Pro-environmental behaviours of management students in times of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Purpose

The main objective of the conducted research was to find out various manifestations of pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs) amongst students of extramural programmes forced to stay at home during the lockdown period.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to identify manifestations of PEBs during the lockdown, the authors conducted research with the participation of students of various management extramural programmes in a Polish university. The primary research method was diary, supplemented by literature review and analysis of curriculum content.

Findings

Pro-sanitary behaviours that dominated during the pandemic period were aimed at protecting individuals from contracting the virus and resulted from legal regulations. No clear and regular differences in PEBs were observed amongst the respondents with respect to their age, gender or familiarity with management systems used in their respective workplaces. Student-employees acquire little knowledge of PEBs during their studies. A serious barrier to the development of PEBs is the lack of access to knowledge that would clearly indicate the causes of environmental degradation.

Practical implications

Based on the obtained results, a list of recommendations for educational practices was developed. The list emphasises the importance of drawing students' attention to PEBs in the household environment.

Originality/value

The conducted research was another project focussed in general on environmental behaviours and aimed in particular at exploring how mandatory social distancing influenced people's PEBs. The paper also highlights some limitations of the diary method used to identify people's behaviours in the pandemic context.

Citation

Bugdol, M. and Szklarczyk, D. (2022), "Pro-environmental behaviours of management students in times of the COVID-19 pandemic", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 829-846. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-09-2021-0232