How Climate Change Anxiety Enhances Sustainable Trust and Consumption Behavior: Evidence From Vietnam and Italy

This study explores the intricate associations between climate change anxiety, sustainable trust and three aspects of sustainable consumption behaviors (quality of life, care for environment and care for future generations) among consumers in Vietnam and Italy, with a focus on the moderating role of nature connectedness and hyperopia psychology. Employing an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach that integrates both qualitative and quantitative techniques, the study initially conducted 20 in-depth interviews to gain insights into the interplay between climate change-related factors, trust, and sustainable consumer behaviors, which helped to formulate the quantitative research framework. Subsequently, a quantitative approach was utilized, gathering 681 online surveys from Vietnamese and Italian consumers, with the data assessed through structural equation modeling using SmartPLS software. This study is the first to reveal crucial theoretical insights into how climate change anxiety and sustainable trust, affected by climate change risk perception and climate change knowledge, impact three aspects of sustainable consumption behaviors: quality of life, care for the environment, and care for future generations. These effects are positively moderated by hyperopia and nature connectedness, providing profound understanding of consumer behavior between the two regions within sustainable consumption amid the urgent global climate change crisis. Scholars benefit from an enriched understanding of consumer behaviors amidst climate change anxiety, while policymakers, businesses, and advocates gain actionable insights to drive effective climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, which contributes to advancing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.