Relating the role of green self-concepts and identity on green purchasing behaviour: An empirical analysis

At present, consumers in emerging economies are becoming more conscious about environmental well-being. Therefore, organizations compete to make their products and practices more eco-friendly. Several studies have tried to explain the relationship between green consumerism and an individual's buying behaviour using traditional theories. However, there is quite a challenge in understanding the influence of green self-concept (GSC) and green self-identity (GSI) in predicting the green purchase intention (GPI) of consumers. Therefore, the authors developed six hypotheses to assess the relation between self-concept and the GPI. The survey was conducted, and the responses were evaluated through the partial least square (PLS) method. The authors analysed the measurement model results (n = 717) and the direct and indirect mediating effect of the latent variable contributing to GPI. The measurement model results show that a significant relationship exists in the proposed model, namely, GSCs → green purchasing intentions, product self-concept (PSC) → green purchasing intentions and GSI → green purchasing intentions. Further, the GSI acted as a mediator for the measurement model. The implications of the study can be used to understand the green consumer behavior in developing new strategies and policies for the organizational practice in emerging economies.