It’s often said that “small changes can lead to big results.” However, this isn’t quite true—small changes generally lead to small results. There are solid reasons to believe that an individual’s behavior change alone does not lead to meaningful outcomes. This is partly because an individual’s behavior has limited influence over larger systems, like a country’s infrastructure, and partly because behavior changes can create rebound effects in other parts of one’s lifestyle. Changing a single behavior is challenging; changing an entire lifestyle is even harder.
However, indirect effects from behavior changes can sometimes lead to positive societal impacts. For instance, a few individuals’ behavior change can create a niche market that enables a company to develop a service that later becomes widely adopted or provide a testbed for government authorities to explore the impacts of a behavior shift, laying the groundwork for new regulations. Additionally, lifestyle changes can shift social norms. For example, if one person starts cycling instead of driving, it might encourage others to cycle, which could eventually motivate policymakers to improve cycling infrastructure, creating a positive feedback loop.
In summary, the indirect effects of behavior change are often more significant for positive societal change than the direct effects.
About author:
Matthias Lehner
Associate Senior Lecturer, IIIEE, Lund university
My research focuses on sustainable consumption behavior and sustainable business models. Within this field of sustainable consumptoin behaviour I have worked both on marketing/branding, consumer behaviour, nudging, and alternative consumption ideas (sharing, collaborative consumption, cooperatives). My main interest in all of these areas is the individual consumer and how her behaviour can be changed towards higher levels of economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Within the field of sustainable business models I am most interested in how niche business models can become mainstream.
Within the Mistra programme I am leading the project “Digitalisation: friends & foes of sustainable consumption?”
