How environmental concerns influence consumers’ anticipated emotions towards sustainable consumption: The moderating role of regulatory focus

Abstract

Consumers' concerns about environmental degradation and its impact on themselves, others, and living organisms are well-documented. However, research has yet to examine how these concerns influence consumers' anticipated emotions about sustainable consumption intentions, despite the central role of anticipated affective states in forming intentions. Furthermore, the mechanism through which environmental concerns translate into sustainable consumption intentions has not been thoroughly addressed in the literature; nor has the role of consumers' regulatory focus on future-oriented anticipated emotions in the context of sustainable consumption been explored. Building on the literature on environmental concerns, anticipated emotions, and regulatory focus, this study investigates how consumers' environmental concerns explain their anticipated positive emotions and negative emotions, and how these factors collectively influence their intentions towards sustainable consumption. The findings, based on a randomly selected sample of 764 South African consumers, reveal that environmental concerns play a crucial role in shaping consumers' anticipated positive and negative emotions, which in turn impact their intentions towards sustainable consumption. Furthermore, the findings show that the relationship between anticipated emotions and sustainable consumption intentions is moderated by consumers' regulatory focus orientation. The research findings highlight the implications for theory and practice, offering insights for practitioners and policymakers to design interventions that address consumers’ emotional responses to environmental concerns and their regulatory focus in order to promote sustainable consumption behaviours.