COVID-19: How has the pandemic influenced consumers' sustainable attitudes and behaviors? Navn:

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a great strain on the whole world. Millions of people have died worldwide, and Norway has also been affected. The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to fear among people all over the world, and individuals have developed health concerns in relation to the virus. Thus, governments all over the world have introduced lockdowns, which has had a positive effect on the environment. The lockdowns and COVID-19 related restrictions from the government in Norway have changed consumers’ attitudes and behaviors towards more sustainable choices and increased consumers’ environmental awareness. Thus, the purpose of this research was to uncover if and how concerns for COVID- 19 influences consumers’ sustainable attitudes and behaviors. As a result, the following research question was formulated: How has concerns for COVID-19 influenced sustainable attitudes and affected sustainable behavior during the pandemic? A quantitative research design was used to investigate possible changes in consumers' sustainable attitudes and behavior due to COVID-19. The results indicate that consumers are concerned about the consequences of the virus, both on their own health but also on their local communities. In addition, several consumers want to support vulnerable businesses, as a desire to help the society. Consequently, the concerns for COVID-19 have positively affected consumers’ environmental awareness, practice of environmental conservation, willingness to practice social responsibility and local shopping behavior. Our findings suggest that the changes in sustainable attitudes and sustainable behavior we have witnessed as a result of COVID-19 could contribute to several positive impacts on the environment in the future. However, it is therefore important for companies to continuously adapt sustainable ideas from the field, in order to adapt their practices to market trends and meet consumers' expectations. Thus, the study provides future directions for how businesses can cope with future crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the thesis contributes to an understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced sustainable attitudes and affected sustainable behavior.