Thinking green, buying green? Drivers of pro-environmental purchasing behavior
Abstract
Purpose
The theory of planned behavior (TPB) served as a framework for identifying major antecedents of everyday green purchasing behavior and for determining their relative importance.
Design/methodology/approach
The German market research institute GfK provided data (n = 12,113) from their 2012 household panel survey. A two-step structural equation modeling approach was applied to test both the measurement and the structural model.
Findings
Willingness to pay (WTP) was the strongest predictor of green purchasing behavior, followed by personal norms. The impact of attitude is insignificant. This implies an attitude – behavior gap.
Research limitations/implications
Individuals overestimate their self-reported WTP and behavior, which suggests that the share of explained variance is in reality lower. It has to be doubted whether consumers are objectively able to judge products by their environmental impact. Even if consumers are willing to buy a “greener” product, their subjective evaluation might be incorrect. Further research should be based on actual purchasing data. In addition, the attitude – behavior gap should be scrutinized by further research to identify further barriers to green consumption.
Practical implications
Consumers need to be aware that their consumption behavior can make a difference. They have to value the benefits of green products and understand why these are priced higher. Firms can apply pricing and promotional strategies addressing personal norms and inducing a higher WTP to capitalize on the opportunities of the green market segment.
Originality/value
The study integrates WTP and personal norms as critical predictors into the TPB and furthermore expands the extant literature on green purchasing behavior to cover daily consumer goods extending beyond organic food. This enhances understanding of the structure of the constructs and determines their relative importance.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author gratefully acknowledges the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for the funding of the project “KosoK - Der Konsument zwischen subjektiver und objektiver Bewertung der Klimawirksamkeit von Konsumgütern und sein risiko-adversatives Konsumverhalten” under the “FHprofUnt” funding line (grant no. FKZ: 17026X11). She would also like to thank the project partner GfK for the fruitful cooperation and the provision of data. The author also acknowledges the constructive comments received by the anonymous reviewers.
Citation
Moser, A.K. (2015), "Thinking green, buying green? Drivers of pro-environmental purchasing behavior", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 167-175. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-10-2014-1179
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited