“I buy green products for my benefits or yours”: understanding consumers' intention to purchase green products

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to conduct a comprehensive conceptual model and empirical validation of the integration of negative (ego-centric) and positive (altruistic and ego-centric) drivers of green buying based on social dilemma theory and psychological egoism theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire survey and analyzed with hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

The results indicate that moral obligations, green self-identity, environmental concern and social pressure are positively related to green purchase intention, while perceived cost of green purchasing and price sensitivity are negatively. Meanwhile, social pressure positively moderates the relationship between price sensitivity and consumers' green purchasing intention, but negatively moderates the relationship between perceived cost of green purchasing and consumers' green purchasing intention.

Originality/value

First, this study is a comprehensive model of the concept and empirical validation of the integration of negative (ego-centric) and positive (altruistic and ego-centric) drivers of green buying. Specially, this study emphasizes the neglected importance of positive ego-centric factors of green consumer behavior. Second, this study explicitly incorporated the moderating effect of social pressure in the context of China. Since green buying is a social dilemma, the changes in this social dilemma after being affected by social pressure under the Chinese collectivist culture are also worth noting. Third, little is known about what motivates green consumption in emerging economies, and this has been hampered by a lack of cultural knowledge, conceptual richness and behavioral research that critically analyses consumer behavior.