Factors Influencing Pro-Environmental Behaviors in Craft Businesses

Abstract

Since the Arts and Crafts Movement in the early twentieth century, discourse on craft has revolved around conflicts over industrialization. The current craft movement builds on these same responses to the industrialized world while also addressing environmental issues and sustainability. However, authors of craft literature rarely address the pro-environmental business practices of craft artisans or the motivational drivers of such behaviors. In this study, we aim to rectify this imbalance by contributing to an expanded understanding of value and belief drivers of pro-environmental behaviors. The value–belief–norm theory of environmentalism is used to outline the causal influences of pro-environmental behaviors in craft businesses, and our findings support the use of the model. Craft business owners’ pro-environmental behaviors are a result of a causal relationship from values to beliefs, through feelings of obligation to act in pro-environmental ways.

Keywords

crafts environmentalism value personal norm small business pro-environmental behaviors

The mass production of consumer goods has a direct effect on climate change, loss of biodiversity, and the depletion of natural resources. To combat these negative effects on the planet, a sustainable approach to design and production is necessary (Irwin, 2015). Due to their small production capacity and the handmade nature of crafts, craft businesses are typically perceived as an environmentally friendly, sustainable means of production (Jakob, 2012; Krugh, 2014). Recent discourse about sustainability has led to an increase in craft making around the world (Zhan, Walker, Hernandez-Pardo, & Evans, 2017). In the past decade, there has been a resurgence of craft making in the United States, with a shift away from traditional mainstream crafts toward alternative approaches (Jakob, 2012). Contemporary craft making tends to have an aesthetic specific to the artisan maker as opposed to a cultural or ethnic one (Dawkins, 2011). While previous researchers of craft business have focused on traditional and cultural craft productions or on consumers (Lee & Delong, 2017; Littrell & Dickson, 1998; Sánchez-Medina & Díaz-Pichardo, 2017; Zhan et al., 2017), little research has been conducted on contemporary craft artisans and their pro-environmental business practices. Pro-environmental behaviors differ by firm size as well as by industry type (Banerjee, 2001; Jenkins, 2006). Due to the small size of businesses in the craft industry, it is important to consider craft artisan business owners as a unique population group.

This study has two purposes: (a) to identify pro-environmental behaviors of craft artisan business owners and (b) to determine the factors influencing those behaviors. Specifically, we apply the value–belief–norm (VBN) theory of environmentalism to examine the relationships among craft artisan business owners’ personal values, environmental beliefs, personal norms (e.g., feelings of obligation), and the pro-environmental behaviors they follow. In past studies, researchers have successfully applied VBN to private-sphere pro-environmental behaviors, including consumer behavior, willingness to sacrifice, and environmental citizenship (Stern, Dietz, Abel, Guagnano, & Kalof, 1999). However, the theory has seldom been applied to business practices. Further, the application of VBN theory to corporate environmental behaviors has yet to find direct links between the values, beliefs, and personal norms of managers and their behaviors. Due to the small-scale, personal nature of craft businesses, we hold that the business practices and behaviors of craft business owners will reflect motivations more similar to private-sphere behaviors than to common corporate business behaviors.

The Craft Industry

The true size and impact of the U.S. craft industry is difficult to ascertain. There is no definite definition of craft or the craft industry, which makes it difficult to calculate the size of the industry or number of people who own and manage craft businesses (Jakob, 2012). The increase in the popularity of U.S. craft businesses can be seen through the growth of amateur craft shows, the rise in magazines and blogs dedicated to craft, and the increase in craft e-commerce sites like Etsy.com (Krugh, 2014). Etsy is the largest online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods. Since its inception in 2005, the online marketplace has seen consistent growth in the number of members, artisan sellers, and sales. In the first 2 years of business, Etsy had 70,000 shops and sold over 1 million handmade items (Walker, 2007). Profitable since 2009, Etsy now has USD$2.84 billion in annual sales, 1,062 employees, 29.7 million active buyers, and 1.8 million active shops around the globe (Etsy Inc., n.d.).

The Craft Organization Development Association (CODA) defines crafts by 17 techniques and 13 end product categories, and in their last report before disbanding in 2012 estimated that 5 million Americans earned at least part of their income from the sale of artisan crafts in 2009. Additionally, 30,000–50,000 Americans sold crafts as their main income (CODA, 2011). Craft business owners use traditional handicraft techniques such as sewing and woodworking to make consumer goods like clothing and furniture. For the purpose of this study, CODA’s 17 techniques and 13 end product categories were used to define craft. Based on this definition, craft products do not include hobby crafts such as scrapbooking and rubber-stamping; food, bath, and body products; or fine art drawing, painting, and sculpture. Therefore, these activities were excluded from the study. Craft is considered to be consistent with the concept of sustainability (Zhan et al., 2017). With a focus on how consumer products are made, craft “fits within contemporary ethical consumption movements that emphasize the origin of products” (Krugh, 2014, p. 295). This concept of handcrafted, meaningful work fits into the ideas of pro-environmental production. However, authors of craft literature do not address the pro-environmental business practices of craft artisans or motivational drivers of such behaviors.

The U.S. craft industry largely consists of small business owners who design, make, and sell their own handicraft items. Craft business owners typically run their business alone, with only 7% hiring paid help (Etsy Journal, 2013); thus, this cohort of business owners is an ideal sample to consider in studying small business behaviors. Due to size, small businesses are flexible and adaptable, and their owners are often creative and innovative. The owner-manager easily influences the values and culture of the company, and benefits from pro-environmental practices are felt quickly (Jenkins, 2006). Pro-environmental practices often arise from the personal values and beliefs of the owner-manager (Jenkins, 2006; Lange & Fenwick, 2008). When craft business owners have environmental concerns, they can easily make adjustments to business practices to mitigate those concerns (Crafts Council, 2012). Past research on value drivers of pro-environmental activities in small businesses has been largely qualitative, and researchers have neglected to identify specific values. There is a need for more quantitative, theory-driven research on small business owner-managers’ internal drivers such as values, beliefs, and personal norms.

Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Pro-environmental behaviors in the business context are defined as activities performed by an individual at work with the intention to improve or help to improve the natural environment (Ture & Ganesh, 2014). The focus of pro-environmental behaviors and frequency of those behaviors can vary significantly and can be influenced by many factors, including company size and industry type. An analysis of pro-environmental behaviors in small craft businesses may shed light on what steps small businesses are taking to improve their environmental impacts. Analysis of the literature on pro-environmental business practices reveals categories of pro-environmental behaviors, which include product and operations as well as business and planning behaviors (Banerjee, 2001; Papagiannakis & Lioukas, 2012; Tilley, 1999). Product- and operations-focused pro-environmental behaviors include methods and materials used in the making of products. Craft artisans in a United Nations survey focused their pro-environmental behaviors on sourcing environmentally sensitive or sustainable materials, using sustainable production practices, sourcing locally, and evaluating suppliers and distributors on their environmental policies (Crafts Council, 2012). The second category of pro-environmental business practices, business- and planning-focused behaviors, includes research and development as well as the development of pro-environmental strategies. Further, business- and planning-focused activities are often associated with a strategic business plan approach to environmentalism. The importance of this is emphasized in the literature (Testa, Gusmerottia, Corsini, Passetti & Iraldo, 2016; Tilley, 1999), including ongoing goals for environmental improvements, and environmental audits or reviews. Business owners who implement a proactive environmental strategy see concrete results in environmental investments and environmental performance. Conversely, small business owners without a strong environmental strategy see short-term benefits that are not sustainable over time (Testa et al., 2016).

Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses Development

In order to create an understanding of the pro-environmental behaviors of craft business owners and to understand the factors that influence those behaviors, we employed the VBN theory (Stern, 2000; Stern et al., 1999). Most scholars applying the theory have focused on private-sphere pro-environmental behaviors of individuals and consumers (Fornara, Pattitoni, Mura, & Strazzera, 2016; Henry & Dietz, 2012; Jakovcevic & Steg, 2013; Kim, Lee & Yang, 2015; Steg, Dreijerink, & Abrahamse, 2005; Stern, 2000), whereas few have applied the VBN framework to business or manager pro-environmental behaviors (Andersson, Shivarajan, & Blau, 2005; Papagiannakis & Lioukas, 2012). Derived from Schwartz’s (1996) norm-activation theory of altruism, which asserts that altruistic behavior is a response to personal norms of people who perceive a threat and believe their actions can have an effect on the outcome, the VBN theory maintains that other values may affect personal norms as well. Based on the premises that (a) behavior stems from the acceptance of certain personal values, (b) things important to those values are under threat, and (c) the person’s actions can help alleviate the threat and restore the value (Stern et al., 1999), the VBN model proposes a causal chain from personal values, beliefs, awareness of consequences, ascription of responsibility, and personal norms to pro-environmental behaviors. Each variable in the chain directly affects the next and indirectly affects variables down the line, and personal norms are the main indicator of a person’s predisposition to pro-environmental behaviors. However, a growing number of researchers are modifying the VBN theory, omitting awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility (Andersson et al., 2005; Kim et al., 2015; Ture & Ganesh, 2014). Therefore, we employed a modified VBN model that analyzes personal values, environmental beliefs, personal norms, and their relationship to pro-environmental behaviors of craft artisan business owner-managers. Considering that the causal path from awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility to personal norms is not always significant (Fornara et al., 2016) and that the model has been successfully applied without these two factors, they were excluded from this study.

Values

Values can be defined as “desirable, transsituational goals, varying in importance, that serve as guiding principles in people’s lives” (Schwartz, 1996, p. 2) and are used to explain, coordinate, and rationalize behavior (Schwartz, 1996). A link between values and behavior has been well established in literature. Fritzsche and Oz (2007) found that values play an important role in ethical decision-making, and other researchers have looked to values as the basis of environmental behaviors (Jenkins, 2006; Lange & Fenwick, 2008). Additional researchers determined owner-manager values to be strong drivers of ethics and standards in small businesses (Jenkins, 2006; Lange & Fenwick, 2008; Williams & Schaefer, 2013).

Schwartz (1992) developed a typology of values, proposing 10 value types: benevolence, universalism, tradition, conformity, security, power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, and self-direction. These are grouped into four value clusters: openness to change, conservation, self-transcendence, and self-enhancement. Schwartz employs a detailed but admittedly cumbersome instrument to measure these values, to create a more manageable survey instrument; Stern, Dietz, and Guagnano (1998) renamed Schwartz’s (1992) value types, but retained the same value clusters. The new, reduced item factors consist of altruistic values (self-transcendence), egoistic values (self-enhancement), conservation values, and openness to change values, each with 3 items per factor. We followed this reduced scale in the present study to keep the total number of survey items to a minimum.

In VBN theory, it is suggested that individuals who are concerned with the welfare of their self or others will have positive environmental beliefs (Chua, Quoquab, Mohammad, & Basiruddin, 2016). The altruistic value type centers on the welfare of people and of outside objects, such as social justice and a world at peace. Individuals with altruistic values evaluate a pro-environmental behavior based on its benefit for other people (Ture & Ganesh, 2014). Altruistic values were identified as positively and significantly related to environmental beliefs (Chua et al., 2016; Fritzsche & Oz, 2007; Papagiannakis & Lioukas, 2012; Stern et al., 1999). The egoistic value type relates to the desire for individual success and is motivated by self-interest (Schwartz, 1996). Researchers have not been in agreement on egoistic value’s relationship to environmental beliefs. Some researchers (Fritzsche & Oz, 2007; Ibtissem, 2010; Lind, Nordfjaern, Jørgensen, & Rundmo, 2015; Papagiannakis & Lioukas, 2012; Stern et al., 1999) reported that egoistic values were negatively linked to environmental beliefs. These findings were attributed to the understanding that individuals with egoistic values evaluate the benefit of a pro-environmental behavior through its benefit to them personally (Ture & Ganesh, 2014). According to the VBN model, we propose:
Hypothesis 1: Altruistic values positively predict environmental beliefs.

Hypothesis 2: Egoistic values negatively predict environmental beliefs.

The conservation value type focuses on tradition, conformity, and security. Conformity values reflect submission to persons with whom one is in regular contact, such as teachers and bosses, whereas tradition values relate to submission to abstract objects such as religion or culture. Security applies to both the individual and the collective, including the security of family, social order, health, and a sense of belonging. The openness value type consists of self-direction, stimulation, and hedonistic values. Self-direction is rooted in the need for control and mastery; it pertains to dependent thought and action, such as choosing, exploring, and creating. Stimulation is motivated by excitement, novelty, and challenge and derives from the need for variety and stimulation. Hedonistic values are motivated by pleasure and gratification and are derived from needs for pleasure (Schwartz, 1992). Researchers have previously reported that individuals with high conservation values are unlikely to be concerned about environmental issues, whereas those with high openness to change values are more likely to be concerned about environmental issues (Raudsepp, 2001). We therefore hypothesize:
Hypothesis 3: Conservation values negatively predict environmental beliefs.

Hypothesis 4: Openness to change values positively predict environmental beliefs.

Environmental Beliefs

Environmental beliefs refer to an individual’s general belief regarding mankind’s relationship with the environment (Chua et al., 2016). Previously, researchers found that persons who are concerned about the future of the planet (Dunlap, Van Liere, Mertig, & Jones, 2000) and those with positive environmental beliefs (Stern, 2000) are more likely to engage in pro-environmental behaviors. Based on human views about nature and humans’ relationship to it, the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) Scale was developed in the 1970s to measure environmental concerns regarding the major problems receiving attention at the time, such as air and water pollution and energy conservation (Dunlap et al., 2000). As one of the most widely applied worldviews in pro-environmental literature (Stern, 2000), the NEP Scale is used to measure beliefs about the negative consequences of environmental change and can be interpreted as an indicator of general awareness of consequences. In this study, environmental beliefs are situated in the VBN model to directly affect personal norms. Environmental belief, as measured by the NEP Scale, had a direct positive relationship to personal norms (Chua et al., 2016; Steg et al., 2005; Stern et al., 1999). Hence, we propose:
Hypothesis 5: Environmental beliefs positively predict personal norms.

Personal Norms

Personal norms reflect the amount of moral obligation felt by a person to protect the environment. The relationship between personal norms and pro-environmental behavior stems from Schwartz’s norm-activation theory of altruism. According to the theory, persons who hold certain beliefs will experience a sense of moral obligation to take action to prevent harm (Stern et al., 1999). In the VBN framework, personal norms are situated to directly affect pro-environmental behaviors and are considered the main basis for a person’s predisposition to engage in pro-environmental behaviors (Stern, 2000). Personal norms were found to be the strongest predictor of pro-environmental behaviors such as intention to invest in green energy sources (Fornara et al., 2016), reduction of car use (Jakovcevic & Steg, 2013), and carbon dioxide reduction (Steg et al., 2005). Therefore, we propose:
Hypothesis 6: Personal norms positively predict pro-environmental product and operations behaviors.

Hypothesis 7: Personal norms positively predict pro-environmental business planning behaviors.

Method

Sample and Procedure

As no directory of handmade craft business exists, Etsy.com (Etsy) was selected for this study as a means to reach independent sellers of handmade crafts across the country. IRB permission was secured before any research was conducted using human participants. A list of 3,110 names of handmade craft business owners and managers of Etsy shops was manually collected from the most recent craft listings on the site over a span of 2 weeks in May 2015. The end product and technique categories defined by CODA (2011) were used as a basis to define craft businesses. Vintage or craft supply sellers were excluded, as well as the sellers of any items that are made outside of the United States. Out of 3,110 seller names compiled from Etsy.com, a random sample of 1,036 or one third of the total list was generated using Excel. An e-mail invitation to the online survey was sent to the sample through message links during August and September 2015, and one reminder message was sent 2 weeks after the first. Of the 1,036 surveys sent out, 275 participants responded for an initial response rate of 26.54%. Of the original 275 respondents, the number of usable surveys was 212, for a final response rate of 20.46%.

Instrument Development

The online survey contained items that measured pro-environmental behaviors, personal norms, environmental beliefs, values, and demographic variables. Previously established measures were used for all variables. Values were measured using a reduced 12-item scale adopted from Schwartz’s value theory by Stern, Dietz, Abel, Guagnano, and Kalof (1999) on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 5 being very important and 1 being very unimportant. Environmental beliefs were measured using Dunlap, Van Liere, Mertig, and Jones (2000) NEP Scale, which measures a person’s environmental worldview. The scale consisted of 15 items that were measured on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with answers ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Personal norms were measured using 3 items adopted from Barr (2002) on a 5-point Likert-type scale, ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Personal norms were measured using 3 items adopted from Barr (2002) on a 5-point Likert-type scale, ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Pro-environmental behaviors and activities were measured using a 22-item scale modified from Banerjee (2001). Respondents were asked to indicate how often their craft business does each activity, using a 5-point frequency scale that ranged from always to never.

Social desirability was measured using a 6-item scale version of the Marlow–Crowne Social Desirability Scale reduced by Fischer and Fick (1993). Respondents were asked to decide whether the statements concerning personal attitudes and traits are true or false to them personally. Demographic characteristics of the sample were measured using survey items for age, gender, ethnicity, level of education, type of craft business, location of business, income, number of employees, and membership in environmental groups. In order to assess the validity of the survey, the instrument was pilot tested with a convenience sample. Five craft business owners were recruited via personal contacts and snowball method to pilot test the instrument. Pilot participants were asked to record the length of time it took to complete the survey and to make any comments on the design, readability, and understandability of the instrument. All pilot study comments were considered for revisions.

Results

Data analysis was conducted using IBM statistical package for social sciences Version 23.0 and analysis of moment structures Version 23.0. Data were screened for missing data, normality, nonresponse bias, and social desirability bias. Missing data (<10% MCAR) were accounted for using single regression imputation. All variables were analyzed for skewness and kurtosis (nonnormal distribution). All items related to the present model had scores below 3.0, indicating acceptable normality of the data distribution (Bollen, 1989). Nonresponse bias was assessed by comparing the responses of early responders to the responses of late responders. Independent sample t tests were used to determine whether any statistically significant differences exist between the responses of the first third of respondents and the last third of respondents on (a) values, (b) environmental beliefs, (c) personal norms, and (d) pro-environmental behaviors. A significant difference was found for one behavior item, “I have significantly increased the level of recycled content of raw materials”; t (141) = 2.36, p < .05. The mean of the early respondents was significantly higher (M = 3.63, SD = 1.00) than the mean of the late respondents (M = 3.25, SD = 0.94). No statistically significant differences in the means between the two groups for any of the remaining variables were found (p < .05). Social desirability bias was assessed to determine whether social desirability had any effect on respondents’ answers. Pearson’s correlation tests were run on all value, environmental belief, personal norm, and behavior items. Eleven survey items showed statistically significant correlations to social desirability score; however, all correlation scores were relatively low, r(210) < 0.2, p < .05. Therefore, social desirability was not given any further consideration in the analysis of the data.

Sample Profile

Respondents were predominantly female (87.3%), Caucasian (90%), and between the ages of 30 and 49 (48.8%). Nearly all were craft business owners (98.6%). Respondents were well educated, with 35.4% holding a bachelor’s degree and 27.4% having completed some graduate work or holding a graduate degree. The majority of respondents did not have formal craft training but were self-taught (88.2%) or taught by a family member (26.4%). Respondents’ businesses operate in 41 states and the District of Columbia, with the most frequent residencies being California (7.5%), Florida (5.7%), Oregon (5.2%), and North Carolina (5.2%). Over half of the craft businesses were located in urban areas (58%) and the vast majority (93.9%) located within respondents’ homes. The income from the respondents’ craft businesses was predominantly supplemental to another household income (81.9%).

Respondents made a variety of different craft products, with the most frequent product being home decor (48.1%), followed by clothing (41.0%), accessories (34.4%), and jewelry (24.5%). A little less than half of respondents made more than one type of end product (46.1%). Respondents used a multitude of techniques in the making of their craft products, the most frequent of which were sewing, quilting, or stitching (44.8%), followed by jewelry making (24.1%) and knitting and crochet (18.4%). More than half of respondents used more than one technique in the making of their craft products.

Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Regarding their pro-environmental behaviors, respondents were highly engaged with recycling manufacturing waste (M = 4.15, SD = 0.92) and production materials (M = 4.09, SD = 0.97), as well as using local materials (M = 3.98, SD = 1.01). Respondents’ craft businesses also had in-house bottle and can recycling programs (M = 3.90, SD = 1.13) and in-house paper recycling programs (M = 3.87, SD = 1.14). Few respondents were involved with behaviors that focused on business planning as it relates to environmental issues, such as setting environmental goals every year (M = 2.43, SD = 1.03) and having a mission statement that explains their commitment to the environment (M = 2.48, SD = 1.05). Respondents were also less engaged with marketing activities such as developing specific programs to educate consumers on environmental issues (M = 2.08, SD = 0.87), developing cooperative alliances with environmental organizations (M = 2.19, SD = 0.87), and advertising their environmental efforts (M = 2.63, SD = 1.14). Additionally, there was a lack of involvement of respondents in conducting environmental audits at regular intervals (M = 2.13, SD = 0.83) and investing in research and development for cleaner products and technologies (M = 2.39, SD = 1.01).

Analysis of Causal Model

A two-step factor analysis was conducted on the multi-item variables: values, environmental beliefs, personal norms, and behaviors. In the first step, exploratory factor analysis was conducted using maximum likelihood analysis with varimax rotation. Preliminary factor analysis of the 52 indicators of the latent constructs resulted in three behavior factors (product and operations behaviors, business planning behaviors, and recycling behaviors), one personal norm factor, one environmental belief factor, and four value factors (altruistic values, egoistic values, conservation values, and openness to change values). Factor loadings for 6 behavior items did not meet the cutoff value of 0.40 and higher, or had a difference in loadings of less than 0.20, and were thus removed from further analysis. The recycling behavior factor consisted of 2 items regarding in-house bottle and can recycling programs as well as paper recycling programs. Considering that 93.9% of the businesses surveyed were located in the craft artisan’s home, it was unclear whether the in-house recycling programs for bottles, cans, and paper were truly related to the respondents’ business or home behavior. Therefore, the recycling factor was discarded from further analysis. The factor for environmental beliefs contained 2 items with factor loadings below the cutoff value of 4.00. However, researchers have accepted the environmental belief (NEP) Scale as a single measure when there are high levels of internal consistency, high loadings on the first factor, and an acceptable Cronbach’s α (Dunlap et al., 2000). In the present study, a one-factor solution accounted for 31.9% of the variance and had factor loadings ranging from 0.23 to 0.72. KMO was excellent at 0.84, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was highly significant (p = .000), indicating that the factor analysis is appropriate. Cronbach’s α for the single factor solution was 0.87. Therefore, the 2 items with low loadings were retained for further analysis.

In the second step, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with maximum likelihood was conducted on all items and latent variables using a measurement model. Goodness of fit for the CFA was assessed using both absolute fit measures as well as population-based fit measures (Blunch, 2013), including the maximum likelihood-based standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR) ≤ .08, comparative fit index (CFI) ≥ .95 (Hu & Bentler, 1999), and root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA) ≤ .05 (Blunch, 2013). The final measurement model yielded a χ² value of 433.75 with 345 degrees of freedom. Model fit criteria indicate a good fit (SRMR = .057, CFI = .965, RMSEA = .035). All factor loadings were above the cutoff value of 0.05, and most exceeded the preferred value of 0.07 (Hair, Ringle, & Sarstedt, 2011). Reliability and validity of the measurement model were assessed by examining the factor loadings and by calculating the composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) for each factor. CR values all exceeded the cutoff value of 0.6 (Hair et al., 2011). The AVE for several factors was somewhat lower than the desired 0.5 (environmental beliefs = 0.47, personal norms = 0.45, and product and operation behaviors = 0.44), indicating that these factors do not explains more than half of the indicators’ variance. However, each item’s loading with its associated factor was higher than its loadings with all the remaining factors (Hair et al., 2011). Therefore, the scales with the low AVE were retained in order to ensure the comprehensiveness of the measurement instrument. The results of the final measurement model can be found in Table 1.

Table 1.
Result of the Final Measurement Model.

Construct/Item Standardized Factor Loading M (SD) CR AVE

Product and operations behaviors 3.73 (0.70) .84 .44

The amount of waste my craft business produces has been decreasing over the last 5 years .57

My craft business utilizes sustainable energy sources wherever possible .70

I recycle waste produced during manufacturing .66

I use local materials in my products whenever possible .63

I use recycled materials in my products whenever possible .72

I use organic materials in my products whenever possible .63

I have significantly increased the level of recycled content of raw materials .70

Business and planning behaviors 2.28 (0.77) .89 .58

My craft business invests in research and development for cleaner products and technologies .80

My craft business conducts environmental audits at regular intervals .85

My craft business has a mission statement that explains our commitment to the environment .72

I set specific environmental goals every year .72

My craft business has developed cooperative alliances with environmental organizations .72

My craft business has developed specific programs to educate consumers on environmental issues .78

Altruism 4.45 (0.58) .72 .56

Protecting the environment, preserving nature .82

A world at peace, free of war and conflict .67

Conservation 4.44 (.56) .69 .53

Honoring parents and elders, showing respect .81

Family security, safety for loved ones .64

Egoism 3.41 (.72) .76 .62

Authority, the right to lead or command .80

Influential, having an impact on people and events .77

Openness to change 4.18 (.69) .81 .69

A varied life, filled with challenge, novelty, and change .80

An exciting life, stimulating experiences .86

Environmental beliefs 3.64 (.58) .82 .47

We are approaching the limit of the number of people the Earth can support .58

The balance of nature is strong enough to cope with the impacts of modern industrial nations .67

The so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated .79

Humans were meant to rule over the rest of nature .66

If things continue on their present course, we will soon experience a major ecological catastrophe .71

Personal norms 4.19 (.64) .705 .45

I feel it is my responsibility to help the environment in the best ways possible .75

I don’t feel any moral obligation to help conserve environmental resources .57

I feel guilty when I don’t manage to make an effort to conserve resources .62

Note. M = mean; SD = standard deviation; CR = composite reliability; AVE = average variance extracted.

Hypothesis Tests

The proposed model sought to identify the factors that influence independent craft business owners’ and managers’ pro-environmental behaviors. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the proposed model was estimated and used to test seven hypotheses. In Figure 1, we present the hypothetical path model with standardized estimates and its significance. Hypotheses 1 through 4 predicted the relationship between personal values and environmental beliefs. In support of Hypothesis 1, altruistic values were found to be significantly associated with environmental beliefs (β = 1.07). No significant relationship was found between egoistic values and environmental beliefs. Therefore, Hypothesis 2 was not supported. Conservation values were negatively related to environmental beliefs (β = −0.67), supporting Hypothesis 3. Hypothesis 4 predicted the relationship between openness to change values and environmental beliefs, which was found to be insignificant and therefore not supported. In support of Hypothesis 5, environmental beliefs were found to be positively related to personal norms (β = 0.86). Hypotheses 6 and 7 predicted the relationships between personal norms and two pro-environmental behavior factors. In support of hypotheses 6 and 7, personal norms were positively related to both product and operations behaviors (β = 0.49), as well as business planning behaviors (β = 0.17).

Figure 1.
Structural equation modeling results for value–belief–norm model. All values are standardized estimates. Solid-line arrows indicate significant effect; dashed-line arrows indicate no effect. *p < .05. **p < .01.

Further analysis of the SEM indicated that several factors also had indirect effects in the model (see Figure 2). Altruistic values indirectly affected personal norms (β = 0.92), product and operations behaviors (β = 0.46), and business planning behaviors (β = 0.16). Conservation values indirectly affected personal norms (β = −0.57), product and operations behaviors (β = −0.28), and business planning behaviors (β = −0.10). Further, environmental beliefs were significant in indirectly predicting both types of behaviors (β = 0.43 and β = 0.15, respectively). The total effects indicated that altruistic values were the strongest indicator of environmental beliefs and personal norms. Furthermore, the indirect relationship between altruistic values and personal norms was stronger than the direct relationship between environmental beliefs and personal norms.

Figure 2.
Model of direct and indirect effects. All values are standardized estimates. Solid-line arrows indicate significant effect; dashed-line arrows indicate no effect. *p < .05. **p < .01.

Conclusions and Implications

Through our findings of this study, we fill a gap in both the craft artisan literature and small business literature by identifying the pro-environmental business practices of craft artisans and testing the VBN theory of environmentalism with those behaviors. Similar to the findings of the 2012 UN study of craft artisans by the Crafts Council (2012), U.S. craft artisans in the present study focused their pro-environmental efforts on using sustainable production practices, such as recycling production by-products and reducing waste; sourcing environmentally friendly materials, such as recycled materials; and using local materials. However, we also found that craft artisans often do not emphasize their environmental efforts in marketing their business, even though doing so provides opportunities to grow the business. Increasing consumer awareness and recognition of the environmental benefits of craft artisan businesses would strengthen their unique position in the market. Therefore, we encourage craft artisan business owners to consider expanding their community engagement to educate their consumers on environmental issues. Developing cooperative alliances with environmental organizations would also serve this effort.

We found that craft artisan business owners were not highly engaged in strategic and business planning activities, such as conducting environmental audits, setting environmental goals, and having a mission statement about their commitment to the environment, as others in the small business literature have found (Chua et al., 2016; Tilley, 1999). Most craft artisans focused on sustainable production practices but appeared to have an ad hoc response to the world’s current environmental problems, indicating a shallow engagement with the environmental challenges such small businesses face. The importance of a strategic approach to business environmentalism has been emphasized in the literature (Banerjee, 2001; Tilley, 1999). Without a broader environmental strategy, benefits from pro-environmental behaviors risk being short term and unsustainable (Chua et al., 2016). Thus, it is important for craft artisan business owners to utilize strategic plans to guide their pro-environmental business practices. Policy makers must also consider support for craft businesses in developing and implementing strategic plans to proactively address environmental issues.

We successfully applied the VBN theory to examine the drivers of pro-environmental behaviors in craft artisans. Previous researchers who applied the VBN theory to business behaviors at the corporate level have had varying levels of success finding significant relationships among values, beliefs, personal norms, and behavior (Andersson et al., 2005; Papagiannakis & Lioukas, 2012; Raineri & Paillé, 2016). The theory may be more easily applied to the study of craft artisan business owners due to their small size, which makes them highly susceptible to the owner-manager values and beliefs. In this study, craft artisan business owners’ altruistic values, conservation values, environmental beliefs, and personal norms played an important role in their engagement in pro-environmental business practices. As small business owners, craft artisans’ drivers of pro-environmental behaviors were similar to those found by researchers in private-sphere pro-environmental behaviors (Fritzsche & Oz, 2007; Steg et al., 2005; Stern et al., 1999). In line with the basis of VBN theory, craft business owners’ personal norms were the strongest predictor of pro-environmental behaviors. This strong direct relationship between environmental beliefs and personal norms supports the use of the modified VBN model, which does not include awareness of consequences or ascription of responsibility.

Although environmental beliefs should be the strongest predictor of personal norms according to VBN theory (Stern et al., 1999), it was revealed in this study that altruistic values were the strongest predictor of both environmental beliefs and personal norms. Craft artisan business owners who are concerned with the welfare and interests of others were more likely to hold strong environmental beliefs and personal norms. This supports the notion that a pro-environmental behavior is a result of altruistic values and suggests that altruistic values are a stronger predictor of pro-environmental behaviors than environmental beliefs. In addition, egoistic values, altruistic values’ opposite, had no significant relationships to any of the dependent variables in this study. This indicates that although craft artisans’ pro-environmental behaviors were highly motivated by the benefit for other people or objects, the evaluation of the benefit of a pro-environmental behavior by its benefit to oneself personally did not necessarily result in less engagement in such behaviors. This is therefore different from most other researchers, who have found a significant negative relationship between egoistic values and both environmental beliefs and pro-environmental behaviors (Fritzsche & Oz, 2007; Ibtissem, 2010; Lind et al., 2015; Papagiannakis & Lioukas, 2012; Stern et al., 1999).

The successful application of VBN theory on craft artisan business owners supports its future use in small business research, where owner/manager values have been found to be important drivers of pro-environmental behavior (Jenkins, 2006; Sánchez-Medina & Diaz-Pichardo, 2017). The inclusion of conservation and openness to change values in this study resulted in both significant and strong direct negative relationships between conservation values and environmental beliefs, as well as indirect negative relationships to personal norms and pro-environmental behaviors. This indicates that craft artisans who place importance on self-restriction, order, certainty, and protection are less likely to have strong pro-environmental beliefs, norms, and behaviors. Due to the consistent finding that altruistic values had a positive effect within the VBN framework, many researchers only included altruistic values and their opposite, egoistic values (Stern et al., 1999). Within our research, however, the use of the complete value structure when testing the VBN model is supported. Stern et al. (1999) found altruistic values were always related to environmental beliefs and pro-environmental behaviors, whereas the other value types had inconsistent relationships. Future researchers should consider the use of an extended VBN model and include more sociopsychological variables, as well as sociodemographic variables that may also affect pro-environmental behaviors. Additional sociopsychological variables such as intrinsic motivation and social influence may add to the understanding of what drives pro-environmental practices within small businesses.

The VBN theory does not analyze the way in which values, beliefs, and norms are learned or changed (Henry & Dietz, 2012). Based on the results of this study, altruistic values, positive environmental beliefs, and feelings of obligation to act in pro-environmental ways drive pro-environmental behavior. Future research to determine how to change craft artisan business owners’ values, beliefs, and norms may be used to increase participation in pro-environmental behaviors. In addition, we found that craft artisan business owners’ personal norms, or feelings of obligation to act in pro-environmental ways, were a stronger driver of product and operations behaviors than business planning behaviors, which are typically more strategic as well as costly. This is in line with the findings of Steg, Dreijerink, and Abrahamse (2005), who assert that the difficulty as well as the cost of pro-environmental behaviors, result in weaker relationships within the VBN framework. More clarity may be gained on why the relationship between values, beliefs, and norms with product and operations behaviors is stronger and more significant than the relationship with business planning behaviors.

Limitations

While this study has provided insights into pro-environmental business practices from the perspective of craft business owners, it has a number of limitations. Foremost, the way in which pro-environmental behaviors are measured can have an effect on research findings. We measured pro-environmental behaviors by respondents’ reported behaviors (as opposed to actual behaviors, which are difficult to measure due to logistical reasons). Researchers have suggested that it is easier to report a pro-environmental behavior than to practice it, and more people may report engaging in such behaviors than actually do (Olli, Grendstad, & Wollebaek, 2001). Further, although the inclusion of Schwartz’s full value structure appears to be a strength of this study, the use of VBN theory may be limited by the omission of awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility, which are part of the original model developed in 1999 by Stern et al. The examination of these two omitted variables may have an effect on the strong indirect relationship between altruistic values and personal norms found in the present study.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Construct/Item	Standardized Factor Loading	M (SD)	CR	AVE
Product and operations behaviors		3.73 (0.70)	.84	.44
The amount of waste my craft business produces has been decreasing over the last 5 years	.57
My craft business utilizes sustainable energy sources wherever possible	.70
I recycle waste produced during manufacturing	.66
I use local materials in my products whenever possible	.63
I use recycled materials in my products whenever possible	.72
I use organic materials in my products whenever possible	.63
I have significantly increased the level of recycled content of raw materials	.70
Business and planning behaviors		2.28 (0.77)	.89	.58
My craft business invests in research and development for cleaner products and technologies	.80
My craft business conducts environmental audits at regular intervals	.85
My craft business has a mission statement that explains our commitment to the environment	.72
I set specific environmental goals every year	.72
My craft business has developed cooperative alliances with environmental organizations	.72
My craft business has developed specific programs to educate consumers on environmental issues	.78
Altruism		4.45 (0.58)	.72	.56
Protecting the environment, preserving nature	.82
A world at peace, free of war and conflict	.67
Conservation		4.44 (.56)	.69	.53
Honoring parents and elders, showing respect	.81
Family security, safety for loved ones	.64
Egoism		3.41 (.72)	.76	.62
Authority, the right to lead or command	.80
Influential, having an impact on people and events	.77
Openness to change		4.18 (.69)	.81	.69
A varied life, filled with challenge, novelty, and change	.80
An exciting life, stimulating experiences	.86
Environmental beliefs		3.64 (.58)	.82	.47
We are approaching the limit of the number of people the Earth can support	.58
The balance of nature is strong enough to cope with the impacts of modern industrial nations	.67
The so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated	.79
Humans were meant to rule over the rest of nature	.66
If things continue on their present course, we will soon experience a major ecological catastrophe	.71
Personal norms		4.19 (.64)	.705	.45
I feel it is my responsibility to help the environment in the best ways possible	.75
I don’t feel any moral obligation to help conserve environmental resources	.57
I feel guilty when I don’t manage to make an effort to conserve resources	.62