Purpose

This study aims to investigate whether consumers and small businesses can transition from disposable to reusable coffee cups, using a community social marketing intervention, led by a Social Purpose Organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

An emergent case study approach using multiple sources of data developed an in-depth, multifaceted, real-world context evaluation of the intervention. The methodology draws on citizen science “messy” data collection involving multiple, fragmented sources.

Findings

Moving from single-use cups to reusables requires collective commitment by retailers, consumers and policymakers, despite the many incentives and penalties applied to incentivise behaviour change. Difficult post-COVID economics, austerity and infrastructure gaps are undermining both reusable acceptance and interim solutions to our dependence upon disposables.

Research limitations/implications

Although the non-traditional methodology rendered gaps and omissions in the data, the citizen science was democratising and inclusive for the community.

Practical implications

Our practical contribution evaluates a whole community intervention setting to encourage reusable cups, integrating multiple stakeholders, in a non-controllable, non-experimental environment in contrast to previous research. This paper demonstrates how small community grants can foster impactful collaborative partnerships between an SPO and researchers, facilitate knowledge-exchange beyond the initial remit and provide a catalyst for possible future impact and outcomes.

Originality/value

To assess the impact at both the outcome and the process level of the intervention, we use Pawson and Tilley’s realist evaluation theory – the Context Mechanism Outcome framework. The methodological contribution demonstrates the process of citizen science “messy” data collection, likely to feature more frequently in future social science research addressing climate change and sustainability challenges.

中文翻译：

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超越一次性塑料饮料杯：苏格兰的一项新兴社会营销案例研究

目的

本研究旨在调查消费者和小型企业是否可以利用由社会目的组织领导的社区社会营销干预措施，从一次性咖啡杯过渡到可重复使用的咖啡杯。

设计/方法论/途径

使用多种数据源的新兴案例研究方法对干预措施进行了深入、多方面、现实世界的背景评估。该方法利用了涉及多个、分散来源的公民科学“混乱”数据收集。

发现

尽管采取了许多激励措施和惩罚措施来激励行为改变，但从一次性杯子转向可重复使用杯子需要零售商、消费者和政策制定者的集体承诺。新冠疫情后的经济困难、紧缩政策和基础设施缺口正在破坏可重复使用的接受度以及我们对一次性用品依赖的临时解决方案。

研究局限性/影响

尽管非传统方法造成数据中的空白和遗漏，但公民科学对社区来说是民主化和包容性的。

实际影响

与之前的研究相比，我们的实际贡献评估了整个社区干预环境，以鼓励可重复使用的杯子，整合多个利益相关者，在不可控、非实验的环境中。本文展示了小额社区拨款如何促进 SPO 和研究人员之间有影响力的合作伙伴关系，促进超出最初职权范围的知识交流，并为未来可能的影响和成果提供催化剂。

原创性/价值

为了评估干预的结果和过程层面的影响，我们使用 Pawson 和 Tilley 的现实主义评估理论——情境机制结果框架。该方法论的贡献展示了公民科学“混乱”数据收集的过程，可能会在未来应对气候变化和可持续性挑战的社会科学研究中更频繁地出现。