TY - JOUR
T1 - Mindfulness and sustainable consumption
T2 - A systematic literature review of research approaches and findings
AU - Fischer, Daniel
AU - Stanszus, Laura
AU - Geiger, Sonja
AU - Grossman, Paul
AU - Schrader, Ulf
N1 - Funding Information:
The present work is funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) in the project BiNKA (Education for Sustainable Consumption through Mindfulness Training) under grants 01UT1416 and 01UT1416B. The authors would like to thank Laura Ditges, Angelika Haaser, Lena Kaupmann and Teresa Ruckelshauβ for their support in data preparation and processing.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2017/9/20
Y1 - 2017/9/20
N2 - Mindfulness, derived from Buddhist origins, refers to deliberate, unbiased and openhearted awareness of perceptible experience in the present moment. With its focus on cultivation of benevolent and clear-headed values and actions to self, others and the world, as well as its possible value in fostering greater coherence between values, attitudes and behavior, the concept of mindfulness has most recently attracted the interest of scholars in sustainable consumption research. So far, however, research on the connection between mindfulness and sustainable consumption is scattered across different disciplines and lacks integration. This paper contributes to a consolidation of the field. Based on a systematic literature review (Ninitial sample = 1137 publications, Npreliminary sample = 32, Nfinal sample = 7), it represents a stocktaking exercise to evaluate the research methodologies used and findings reported in the emerging field of empirical research relating mindfulness to sustainable consumption. The focus of the review is on four potential mechanisms of mindfulness for sustainable consumption that have been postulated in seminal conceptual works in the field: to disrupt routines, to promote more congruence with regard to the attitude-behavior gap, to nurture non-materialistic values, to enhance well-being, and to foster pro-social behavior. Preliminary evidence suggests support for these assumed potentials. However, the review also reveals that there are serious methodological challenges and shortcomings in existing empirical approaches, namely with regard to definitional issues, the development and use of instruments, selection of samples, study designs and the inclusion of mediating or moderating variables. The paper concludes with a discussion of challenges and recommendations for future work in the field.
AB - Mindfulness, derived from Buddhist origins, refers to deliberate, unbiased and openhearted awareness of perceptible experience in the present moment. With its focus on cultivation of benevolent and clear-headed values and actions to self, others and the world, as well as its possible value in fostering greater coherence between values, attitudes and behavior, the concept of mindfulness has most recently attracted the interest of scholars in sustainable consumption research. So far, however, research on the connection between mindfulness and sustainable consumption is scattered across different disciplines and lacks integration. This paper contributes to a consolidation of the field. Based on a systematic literature review (Ninitial sample = 1137 publications, Npreliminary sample = 32, Nfinal sample = 7), it represents a stocktaking exercise to evaluate the research methodologies used and findings reported in the emerging field of empirical research relating mindfulness to sustainable consumption. The focus of the review is on four potential mechanisms of mindfulness for sustainable consumption that have been postulated in seminal conceptual works in the field: to disrupt routines, to promote more congruence with regard to the attitude-behavior gap, to nurture non-materialistic values, to enhance well-being, and to foster pro-social behavior. Preliminary evidence suggests support for these assumed potentials. However, the review also reveals that there are serious methodological challenges and shortcomings in existing empirical approaches, namely with regard to definitional issues, the development and use of instruments, selection of samples, study designs and the inclusion of mediating or moderating variables. The paper concludes with a discussion of challenges and recommendations for future work in the field.
KW - Consumer behavior
KW - Literature review
KW - Meditation
KW - Methodology
KW - Mindfulness
KW - Sustainable consumption
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85024100312&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85024100312&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.007
DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.007
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85024100312
SN - 0959-6526
VL - 162
SP - 544
EP - 558
JO - Journal of Cleaner Production
JF - Journal of Cleaner Production
ER -