Kwansei Gakuin University
Report of Research Outcome
2020/04/13

To President
Department： Institute of Business and Accounting
Position： Professor
Name： Norlia Ahmad
I report the outcome of the research as follows.

Name of theFund/Prog ra m

□Sabbatical leave with grant◆ Sabbatical leave with no g rant

□KGU Joint Research□Individual Special Research□Postdoctoral f ellow※ Please report by desi gnated f orm as f or “Inte rnational ResearchCollaboration”.

ResearchThe me
Research
Site/VenueResearch
periodSustainabilit y and Mar k eting: The Influence of Intrins ic Motivations on
Sustainable Custom er Behavior

Kwansei Gakuin Unive rsity

2019/09/20～

2020/03/31 （ 6 mon ths）

◆ Summary of the research outcome （ appr ox . 2 ,5 00 wo r ds）
Please write down the outcomes in detail regarding the research theme above.
The six months of sabbatical leave has provided valuable time to de velop the ground workand ref ine the f ramework of my research on sustainable consumer beha vior. I ha ve been able
to f ocus on the literature regarding t he inf luence of digital technology on consumer beha viorand examined the link between mindf ul digital consumption and sustainability.

The threepillars of sustainability are enviro n ment, society and, econo my. My re search off ers a lessobvious debate to the di scussion of sustainability; it looks at consume rs as individuals whose
behavior h as a ma jo r an d cumulative i mpact on sustainable developme n t agenda. It f ocuses oncustomer relationships with technology and links sustainable consumption with the behavioral
change of individual consume rs in their daily interaction with digital devices and online
inf ormation. Digital tran sf ormations have inf luenced the way we f eel, think and live, and f or
better o r wo rse, will continue to do so. If sustainability is viewed as livi ng within the limits ofavailable natural, en viro nment al and economic resources, sustainable digital behavior relates
to consume r ability to make the best use of individual personal resou rce i .e. attention.
During the f irst half of my resea rch leave, I have looked at the eme rgence of the‘mindf ulness’ industry w hich has surf aced in recent years as one of the ma rket reactions to1

inf ormation ove rloads and endless distractions. This industry extends beyond the mindf ulness
training and stress redu ction progra m to include sof tware applications and wearable de vices.
Digital technologies and the p ractice of mindf ulness triumph ed based on the extent of their
inf luences on people’s minds and beha viors. Th e rise of interest in mind f ulness is also credited
to the rising cost of mindlessness such as internet-related addiction an d its negative i mpact o npeople’s cognitive capabilities. Digital transf ormations ha ve magnif ied the contents of ourminds to such an exten t that require ef f orts to conf ront their det ri ment al ef f ect on individualand collective wellbeing. Based on th ese arg uments, I de velop a w orking f ramew ork andpropositions toward p ro moting sustainable beha vior of digital consumption f rom a rational andpsychological perspective. In January 20 20, thi s f ramewo rk was sub mit ted f or the 20 20 Global
Ma rketing Conf erence i n Seoul, South Ko rea. The conf erence which wa s initially scheduled inJuly 2020 was later p ostponed to No ve mbe r 202 0 due to the global out b reak of COVID-1 9.
Fro m

theps ychology

perspective,

myres earch

expands

themeditative

stateofmindf ulness in which individual attention and a wareness are directed t owards the ‘he re’ and‘now’. In this study, th e word ‘ mindf ul’ ref ers to being aware of our atte ntion in terms of intent
and action beyond the ‘here’ and ‘now’. It argues that despite our dependence on digitaltechnology, it is not a resource f or e very asp ect of lif e; it is a tool to be capitalized f orindividual and collective wellbeing. This study views sustainable consume r behavio r asbehavior t hat enco mpas ses individual belief s, motives, values and, sens es of responsibility indeliberate actions that f ocus on enhancing pe rsonal and collective well being. In this respect,mindf ul consumption is regarded as the basis of sustainable consume r behavio r. W hilst
sustainable behavior, overconsu mption and co nsumer de pendencies on technology are also
inf luenced by various external f orces in the economic and social environmen t, my research
me rely explores inte rnal drive rs of behavioral ch ange that a re within con sumer powe r such as
inner mo tive and self -regulation. I argue tha t the ever mo re perva sive and persuasive
technology is a reality n ow f rom which there is no retreat, thus, the mo st importa nt challenge
f acing individual consume rs is to develop digital literacy and necessary skills towards themindf ul use of technology.
The current global pand emic has also restricted research trips and d ata collection during
the latter half of my sabbatical leave. Accordingly, I have f ocused my research ef f orts ondeveloping a conceptual f ramew ork of mindf ul digital consumption (MDC ) and detail ele mentsthat ai m to pro mote sustainable consume r beha vior. These eleme nts f ocus on self - awareness,
inner moti ves, self -care and inte rest, a nd self -regulation which serve a s a ‘f ilter’ of attention
process. Theoretically, there exists a causal re lationship between awa reness, attention a nd,action. For instance, att ention is the link in consume r decision making b ef ore we decide to bu yor not to bu y a p roduct. Consume rs do not get t o the act of buying a prod uct without giving theirattention to the prod uct. In this rega rd, the action also includes sharing inf ormation about theproduct or searching f or mo re inf ormation. To provide mo re clarity of attention process, thisstudy describes a mod el of attention f unnel in which the self -aware ness, inner motives,self -care and interest, a nd self -regulation serve as f iltering elements f or the reduction of theamoun t of inf ormation a nd only allow ones that support individual task focus.
The main idea of this research is roote d in th e assumption that being mindf ul is not anoption; it’s a wa y of lif e. It leads to sustainable behavio r in e veryth ing we do, including
consumption. As digital technologies increasingly inf luenced the way we co mmunicate,entertain, bu y, tra vel a nd various othe r activities of our lives, analysis of this research isrelevant b eyon d market ing and consumption. The outcomes of this research and co mpleted
article(s) are to be considered f or publication(s) and will be presented in laypersons’ language
to also reach public aud iences. In identif ying the opportu nities and challenges f or sustainable2

consumption, this research contributes to ef f orts that ai m to cultivat e the skills needed tosurvive and thri ve in a digitally connected wo rld. Although the MDC f ramewo rk f ocuses on
consumer inte raction wi th technology, its e mph asis is on the basic aspects of behavior i.e.
intent and action. This allows the f ramework to b e extended and adapted in various contexts ofsustainable consumer b ehavior resea rch. To reiterate, a mindf ul approa ch to all aspects of lif eenhances our wellbeing ; the mindf ul act of digital consumption allows consume rs not only t oregain control of their attention but also to develop sustainable habits crucial f or personal
growth an d collective wellbeing.
Mo ving f orwa rd, I plan to conduct deepe r a nalyses to ad vance research on sustainableconsumer beha vior. Fu rther research ef f orts f ocus on developing p ractical propositions
regarding the mindf ul use of digital technologies. As digital transf ormations , the internet, andartif icial intelligence (AI) technology can be mo r e intrusive in peoples’ lives, there is a sense ofurgency to p ro vide critical views of our interactions with digital devices and online inf ormation.
In the so-called ‘attention economy’, we (the c onsume rs) are considered as the ‘product’ andthe advertisers a re th e actual consume rs f or the big technology companies. The main
challenge f or consumers as individuals is to recognize and unde rstand the nature of attention
economy and to de velop the ability to control the ‘controllable’ such as our most personal
resource i.e. attention.

-end of report -Deadline： W ithin two months af ter f inishing the research pe riod.
Sabbatical leave with grant: Sub mit this report t o President with conf irmation by the dean ofschool you belong to.
※ Postdoctoral f ellow is required to sub mit this report with conf irmation by the de an of graduate

school bef ore the end of emplo yment pe riod.
W here to submit： Orga nization f or Research a nd Develop ment and Ou treach (N UC)◆ W e put this report on t he web of KGU. If there is any proble m abo ut it because of diff iculties on
your research, please le t us know.

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