Socio-demographic characteristics and green consumption behavior in developing countries: the case of Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of customers’ socio-demographic characteristics on the formation of behavioral intention toward green hotels in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach The current study used partial least square-structural equation modeling to analyze a sample of 400 green hotel customers in Malaysia. Further, multi-group analysis (MGA) is conducted to examine whether a significant difference exists across demographic groups. Findings Attitude and perceived behavioral control exert positive effects on desire, which in turn considerably influences behavioral intention. Results of MGA indicate that attributions have varying effects on the desire and behavioral intention with different socio-demographic characteristics. In particular, negative anticipated emotion negatively predicts desire among the customers of the older group, whereas positive anticipated emotion and subjective norm positively influence desire among the customers of the low educational level group. Research limitations/implications The study examines green hotel customers’ behavior in Malaysia, and further research is needed to determine whether the impact of the proposed determinants across different industries. As the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has started to influence customers’ behavior, the findings may be changing over time. Thus, a further longitudinal study would be beneficial to monitor the performance hotel CSR activities. Originality/value Although there is an increasing interest in CSR activities among Malaysian customers, there is a lack of information regarding customers’ motivation in the green hotel context. Furthermore, limited studies examined the role of customers’ demographic characteristics in the CSR literature. There is a need to understand green hotel industry and customers’ responses toward CSR activities.