Looking at the gap between attitude and behavior among emotional sport fans and university students

This study examines whether pro-environmental attitudes predict pro-environmental behaviors and compares this relationship between emotionally involved football fans and socially conscious university students. As sustainability becomes increasingly important in sport and business, understanding how organizations can encourage environmentally friendly behaviors is a major research and managerial challenge. This study is unique because it directly compares two distinct contexts to better understand how different forms of connection to sustainability influence behavior.

The authors conducted two surveys involving more than 1,400 participants. Study 1 surveyed over 1,000 supporters of a Portuguese professional football club known for its sustainability initiatives, while Study 2 compared 253 football fans and 179 university students using structural equation modeling and multigroup analyses to examine differences in attitudes and behaviors. Pro-environmental attitudes positively predicted pro-environmental behaviors in both studies. Football fans reported higher average levels of environmental attitudes and behaviors, but the relationship between attitude and behavior was stronger among university students, suggesting that a more cognitive and intrinsic connection to sustainability leads to more consistent environmentally friendly actions.

Sport organizations can play an important role in promoting sustainable behaviors through environmental initiatives and fan engagement strategies, including energy savings, production and use of renewable energy (e.g., solar and wind), saving and reusing water, recycling and waste treatment, partnerships with public transport companies to reduce fans’ carbon footprint when traveling to the stadium, or even partnerships with pro-environmental organizations that share similar sustainable values. However, the findings also suggest that raising awareness alone may not be sufficient, and organizations should foster deeper, more intrinsic connections to environmental issues in order to strengthen the translation of attitudes into actual behaviors.

CITE: Cayolla, R., Escadas, M., McCullough, B. P., Biscaia, R., Cabilhas, A., & Santos, T. (2023). Does pro-environmental attitude predicts pro-environmental behavior? Comparing sustainability connection in emotional and cognitive environments among football fans and university students. Heliyon, 9(11). DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21758