Effects of environmental and hedonic motivations on intention to purchase green products: an extension of the theory of planned behavior.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test and extend the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in green product purchasing settings. Broadly, two motivations—environmental motivations and hedonic motivations—toward purchasing intention of green products with inclusion of situation and issue-specific variables were examined in the study. Data was collected through an online panel survey. A total of 284 eligible data was used for main data analysis. A series of hierarchical regression analyses was conducted based on theoretical and empirical reasons presented in the literature. Findings supported the significant direct predicting role of the three behavioral intention constructs in the TPB. The issue-specific variable, perceived environmental effectiveness, accounted for no significant additional variance in purchase intention of green products, after controlling for the three constructs of the TPB. Although the effect of general environmental motivations, environmental concern and environmental knowledge, in the conceptual model was supported, the results showed differential effects of each environmental motivation on purchase intention of green products. An additional variance of purchase intention of green products was explained by environmental knowledge, but not by environmental concern when controlling for the three constructs of the TPB and demographics. Among hedonic motivations, consumers who seek novelty had high purchase intentions with and without forming positive attitudes toward purchasing green products. In addition, although consumers with highly adventurous spirits were likely seeking newness in shopping, they were not likely to demonstrate high levels of intention to purchase green products without novelty seeking characteristics or a positive attitude toward purchasing green products. Several limitations and suggestions for future researcher were discussed.