Machiavellianism, support for CESR, and attitudes towards environmental responsibility amongst undergraduate students

This study investigates the relationships among Machiavellianism, attitudes towards the perceived importance of corporate ethics and social responsibility (CESR), referred to here as PRESOR attitudes, and certain attitudes toward environmental responsibility, i.e., (1) support for corporate environmental accountability and (2) environmentally motivated purchasing intentions, amongst undergraduate students. Data were collected from a survey of all final year undergraduate students at a university in Hong Kong. Structural equations analyses were used to investigate the associations amongst the variables. The study finds that Machiavellianism and belief in the importance of CESR play important roles in the development of university students’ attitudes toward certain environmental issues. Specifically, high Machiavellian students expressed lower levels of belief in the importance of CESR, which in turn were associated with weaker pro-environment views. The findings suggest that educational efforts to cultivate students’ PRESOR attitudes and/or reduce their levels of Machiavellianism would enhance their pro-environment views.