behavioural psychology theories. Marketing theories and practices confirm that people consume due to the influence of advertising (Moisander, Markkula, and Eräranta 2010). The systems of provision framework and studies in ‘lock-in’ effects of systems and infrastructure suggest that people consume in particular ways because they are railroaded to do so (see, for example, Martens and Spaargaren, 2005; Morris, Kirwan, and Lally, 2014; Sahakian and Steinberger, 2011).

The essence of the argument by scholars the likes of Hobson (2006), Spaargaren (2004), and Jackson, (2005) is that needs and wants are framed by factors ranging from the individual and personal level, through enablers or constraints of broader socio-economic and physical conditions. Defra (2011) has referred to this as a distinction between behavioural factors and situational factors. The ability to satisfy needs and wants is encompassed by influences on a graduated scale from the micro level (particular to the individual) to the macro level (reflecting broader factors). In Figure 1 below this graduated scale is pictured as overlapping layers, from the innermost being human needs to the outermost layer being biophysical limits within which society must operate. The most immediate layer of influence is constituted by individual needs, as exemplified by Max-Neef’s fundamental needs. In addition to needs are people’s desires and wants, which, although not necessities are perceived through a combination of psychological and social mechanisms as contributing to the individual or social satisfaction. How these needs and desired are met is influenced by one’s personal situation (the second layer), including income level, gender, age, one’s friends and peers, etc. Following that is the layer of socio-economic conditions that frame one’s personal situation and the pursuit of needs and wants; factors include the predominant culture in which people find themselves, the state of the economy and politics, religious norms, media messages, etc. All these layers then have to operate within biophysical boundaries, such as geographic conditions, and the climate.

26 Figure 1: Layers of factors influencing consumption choices and lifestyles.

Source: Adapted from Akenji and Chen (2016)

Factors affecting consumption and lifestyles are varied, inter-linked, and sometimes contradictory.

Davies, Fahy, and Rau (2014a) write that, “The web of factors – the drivers, actors, agencies, and motivations that influence the way we live, whether that is moving, dwelling or eating – is complex”.

Some of the widely referenced ones from the literature include income level, technology, market prices, physical infrastructure, cognitive and physical abilities, values, social norms and peers, media, knowledge and awareness, policies and institutional framework. A comprehensive listing of such factors, however, would be inexhaustible and would vary from place to place, from individual to individual, and even from season to season; this would neither reflect the complexity of the topic nor would it provide much additional practical value. Instead, the factors need to be contextualised to understand their typology. A distinction showing endogenous and exogenous factors influencing consumption and lifestyles is sometimes implied but not explicitly brought together in the literature on sustainable living. Such a typology is important in a political economy analysis in order to understand the limits of individual agency and the role of factors beyond control of a person or community. Analyses done with an understanding of such a distinction of factors would ensure that design of policy and other interventions that aim for a transition to sustainable ways of living recognise what actions would be most effective if targeted at the individual and what actions have better impact by addressing the broader context that shapes behaviour. Using a political economy perspective (see section 5.1.2), Akenji and Chen (2016) propose to distinguish between three interlinked and often confused types of factors: motivators, drivers, and determinants of consumption patterns and lifestyles. It emphasizes differences between the intrinsic and extrinsic factors, personal and contextual factors, and thus what an individual can control and what is beyond individual control.

27 Motivators refer to the immediate personal and social reasons, and what urges people and communities in society – e.g. the need for shelter, to spend time with friends and family. Gatersleben and Vlek (1998) highlight basic human needs as some of the key motivational factors behind behaviour patterns. Some of these are reflected in Max-Neef's (1991) universal basic needs, such as shelter, nutrition, affection, security. Although basic needs are easily linked to biological functions and survival, a more philosophical sphere for needs, as human society progresses, involves social needs.

For example, Amatya Sen (1999) has famously reframed development as freedom and being able to live a life of dignity in one’s community. As well as needs, motivations also reflect convictions and desires, which, although not imperatives still have strong influence on consumption choice and lifestyles. Notably, however, motivations alone don’t always lead to the occurrence of related action or behaviour. For one to act upon motivations, the other types of factors, drivers and determinants, are necessary (Akenji and Chen 2016).

Drivers according to Gatersleben and Vlek (1998) are the opportunities present and abilities for consumption. Examples include cultural norms, advertising, media marketing, knowledge and awareness, technology, peers, income. Drivers reflect the degree of control over consumption and lifestyle choices, and provide circumstances that support motivation, normalising certain consumption patterns and lifestyles or making them practicable. The literature on consumption drivers is quite extensive and diverse. While motivations and driving factors explain the need or desire for a particular way of living, this can only be actualised with certain key determinants in place. The third type of factors are determinants of consumption patterns and lifestyles. Determinants are aggregating factors that play a decisive role; their presence (or absence) can make the difference between whether a consumption choice or way of living is actualised or not. As an example of a distinction: while one may have a need (a motivator) to travel to see family and desire to use a luxury car being advertised (a driver), it would be impractical if the person could afford the car for the trip but there were no motorable roads (a key determinant). In the absence of key determinants, even with enough motivation and drivers, it becomes very challenging to manifest a particular instance of behaviour, and even more difficult to establish an unsupported pattern of consumption or way of living. Akenji (2014) has identified three key determinants from academic literature and evidence from practice: i) the attitudes of people and communities, reflecting the propensity to consume; ii) facilitators, reflecting agency or access to consumption opportunities; and iii) physical and social infrastructure, including products and services that are actually consumed or the infrastructure that locks people into particular patterns of consumption¹⁰. These determinants are further discussed in Section 8.2 below.

This section has discussed a framework for sustainable living, including the sustainability tensions it seeks to address, principles that determine sustainable living, and a distinction between graduated factors that can be influenced at the individual level to those that are externally determined.

Consumption and ways of living can thus be seen as part of a larger context that is constantly under negotiation by actors of varying interest and influence. To understand the context of consumption better, and to argue for research that recognises the politics of consumption, the following chapter begins to expand on political economy theory and the relevant characteristics of the political economy approach that are applicable to research on sustainable living.

10Seto et al. (2016) conduct a review of literature across various disciplines and identify three main types of carbon lock-in that are intertwined and contribute to the inertia of carbon emissions: infrastructural and technological, institutional, and behavioral.

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