Anthropocentric, biospheric and egobiocentric environmental values and green product purchase intention: The mediating effect of environmental identity

Abstract

This study investigates how the relationship between environmental values (anthropocentric, biospheric and egobiocentric) and green product purchase intention is mediated by environmental identity. Asurvey conducted online involving 564 Australians informs the findings. Data analysis is performed using AMOS, a structural equation modelling package. Out of the three environmental values, egobiocentric values have the strongest influence on environmental identity followed by anthropocentric values, whilst biospheric values do not affect environmental identity. Whilst environmental identity fully mediates the relationship between anthropocentric and egobiocentric values and green product purchase intention, it does not mediate the relationship between biospheric values and green product purchase intention. Biospheric values have a direct relationship with green product purchase intention. The study provides valuable insights on developing green marketing strategies by revealing that unlike individuals with anthropocentric and egobiocentric values, individuals with biospheric values cannot be promoted to purchase green products as a form of environmental identity expression. | INTRODUCTIONMany environmentally conscious consumers prefer to purchase green products that usually claim to have minimal environmental effects.According to Durif et al. (2010, p. 27), "a green product is a product whose design and/or attributes (and/or production and/or strategy) use recycling (renewable/toxic-free/biodegradables) resources and which improves environmental impact or reduces environmental toxic damage throughout its entire life cycle". In the market, green products usually are named with regular terms such as eco-friendly, environmentally safe, biodegradable and so forth (Tan & Lau, 2011). They often appear with eco-labels that provide specific information conveying green features (Thøgersen et al., 2010). For example, a dishwashing brand could convey that it is free of chlorine and phosphates on its label. It is reported that 9 in 10 Australian consumers are now more likely to purchase green products (The Fifthestate, 2021). In the US, the green product market is estimated to be worth $150 billion (Food Business News, 2021). Clearly, the green product market shows promising growth, which is a highly welcome development for achieving sustainable development goals (United Nations, 2021).Green product purchase intention (GPPI) is defined as consumers' willingness to purchase green products (Ferraz et al., 2017;Thøgersen et al., 2010). Given the growth of the green product market, conducting more in-depth investigations into GPPI in general (i.e., purchase intentions of products claiming environmental benefits in general) is timely because it could better inform green marketing strategic

Doing more with less: An integrative literature review on responsible consumption behaviour

“…According to the theory of planned behaviour, attitudes and perceived behavioural control influence intentions, which predict behaviour. Another means that social concern may influence sustainable behaviour is through “social desirability.” Consumers commonly choose sustainable solutions to impress others (Perera, Kalantari Daronkola, & Johnson, 2022; Pristl et al, 2021), and they promote high‐involvement sustainable options (e.g., hybrid autos) to signal their social standing to others. Authors, on the other hand, frequently see sustainable practices unfavourably, leading some consumers to eschew pro‐environmental (Uckan Yuksel & Kaya, 2021).…”

Environmental values and sustainability: Mediating role of nature connectedness, and love for nature toward vegan food consumption

“…In recent years, interest in the value‐oriented food paradigm has rapidly emerged as a dominant force (Gibbins & Walker, 1993; Kautish, Khare, & Khare, 2023). Several human value facets have been proffered, including value dichotomy (Kautish et al, 2022), human values (Dagevos & van Ophem, 2013), life values , and environmental values (Perera, Daronkola, & Johnson, 2022; Tolppanen & Kang, 2020), to name a few, revealing the concepts' growing importance concerning sustainable consumption.…”

“…Given the rise in health awareness, sustainability‐driven popularity, and consumption of vegan food products in India, it is essential to research and establish the relationship between individual value drives (value orientation) and associated objects (nature) based on symbolic interactionism, for example, connectedness, feelings, love, or emotions (Antonetti & Maklan, 2014; Kautish & Sharma, 2019). Identifying individualistic variables that underpin decisions toward sustainable consumption is therefore a crucial element in understanding and transforming behavior (Perera, Daronkola, & Johnson, 2022; Perera, Kalantari, & Johnson, 2022). The literature on vegan food consumption assumes that human value orientation, attitude, and perception yield buying behavior.…”

An analysis of sustainable consumption practices through the role of the consumer behavior in the circular economy

“…On one hand, consumers have a consumerist lifestyle. On the one hand, there are consumers with a highly consumerist lifestyle, that is, anthropocentric behavior (Perera et al, 2022), and the essential feature of the anthropocentric dimension of the cosmological domain is the belief that humans are separate from and ethically superior to the rest of nature. Consumers who prefer to show off ostentatiousness through indulgent shopping behavior can be distinguished.…”

“…The minimalist or ecocentric consumer is at the other extreme. Ecocentrism defends the whole of nature as the center of everything (Perera et al, 2022). The human being is not a superior being, but all life in an ecosystem must be preserved and respected.…”