Green marketing in emerging Asia: antecedents of green consumer behavior among younger millennials

Abstract

Purpose Rapid economic growth, urbanization, growing population and resulting overconsumption have led to the severe environmental vulnerability of some south Asian countries, further accelerated by the impact of climate change. Bangladesh is one such country that has been recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as one of the most environmentally vulnerable in the world. A significant amount of environmental deterioration is reportedly due to consumption-related activities. This study, therefore, aims to understand the antecedents of green consumer behavior among young urban consumers, an emerging and environmentally promising market in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the theory of planned behavior to integrating environmental attitudes, subjective norms, perceived consumer effectiveness and behavioral intentions in its conceptual model to examine their influence on green consumer behavior. Data were collected from 206 young urban consumers (18–24 years of age) from the capital city of Bangladesh. Covariance based structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings The subsequent results suggest that perceived consumer effectiveness and subjective norms have a direct positive influence on green consumer behavior, while the direct effect of environmental attitudes is insignificant. Practical implications Based on the key finding that one of the strongest antecedents is perceived consumer effectiveness, marketers could inspire young urban consumers by applying self-directed appeal to induce green consumer behavior. Originality/value This study is one of the first studies examining the antecedents of green consumption behavior using the framework of the theory of planned behavior that integrates both behavioral intention and reported behavior in the context of young urban consumers in South Asia. An insignificant direct influence of attitudes on green consumer behavior reinforces the attitude-behavior gap, specifically among young urban consumers in a collective society. The strong positive influence of perceived consumer effectiveness on green consumer behavior, on the other hand, extends the existing green consumer literature by empirically supporting the need for enhancing self-efficacy among young consumers to persuade them to practice green consumer behavior, especially where individuals face severe challenges of climate change and environmental deterioration.