Impact of Environmental Concern on Ecological Purchasing Behavior: The Moderating Effect of Prosociality

Abstract

Promoting ecological consumption is gradually becoming a social consensus. A crucial point of ecological consumption is consumers’ willingness to purchase eco-friendly products, which has become an important consideration for government policymakers. In order to achieve social responsibility, enterprises are also finding ways to encourage consumers to buy eco-friendly products. In this study, we explored the relationship between environmental concern and ecological purchasing behavior, and we tested the moderating effect of prosociality in order to explain why people act in a manner that benefits society. A self-administered questionnaire was developed to gather data, and statistical hypotheses were validated through a structural equation model. The results indicated that enhancing consumers’ environmental concerns can effectively influence their eco-purchasing behavior. Therefore, ecological attitude and ecological responsibility have a direct influence on ecological purchasing behavior. Environmental concern positively influences ecological attitude and ecological responsibility through ecological values and ecological affects. Furthermore, the prosociality moderating effect is also significant. Prosociality positively moderates the relationships among ecological responsibility, ecological attitude, and ecological purchasing behavior. The relationships among these factors are important to consider when developing ecological marketing campaigns and communication strategies to influence consumers’ ecological behavior. Therefore, fostering prosociality among citizens is also an effective way to enhance the level of eco-consumption.