Exploring Green Product Purchase Intention Through the Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

There has been a recent surge in consumers' demand for products that are environmentally friendly, and this has rendered it more necessary to understand what drives them to buy green products, even though it can be difficult for them from an economic and practical perspective. A few behavioral determinants have been identified in previous studies, but the relative importance of these factors differs depending on the context. To this end, the current study extends the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with the view of explaining consumers' purchase intentions for environmentally friendly products. Empirical testing of the proposed model was done with the responses collected from 421 respondents by employing a structured questionnaire instrument. A Partial Least-Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with WarpPLS 8.0 was used to investigate the relationships between the study variables, including the direct and the nonlinear effects in the proposed framework. The empirical findings suggest environmental concern to be the most important construct determining consumers' willingness to buy green products. Those who are more concerned about the environment have significantly higher intentions to purchase. The analysis also shows that if these intentions are strengthened by increasing the consumer's perceived ability to take environmentally responsible purchase decisions, then this construct of perceived behavioral control strengthens these intentions. Subjective norms have a relatively minor influence, but they do still matter as they are important to form the context in which purchase decisions are made. Additionally, the results show that the relationship between consumers' attitudes and consumers' purchasing intentions is not linear, meaning that attitudinal changes do not necessarily result in consumer purchasing intention changes. The study adds to the field of green marketing literature by further elaborating the TPB with the aim of applying it to the context of sustainable consumption and by showing the prominence of environmental concern in the proposed framework. Practical implications of the results emphasize that organizations need to minimize obstacles to accessing green products and enhance environmental awareness through specific marketing campaigns and through public policies oriented toward sustainable development. These can help foster responsible consumption, give insights into the success of green marketing strategies and guide further research.