Orientations to Happiness and Sustainable Consumption: A Developing Country Perspective from Vietnam

Abstract

Purpose This thesis applied the theory of Orientations to Happiness (Peterson, Park and Seligman, 2005) to study the motivation to sustainable consumption in Vietnam. From a developing country’s perspective, realising economic growth while fostering sustainable patterns of consumption is a challenging task. This research aims to explicate how the search for a better quality of life could relate to sustainable consumption in the context of a developing country. The theory of Orientations to Happiness (Peterson, Park and Seligman, 2005) is a framework of three different pathways that people can choose to increase their well-being: by seeking Meaning, by finding Pleasure and by Engagement in life. These pathways to happiness are proposed play a role in people’s disposition towards sustainable living.

Research Question The main research question for this study is: How do different Orientations to Happiness relate to the participation in sustainable consumption in a developing country?

Methodology The research followed a quantitative approach and used pen-and-paper surveys to collect data from over 400 Vietnamese consumers living in the capital city of Hanoi. Factor analysis was used to analyse the structure of a Vietnamese adaptation of the Orientations to Happiness and of a comprehensive measure of sustainable consumption among Vietnamese. Multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the importance of each pathway to happiness for engaging in sustainable consumption.

Findings In the Vietnamese sample, the pursuit of a meaningful life was found to share much commonality with the pursuit of an engaged life. People who look for a meaningful and engaged life also partake more sustainable consumption. Meanwhile, a pleasurable life was not contradictory with a sustainable lifestyle.

Contribution and Implications The study is unique in its application of the theory of Orientations to Happiness in the investigation of sustainable practices. Being the first study to validate the OTH in Vietnamese, this study supports the discrimination of eudaimonic and hedonic happiness among Vietnamese. The research provides empirical evidence to address the shortage of sustainable consumption research outside of the Western affluent societies. The findings imply that the quest for eudaimonic happiness, in the sense of cultivating virtues and personal excellence, can be a potential motivator to live sustainably. Looking for pleasure, the core of hedonic happiness, does not necessarily discourage sustainable consumption, contrary to the common supposition.