Purpose

This paper aims to shed light on the demand side of sustainability, that is, on its perceived meaning. The goal is to understand how people think of sustainability, the concepts they evoke when they talk of sustainability and the images and symbols they use to explain these concepts.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a mixed method. First, ten individuals are interviewed using the Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET), a protocol developed by Gerald Zaltman in the early 1990s. The concepts and categories emerging from the ZMET have been analyzed, integrated and classified to identify key dimensions.

Findings

Ten concepts related to sustainability are the most recurring in the ZMET: problems and solutions, individual behavior, environment and ecosystem, technologies and innovations, social fairness, food and nutrition, mobility, education and mindfulness, sustainable development and utopia/ideal world.

Research limitations/implications

Ten interviews is a small number to provide a comprehensive analysis of all the meanings of sustainability. To obtain a more complete picture, the number of interviews may need to be increased to 15–20.

Practical implications

The fact that the two concepts appearing with the highest frequency in the ZMETs are “problems and solutions” and “individual behavior” signals that though people understand that there are many problems to be solved in the world as it is now, even the single individual can contribute with his/her behavior.

Social implications

Sustainability is an issue that involves society as a whole; hence, its improvement requires concerted political action coordinated at the national and local levels. The key point of this action is education of people, to make them aware of what sustainability really is.

Originality/value

Although the literature on sustainability is rather abundant, extant literature has mainly focused on the supply/managerial side such as sustainable and responsible companies, corporate social responsibility and also sustainable tourism. This paper sheds some light on the more neglected side of the demand perspective.

中文翻译：

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当您想到可持续发展时会想到什么？ZMET的定性研究

目的

本文旨在阐明可持续性的需求方面，即其可感知的意义。目的是了解人们如何看待可持续性，谈论可持续性时所唤起的概念以及用于解释这些概念的图像和符号。

设计/方法/方法

本研究使用混合方法。首先，使用Zaltman隐喻启发技术（ZMET）采访十个人，该技术是Gerald Zaltman在1990年代初开发的协议。对ZMET中出现的概念和类别进行了分析，集成和分类，以识别关键维度。

发现

与可持续发展有关的十个概念在ZMET中最常出现：问题和解决方案，个人行为，环境和生态系统，技术和创新，社会公平，粮食和营养，流动性，教育和正念，可持续发展和乌托邦/理想世界。

研究局限/意义

很少有十次面试可以对可持续性的所有含义进行全面分析。为了获得更完整的图景，采访次数可能需要增加到15-20。

实际影响

ZMET中出现频率最高的两个概念是“问题和解决方案”和“个体行为”，这一事实表明，尽管人们理解当今世界上仍有许多问题需要解决，即使是单个个体可以为他/她的行为做出贡献。

社会影响

可持续发展是一个涉及整个社会的问题。因此，要对其进行改进，就需要在国家和地方各级进行协调一致的政治行动。这项行动的重点是对人员进行教育，以使他们意识到可持续性的真正含义。

创意/价值

尽管有关可持续性的文献非常丰富，但现有文献主要集中在供应/管理方面，例如可持续和负责任的公司，企业社会责任以及可持续旅游业。本文为需求视角中被忽略的这一方面提供了一些启示。