The impact of financial scarcity on green consumption: Sequential mediating effects of anxiety and self‐efficacy

Abstract

There is a consensus to promote green consumption to drive sustainable human development and high-quality economic development. It is therefore essential for academics, policymakers, and marketers to understand the factors that influence green consumption. Through four experiments, this study examines the effect of financial scarcity-a feeling commonly experienced by consumers-on green consumption. These experiments show that financial scarcity can hinder consumers' choice of green products. The above process occurs because the scarcity of monetary resources induces anxiety, which in turn reduces self-efficacy. We further find that the observed effect will be attenuated when consumers' social support level is high (vs. low). These findings demonstrate that the impact of financial scarcity on green consumption is mediated by anxiety and self-efficacy perception and moderated by social support. Our results provide recommendations for developing marketing strategies for green products.

The effect of perceived control on local consumption

“…We argue in the present context that thinking about local consump- First, past research has shown that anticipated warm glow underlies judgments and decisions in the context of ethical and environmentally-friendly consumption (Andrews et al, 2014;Giebelhausen et al, 2016). For example, it has been shown that anticipated warm glow arising from cause marketing (Andrews et al, 2014), bundling hedonic products with charity donations (Strahilevitz & Myers, 1998), and purchasing products with ethical attributes (e.g., Bezençon et al, 2020) (Cannon et al, 2019;Han et al, 2023;Lee & Shrum, 2012;Mandel et al, 2017;Zhang, Ma, et al, 2023). A key finding in this literature is that people are motivated to compensate for self-discrepancy by engaging in activities that help them reduce the psychological discomfort associated with the discrepancy.…”

“…However, prior research has not considered the possibility that consumer self‐discrepancy, i.e., the gap between consumers' actual and ideal states, could influence the likelihood of local consumption. Prior research has shown that different types of self‐discrepancies, such as resource scarcity, lack of power, lack of control, or low sense of intelligence can influence consumption behavior (Kim & Rucker, 2012; Mandel et al, 2017; Rucker & Galinsky, 2008; Sharma & Alter, 2012; Zhang, Ma, et al, 2023). We extend these findings by showing for the first time that self‐discrepancy in the form of loss of control can influence consumer preference for local consumption.…”

“…Similarly, we argue that anticipated warm glow can drive consumer judgments and decisions in a different sustainable consumption domain of local consumption. Second, past research has investigated different types of self‐discrepancies, such as lack of personal control, lack of resources, lack of power, and lack of social belongingness (Cannon et al, 2019; Han et al, 2023; Lee & Shrum, 2012; Mandel et al, 2017; Zhang, Ma, et al, 2023). A key finding in this literature is that people are motivated to compensate for self‐discrepancy by engaging in activities that help them reduce the psychological discomfort associated with the discrepancy.…”

Going Green: A Review on the Role of Motivation in Sustainable Behavior

“…It is interesting to note that price has been defined not only in economic terms but also in terms of the value and desirability of a specific good or service, again referring to the importance of green motivation, which has been discussed in the first section of the present review [99]. It has been shown that, along with price, other factors, i.e., green product quality, the focus on the environmental benefits of such a product [97] and financial scarcity [100], play a major role in consumers' buying behaviors. Altogether, lower prices, higher perceived product quality and environmental benefit, and the availability of adequate economic resources are associated with greater sustainable product purchase decisions [97,100].…”

“…It has been shown that, along with price, other factors, i.e., green product quality, the focus on the environmental benefits of such a product [97] and financial scarcity [100], play a major role in consumers' buying behaviors. Altogether, lower prices, higher perceived product quality and environmental benefit, and the availability of adequate economic resources are associated with greater sustainable product purchase decisions [97,100].…”