Justice motivation theory in sustainable home purchases

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHMA-08-2019-0082
• Pages: 809-823
• Date: 22 October 2019
• Published date: 22 October 2019
• Author: John Nadeau,Leslie Wardley,Alexander Dorohoi
• Subject Matter: Property management & built environment

Justice motivation theory in

sustainable home purchases

John Nadeau

School of Business, Nipissing University, North Bay, Canada

Leslie Wardley

Shannon School of Business, Cape Breton University, Sydney, Canada, and

Alexander Dorohoi

School of Business, Nipissing University, North Bay, Canada

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of thispaper is to explore the understudied topic of sustainabilityas a factor in the

Canadianresidential real estate purchase decision using the unique lensof justice motivationtheory.

Design/methodology/approach –Using a qualitativeapproach, the study draws on transcripts from 14

interviews with realtors and residential buyers in three different Ontario cities. This paper adopts an

exploratory perspective to investigate justice-based motivations related to sustainability in the real estate

decisionprocess.

Findings –The research f‌inds that the threerequirements of justice motivation are satisf‌ied in the context

of a broad understandingof sustainability that includes social, economic and environmentaldimensions. The

residentialreal estate decision offers opportunities for sellersto appeal to those motivated by justice.

Practical implications –Policymakers should consider ways of easing these barriers for those

consumers who a f‌inancially unableto satisfy their justice motivation when purchasing a home as well as

bolstering regulatoryenforcement. Sellers should clearly articulatefunctional explanations of features as well

as benef‌its to enhancethe cognitive processing of the sustainable home as a choice alternative.

Originality/value –This paper makes a unique contributionby arguing that the social psychology theory

of justice motivation helps explain the role of sustainability in the residential real estate purchase decision-

making process.

Keywords Marketing, Sustainability, Housing, North America, Housing markets, Buying

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Environmentally sustainable initiatives for housing have been around for several years in

the Canadian market. However,there is a def‌icit in the country’s overall built infrastructure

related to the environment. Indeed, senior government off‌icials have stated that Canada’s

building codes are currentlybeing revised to avoid “infrastructure failures linked to climate

change [that] could cost Canada $300 billionover the next decade”(Arsenault, 2019, para.1).

While the main concern may be acuteinfrastructure failure during catastrophic events,there

is also a desire to address insuff‌iciencies in the codes to account for more proactive

environmental sustainabilitymeasures.

In a fast-changing world, wherepeople are bombarded with news and information about

climate change and dramaticweather events, environmental concerns and moralobligations

are now important considerations in green residential purchases (Tan and Goh, 2018).

However, there is a need to better understand how these considerations play out in the

decision making process.Based on the assumption that justice motivation represents a drive

Sustainable

home

purchases

809

Received12 August 2019

Revised12 September 2019

Accepted22 September 2019

InternationalJournal of Housing

Marketsand Analysis

Vol.13 No. 5, 2020

pp. 809-823

© Emerald Publishing Limited

1753-8270

DOI 10.1108/IJHMA-08-2019-0082

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