groups, whose development is hindered by not having a family with whom to communicate on the issues, or fromwhom to learn behaviours. No engagement: These children lack both individual engagement and the supportive network. Their consumption does not take account of environmental issues, and they show no interest in issues. They do not talk with family or friends about these issues, with no opportunity to initiate engagement. Very little engagement: These children may engage individually, but lack a network to expand that engagement. The children express little or no motivation, show little knowledge and do not wish to know or do more to protect the environment. Their parents place no importance on environmental issues, with their own consumption choices driven by convenience. They do not feel responsible, nor find it easy to take action, having grown up in nonsupportive families. Little engagement: These children have supportive socio-contextual factors, but are limited by individual factors, not considering the issues to be of personal importance. The engagement that does exist is thanks to parents acting as an example, but the children are complying with familial expectations, reproducing behaviour – they are engaged in spite of themselves. Engagement: These children have favourable individual factors, but without the support of family and friends, They are aware of the issues, and consider protecting the environment to be important, feeling pride when they take action. However, they do not talk about the issues at home or outside. Some of these children try to instigate change – promoting less car use, buying more organic produce – but it is hard to build strong environmental relationships. Embodied engagement: These children benefit from a favourable family environment that sustains, increases and embodies the development of their environmental engagement. All the children show high cognitive, affective and behavioural engagement. To them, environmental problems are of great importance, they are passionate about the issues, and act on a daily basis with the environment in mind. They all grow up in families where the environment is an important issue, but they also discuss the issues in school or with extended family, watch documentaries and read magazines on the issues. There is collective engagement, and they act as a catalyst for family behaviour, encouraging new habits and consumption behaviours. HOWTOMAKE AN IMPRESSION Our evidence is that behavioural engagement is most important among children. For them, people are engaged when they take action. They realise the need for collective engagement, and our results show that the more children are embedded within environmental ecosystems, the more they engage with environmental issues. Those children growing up in nonsupportive families are unlikely to lose their amotivational state. Their parents do not display strong engagement with environmental issues, nor socialise themwith the issues. There needs to be a focus on this collective engagement – not just educating and motivating children, but also their families and their friends, to ensure the messaging goes beyond the individual, beyond the rhetoric, to action as a group. Margaret Hogg is an Emeritus Professor in theDepartment of Marketing. Her principal research interests lie in the field of Consumer Behaviour. This article is basedon Children’s EngagementwithEnvironmental Issues:AFrenchCaseStudy, byDr MarieSchill, AssociateProfessor at the UniversitédeReimsChampagneArdenne; Dr. IsabelleMuratore, AssociateProfessor at theUniversité deToulon; andProfessorMargaret Hogg, of Lancaster University Management School. It is published in the Journal ofMarketingManagement. m.hogg@lancaster.ac.uk ‘‘ care about the environment as children, we won’t care for our entire life. Charlotte, 11 know and act. If today, we don’t It’s at our age that we need to ’’ I feel angry about people who don’t care. David, 12’’ ‘‘ FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 39
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