Facilitating pro-environmental behavior through collective processes at events

Abstract

Sport and culture events are important tourist attractions, but they may also be used to empower event participants to act pro-environmentally. Perceived capabilities to act pro-environmentally, so called self-efficacy beliefs, are a key aspect for pro-environmental behaviour. Therefore, this study examines the basis of self-efficacy for future events among participants at a major recurring orienteering event in Sweden (n = 296). A model with a personal and a collective route involving identity and efficacy processes for future event self-efficacy is tested on data including measures before and after the event. The study reveals that both the personal and collective route are important for future event self-efficacy, and that the collective processes are rooted in self-processes. The collective route explained more variance in self-efficacy for future events as compared to the personal route with measures of self-efficacy and environmental self-identity. Overall, the model explained 69% of the variation in self-efficacy for future events. Implications for theory concern the role of collective processes for event participants, which highlights the importance to address the “we” (or the collective-identity and collective-efficacy) for event and tourism stakeholders when managing events.