Is face and information availability important in green purchasing among young consumers?

Abstract

AbstractWith the growing awareness of environmental issues available across various media platforms, consumers, particularly the younger generation, are more conscious of their consumption and its impact on the environment. This trend can be observed in the surging demand for environmentally friendly and animal-test-free products on the market. However, despite the young consumer group’s critical role in the marketplace, existing research in this area remains limited, demanding further investigation. Recognising the significance of this trend, this study employs a two-stage partial least squares structural equation modelling-artificial neural network (PLS-SEM-ANN) approach to analyse the antecedents influencing green consumption among young Chinese consumers. This study proposes a conceptual research model that extends the norm activation model (NAM) by analysing 366 self-reported questionnaires. The first-stage PLS-SEM results reveal significant positive correlations between personal norms (PN), environmental knowledge (EK), information availability (IA), social norms (SN) and green consumption intention (GCI). However, face consciousness (FC) was found to have no significant effect on GCI. The second-stage ANN sensitivity analysis shows that PN emerged as the most influential factor on GCI, followed by IA, SN, and EK. This ranking diverges from the PLS-SEM results, suggesting potential hidden nonlinear relationships between IA, SN, EK and GCI. Among the significant predictors of PN, the ascription of responsibility (AR) ranks first, followed by an awareness of consequence (AC) and SN. With its unique two-stage PLS-SEM-ANN approach to green consumption among young consumers, this study offers valuable insights for both marketers and researchers. Marketers gain a new tool to predict GCI more effectively, while researchers can explore the intricate interplay of factors shaping sustainable consumption choices. Methodologically, the present study is one of the few that applies extended NAM using two-stage PLS-SEM-ANN in the context of green consumption.