The influence of Vietnamese consumers’ altruistic values on their purchase of energy efficient appliances

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 759-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
The Ninh Nguyen ◽  
Antonio Lobo ◽  
Steven Greenland

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how consumers’ altruistic values influence their personal norms, environmental attitudes, subjective norms and perceived barriers, all of which in turn influence their pro-environmental behaviour (i.e. the purchase of energy efficient household appliances). Design/methodology/approach This research follows a hypothetic-deductive approach. A unique conceptual model examines the role of consumers’ altruistic values in relation to their environmentally responsible purchase behaviour. Structured questionnaires were administered to randomly selected Vietnamese consumers who visited busy electronics and appliance specialist stores, which yielded 682 usable responses. Findings Structural equation modelling revealed that consumers’ altruistic values tend to positively influence their personal norms, environmental attitudes, subjective norms and mitigate their perceived barriers in relation to the purchase of energy efficient appliances. Practical implications Marketers, policymakers and sustainability campaigners should develop relevant communication and education programmes that emphasise the importance of purchasing energy efficient appliances for the environment and society, arousing consumers’ sense of moral obligation and societal responsibility to purchase such products. They should also provide a convenient and easily accessible shopping environment for consumers. Originality/value This research makes an important contribution by presenting and testing a new altruistic-values-based model that seeks to understand consumers’ environmentally responsible purchase behaviour. This model could serve as a blueprint for future studies in the domain of pro-environmental behaviour, especially those in emerging markets.

Author(s):  
Asit Bhattacharyya ◽  
Kumar Biswas

Abstract By simply modifying management decisions towards an environmentally friendly approach, organisations can minimise their negative operational impacts on the environment. A key question is whether a manager’s pro-environmental decision-making behaviour can be determined by their personal characteristics. Our study hypothesised that three core attributes (personal values, attitudes, and subjective norms) of a person can predict their future pro-environmental behavioural intention — the closest proxy of actual pro-environmental behaviour. Using the theoretical lenses of Value-Attitude-Behaviour theory (VAB) and Value-Belief-Norm theory (VBN), we examined the roles of three core attributes of future business leaders (MBA students) on their intention to behave pro-environmentally. The results of structural equation modelling indicate that future managers’ environmental values, attitudes, and subjective norms are positively associated with their intentions related to pro-environmental behaviour. Mediation test of the structural model further indicates that environmental attitudes mediate the link between personal values and intention; however, subjective norms does not. Our results imply that effective recruitment and selection mechanisms may incorporate these attributes to assist organisations in the identification of environmentally responsible business leaders. By hiring environmentally responsible managers, organisations will be able to better fulfil their commitment towards sustainability outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Budi Setiawan ◽  
Adi Zakaria Afiff ◽  
Ignatius Heruwasto

Purpose This study aims to examine the role of personal and subjective norms in predicting waste sorting, an increasingly relevant pro-environmental behavior. Design/methodology/approach This study obtained data from a sample of 300 respondents from three Indonesian cities. Purposive sampling was employed to obtain information from specific segments of Indonesian population. The analysis consisted of a two-stage procedure including confirmatory factor analysis and covariance-based structural equation modeling. Findings Results demonstrated that both subjective and personal norms significantly and directly predict waste sorting behavior (WSB) bypassing intention to behave. Research limitations/implications The fact that norms held by individuals are able to single-handedly drive pro-environmental behaviors implies that previous studies and social marketing campaigns may have overstated the role of intention. Practical implications In designing marketing communication programs promoting WSB, this paper argues that targeting normative tendencies of the audience may provide a more effective strategy than focusing on explicit pro-environmental intentions and attitudes of the public. Originality/value This study provided a new experimental test and confirmation of the role of subjective norms, the normative component of the theory of planned behavior and of personal norms, the normative component of the norm activation theory, in predicting WSB.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 3581-3600
Author(s):  
Ja Young (Jacey) Choe ◽  
Jinkyung Jenny Kim ◽  
Jinsoo Hwang

Purpose This study aims to examine diners’ behavioral intention to visit an edible insect restaurant, which is known to play an important role in sustainability, by integrating the theory of planned behavior and the norm activation theory. Design/methodology/approach A total of 439 samples were collected in South Korea. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses. Findings The attitudes were influenced by subjective norms. Intentions were affected by the attitudes, the subjective norms and the perceived behavioral control. In addition, the five dimensions of cognitive triggers, which include environmental awareness, ascribed responsibility, biospheric value, environmental concern and perceived effectiveness, positively affected personal norms, and the personal norms positively influenced behavioral intentions. Practical implications It is an important practical implication of this study that tourism practitioners were delivered with the knowledge of establishing marketing strategies based on the destination’s green image of insect restaurants. Originality/value This study is expected to contribute to the extant knowledge, which will enable an understanding of the sustainability values of edible insect restaurants, and it will guide tourism practitioners to establish effective sustainable practices for the tourism industry.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-39
Author(s):  
Edward Shih-Tse Wang ◽  
Chih-Feng Chou

PurposeAlthough the relationships between subjective norms, personal norms, consumer social responsibility and consumer attitude have been studied, the direct or indirect relationships that potentially exist between these factors influencing consumer purchase intention remain unclear. Because attracting consumers to purchase fair trade (FT) products is fundamental to the success of the FT movement, the study introduced a theoretical framework that emphasizes the mediating role of personal norms and consumer attitude towards FT product purchases in the effects of subjective norms and consumer social responsibility on consumer purchase intention towards FT products.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 398 university students; structural equation modelling was applied to analyse the data. Mediation analysis was also performed to determine potential direct or indirect relationships between factors.FindingsThe results revealed that subjective norms and responsibility to support FT products affect personal norms and attitude towards purchasing such products, which in turn influenced consumer purchase intention toward purchasing these products. Personal norms partially mediate the influence of subjective norms and consumer social responsibility on attitudes towards purchasing FT products. By contrast, the consumer attitude fully mediates the effects of subjective norms, consumer social responsibility and personal norms on purchase intentions towards FT products.Originality/valueBecause consumer purchasing is critical to the success of the FT movement and to achieving the UN's SDGs, this study helps FT marketers to better understand the effects of subjective norms and consumer social responsibility on consumer behavioural intentions and to develop effective marketing and promotion strategies for increasing consumer purchase intention.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1823-1841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Tingchi Liu ◽  
Yongdan Liu ◽  
Ziying Mo

PurposeThis research extends the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and aims to study the underlying factors that influence Chinese consumers' purchase intentions towards green products. The conceptual model encompasses four elements (subjective norms, perceived behaviour control, moral norms and attitude) and one consumer response (purchase intention).Design/methodology/approachThe current research employs a questionnaire survey and two experiments. In Study 1, the hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling with 485 consumers in China. Study 2 employed a single-factor, two-condition (morally engaged vs control), between-subject design.FindingsThe findings reveal that the morally extended TPB framework is more applicable in predicting Chinese consumers' green purchase intentions than the original TPB model. Attitude plays the most significant role in predicting purchase intentions, and moral norms prove to be a mediator of the relationship between the original construct of subjective norms and purchase intentions. The findings further revealed that moral norms comprise the underlying mechanism of the relationship between subjective norms and attitude.Originality/valueThis study therefore expands the TPB theory by including moral norms. Moreover, it contributes to the literature by clarifying the direct, indirect and total effects of each TPB element on the purchase intentions towards green products. Finally, managerial implications are given.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amirreza Rezaei ◽  
Saba Ahmadi ◽  
Hamid Karimi

Purpose This study aims to determine the effect of online social networks on university students’ environmentally responsible behavior (ERB). This research aimed to develop and test a behavioral model in the context of online social networks, where students’ attitudes, knowledge and behavior influence their ERB. Design/methodology/approach This study used a quasi-experiment with a pretest-posttest design and a random parallelization control group. The research used a questionnaire to assess ERB, environmental attitudes and environmental knowledge. The researcher randomly assigned 120 students to an experimental and a control group of equal size. Both groups initially completed a pretest. The experimental group was trained in environmental issues over four months (an academic semester) via an online social network. Findings The findings indicated that the social network had a significant effect on motivating ERB. Additionally, it improved environmental attitudes. According to the results, online social networks such as Facebook can significantly aid in teaching and learning environmental issues in formal academic settings. Originality/value Online social networks facilitated significant cognitive progress in environmental education. The primary objective is to educate students about ERB.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
FenfenWei ◽  
Nanping Feng ◽  
Jinqi Xue ◽  
Ruxiang Zhao ◽  
Shanlin Yang

PurposeSmall- and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) significantly contribute to the success of platform-based innovation ecosystems (PIEs). However, less is known about their behaviors and behavioral intentions (BIs) toward participating in PIEs. Considering that SMEs' BIs directly influence their behaviors and reveal the underlying logic of their behaviors, this study, therefore, focuses on SMEs' BIs and explores the antecedents to reveal the rational effects on BIs of the participation.Design/methodology/approachAn extended framework is proposed to understand SMEs' BIs toward the participation and empirically tested with data from a sample of 189 Chinese SMEs based on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe results show that (1) the framework has a good fit in the context of PIEs and a large predictability of SMEs' BIs toward the participation; (2) as expected, SMEs' BIs are directly positively affected by their attitudes (ATTs), subjective norms (SNs) and platform leaders (PLs), while indirectly positively influenced by perceived usefulness (PU) and ease and negatively influenced by perceived risks (PRs) via mediation effects and (3) surprisingly, BIs are directly negatively affected by platforms probably because of the potential collaborative risks based on platforms.Originality/valueThis study enriches PIE literature by focusing on complementors and proposing a framework of SMEs' BI toward joining PIEs, and it also expands the application of BI–behavior theories in the context of PIEs by offering a BI–behavior perspective to analyze the rational logic of SMEs' behaviors of participating to PIEs. Practically, the main findings not only benefit SMEs to better understand their BIs and to make a wise choice toward the participation, but provide implications for PLs to proactively design interventions for attracting SMEs’ complementors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Van Dong Phung ◽  
Igor Hawryszkiewycz ◽  
Daniel Chandran

Purpose Studies have examined the influence of knowledge-sharing factors on attitudes and intentions to share knowledge; thus, there is a need to add to the limited research to examine individuals’ actual knowledge-sharing behaviour (KSB). Drawing upon the social cognitive theory (SCT) and transformational leadership, this study aims to develop a new research model which modifies the standard SCT model and augments it with other theories to examine academics’ KSBs. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire surveys based on literature and pilot study were conducted with 785 academic staff from four Vietnamese public universities. This study applied structural equation modelling to test the proposed research model and hypotheses. Findings The findings show that environmental factors (subjective norms, trust) and personal factors (knowledge self-efficacy, enjoyment in helping others) had positive impacts on KSB; KSB had a strongly positive effect on innovative behaviour; and transformational leadership positively moderated the effects of subjective norms, trust and knowledge self-efficacy on KSB. Interestingly, psychological ownership of knowledge was found to have insignificant associations with KSB. Practical implications The study findings can be used by university leaders, academic staff and researchers in other similar contexts. Originality/value Until now, to the best of the researchers’ knowledge, no studies have applied SCT as a primary lens, in which transformational leadership positioned in a focal behaviour also affected KSB, to investigate research on KSB in organisations, especially in institutions of higher education.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-211
Author(s):  
Nicolas Julian Seyler ◽  
Jan Mutl

Purpose Building performance does not only depend on its efficiency but also on the behaviors of its occupants. Occupant behaviors can more than offset technological efficiency gains so, that corporate real estate (CRE) managers have to go beyond sustainable buildings. CRE managers need to understand occupants to effectively reduce the environmental impact of their building portfolio. This paper aims to investigate the effects of environmental attitudes and mindfulness on occupant behaviors at home and at the office. Thereby, the authors address numerous calls for research regarding the drivers of more environmental real estate user behaviors. Design/methodology/approach The authors use partial least squares structural equation modeling based on self-report data obtained for a representative German sample. Findings The results show that environmental attitudes and mindfulness have both positive effects on occupant behaviors. However, the effects tend to be weaker in the office context. Research limitations/implications This study relies on self-reports as an indicator of actual behaviors. Besides, the findings are limited by the cross-sectional nature of the data. Practical implications Environmental education and mindfulness training may be an effective way to promote more environmental occupant behaviors and help CRE managers to further reduce the environmental impact of their building portfolio. Originality/value The paper contributes to prior research about the antecedents of environmental behaviors and provides evidence for the positive impact of environmental attitudes and mindfulness on occupant behaviors. The author provide a new approach for CRE managers, which may improve occupant behaviors.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ihsan Effendi ◽  
Miftahuddin Murad ◽  
Ahmad Rafiki ◽  
Mitra Musika Lubis

Purpose The Islamic rural banks have the potential to grow in Indonesia. It is important to learn and study the consumer behaviors toward the Islamic rural banks’ services to plan for future strategies. The purpose of this paper is to test the applicability of the theory of reasoned action in predicting the customers’ decision to use the Islamic rural banks’ services. Design/methodology/approach The descriptive and structural equation model analyses were used to analyze the data. A random sampling technique is adopted with a sample size of 180 consumers of the Islamic rural banks. There are variables to be tested such as Sharia system compliance, product knowledge on Sharia, promotion, services, attitude, subjective norms, intention and customer decisions to use the Islamic rural banks’ services. Findings The results found that the Sharia system compliance, promotion, services, attitude, subjective norms and intention variables have a significant effect on the use of services at Islamic rural banks. Only product knowledge on Sharia variable has been found to be insignificant. Originality/value The model can be used to prepare better strategies to attract more customers as well as increase public awareness toward Islamic rural banks’ products and services. The results are useful as a benchmark for policymakers to improve the establishment of Islamic rural banks particularly in Indonesia.


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