Social Exclusion and Green Consumption: A Costly Signaling Approach

Abstract

This article is dedicated to examine the impact of social exclusion (i.e., being rejected, isolated, excluded or ignored by other individuals or groups in society) on consumers’ intention of green consumption. Based on Costly Signaling Theory, three experiments have been conducted to explore one main effect and the corresponding mechanism together with two boundary conditions. Specifically, the first study tests the main effect and internal mechanism by manipulating the state of social exclusion. The results show that social exclusion enhances consumers’ intention to buy green products and consumers’ desire for self-sacrifice mediates that relationship. Study 2 manipulates audience state to examine the first boundary condition. The findings show that the effect of social exclusion on green consumption exists only in public purchasing scenarios. Study 3 tests the second boundary condition by manipulating the stability of exclusion causes. The results indicate that the main effect is significant only when causes of exclusion are not stable. The final part discusses theoretical contributions and practical implications of this study in the field of both social exclusion and green consumption.

Influence of Publicity and Education and Environmental Values on the Green Consumption Behavior of Urban Residents in Tibet

“…Most of the existing research also focuses on the influencing factors and driving mechanisms of green consumption behavior. Guo (2020) examined the impact of social exclusion (i.e., being rejected, isolated, excluded, or ignored by other individuals or groups in society) on consumers' intention to consume green [10]. Ge (2020) explains the internal influence mechanism between social norm conflict and green consumption [11].…”

If they don't care, I won't share: Feeling unrelated to one's in‐group increases selfishness instead of behavior for the greater good

“…Yet research on whether ostracized individuals show more behavior for the greater good provides mixed results, with some studies showing negative (Li et al, 2020), some showing positive associations (Poon et al, 2015) of ostracism and pro-environmental behavior. Others showed positive associations of ostracism and proenvironmental behavior only when the pro-environmental behavior could be seen by others, thereby giving individuals the possibility to signal pro-sociality and increase the likelihood of future interactions with others (Guo et al, 2020).…”

Rise of ‘Lonely’ Consumers in the Post-COVID-19 Era: A Synthesised Review on Psychological, Commercial and Social Implications

“…The paradox is evidenced by the conflicting findings reported in the empirical studies. For example, Guo, et al [ 47 ] demonstrated that the socially excluded consumers are motivated to engage with green consumption as a prosocial behaviour to win social recognition. Lonely consumers are found to prefer ordinary products endorsed by the majority rather than distinct products [ 48 ].…”

“… Self-affirmation; Green consumption; Prosocial behaviour; Product selection; Distinctive and popular products Commercial implications Gentina, Shrum and Lowrey [ 39 ] Loneliness leads to passive and active coping strategies associated with different types of materialism, which increases or decreases unethical behaviours among young consumers Materialism; Unethical behaviours Psychological implications Goodwin and Lockshin [ 27 ] The concept of solo shoppers is proposed and differentiated from lonely shoppers. Solo shopper; Stereotypes Commercial implications Guèvremont and Grohmann [ 70 ] Socially excluded consumers are more emotionally attached to authentic brand in seeking for belongingness Brand; Attachment to nonhuman; Self-affirmation Commercial implications Guo, Zhang, Liao and Wu [ 47 ] Socially excluded consumers engage with green consumption as a signal to gain social inclusion. Green consumption; Prosocial behaviour; Costly signalling; Self-sacrifice Commercial implications Hart and Royne [ 65 ] Loneliness enhances consumers’ responses to anthropomorphism appeals in the case of advertising messages, leading to a more positive attitude toward the brand Anthropomorphism; Brand; Persuasion Commercial implications Her and Seo [ 2 ] Anticipated loneliness reduces consumers’ intention to dine alone in public restaurant.…”