Clara Viseu

Although consumption is a key engine of economic growth, it is also one of the main drivers of environmental degradation. In this context, a deeper understanding of consumers’ perceptions and behavior regarding sustainable products is essential for promoting a more sustainable future, with behavioral change being crucial to achieving it. This research study explores consumer behavior regarding sustainable egg consumption, a sector where production is frequently associated with environmental and ethical concerns such as animal welfare and intensive resource use. Based on a sample of 197 valid responses from Portuguese egg consumers collected through an online survey distributed between 27 February and 17 March, of the year 2025, and applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework through a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach, this study finds that consumers’ intention to consume sustainable eggs is influenced by their attitudes and subjective norms. Furthermore, actual consumption behavior is driven by both the intention to consume sustainable eggs and perceived behavioral control. By providing an in-depth analysis of consumer behavior related to sustainable egg consumption, this study contributes to the advancement of the scientific literature on the subject. It also aims to support policymakers and other stakeholders in designing and implementing more effective strategies to promote environmentally responsible consumption practices.

Although consumption is the cornerstone of economic growth, it is unquestionably one of the main reasons for the current degradation of the planet. Hence, it is necessary to understand consumers’ different perceptions and behaviors regarding sustainable goods, as the solution will inevitably involve changing behaviors and promoting more sustainable consumption. In light of the challenges posed by sustainability within the wine sector, namely issues related to climate change, chemical exposure, and the availability of water and energy, and considering the industry’s substantial environmental and social impacts, it is important to understand the factors influencing wine consumer behavior. This research explores sustainable wine consumption in Portugal. Based on a sample of 197 valid responses, collected in an online survey that took place from March 20 to April 30 of 2024, and applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework, the current study found that consumers’ intention to consume sustainable wine is influenced by their attitudes, subjective norms, and sustainability awareness. Regarding the individuals’ consumption of sustainable wine, this behavior is influenced by the intention to consume this wine, and by consumers’ perceived behavioral control. The results also concluded that individuals’ intention to consume sustainable wine is significantly different across marital status, professional occupation, level of education, and age. With these valuable insights, this study aimed to increase the available information on sustainable wine consumption, allowing different stakeholders, namely political decision makers, to develop and implement more efficient measures to promote sustainable wine consumption.

The Volume 12 published for IJEPR Journal.

This study aims to explore whether consumers’ attention to companies’ green marketing communication influences their green purchase behaviour. It also analyses the importance of consumers’ characteristics, namely gender, education, and green attitudes, in their attention to companies’ green marketing communication. An online survey was carried out on the population residing in Portugal over 18 years of age, allowing us to collect 690 valid responses. Data analysis techniques including descriptive analyses, parametric and non-parametric tests, linear correlation, and regression analysis were used. The achieved results allow us to conclude that consumers are attentive to companies’ green marketing communication. A strong correlation between consumers’ attention to companies’ green marketing communication and green purchasing behaviour was identified. The results also confirm that individuals with higher educational levels and green attitudes and females are the most attentive to companies’ green marketing communication.

We assessed the implementation of operational programs (OPs) aimed at boosting the deployment of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We performed a three-stage slack-based measure (SBM) data envelopment analysis (DEA) model combined with the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), which considered data and contextual factors reported from the European Union (EU) to appraise 51 OPs from 16 countries. Overall, we discovered that by eliminating the contextual factors, almost 27% of the OPs (14) attained efficient procedural results. The OP “Multi-regional Spain—ERDF” is widely perceived as a benchmark, irrespective of its contextual factors, remaining robustly efficient for data perturbations ranging from 5% to 10%. The “Number of Operations Supported” is the indicator that requires attention, both with or without the removal of contextual factors. Our findings suggest that more developed regions, with a greater proportion of ICT professionals, are associated with a poor utilization and allocation of ERDF funds to promote ICT adoption in SMEs. This could be attributed to an inability of SMEs to handle the complex bureaucratic processes of submitting and executing European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) initiatives. Consequently, it is vital to provide additional assistance that streamlines the management formalities and satisfies the needs of SMEs.

We evaluated the execution of the operational programs (OPs) committed to encouraging the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To achieve this goal, we employed a novel three-stage weighted Russel directional distance (WRDD) data envelopment analysis (DEA) model in conjunction with stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), which considers indicators officially mandated by the European Union (EU) and environmental factors, to evaluate 51 OPs from 16 EU countries. All in all, we concluded that by removing the environmental factors, about 30% of the OPs (16) reached an efficient procedural performance against 20% (10). The OP more frequently viewed as a benchmark regardless of the environmental factors is “Multi-regional Spain—ERDF” that remains robustly efficient within 5% and 10% tolerances. Without the removal of the environmental factors, the “number of operations supported” is the indicator that requires more attention from management authorities (MAs), whereas with their removal one-third of the OPs need to further reduce the “eligible costs decided” and improve “eligible spending”. According to our findings, more developed regions and a higher rate of ICT specialists seem to be related to an underuse of ERDF funds dedicated to boosting ICT in SMEs. These findings might be related to the administrative burden and the lack of ability of SMEs to deal with the various procedures for applying for and implementing European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) projects. Overall, it is critical to provide further support that simplifies administrative procedures and addresses SMEs’ specific requirements.

In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the environmental impacts of consumers’ behaviour. As this environmental awareness increases, consumers tend to focus more on green products and how purchasing these products represents an effective way to protect the environment. Through the application of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), in this research, we studied the influence of some key variables on college students’ green purchasing behaviour, namely perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, green attitudes, and green purchase intentions. The TPB model was extended to the analysis of the influence of the companies’ green communication on students’ green purchase behaviour. To achieve the proposed goal, from March to April of 2021, a survey was conducted among the students of a higher education institution (HEI) in Portugal, allowing us to gather 432 valid responses. The findings suggested that all the variables, except the subjective norms, had a positive influence on the students’ green purchase intentions. Moreover, it was observed that students’ intentions had a positive influence on their green purchase behaviour. This research provides important results not only for policymakers to promote more sustainable behaviours among consumers but also for companies to be more aware of the importance of green communication.