Holistic Antecedent Analysis of Behavioral Intention among Green Consumers in the Philippines: A Sustainability Theory of the Planned Behavior Approach

Abstract

Concerns over sustainability have recently drawn more attention in a post-COVID-19 environment, particularly from developing countries. This heightened global awareness of sustainability highlights the importance of comprehending consumer behavior in purchasing green products. This study utilized an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) called the sustainability theory of planned behavior (STPB) to holistically assess the behavioral intention among green consumers in a particular developing country: the Philippines. Convenience sampling was used with 500 participants, and 54 modified questions were distributed online. Different factors, such as perceived environmental concern, perceived economic concern, perceived authority support, subjective norm, attitude, perceived behavioral control, customer perceived value, and purchasing intention, were assessed concurrently through the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Through this, it was discovered that all the STPB predictors were significant drivers affecting the consumers’ purchasing intention, with customer perceived value having the highest direct effect. Moreover, it was found that the relationship between perceived economic concern on subjective norms and perceived behavioral control was insignificant. Further implications and comparisons were made based on the results of the study. The study’s findings can be utilized to help policymakers and marketers devise strategies that will effectively encourage sustainability through targeted interventions and increased product awareness. The study has validated the integration of new constructs into the TPB, enhancing the predictive power of the proposed model for assessing the behavioral intention to purchase green products. Thus, the model construct can be applied and utilized to investigate other topics regarding sustainability.