Mindful Technology Use and Sustainable Economic Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model

Electronic waste (e-waste) is a significant barrier to a sustainable economy and the consumer is among the key players of e-waste snags. Electronic device consumption has seen rapid growth in the recent past. The challenge of a massive upsurge in e-waste needs to be thoroughly studied from the perspective of consumer behavior to identify an appropriate approach to realize a sustainable economy. The study proposes a moderated-mediation framework to describe, the direct or indirect impact of consumers’ consumption (mediated by disposal and moderated by the age of consumer) of electronic devices on mindfulness and inclination to have a sustainable economy. We undertook a quantitative study on 260 survey responses from the youthful users of electronic devices. We applied a partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) methodological approach to test the moderated-mediation model that explains the relation between consumption behavior, mindfulness, and sustainable economy inclination. The results of the study identify an indirect positive and significant impact of usage on mindfulness and moderated by consumer’s age. A significant research outcome indicates that consumers are advocating for a considerable transformation in current e-waste management methods. The research holds significant relevance for sustainable economy researchers and managers who seek to understand the social dimensions of sustainable economy changes, sustainable manufacturing, and consumption.