Impressing my friends: The role of social value in green purchasing attitude for youthful consumers

Abstract

Prior studies predominantly use cross-sectional designs to determine effects of pro-environmental beliefs on green purchasing attitudes, thereby limiting the possibility for causal inferences and examining mediation effects. We overcome these gaps by adopting a two-wave longitudinal design to test a moderated-mediation model that draws on consumer choice theory, positing that the effect of implicit pro-environmental beliefs on green purchasing attitudes is mediated by perceived social value from buying green, while the relationship between pro-environmental beliefs and perceived social value is moderated by perceived inconvenience of buying green. Findings from a sample of Polish youth indicate that green purchasing attitudes resulting from implicit pro-environmental beliefs, partly depend on wider societal factors, i.e., perceived social value and inconvenience. These findings suggest that it is not a desire to do good for society motivates pro-environmental attitudes of the youth, but rather a desire to look good, especially for consumers who perceive high inconveniences of buying green. The attitude of youthful consumers who are less susceptible to social values is directly determined by beliefs.