External pressures or internal motives? Investigating the determinants of exhibitors’ willingness to adopt eco-exhibiting

Corporates commonly adopt green practices when propelled by external pressures or internal considerations. However, the relative performance of external and internal motives in promoting exhibitors to conduct such behaviours remains uncharted. This paper applied the institutional theory (IT) and diffusion of innovations theory (DIT) as representatives of external and internal motives respectively and compared their power in explaining exhibitors’ willingness to adopt eco-exhibiting, that is, an innovative means to mitigate the construction waste problem at business events. Following a mixed-method design, we conducted 1129 surveys (Study 1) and 40 semi-structured interviews (Study 2) at the Canton Fair. The results of Study 1 suggest that both the IT and DIT can explain exhibitors’ willingness to adopt eco-exhibiting, but the DIT model offers a superior explanation. Interviewees’ narratives in Study 2 confirm the prominent role of internal motives and reveal a shift from externally to internally driven approaches. In addition, booth type moderates the effects of normative pressure and compatibility on willingness to adopt eco-exhibiting. This paper clarifies the mechanisms that drive the adoption of eco-exhibiting and empirically attests business events as change agents in promoting pro-environmental behaviours among exhibitors.