Consumer Perceptions of Sustainability: A Free Elicitation Study

While sustainability has long been conceptualized as comprising three pillars (ecological, economic, and social), extant research and practice tends to focus on the ecological dimension of sustainability. Sustainable products and services are often marketed as a proxy for “environmentally appropriate” without considering other dimensions. As a result consumers may be under the misconception that sustainability is a one-dimensional concept and the way that researchers and marketers are employing this term may be perpetuating this (mis)understanding. This research explores the way that consumers interpret this construct. The results lend support to the argument that a one-dimensional operationalization of sustainability may be underestimating the importance of the social, economic, and time dimensions in consumer perceptions.