Sustainable Behavior and Its Antecedents: A Systematic …
253
to Cleaner Production in the Americas II: Application of a Competency Model to
Experiential Learning for Sustainability Education) caught our attention for involving
partnerships between American and Latin-American universities in the theme of
sustainability (Mcpherson et al. 2016). The second article (Institutional and Societal
Challenges in Sustainability Science and Explore the Potential of Uniting Education,
Research and Societal Contributions to Form a Systematic and Integrated Response
to the Sustainability Crisis) was deemed important due to linking sustainability within
universities with the multidisciplinarity of various areas and subjects of study within
universities (Yarime et al. 2012). The 2 articles were summarized with the purpose
of synthesizing the main concepts and information relevant to the data collection.
The selected researches deal with sustainable behavior of individuals bringing the
spotlight to antecessors and influences.
The level of analysis of the articles, in general, are summarized at: the subjective
level (considering well-being and satisfaction with the past, flow and happiness in
the present, and hope and optimism for the future); micro or individual level (that
is, positive traits, such as love capacity, courage, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance,
forgiveness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom); and macro or institutional level
(that is, positive civic virtues and institutions that help move individuals into better
citizenship, such as responsibility, altruism, civility, moderation, tolerance, and a
strong sense of work ethics).
Over time, the understanding that there is a positive relationship between positive feelings of employees and their performance became obvious. For this motive,
although these studies do not specifically focus on the professional field, understanding how individual’s sustainable behavior occurs can help organizations achieve their
goals towards sustainability, what in turn has been motivating many researchers to
work in this area. Such analyzes can help not only with the selection of employees who have the desirable personal characteristics and a positive attitude towards
sustainable behavior, but also in the creation of programs that can capacitate these
employees to gain this type of behavior.
According to these studies, 2 characteristics are intrinsically linked to sustainable
behavior: self-efficacy and resilience. The definition of self-efficacy more often used
is the one proposed by Bandura, which considers perceptual judgement of an individual in the belief of “how well they can execute courses of action necessary to deal
with specific situations” (Bandura 1999, p. 122). Another broader definition states
that: “self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief (or confidence) in their ability to
mobilize motivation, cognitive resources, and the courses of action necessary to execute with success a specific task within a specific context” (Stajkovic and Luthans
1998, p. 66). Again, the key to definition is the specificity of task and context, as these
interfere directly in the individual’s perception about the difficulty of the proposed
task. This characteristic exerts a great influence due to the individual’s perception that
sustainable objectives are difficult to achieve, and the perception that an individual’s
action will not make the difference in the final results.
253
to Cleaner Production in the Americas II: Application of a Competency Model to
Experiential Learning for Sustainability Education) caught our attention for involving
partnerships between American and Latin-American universities in the theme of
sustainability (Mcpherson et al. 2016). The second article (Institutional and Societal
Challenges in Sustainability Science and Explore the Potential of Uniting Education,
Research and Societal Contributions to Form a Systematic and Integrated Response
to the Sustainability Crisis) was deemed important due to linking sustainability within
universities with the multidisciplinarity of various areas and subjects of study within
universities (Yarime et al. 2012). The 2 articles were summarized with the purpose
of synthesizing the main concepts and information relevant to the data collection.
The selected researches deal with sustainable behavior of individuals bringing the
spotlight to antecessors and influences.
The level of analysis of the articles, in general, are summarized at: the subjective
level (considering well-being and satisfaction with the past, flow and happiness in
the present, and hope and optimism for the future); micro or individual level (that
is, positive traits, such as love capacity, courage, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance,
forgiveness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom); and macro or institutional level
(that is, positive civic virtues and institutions that help move individuals into better
citizenship, such as responsibility, altruism, civility, moderation, tolerance, and a
strong sense of work ethics).
Over time, the understanding that there is a positive relationship between positive feelings of employees and their performance became obvious. For this motive,
although these studies do not specifically focus on the professional field, understanding how individual’s sustainable behavior occurs can help organizations achieve their
goals towards sustainability, what in turn has been motivating many researchers to
work in this area. Such analyzes can help not only with the selection of employees who have the desirable personal characteristics and a positive attitude towards
sustainable behavior, but also in the creation of programs that can capacitate these
employees to gain this type of behavior.
According to these studies, 2 characteristics are intrinsically linked to sustainable
behavior: self-efficacy and resilience. The definition of self-efficacy more often used
is the one proposed by Bandura, which considers perceptual judgement of an individual in the belief of “how well they can execute courses of action necessary to deal
with specific situations” (Bandura 1999, p. 122). Another broader definition states
that: “self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief (or confidence) in their ability to
mobilize motivation, cognitive resources, and the courses of action necessary to execute with success a specific task within a specific context” (Stajkovic and Luthans
1998, p. 66). Again, the key to definition is the specificity of task and context, as these
interfere directly in the individual’s perception about the difficulty of the proposed
task. This characteristic exerts a great influence due to the individual’s perception that
sustainable objectives are difficult to achieve, and the perception that an individual’s
action will not make the difference in the final results.