Role of Culture and Social Norms: Consequences for Communication Fostering the Intentions towards Sustainable Air Travel

Abstract

Despite the growing body of research on sustainable consumer behaviour, empirical studies simultaneously linking cultural values, social norms and persuasive mechanisms in the context of leisure air transportation remain scarce. Existing research has largely focused on general tourism behaviour or everyday sustainable consumption, leaving the role of social influence and communication processes in aviation underexplored. This study investigates the influence of cultural dimensions—long-term orientation and collectivism—on environmentally responsible behaviour in leisure air travel, with particular attention to social norms as a central mechanism of social influence within the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to respondents in the Czech Republic and Spain, combining validated TPB constructs with measures of cultural dimensions, and analysed using Structural Equation Modelling to test the proposed relationships. The results show that collectivism exerts an indirect effect on behavioural intentions through subjective norms, which emerge as the strongest predictors of intention. In contrast, long-term orientation does not display a significant direct or indirect effect, and perceived behavioural control proves to be non-salient in this context. Overall, respondents exhibit low intentions and limited behavioural change regarding environmentally responsible air travel. The originality of this study lies in extending the TPB framework by integrating cultural values into the analysis of behavioural intentions and self-reported behaviours in leisure aviation from a cross-cultural perspective. From a practical standpoint, the findings suggest that individual-level appeals may be insufficient to promote behavioural change in leisure air travel, indicating that interventions aimed at shifting societal norms through policy, media and community-based initiatives may be more effective. Accordingly, airlines and tourism stakeholders are encouraged to adopt strategies that emphasise group identity and shared responsibility, such as promoting carbon offset schemes and sustainability commitments. The study is limited by its focus on two European countries, the use of a non-random sample and unvalidated behavioural measures, which constrain the generalisability of the results.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54663/2182-9306.2026.SpecialIssueCMTH.162-174