Goal proximity effect on collective action: The mediating role of perceived behavioral impact and collective outcome expectancy

•People feel a lack of efficacy in collective action.•It is essential to achieve collective performance through individual efforts to attain desirable social outcomes (efforts → performance → outcome)•This research clarifies two perceptual contingencies: how personal efforts yield collective performance (perceived behavioral impact; PBI) and how collective performance leads to environmental collective outcomes (collective outcome expectancy; COE).•The goal proximity effect on collective action was sequentially mediated by PBI and COE, but not vice versa.•PBI is the key factor in enhancing expectations of desirable outcomes and promoting collective action. Although it is imperative to act collectively for the environment, people are often reluctant to do so, partly because they perceive the impact of their behavior to be limited. This research explores the effect of goal proximity to examine perceptual contingencies in collective action. Drawing on the collective effort model, it examines how pro-environmental behavior can be affected by perceived behavioral impact (i.e., how individuals perceive their behaviors on collective performance) and collective outcome expectancy (i.e., how individuals expect collective performance to lead to desirable collective outcomes). Results from two field experiments and three controlled experiments revealed an effect of goal proximity on collective action intention (H1). This effect was mediated by perceived behavioral impact (H2) and collective outcome expectancy (H3). Interestingly, perceived behavioral impact affected collective outcome expectancy (H4); thus, the goal proximity effect was sequentially mediated (H5). However, these effects dissipated when individuals compared the impact of their own behavior to that of others and perceived it as having less impact. In sum, this research suggests that individuals’ perception of the impact of their own behavior on collective performance is the key factor in promoting collective action for the environment.