The impact of the institutional environment on green consumption in India

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to develop an institutional framework to examine the role of governmental and social pressures on green product purchase intentions. Because of the increased focus on environmental issues in emerging markets, an examination of the institutional environment in India can provide unique insights into the drivers of green consumption. Design/methodology/approach A large-scale data collection is conducted via an online survey to test the validity of the theorized model. A survey methodology is used to collect responses from a sample of 400 consumers in India and analyzed via Smart PLS 3.0. Findings The findings suggest moral norms, injunctive and descriptive, have varying influences on consumers. Further, governmental influence, at least in India, may not have a positive impact one would expect. The results indicate the institutional framework developed in this research has a good predictive ability in green marketing settings and offers insights for businesses and policymakers to enhance consumers’ motivations to purchase green products. Originality/value From a theoretical perspective, this research is the first to examine the institutional environment on green consumption in India and provides unique insights into the influences of green consumption. The results suggest the institutional environment in India presents unique opportunities for practitioners and policymakers.

Embedded Philanthropic CSR in Digital China: Unified View of Prosocial and Pro-environmental Practices

“…In addition, NS strengthens the relationship between WG and GCPI . The result confirms that normative pressure can be classified as a strong determinant for restricting or guiding individuals’ behaviors in the context of gamified charity, which can be claimed following previous research ( Urban and Kujinga, 2017 ; Sreen and Gleim, 2020 ). By contrast, a non-significant relationship is observed between AR and GCPI , which can further lead to the gap in public understanding and framing issues.…”

“…The literature argues that NS has been adopted in several research fields, such as technology adoption ( Teo et al, 2003 ; Liang et al, 2007 ), green innovation ( Aguilera-Caracuel and Ortiz-de-Mandojana, 2013 ; Berrone et al, 2013 ), and entrepreneurial activity ( Valdez and Richardson, 2013 ). Moreover, Urban and Kujinga (2017) suggested that NS significantly influences social entrepreneurship intentions, which are further examined in green initiatives and pro-environmental concerns by Sreen and Gleim (2020) .…”

Effects of institutions on the eco-brand orientation of millennial consumers: a social cognitive perspective

“…Generation Y is a cohort of individuals born approximately between 1980 and 2000 (Deloitte, 2021). They tend to be brand conscious, seek status and prestige, have strong feelings about nature and are responsive to marketing campaigns that feature the benefits of products to the natural environment (Cosgrave and O'Dwyer, 2020;Sreen et al, 2021;Savelli et al, 2020;Weber, 2015).…”

“…Previous studies focus on millennials' attributes such as values, personalities, attitudes and preferences driven by some cognitive drivers while relegating the external environmental or contextual situations to the background (Savelli et al, 2020;Cosgrave and O'Dwyer, 2020;Mittendorf, 2018). A lacuna in the green consumer literature on studies that examine how the external institutional environment, such as the role of the government and its regulatory agencies and various social norms and expectations, impacts millennial consumer choices (Agnihotri and Bhattacharya, 2019;Sreen et al, 2021). To better understand the millennial consumers' choices, it is essential to consider their moral agency and interaction with their social and institutional contexts.…”

“…Second, we draw on institutional theory (Scott, 2004;North, 1991) to explain the role of the social contextthe institutional environment where millennials are embeddedto explain how government regulatory pressures and social norms and expectations regarding environmentally ethical consumer activities in one's community can influence the vital internal drivers described within the ambit of social cognitive theory. Formal or informal institutions influence consumers' choices (North, 1991;Sreen et al, 2021;Agnihotri and Bhattacharya, 2019).…”