Why Do Consumers Buy Green Smart Buildings without Engaging in Energy-Saving Behaviors in the Workplace? The Perspective of Materialistic Value

Abstract

The construction industry is recognized as a heavily polluting industry, so it is imperative to understand consumer behavior towards green smart buildings and energy-saving behaviors at workplaces to achieve sustainable development. However, previous surveys on green purchasing behavior and green energy-saving behaviors did not investigate the double-edged perspective of these two variables. Therefore, this paper adopts the theory of symbolic self-completion to detect the double-edged impact of material values on green smart buildings and energy-saving behaviors, and the impact is moderated by a luxurious atmosphere. In addition, past investigations did not find a double-edged effect of material value on green smart buildings and energy-saving behaviors, so this paper provides a significant contribution to the field of green smart buildings and sustainable development. To test the proposed hypotheses, this paper conducted a survey of 101 consumers in Taiwan to test the theoretical model, and the analysis results support all hypotheses. This study contributes to the current literature in three ways. First, it constructs a theoretical model to clarify the relationship between materialism and environmental behaviors. Second, although a growing body of research has investigated the impact of material values on environmental behavior, these studies understand little about why material values lead to conflicting relationships. This study shows that material value is a double-edged sword for environmentally friendly behavior to fill this gap. Finally, the results can guide the construction industry in developing green marketing strategies for sustainable development.