Social media activation of pro-environmental personal norms: an exploration of informational, normative and emotional linkages to personal norm activation

The role that information plays is critical in changing behavior, thus it is surprising that so little research has examined informational strategies in activating pro-environmental personal norms. The aim of this study was to investigate whether personal norms were activated by user-generated online information. We applied a mixed methods research design, including a netnographic study and survey research with a sample of 1877 Chinese tourists, using a structural equation modelling approach (PLS-SEM). We found for tourists who have high level social media engagement, the cues in user-generated online information were more effective in activating their pro-environmental personal norms.