Climate Change threats, needs frustration, and consumer responses: An exploratory study

Several threats that continuously disrupt and alter consumers’ lives define our times. One of the most relevant threats is Climate Change, which affects the satisfaction of diverse human needs and triggers cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. Because the survival and well-being of people depend on the environmental system, one may expect consumers to behave more pro-environmentally under the menace of Climate Change, but empirical evidence shows that we still place an unsustainable burden on the physical environment. Previous research has examined the impact on consumption of isolated catastrophic negative events, providing evidence that consumers rely on a variety of consumption strategies to shield themselves from negative experiences and unpleasant feelings, also at the expense of the environment. However, none of the previous studies has specifically investigated how Climate Change threats affect consumer need frustration and how such a need frustration may in turn elicit eco-(un)friendly consumption behavior. In this study, we explore whether and how consumer eco-(un)friendly behavior reflects the perceived need frustration because of Climate Change threats. As a part of an ongoing mixed-method study, we present the results of a qualitative study based on the ZMET interviews. Our findings also inform practitioners and policymakers on how to communicate Climate Change threats in a way that helps avoid undesired eco-unfriendly behaviors.