Sex, Personality, and Sustainable Consumer Behaviour: Elucidating the Gender Effect

Sustainable consumer behaviour—behaviour motivated or influenced by social and/or environmental considerations—is an important topic in public policy and consumer psychology. Research on the antecedents of sustainable consumer behaviour has found a robust “gender effect”: women are more likely than men to express concern about consumption’s broader impacts and to act upon those concerns. The mechanisms underlying the gender effect have not been well elucidated. At the same time, more limited research has found that sustainable consumer behaviour is also influenced by personality: more agreeable and more open consumers are more likely to place importance on and to act on social and environmental concerns. Separate research in personality psychology has shown that women tend to be more agreeable than men. The authors integrate these findings to propose and test a model in which personality mediates the effect of sex on sustainable consumer behaviour. The personality differences mediating this effect are the same ones elsewhere subsumed within “gender” differences. Our findings clarify the mechanisms underlying the observed sex effect, confirm the utility of personality constructs in clarifying differences in consumer attitudes and behaviours, and have compelling implications for public policy.     

A hierarchical analysis of the green consciousness of the Egyptian consumer

This study investigates the influence of various cultural values and psychological factors on the green purchase behavior of Egyptian consumers. Using a large sample of 1093 consumers, a conceptual model has been developed. The survey results provide reasonable support for the validity of the proposed model. Specifically, the findings from the structural equation model confirm the influence of the consumers' natural environment orientation, ecological knowledge, and environmental concern on their attitudes towards green purchase. Consumers' attitudes toward green purchase, in turn, are also found to affect their actual green purchase behavior via the mediator role of green purchase intention. However, one of the other important findings suggests that the link between intention and actual purchase is weak. In other words, on a declarative level, more and more consumers in Egypt express their concern over the ecological situation and declare their willingness to contribute somehow to the protection of environment by buying green products. However, in reality this concern may not be manifested consistently. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Gender as a moderator of the relationship between materialism and fashion clothing involvement among Indian youth

The research examines the role of gender in moderating the relationship between materialism and product involvement with fashion clothing among the Indian youth. The Richins materialism scale and the product involvement and purchase involvement scales developed by O'Cass were used to understand the behaviour of Indian youth towards fashion clothing. The sample (n = 254) comprised of university students from different parts of India. The findings indicate that Indian youth do not possess a high level of materialistic tendencies. Gender has a moderating influence on the relationship between materialism and involvement with fashion clothing. Young men and women differ with respect to their involvement with fashion clothing and even more with regard to their involvement with the purchase of fashion clothing, with women reporting a higher level of involvement in both cases.     

企业环保主张对消费者绿色购买意愿的影响机制研究

在广告设计中如何使用环保主张是影响广告效果和公司声誉的一项重要决策。基于此，文章引入归因理论和精细加工可能性模型对企业环保主张的效果和发生机制进行分析。结果表明：相较于关联型环保主张，消费者面对实质型环保主张时的绿色购买意愿更高；消费者环境关注调节了环保主张对绿色购买意愿的影响，即相较于关联型（实质型）环保主张，高环境关注（低环境关注）的消费者面对实质型（关联型）环保主张时绿色购买意愿更强；同时消费者的CSR内部动机感知在环保主张对消费者绿色购买意愿的影响中起中介作用。文章丰富了绿色广告理论体系，为增强企业环保主张的说服效果提供了理论依据。     

In green consumption,why consumers do not walk their talk: A cross cultural examination from Saudi Arabia and UK

Green consumption is evolving and has received much attention from retailers and academic. Previous studies reveal a gap among green purchase intention and green purchase actual behaviour under different cultural contexts. This intention-behaviour gap is unresearched in the green consumption context. Therefore, our examination seeks to plug this gap by exploring the mediating role of implementation intention and the moderating role of action self-efficacy, environmental knowledge, coping self-efficacy, and green value on the link among intention and behaviour in two different cultural contexts. Data were gathered from two different countries (i.e., Saudi Arabia and UK) consumers who are familiar with green consumption. We analysed our data using structural equation modelling to test the suggested model. The findings revealed that implementation intentions fully mediate the relationships between purchase intentions and purchase behaviour. They also indicated that action self-efficacy, environmental knowledge, coping self-efficacy, and green value moderate the association between intention and actual behaviour. Moreover, results indicated that the influence of green purchase intentions and implementations intentions on green purchase behaviour was stronger in the UK sample than in Saudi Arabia sample. This paper provides managers and retailers with meaningful implications that show how to convert green purchase intentions into green purchase behaviour within different cultural contexts.     

Effects of functional green advertising on self and others

This study examines the effects of a functional green advertising promoting the environmental advantages of a product. It presents the results of three experiments designed to (a) explore consumers’ perceptions of a functional green ad's effects on themselves and others, (b) determine how those perceptions are influenced by consumer environmental concern, and (c) examine how individualism–collectivism relates to self–other effect perceptions. Findings indicate that (a) consumers believe that functional green advertising exerts a stronger influence on others’ purchase decisions than on their own purchase decisions; (b) the self–other difference is more salient among consumers with high environmental concern; (c) in the individualistic culture, the perceived effectiveness on self, not on others, predicts consumers’ support for the regulation of functional green ads, while this effect is reversed when consumers are in collectivistic cultures. The study's findings extend several lines of research, including the literature on green advertising and the third‐person effect.     

Antecedents and interrelationships of three types of pro-environmental behavior

Models used in previous environmental studies focused on only one type of pro-environmental behavior (e.g., purchase of green products) and failed to examine a relationship among the different types of pro-environmental behavior. This study employs the three types of pro-environmental behavior (green purchase behavior, good citizenship behavior, and environmental activist behavior) and examines their drivers and the interrelationship. The study proposes and tests a model in which value orientation, perceived consumer efficiency/effectiveness (PCE) and environmental concern have an influence on the three types of behavior. The model is tested on the data collected via survey in South Korea. The study finds that altruistic value has no direct influence on behavior, but has an indirect impact through PCE and environmental concern. The study finds that PCE and environmental concern are positively related to citizenship behavior and purchase behavior. Activist behavior is explained by a single predictor (PCE).     

Male eco‐fashion: a market reality

With the fashion industry striving for competitive advantage, eco‐fashions provide an opportunity to distinguish environmentally friendly products from other fashion products. However, the viability of these eco‐fashion brands is questionable. An exploratory study is conducted to explain men's differences, particularly, as clothing styles vary for men and women. The research examines if men's purchase intent would make a difference to the eco‐fashion industry. A random sample is collected to examine men's purchase intentions for eco‐clothing by product attributes, environmental concerns and sustainable behaviour. Partial least squares is used to empirically test the sample. A conceptual model is developed. It was found that there are four significant exogenous variables, environmental concern, sustainable pricing, sustainable behaviour and sustainable branding with a moderately strong, negatively signed coefficient path. Perceived consumer effectiveness and faith in others are not found to be significant moderators. This defined male segment makes several theoretical contributions as well as generating useful recommendations for marketing practitioners.     

Consumers' response to promotional gifts: The role of gender,transactional value,and reciprocity

Gifts received with the purchase of a focal product are widely used as a tool aimed at incentivizing sales. Yet, marketers still face many questions related to the effectiveness of this promotional technique. In this paper, we examine whether customer's gender—a variable that is managerially relevant and often collected for targeting and positioning purposes—influences the success of gift promotions. Using novel data from a car rental company, we show that promotional gifts have a stronger positive impact on subsequent purchase behaviors for women (vs. men). Two follow‐up experiments demonstrate that this gender effect is driven by the fact that women obtain greater transactional value from the promotional purchase than men do, leading to enhanced reciprocity motivation among women. Taken together, these findings first argue for a more targeted use of promotions involving gifts and second, raise questions about whether we should carefully consider potential gender differences in predicting the effects of many common marketing tactics that are presently discussed as if universal.     

Why do retail consumers buy green apparel? A knowledge-attitude-behaviour-context perspective

Consumers' increased knowledge and awareness of environmental issues have not translated into a pervasive rise in purchasing green apparel, resulting in a phenomenon known as the ‘attitude-behaviour gap’. The current study seeks to explicate this gap by examining the drivers of green apparel buying behaviour. Towards this end, the study examines the association of environmental knowledge, green trust, and environmental concern with environmental attitude and green apparel buying behaviour. It further investigates the association of labelling desire and labelling satisfaction with this type of buying behaviour as well. In addition, the study uses the theoretical lens of the knowledge-attitude-behaviour model and attitude-behaviour-context theory to anchor its hypotheses. Cross-sectional data from 387 Japanese consumers analysed to test the conceptual model revealed that green trust, environmental attitude, and labelling satisfaction are positively associated with green apparel buying behaviour. Furthermore, green trust, environmental concern, and environmental attitude partially mediate the proposed associations, while age and gender moderate the association between environmental knowledge and environmental concern. The study's empirical insights thus lay the foundation for future research in this area and provide strategically relevant inferences for green apparel marketers and retailers.     

The impact of different types of concernment on the consumption of organic food

Previous research has mainly focused on consumers' environmental values and attitudes to explain green consumption. However, it has been neglected how situational factors like the way a consumer is affected by the impacts of environmental pollution influence environmental attitudes and the demand for organic food products. To fill this void, we firstly introduce a taxonomy of different types of factual concernment and perceived concern. Factual concernment describes the manner in which a person is affected by the negative consequences of environmental pollution, whereas perceived concern expresses an anxious sense of interest. Building on that taxonomy, an experimental study analyses how four types of factual concernment (direct vs. indirect; material vs. immaterial) influence consumers' perceived concerns (in terms of environmental and health concern) as well as the readiness to gather information, the readiness to make sacrifices, the willingness to pay higher prices and purchase intentions. The study reveals that particularly direct concernment fosters the consumption of organic food. However, the study did not find any differences between the influences of material and immaterial concernment on the organic food purchase decision.     

The effects of mood,gender, and ad context on type of elaboration and product evaluation

An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of mood, gender, and ad context in relation to item-specific and relational elaboration, product evaluation, and purchase intention. Specifically, mood, gender, and ad context were posited to interact. The findings supported hypotheses predicting that mood interacted with gender to influence the type of elaboration. The findings also demonstrated that mood, gender, and ad context interacted to influence product evaluation and purchase intention. Furthermore, the findings showed that mood did not override gender predisposition of elaboration. Instead, mood acted to enhance elaboration that is predisposed by gender. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed regarding how women and men in different mood states process information in different ad contexts.     

Gender differences in consumers’ acceptance of genetically modified foods

Research has shown that women are less accepting of genetically engineered products than men. We expect two mechanisms to be at work here. First, in consumer behaviour theory, more knowledge is assumed to lead to more acceptance. We assumed that for genetically engineered foods, this general principle does not apply since long‐term consequences are not known yet. The well‐informed consumer is likely to be comparatively more concerned with this lack of knowledge. We call this the information paradox. Theory on the topic is relatively recent. The results of this study will help to distinguish consumer behaviour with regard to new types of food as compared with traditional foods. Second, we assumed that there is a gender factor included in attitudes toward foods. In general, women still plan food and household purchases. A tentative attitude and an accompanying reluctance toward food innovation are adopted when buying food for children. We call this the gender paradox. In this exploratory study we use data from the Eurobarometer. Eurobarometer surveys have been executed since 1973 by the European Commission among the adult population of European Union member countries (n > 10 000), monitoring the evolution of public opinion. Analysis of these surveys shows that gender differences exist in the acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods in Europe. Women tend to be less accepting toward genetically modified foods. This supports our gender hypothesis. However, no evidence was found to support the assumed information paradox. It seems that knowledge leads to acceptance, also of GM foods, but more so for men than for women.     

Determinants of Chinese consumers' green purchase behavior

This study examines the influence of various cultural and psychological factors on the green purchase behavior of Chinese consumers. To this end, a conceptual model has been proposed and subjected to empirical verification with the use of a survey. The survey results obtained in two major Chinese cities provide reasonable support for the validity of the proposed model. Specifically, the findings from the structural‐equation modeling confirm the influence of the subjects' man–nature orientation, degree of collectivism, ecological affect, and marginally, ecological knowledge, on their attitudes toward green purchases. Their attitudes toward green purchases, in turn, are also seen to affect their green purchase behavior via the mediator of green purchase intention. Although the present findings provide a better understanding of the process and significant antecedents of green purchasing, they also highlight two areas for more thorough investigation. These are the exact role of ecological knowledge in Chinese consumers' green purchasing process and the underlying factors that account for their low level of green purchase. This study also discusses how the present findings may help the Chinese government and green marketers to fine‐tune their environmental programs. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Predicting green product consumption using theory of planned behavior and reasoned action

The extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) incorporates environmental concern, a critical variable in green marketing literature, intending to achieve triple bottom line (TBL). In this context, this study aims to validate TPB and its extended form (mediating role of TPB variables), as well as the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), to predict Indian consumers’ green product purchase intention. We collected primary data from 521 respondents as input, establishing validity through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Our empirical results of structural equation modeling (SEM) show that extended TPB has higher predictability than TPB and TRA in green marketing settings. Consumer attitude and perceived behavioral control significantly predicts purchase intention whereas subjective norm does not. Our findings also suggest that TPB mediates the relationship between environmental concern and green products purchase intention. An additional construct in the new model considerably contributes to improving the understanding of green products purchase intention formation and could become a sustainable mainstream variable.     

Does environmentally responsible purchase intention matter for consumers? A predictive sustainable model developed through an empirical study

Rapidly increasing demand for eco-friendly products is an example of responsible purchasing intention of customers. That responsible behaviour forces businesses not only to understand their responsible purchase intention, but also helps them to sustainability in the market for the long term. In this regard, very little discussion is available in current literature, especially in the context of apparel product consumption. Therefore, to contribute to literature in this field, this work aims to build a predictive sustainable model through an empirical study to examine the relationships among different factors such as attitude, social norms, perceived behaviour control, environmental consciousness, willingness to pay (WTP) premium and consumer purchase intention for environmentally friendly apparels. The data of two hundred and thirty-two respondents were analysed by structural equation modelling (SEM). With the help of the findings, it can be concluded that Indian consumers are aware of green apparels, have a positive attitude to them and show a responsible purchase intention to protect the environment. This is in contrast to the old saying that Indians are price sensitive given the emergence of higher WTP premiums for green apparel products. Other factors such as subjective norms, perceived behaviour control and environmental consciousness are also positively affecting consumer purchase intention. From the study findings, retail managers can benefit through more focused strategies for environmental protection to make a reduction in apparel material while educating their consumers about green apparel.     

Gender Differences in Psychosocial Determinants of University Students’ Intentions to Buy Fair Trade Products

This study examined gender differences in university students’ intentions to buy fair trade (FT) products through the lens of the moral norm extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Data were obtained from 782 students at the University of Luxemburg. Results of structural equation analysis indicated that the inclusion of moral norms increased the explained variance in behavioural intentions from 62 to 69.4%. Compared to men, women reported more favourable attitude, higher moral obligation, and stronger intentions toward buying FT products. Moderating analyses showed that the attitude–intentions relationship was stronger for men, whereas the perceived behavioural control–intentions relationship was stronger for women. The implications of the moderation analysis are that sustainability professionals seeking to encourage university students’ intentions to buy FT products should develop gender-targeted interventions: for men, more emphasis should be placed on attitude toward buying FT products (i.e., the advantages of adopting this behaviour), and for women, more emphasis should be placed on perceived behavioural control (e.g., factors that facilitate the purchase of FT products).     

绿色属性中心性对消费者购买意愿的影响机制研究：产品类型的调节作用与收益感知的中介效应

以往关于产品绿色属性对消费者购买意愿影响的研究尚未达成一致结论。文章通过两个情境实验系统性地探讨了不同产品类型情境下产品绿色属性对消费者购买意愿的影响机制。结果表明，对于享乐型产品，高绿色属性中心性相较于低绿色属性中心性会激发消费者更强烈的购买意愿。对于实用型产品，低绿色属性中心性相较于高绿色属性中心性会激发消费者更强烈的购买意愿。此外，在享乐品情境下，自我表达收益在高绿色属性中心性提升消费者购买意愿的过程中起中介作用；在实用品情境下，环境功利收益在低绿色属性中心性提升消费者购买意愿的过程中起中介作用。     

An innovation resistance theory perspective on purchase of eco-friendly cosmetics

This study investigates the reasons for consumer resistance towards purchase of eco-friendly cosmetic products using the innovation resistance theory. Thus we extend the theory by exploring the moderating roles of environmental concern and health concern. An online survey method was used to collect the data from 350 consumers through Amazon Mechanical Turk. The findings reveal that all the barriers are significant inhibitors towards adoption of eco-friendly cosmetic products. Among these barriers, tradition and image barriers have the strongest inhibitory force on consumers' purchase intentions. However, environmental concern among consumers indicates that the negative influence of value and image barriers reduce consumers’ intention to purchase eco-friendly items, while health concern reduces the influence of tradition and risk barriers. The study findings have far reaching implications for scholars, cosmetic manufacturers, and retailers.     

How gender influences the effect of age on self‐efficacy and training success

Previous research has shown age and gender differences in training, but the results have been mixed and their combined influence is only rarely examined. We fill those gaps by analysing age and gender effects on self‐efficacy and training success. Study participants were trainees in an e‐learning time‐ and self‐management behaviour modelling training programme. We measured self‐efficacy before and after training and time‐ and self‐management behaviour before and 6 weeks after training. We expected the differences between pre‐ and post‐test results to indicate self‐efficacy development and we expected differences between pre‐ and follow‐up tests to indicate training success. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that age and gender interacted in both self‐efficacy development and training success. A structural equation model confirmed that men and women showed different relationships among age, self‐efficacy and training success. Older women showed more positive development compared with older men. We conclude that age and gender should both be considered in future design and training evaluations.