Introduction - Social influence plays a significant role in promoting sustainable mobility. Research shows that social norms encourage environmentally friendly behaviors. However, most studies focus on norms directly related to sustainable mobility, ignoring the impact of norms rooted in broader societal values such as prestige or innovation. These values often explain mobility choices in other contexts. This gap leads to a key question: Can sustainable mobility be promoted not only through norms tied to specific practices but also through norms anchored in collective values?
Purpose - This study investigates the relative influence of specific mobility norms and broader societal norms on sustainable mobility behaviors. Additionally, we examine the mediating role of personal norms and the contribution of perceived behavioral control to understand broader dynamics.
Method - An online survey was conducted among students at a higher education institution (N = 279) to assess perceptions of descriptive and injunctive norms related to mobility and eight societal values: prestige, health, materialism, hedonism, security, individualism, environment, and technology. Relationships among these variables were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), considering personal norms, perceived control, and self-reported behaviors.
Results - As anticipated, specific mobility norms strongly predicted sustainable mobility and perceived control. Among societal values, prestige positively influenced sustainable mobility, while values associated with technology had a negative impact. No other domains showed significant direct effects.
Conclusions - Findings indicate that sustainable mobility is influenced not only by behavioural norms but also by societal values, with prestige serving as a key facilitator. Positioning sustainable mobility as status-enhancing and modern could foster adoption. Incorporating these multi-level normative insights into policy and decision-support systems offers promising opportunities for effective, scalable interventions.
Acknowledgement - This project is part of Mon Trajet Vert, funded through the Energy Savings Certificates and supported by ADEME.