Abstract:

At present, green consumer behavior is an emerging topic for both academia and business. According to various scholars, individual factors, including motivation, environmental concern, attitudes, personal values, etc. as well as external factors, including socioeconomic conditions, availability of the products, etc. are considered to be major factors for the adoption of green products. Studies also show that green purchase behavior also varies across gender. Brough et al. (2016) claimed that men and women vary in terms of green behavior to adhere to the socially accepted concept of masculinity and femininity. Therefore, this study aimed to further identify the antecedents of green purchase behavior and to examine the moderating effect of masculinity-femininity concept on the relationship between the antecedents and the green purchase intention. The conceptual framework was based on Theory of Planned Behavior, Identity Expressiveness Theory, and Theory of Trying. Masculinity-femininity concept was measured using both one-dimensional (bipolar, traditional way of measurement) and two-dimensional (contemporary view) scales. Cross-sectional survey (N=203) on NHH students was conducted to test the conceptual model. Results illustrate that frequency of past behavior, perceived behavioral control and attitude towards green products had a strong positive influence on green purchase intention, while subjective norms negatively influenced the intention. Furthermore, the direct effect of masculinity-femininity was not found significant on the purchase intention. Additionally, out of all interaction effects between masculinity-femininity and the antecedents, interaction effect between masculinity and subjective norms was proven to be positive. Overall, the conceptual model explained 62.8% of the variance of the intention to purchase sustainable products. Based on the results, theoretical and managerial implications were proposed, followed by future research and model extension suggestions.
Key words: Green products, Sustainable consumption, Identity expressiveness, Theory of Planned Behavior, Masculinity, Femininity, Gender