Internet Use on Closing Intention–Behavior Gap in Green Consumption—A Mediation and Moderation Theoretical Model

Abstract

The rapid development of the Internet as an information medium has provided new opportunities for promoting green consumption. Therefore, a study on the theoretical mechanism is helpful to make better use of the Internet media to promote green consumption and close consumers’ green consumption intention–behavior gap. In this study, data from 419 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed through PLS-SEM within the framework of the theory of planned behavior. The results show that there are two pathways of Internet media promoting green consumption, namely the moderating effect and the mediating effect. First, through the moderating effect, Internet use can promote the conversion of intention to behavior and perceived behavioral control to behavior, thus closing the intention–behavior gap. Second, through the mediating effect, Internet use promotes green consumption behavior through the mediator of personal perceived environmental threats. The research indicates that the potential of Internet information media should be fully explored in promoting green consumption, disseminating environmental knowledge, reporting environmental issues, and guiding the transformation of individual green consumption intention into behavior.

Using Social Network Analysis to Identify the Critical Factors Influencing Residents’ Green Consumption Behavior

“…However, this method can only demonstrate whether the research factors have a significant impact on green consumption, but cannot determine the degree of influence of the factors. That is to say, this method cannot provide detailed information on the importance of various factors in SEM, nor can it identify which are the critical influencing paths in the influencing factor index [53,54]. Therefore, having constructed the influencing factor system, we used the Delphi method to screen and optimize the initial set of influencing factors, and formed the final influencing factor system of residents' GCB.…”

Estimating heterogeneous effects of internet use on environmental knowledge: Taking population heterogeneity into consideration

“…Researchers have increasingly focused on developing novel conceptual models to uncover potential pathways through which internet use influences sustainability outcomes [e.g., 37 , 38 ]. Central to these models is the consideration of the intricate relationship between online media content and audience reception [ 41 ].…”

“…Negativity bias theory posits that people tend to assign greater significance to negative news in comparison to positive and neutral information [ 44 , 45 ]. This predisposition could lead individuals to pay more attention to negative information about environmental degradation and pollution [ 46 ], making people more conscious of the environmental issues and enhancing their environmental awareness [ 34 , 38 ]. Substantial evidence supports a significant and positive relationship between internet use and environmental awareness [ 30 , 31 , 33 , 47 ].…”

“…Perceived environmental threats and satisfaction with governmental environmental protection are also considered parallel perceptual mediators in the impact of internet use on environmental knowledge. The former refers to an individual’s subjective perception of environmental risks or threats [ 38 ], while the latter represents an individual’s evaluation of satisfaction with government actions and policies aimed at environment protection [ 42 ]. Scholars [ 37 ] highlight two types of negative prejudice that emerge when individuals access and consume online negative environmental information: internet use not only intensifies and exacerbates individuals’ judgments on the severity of environmental problems but also erodes their trust in the government and satisfaction with governmental environmental protection efforts.…”

“…Scholars [ 37 ] highlight two types of negative prejudice that emerge when individuals access and consume online negative environmental information: internet use not only intensifies and exacerbates individuals’ judgments on the severity of environmental problems but also erodes their trust in the government and satisfaction with governmental environmental protection efforts. Convincing evidence demonstrates the promoting effect of internet use on perceived environmental threats [ 38 , 46 , 50 ] and the inhibiting effect on resident’s satisfaction with governmental environmental protection [ 37 , 42 ]. Moreover, sporadic evidence reveals significant relationships between environmental knowledge and these two perceptual factors [e.g., 37 , 51 ].…”