Green … but at what cost? A typology and scale development of perceived green costs

Abstract

Despite people's growing interest in eco-friendly products, there are still hesitations in action. People perceive costs around the purchase of environmentally friendly alternatives. The present study aims first to conceptualize and organize these green costs in a typology and then operationalize them in a measurement scale. Following the literature on measurement theory, the authors report the results of five studies in developing, purifying and validating the perceived green costs scale (Perceived Green Costs Scale: PGCS). The authors follow Churchill's paradigm for developing a measurement scale and complement it with a nomological validity analysis using Structural Equation Modeling. The typology of perceived green costs incorporates nine types of costs. The operationalization of this typology of costs brought forth nine first-order constructs, eight of which amount to a second-order construct: one-time switching costs (Switching Costs) and the remaining one represents repeated purchase costs (Purchase Costs). The Perceived Green Costs Scale demonstrates reliability of the measure, internal consistency and convergent and divergent validity. Furthermore, the Switching Costs construct confirms the Perceived Green Costs Scale's predictive validity by significantly predicting actual green purchase behavior. Interestingly, the Switching Costs display a significant mediating effect between green attitude and green behavior, extending the theory of planned behavior in a sustainable consumption context. The findings advance knowledge on the green behavioral gap and behavioral frictions in sustainable consumption and help identify the root cause of unsustainable behavior in hopes of eliminating it and designing better customer journeys towards eco-friendly purchases Further implications for brand managers, customer experience architects, educators and consumers are discussed in hopes of catalyzing change toward a more sustainable future.