Understanding purchase behaviour towards green housing among millennials: the mediating role of purchase intention

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate millennials’ purchase behaviours towards green housing in India. This paper also examines the mediating effect of purchase intention between determinants of buying green housing and purchase behaviour in the real estate industry. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional research design was applied to collect data from 393 rural and 388 urban millennials. This study used “partial least squares structural equation modelling” to verify the framed hypotheses. Findings The outcomes indicate that attitude, environmental concern and green trust substantially influence the purchase intention and purchase behaviour towards green housing in rural and urban studies. However, perceived risk has an insignificant effect on purchase intention and purchase behaviour towards green housing in both studies. Likewise, innovativeness insignificantly impacts the purchase intention in study rural while substantially impacting the purchase behaviour in both studies. Additionally, a favourable relationship between purchase intention and purchase behaviour towards green housing in both rural and urban contexts. Practical implications This study provides fruitful evidence for practitioners, marketers and academicians about the drivers of purchase behaviour toward green housing. The results of this study also enable regulatory bodies to design appropriate strategies and tactics to foster the sustainable growth of nations. Originality/value This paper is a preliminary attempt to explore the decision to buy green housing in India. Furthermore, the authors targeted a specific age group, especially millennials, to gain a valuable understanding of how different factors affect green housing decisions in different areas, that is, rural and urban areas.