Green Behavior Research Articles

Exploring the impact of psychological and social factors on green consumer behaviour: a comprehensive review of green marketing tactics

Exploring the impact of psychological and social factors on green consumer behaviour: a comprehensive review of green marketing tactics

Matching Is Best: Enhancing Effects of Future Orientation and Construal Level on Green Consumption

The 2024 Report on the Work of the Chinese Government promotes trade in consumer goods and green consumption. Therefore, better understanding is needed of consumer attitudes and behaviors toward environmental protection and sustainable development. The relationships among future orientation, construal level, and green consumption were explored using a delayed-effect design to conduct two surveys at one-month intervals with 160 participants (100 women and 60 men). The results showed that (1) future orientation positively predicted green consumption intention and green consumption behavior, and (2) the construal level significantly moderated the influence of future orientation on green consumption. Specifically, a high construal level and high future orientation predicted the greatest green consumption intention, green consumption behavior, and green consumption decisions, while at a high construal level, future orientation positively predicted green consumption intention and behavior, with a greater tendency to purchase environmentally friendly rather than hedonic products. At a low construal level, future orientation had no significant effect on green consumption intention, behavior, and intention to purchase environmentally friendly products. This study is important for promoting public awareness of the importance of green consumption and encouraging green consumption behaviors to achieve the goals of sustainable development and protect the environment and social well-being.

Integrating green image with relationship marketing: A moderating role of green image

This study integrates social exchange theory, the biophilia hypothesis, the hierarchy of effects model, and self-congruency theory to examine how relational benefits and green image influence positive emotion, customer loyalty, and customer green behavior (CGB). Data were collected from 314 respondents via an online marketing research firm and analyzed using SmartPLS 4.0. The results show that customers’ perceptions of relational benefits have a direct impact on both customer loyalty and positive emotions. While green image significantly affects customer loyalty, it does not have a direct impact on positive emotions or CGB. However, green image enhances the positive association between customer emotions and CGB, suggesting that customers are more likely to engage in green behavior when they feel a positive emotional connection with a company they perceive as environmentally responsible. These findings suggest that restaurant firms should implement marketing strategies to improve their green image by emphasizing the value of relational benefits. Both theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

The role of motivation and knowledge in promoting green consumer behavior in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan

This research explores the factors influencing consumers’ intentions and behaviors toward purchasing green products in two culturally and economically distinct countries, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Drawing on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the study examines the roles of altruistic and egoistic motivations, alongside environmental knowledge, in shaping green consumer behavior. Altruistic motivation, driven by concern for societal well-being and environmental sustainability, is found to have a stronger impact on green purchase intention and behavior in both countries, particularly in Pakistan. Egoistic motivation, which focuses on personal benefits like health and cost savings, also contributes but with a lesser influence. The research employs a cross-sectional survey design, collecting data from 1000 respondents (500 from each country) using a stratified random sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationships between variables and test the moderating effects of environmental knowledge. The results reveal that environmental knowledge significantly moderates the effect of both altruistic and egoistic motivations on green purchase intention, enhancing the likelihood of eco-friendly consumption. These findings underscore the importance of environmental education in promoting sustainable consumer behavior. The originality of this study lies in its comparative analysis of green consumerism in two distinct contexts and its exploration of motivational factors through the TPB framework. Practical implications suggest that policymakers and marketers can develop strategies that appeal to both altruistic and egoistic drivers while enhancing consumer knowledge of environmental issues. The study contributes to the literature by expanding TPB to include the moderating role of environmental knowledge in understanding green consumption behavior across diverse cultures.

Warm glow feelings can promote green behavior

Abstract For climate mitigation to be successful, vast numbers of people must change how they go about daily life. Social scientists have tried to promote environmentally-sustainable (i.e., “green”) behavior with interventions involving cues, frames, and information, but the cumulative impact of those efforts has been modest. A growing number of studies—largely observational—suggests the promise of “warm glow” messaging that features the pleasure and satisfaction one experiences from acting sustainably. While past work has established the association between intrinsic motivations and green behavior, our study offers novel evidence regarding the causal effect of warm glow feelings in the climate domain. In three survey experiments administered on different national samples, we induce feelings of warm glow and examine the impact on green behavioral intentions. The treatment, an adaptation of a standard feeling induction, has a significant influence on a wide range of actions—an effect that is distinct from the influence of general positivity. Most importantly, we observe the largest treatment effects in surprising places: among Republicans, and within this subgroup, on more socially visible activities. Manipulated warm glow also increases intentions to engage in more difficult (e.g., costly, effortful) activities. Our findings are valuable for scholars and practitioners seeking to promote broad-based climate mitigation across the ideological spectrum.

Green Human Resource Management and Environmental Performance: A Bibliometric Study and Future Directions

The global need to solve escalating environmental challenges brings increased focus on organizations and their impact on environmental performance. The significance of green human resources management (GHRM) is increasingly recognized as aligning organizational objectives with environmental sustainability goals, fostering eco-friendly workplace practices and enhancing corporate social responsibility. GHRM and its contribution to environmental performance has received growing attention from scholars, however, a need to systematically review and synthesize the literature in this area remains. This research offers a comprehensive overview of green human resources management and environmental performance literature highlighting the major themes in the current developments along with the new trends and patterns for future research observed in this field. For conducting a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis, a total of 227 documents were extracted from the Scopus database. Following the PRISMA 2020 Protocol, 144 published articles from 2014 to 2024 were included for final analysis. Performance analysis and science mapping (citation, co-citation, bibliographical coupling, and keyword co-occurrence analysis) were performed to examine how knowledge has been constructed, disseminated, and shaped over time. VOSviewer software was used to systematically investigate, map, and visualize the bibliometric results as the main trends. The study reveals the current status in GHRM and performance management publications and citations, identifying key contributors such as influential countries, journals, and authors and outlines keywords, and thematic areas. Lastly, this study identifies research gaps and emerging trends such as green transformational leadership, green innovation, green behaviour, environmental values, green intellectual capital, environmental economics in GHRM, offering valuable insights for scholars and practitioners seeking to advance understanding and implementation of green HR practices.

The Influence of Green Marketing Communication and Brand Credibility through the Mediation of Environmental Attitudes and Moderation of Income Levels on Purchasing Decisions of Green Marketing Products in Aceh

The issue of environmental sustainability has become increasingly important, particularly in the context of green product marketing, making it crucial to understand the factors that influence green product purchasing decisions. This study aims to clarify how brand credibility and green marketing communication affect consumer behavior through environmental attitudes and the moderating impact of income levels. Primary data from 300 green product consumers, gathered via a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM-PLS), reveal several key findings. Brand credibility significantly enhances both environmental attitudes and purchasing decisions, with environmental attitudes playing a critical mediating role in these relationships. Green marketing communication also positively impacts environmental attitudes and purchasing decisions. Additionally, income levels positively affect purchasing decisions but negatively moderate the interaction between environmental attitudes and purchasing decisions. These results underscore the essential role of environmental attitudes in mediating the effects of brand credibility and green marketing communication on purchasing decisions, as well as the nuanced influence of income levels on consumer behavior regarding sustainable products.

Sustainability Across the Status Spectrum: The S-Shaped Relationship Between Social Status and Green Consumption

The relationship between social status and green consumption is pivotal in addressing the climate crisis, yet previous research reveals conflicting perspectives. We analyze a nationally representative panel survey of more than 63,000 British respondents, tracking their green consumption, attitudes, and behaviors across multiple years. The findings reveal a previously unidentified S-shaped relationship between social status and green consumption, challenging existing models that propose inverted U-shaped, negative linear, or positive linear associations. This S curve demonstrates a gradual increase in green consumption at lower levels of social status, followed by a steep rise in the middle range and then a leveling off among the highest-status individuals. Crucially, this pattern persists even when we control for income, with high-status individuals exhibiting stronger proenvironmental attitudes and engaging more in nonpecuniary green behaviors. These findings offer insights for policymakers and marketers aiming to promote eco-friendly behaviors across socioeconomic segments.

Retraction: Moderating role of policy incentive and perceived cost in relationship of environmental awareness and green consumption behavior.

Retraction: Moderating role of policy incentive and perceived cost in relationship of environmental awareness and green consumption behavior.

Consumers’ green attitude and behavior in China and Singapore: The role of altruistic value and perceived consumer effectiveness, economic motive

Consumers’ green attitude and behavior in China and Singapore: The role of altruistic value and perceived consumer effectiveness, economic motive

Shaping pro-environmental behaviors through eco-diaries and research-based projects: an experimental study of business students at Yangzhou University

Purpose This paper aims to identify the effects of two types of teaching approaches, namely, project-based learning and place-based learning, on the development of pro-environmental behaviors among university students. Design/methodology/approach This study used a pre-test–post-test experimental design to evaluate the efficacy of project- and placed-based learning in promoting pro-environmental behaviors among university students. Participants were randomly allocated to either the project-based learning cohort (consisting of 50 participants) or the place-based learning cohort (also consisting of 50 participants). The pre-test assessments evaluated the initial pro-environmental behaviors of the participants. Then, interventions were conducted with the help of instructors. The project-based learning intervention necessitated participants to collectively take part in real-life problem-solving endeavors about environmental matters. On the other hand, the place-based learning intervention prompted participants to record and contemplate their interactions with the surrounding environment. Both interventions sought to augment participants’ understanding, beliefs and actions related to the environment. After the interventions, post-test assessments were carried out to assess any alterations in participants’ pro-environmental behaviors. Mean analysis and paired sample t-test were performed to examine the differences among the pre-test and post-test for both project- and place-based learning. Findings The findings of this study indicate that the participants have exhibited improved pro-environmental behaviors, including environmental activism, non-activist behaviors and private sphere green behaviors. Originality/value This research is original in its analysis of project- and place-based learning approaches for fostering pro-environmental behaviors. By using a pre-test–post-test experimental design, this study provides empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these active learning strategies in shaping environmental attitudes and actions.

The Impact of Anthropomorphism Strategy on Green Consumption Behavior

The Impact of Anthropomorphism Strategy on Green Consumption Behavior

Examining the Factors that Influence the Employee Green Behavior in China Logistics Industry Using Social Identity Theory

Examining the Factors that Influence the Employee Green Behavior in China Logistics Industry Using Social Identity Theory

Green performance appraisal impact on organizational sustainability: exploring the role of green knowledge and behavior in Lebanese firms

Purpose This research aims to reveal the impact of Green Performance Appraisal (GPA) on Organizational Sustainability (OS) and to explore the effect of GPA on Employee Green Behavior (EGB). Moreover, it investigates the factors underlying the relationship between GPA, EGB and OS. Further, it intends to examine the role of Green Knowledge Usage (GKU) in the relationship between EGB and OS. Design/methodology/approach Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling technique, SPSS and the Smart PLS 4 Software were used to test the hypotheses and the data collected via a cross sectional online survey conducted among Lebanese firms registered in the local chamber of commerce. Findings The results show that GPA plays a significant role in enhancing EGB and in promoting OS. It proves also that EGB partially mediates the relationship between GPA and OS. Further, it reveals the moderating role of GKU in reinforcing the relationship between EGB and OS. Research limitations/implications Although the study has some limitations related to the limited sample targeted and the cross-sectional data used, the findings provide various managerial implications and help in enhancing OS. It also advances green human resources management practices theoretically and practically. Originality/value This research aims to fill the gaps observed in the literature and explores the impact of GPA on OS examining the mediating role of EGB and the moderating effect of GKU.

Do psychological costs matter? The mechanism of perceived value on green consumption behaviour

Green consumption is critical for achieving sustainable development goals. Many studies have focused on explaining why customers choose green consumption, but rarely have scholars considered the significant impacts of the psychological costs. This study conducted an online survey of 677 sampled individuals in China. A structural equation model (SEM) was adopted to explore how three types of psychological costs (i.e., stress, stigma, and autonomy) moderate the indirect relationships of perceived hedonic value and perceived utilitarian value with green consumption (i.e., green purchasing, recycling, and refusing to use disposable products) through the willingness to pay a green premium (WPGP). The results show that perceived values can promote green consumption behaviours by increasing WPGP. In addition, the indirect benefit of perceived hedonic value was shown to be stronger than that of perceived utilitarian value. However, the direct association of perceived hedonic value with green consumption was shown to be weaker (compared to perceived utilitarian value) when the influence of WPGP was excluded. Moreover, the indirect associations of perceived hedonic value with green consumption were stronger among individuals with high stress than those with low stress. In contrast, the indirect associations of perceived utilitarian value on green consumption were weaker for people with high stigma than those with low stigma. However, no evidence was found to show that autonomy can moderate the indirect relationships. These findings emphasize the different mechanisms of perceived hedonic value and perceived utilitarian value on green consumption, as well as the moderating role of psychological costs in understanding the relationship between perceived value and green consumption. Accordingly, this study suggests that policymakers should highlight the hedonic value rather than the utilitarian when encouraging a green lifestyle that involves a green premium. This is particularly true of situations with a high level of customers’ psychological costs. However, if there is no way to further increase people’s WPGP, then promoting the utilitarian value should be used to promote green consumption.

The Effect of Green Leadership Perception on Environmental Commitment, Awareness, and Employees’ Green Behavior in Hotel Businesses: Research from a Generation Cohort Theory Perspective

This study was carried out to determine the relationships between green leadership perceived by hotel employees and environmental commitment, environmental awareness, and employees’ green behavior. In contrast to previous research in the literature, this study also examines the moderating role of generation in these relationships. The study was carried with employees of five-star hotel in Turkey. The data were analyzed with IBM SPSS AMOS 22 programs and significant effects between certain variables were detected. In addition, the research results indicate that generation has a moderating role in the relationships between green leadership, environmental awareness, and environmental commitment. As a result of the evaluation, a number of theoretical and practical contributions are presented for academicians working in the literature, sector representatives, and hotel business managers.

The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility Characteristics on Employee Green Behavior: A Moral Emotions Perspective

Shaping green employees is a source of sustainable competitive advantage for enterprises. However, previous studies have lacked consideration of the moral aspects of employee green behavior (EGB), thus ignoring the mechanism of employee moral psychology, especially the important impact of moral emotions on EGB. Based on the affective events theory, we built a moderated mediation model to test how corporate social responsibility characteristics (CSRCs) affect EGB and to explore the role of organizational pride (OP) and the environmental passion climate (EPC) in this process. SPSS25.0 and Mplus8.0 were used to analyze data from 267 valid questionnaires. The results show that CSRCs' positive effect required EGB and OP to play a mediating role in the relationship between them. In addition, EPC had a negative moderating effect on the effect of OP on required EGB. These results expand the theoretical territory of EGB from the perspective of moral emotions. In practice, the results provide a moral motivation for cultivating employees’ ecological literacy and stimulating EGB as well as management strategies for organizational environmental protection practice and green sustainable development.

Triggering employee green activism through green human resource management: The role of green organizational learning and responsible leadership

AbstractSeveral studies have unveiled that green human resource management (GHRM) positively affects employees' voluntary green behaviors at work. However, the literature has overlooked the influence of GHRM on employee beyond‐work green activism—employees' participation in different environmental campaigns and initiatives and supporting/influencing organizations, environmental groups, and political actions aimed at protecting the natural environment. We hypothesize that GHRM leads to employee beyond‐work green activism directly and indirectly via green organizational learning. The present study also tests the moderating role of responsible leadership in the GHRM‐green organizational learning link. Multisource survey data collected using the time‐lagged strategy supported the proposed relationships. The findings offer important recommendations for managers that can help them signify the role of business organizations and HR practices in protecting the natural environment.

Green Organizational Climate’s Promotion of Managers’ Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment: Evidence from the Portuguese Hospitality Context

Society at large has become increasingly concerned about climate change and sustainable development, so tourism and travel service providers have begun to focus more actively on sustainable development goals. Prior research has shown that supervisors’ support fosters employee green behavior and companies’ environmental performance. This study concentrated on Portuguese hospitality contexts to develop a fuller understanding of how organizations’ green efforts can combine with the individual variables highlighted by the theory of planned behavior (TPB) (i.e., attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) to encourage supervisors’ organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE). Data on 74 hotel managers were collected with an online survey. Multiple regression analysis revealed that perceived green organizational climate positively correlates with TPB variables, thereby increasing supervisors’ intention to adopt and encourage OCBE in their workplaces. These findings clarify how organizational and individual factors foster managers’ OCBE. The results have practical implications for organizations seeking to promote their managers’ pro-environmental behavior to boost their environmental sustainability.

User Stickiness to a Green Behavior Mobile Application – Case of Ant Forest

User Stickiness to a Green Behavior Mobile Application – Case of Ant Forest