Abstract
The integration of sport and sustainable development can positively enhance social and environmental outcomes to encourage a sustainable future. Only a limited amount of knowledge exists regarding the sustainable behavior perceptions of sport participants. Specifically, this study examined gender differences for active sport event participants' socially (SRBI) and environmentally responsible behavioral intentions (ERBI), social bonding, and connectedness to nature. This inquiry also explored the relationship between SRBI and ERBI in a mass-participant sport event (MPSE) context. The data collected through web surveys from registered runners of an MPSE in the Southeastern United States. The results revealed that women have significantly higher perceptions of connectedness to nature, SRBI, and ERBI than men. Also, findings suggested that the MPSE context could play a crucial role as a platform for sustainable development interventions. Finally, this research supported that social bonding and connectedness to nature perceptions play an essential role in cultivating SRBI and ERBI for both men and women.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrahamse W, Steg L (2009) How do socio-demographic and psychological factors relate to households’ direct and indirect energy use and savings? J Econ Psychol 30(5):711–720
Acosta RV, Carpenter LJ (2014) Woman in intercollegiate sport: a longitudinal, national study. Thirty-Seven Year Update, 1977–2014
Ajzen I (2001) Nature and operation of attitudes. Annu Rev Psychol 52(1):27–58
Baumgartner RJ (2011) Critical perspectives on sustainable development research and practice. J Clean Prod 19(8):783–786
Briscoe MD, Givens JE, Hazboun S, Krannich RS (2019) At home, in public, and in between: gender differences in public, private, and transportation pro-environmental behaviors in the US Intermountain West. Environ Sociol 5(4):374–392
Broman GI, Robèrt KH (2017) A framework for strategic sustainable development. J Clean Prod 140:17–31
Buning RJ, Walker M (2016) Differentiating mass participant sport event consumers: traditional versus non-traditional events. Sport Mark Q 25(1):47
Carfora V, Caso D, Sparks P, Conner M (2017) Moderating effects of pro-environmental self-identity on pro-environmental intentions and behavior: a multi-behavior study. J Environ Psychol 53:92–99
Coalter F (2010) Sport-for-development: going beyond the boundary? Sport Soc 13(9):1374–1391
Collado S, Staats H, Sancho P (2019) Normative influences on adolescents’ self-reported pro-environmental behaviors: the role of parents and friends. Environ Behav 51(3):288–314
Corral-Verdugo V, Mireles-Acosta J, Tapia-Fonllem C, Fraijo-Sing B (2011) Happiness as correlate of sustainable behavior: a study of pro-ecological, frugal, equitable and altruistic actions that promote subjective wellbeing. Human Ecol Rev 18(2):95–104
Darvin L (2020) Voluntary occupational turnover and the experiences of former intercollegiate women assistant coaches. J Vocat Behav 116:103349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103349
Darvin L, Sagas M (2017) An examination of homologous reproduction in the representation of assistant coaches of women’s teams: a 10-year update. Gender Issues 34(2):171–185
Diamantopoulos A, Schlegelmilch BB, Sinkovics RR, Bohlen GM (2003) Can socio-demographics still play a role in profiling green consumers? A review of the evidence and an empirical investigation. J Bus Res 56(6):465–480
Dolnicar S, Crouch GI, Long P (2008) Environment-friendly tourists: what do we really know about them? J Sustain Tour 16(2):197–210
Dono J, Webb J, Richardson B (2010) The relationship between environmental activism, pro-environmental behavior and social identity. J Environ Psychol 30(2):178–186
Filo K, Funk DC, O'Brien D (2011) Examining motivation for charity sport event participation: a comparison of recreation-based and charity-based motives. J Leisure Res 43(4):491–518
Funk DC, Filo K, Beaton AA, Pritchard M (2009) Measuring the motives of sport event attendance: Bridging the academic–practitioner divide to understanding behavior. Sport Mark Q 18(3):126
Ghvanidze S, Velikova N, Dodd TH, Oldewage-Theron W (2016) Consumers' environmental and ethical consciousness and the use of the related food products information: the role of perceived consumer effectiveness. Appetite 107:311–322
Hair JF, Black WC, Babin BJ, Anderson RE, Tatham RL (1998) Multivariate data analysis, vol 5, no 3. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, pp 207–219
Halpenny EA (2010) Pro-environmental behaviors and park visitors: the effect of place attachment. J Environ Psychol 30(4):409–421
Kasser T (2009) Psychological need satisfaction, personal well-being, and ecological sustainability. Ecopsychology 1(4):175–180
Kissane RJ, Winslow S (2016) Bonding and abandoning: Gender, social interaction, and relationships in fantasy sports. Soc Curr 3(3):256–272
Lange F, Dewitte S (2019) Measuring pro-environmental behavior: review and recommendations. J Environ Psychol 63:92–100
Lapchick R (2016) Gender report Card: 2016 International Sports Report Card on Women in Leadership Roles. The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, University of Central Florida, USA. www.tidesport.org/women-leadership-international-sports.html
Lipowski M, Krokosz D, Łada A, Sližik M, Pasek M (2019) Sense of coherence and connectedness to nature as predictors of motivation for practicing Karate. Int J Environ Res Public Health 16(14):2483
Luchs MG, Mooradian TA (2012) Sex, personality, and sustainable consumer behaviour: elucidating the gender effect. J of Consum Policy 35(1):127–144
Mayer FS, Frantz CM (2004) The connectedness to nature scale: a measure of individuals’ feeling in community with nature. J Environ Psychol 24(4):503–515
McCright AM, Marquart-Pyatt ST, Shwom RL, Brechin SR, Allen S (2016) Ideology, capitalism, and climate: Explaining public views about climate change in the United States. Energy Res Soc Sci 21:180–189
Midgley G, Reynolds M (2004) Systems/operational research and sustainable development: towards a new agenda. Sustain Dev 12(1):56–64
Mobley C, Kilbourne W (2013) Gender differences in pro-environmental intentions: a cross-national perspective on the influence of self-enhancement values and views on technology. Sociol Inquiry 83(2):310–332
Özbay Ö, Özcan YZ (2008) A test of Hirschi's social bonding theory: a comparison of male and female delinquency. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol 52(2):134–157
Park J, Ha S (2012) Understanding pro-environmental behavior: a comparison of sustainable consumers and apathetic consumers. Int J Retail Distrib Manag 40(5):388–403
Perkins DD, Long DA (2002) Neighborhood sense of community and social capital. In: Psychological sense of community. Springer, Boston, MA, pp 291–318
Pretty J, Rogerson M, Barton J (2017) Green mind theory: How brain-body-behaviour links into natural and social environments for healthy habits. Int J Environ Res Public Health 14(7):706
Ramkissoon H, Weiler B, Smith LDG (2012) Place attachment and pro-environmental behavior in national parks: the development of a conceptual framework. J Sustain Tour 20(2):257–276
Ramkissoon H, Weiler B, Smith LDG (2013) Place attachment, place satisfaction and pro-environmental behavior: a comparative assessment of multiple regression and structural equation modelling. J Policy Res Tour Leisure Events 5(3):215–232
Raymond CM, Brown G, Weber D (2010) The measurement of place attachment: Personal, community, and environmental connections. J Environ Psychol 30(4):422–434
Rim H, Yang SU, Lee J (2016) Strategic partnerships with nonprofits in corporate social responsibility (CSR): the mediating role of perceived altruism and organizational identification. J Bus Res 69(9):3213–3219
Robinson MJ, Trail GT (2005) Relationships among spectator gender, motives, points of attachment, and sport preference. J Sport Manag 19(1):58–80
Sachs JD, Schmidt-Traub G, Mazzucato M, Messner D, Nakicenovic N, Rockström J (2019) Six transformations to achieve the sustainable development goals. Nat Sustain 2(9):805–814
Sato S, Ko YJ, Kellison TB, Harada M, Bizen Y (2017) Do snow-based sport participants intend to purchase products from environmentally friendly companies? J Glob Sport Manage 2(3):182–195
Scannell L, Gifford R (2010) Defining place attachment: a tripartite organizing framework. J Environ Psychol 30(1):1–10
Schulenkorf N (2010) The roles and responsibilities of a change agent in sport event development projects. Sport Manag Rev 13(2):118–128
Schulenkorf N, Sherry E, Rowe K (2016) Sport for development: an integrated literature review. J Sport Manag 30(1):22–39
Schultz PW, Zelezny L, Dalrymple NJ (2000) A multinational perspective on the relation between Judeo-Christian religious beliefs and attitudes of environmental concern. Environ Behav 32(4):576–591
Schultz PW, Gouveia VV, Cameron LD, Tankha G, Schmuck P, Franěk M (2005) Values and their relationship to environmental concern and conservation behavior. J Cross Cult Psychol 36(4):457–475
Smith AC, Westerbeek HM (2007) Sport as a vehicle for deploying corporate social responsibility. J Corp Citizensh 25(1):43–54
Sovacool BK, Kester J, Noel L, de Rubens GZ (2018) The demographics of decarbonizing transport: the influence of gender, education, occupation, age, and household size on electric mobility preferences in the Nordic region. Glob Environ Change 52:86–100
Spaaij R, Jeanes R (2013) Education for social change? A Freirean critique of sport for development and peace. Phys Educ Sport Pedagogy 18(4):442–457
Stern PC (2000) Psychology and the science of human-environment interactions. Am Psychol 55(5):523–530
Stern PC, Dietz T, Kalof L (1993) Value orientations, gender, and environmental concern. Environ Behav 25(5):322–348
Strapko N, Hempel L, MacIlroy K, Smith K (2016) Gender differences in environmental concern: reevaluating gender socialization. Soc Nat Res 29(9):1015–1031
Tapia-Fonllem C, Corral-Verdugo V, Fraijo-Sing B, Durón-Ramos M (2013) Assessing sustainable behavior and its correlates: a measure of pro-ecological, frugal, altruistic and equitable actions. Sustainability 5(2):711–723
Trail G, McCullough B (2019) Marketing sustainability through sport and sustainability campaign evaluation model. Eur Sport Manag Q 10(3):1–39
Trendafilova S, Babiak K, Heinze K (2013) Corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability: Why professional sport is greening the playing field. Sport Manag Rev 16(3):298–313
Triantafyllidis S (2018) Carbon dioxide emissions research and sustainable transportation in the sports industry. C J Carbon Res 4(4):57
Triantafyllidis S, Davakos H (2019) Growing cities and mass participant sport events: traveling behaviors and carbon dioxide emissions. C J Carbon Res 5(3):49
Triantafyllidis S, Kaplanidou K (2019) Marathon runners: a fertile market for “Green” donations? J Glob Sport Manage. https://doi.org/10.1080/24704067.2018.1561205
Triantafyllidis S, Ries RJ, Kaplanidou KK (2018) Carbon dioxide emissions of spectators’ transportation in collegiate sporting events: comparing on-campus and off-campus stadium locations. Sustainability 10(1):241
Vicente-Molina MA, Fernández-Sainz A, Izagirre-Olaizola J (2018) Does gender make a difference in pro-environmental behavior? The case of the Basque Country University students. J Clean Prod 176:89–98
Waas T, Verbruggen A, Wright T (2010) University research for sustainable development: definition and characteristics explored. J Clean Prod 18(7):629–636
Xiao C, McCright AM (2012) Explaining gender differences in concern about environmental problems in the United States. Soc Nat Resour 25(11):1067–1084. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2011.651191
Xiao C, McCright AM (2015) Gender differences in environmental concern: Revisiting the institutional trust hypothesis in the USA. Environ Behav 47(1):17–37
Zelezny LC (1999) Educational interventions that improve environmental behaviors: a meta-analysis. The J Environ Educ 31(1):5–14
Zelezny LC, Chua PP, Aldrich C (2000) New ways of thinking about environmentalism: elaborating on gender differences in environmentalism. J Soc Issues 56(3):443–457
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Handled by Zhu Liu, Tsinghua University Department of Earth System Science, China.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Triantafyllidis, S., Darvin, L. Mass-participant sport events and sustainable development: gender, social bonding, and connectedness to nature as predictors of socially and environmentally responsible behavior intentions. Sustain Sci 16, 239–253 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00867-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00867-x