Central European Business Review 2013, 2(2):7-18 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.41

Different Shades of Green: a Comparative Study on Nature Relatedness and Ecological Consciousness among South Korean, Swiss, and Czech Students

Petra Y. Barthelmess1, Mathias Schüz2, Rainer Fuchs3, Dušan Kučera4, Markus Prandini5
1 Petra Y. Barthelmess, Lecturer for Business Administration, Center for International Business, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), School of Management and Law, Stadthausstrasse 14, CH-8401 Winterthur, petra.barthelmess@zhaw.ch
2 Mathias Schüz, Deputy Head of Center for International Business, School of Management and Law, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Stadthausstrasse 14, CH-8400 Winterthur, mathias.schuez@zhaw.ch
3 Rainer Fuchs, School of Management and Law, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Stadthausstrasse 14, CH-8400 Winterthur, rainer.fuchs@zhaw.ch
4 Dušan Kučera, International School of Business and Management, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Economic, Prague, Nám. W. Churchilla, 4, 130 67 Praha 3, dusan.kucera@vse.cz
5 Markus Prandini, Head of the Center for International Business, School of Management and Law, at Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Stadthausstrasse 14, CH-8401 Winterthur, markus.prandini@zhaw.ch

How concerned are today's students about environmental issues? Do they sense urgency for change towards a more environmentally compatible life? Who should act and what impact does one's individual action have? And last but not least, do ecological consciousness and action go together with a sense of nature relatedness? More than 1,600 South Korean, Swiss, and Czech students have participated in this comparative survey. Nearly all of them affirm that ecological considerations influence their daily behavior. Most of them see the main agent of change in themselves; the impact of one's individual action, however, is seen differently along the East and West cultural divide. Also when it comes to one's personal sense of closeness to nature, we can observe an East West cultural variation. On average, the South Koreans reveal a greater closeness towards nature than Swiss and Czech students, this despite the fact that they have the largest percentage in urban background, and consequently reveal the least physical familiarity with the natural world. In our effort to interpret these results, we have included a discussion about the diverging cultural background of the three sample groups. While they all agree on the urgency of the issue and the necessity of more pro-environmental change, depending on their culture, their ideas about the right means to introduce a change in behavior differ.

Keywords: naturerelatedness; ecologic consciousness; intercultural study; corporate ecologic responsibility; sustainable corporate responsibility
JEL classification: J17, M14, Q56, Z12, Z13

Received: January 2, 2013; Revised: May 25, 2013; Published: June 30, 2013  Show citation

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Barthelmess, P.Y., Schüz, M., Fuchs, R., Kučera, D., & Prandini, M. (2013). Different Shades of Green: a Comparative Study on Nature Relatedness and Ecological Consciousness among South Korean, Swiss, and Czech Students. Central European Business Review, 2(2), 7-18. doi: 10.18267/j.cebr.41
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