Exposure to internet content and formation of green consumption behavioural intention among generation yers in vietnam

More specifically, from this view, people whohold strong value for naturemay engage in green consumption behaviours for environmentalprotection if they areaware of environmental degradat

ENTiON AMONGGENERATiONYERSiNViETNAM

ĺHDDISSERTATIONBUSINE

SSADMINISTRATION

Hanoi–2022

NATIONALECONOMICSUNIVERSITY

 DOTHANHLONG

EXPOSURETOINTERNETCONTENTANDF

ORMATiON OF GREENCONSUMPTiONBEHAViOURALIN

TENTiON AMONGGENERATiONYERSiNViETNAM

SPECIALIZATION:BUSINESS ADMINISTRATIONSPECIALIZATIONCODE:9340101

ĺHDDISSERTATION

Supervisor:AssociateProfessor DoctorNguyenVuHung

Hanoi–2022

DECLARATION

I have read and understood the University’s policy on plagiarism I herebydeclare on

my honor that this research proposal is my own work and does notviolatetheregulationsongoodacademic practices

PhDcandidate

LISTOFFIGURES v

LISTOF TABLES vi

LISTOFABBREVIATIONS vii

INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Reasons for choosing topic 1

1.2 Purposeofthe research 2

1.2.1 Thehumanvalue– greenconsumptionbehaviour gap 2

1.2.2 Theroleofexposuretoenvironmental contentontheinternet infillingvalue – behaviourgap 3

1.2.3 Theresearch questions 4

1.3 Subjectandscopeofthe research 5

1.4 Original contributionsof theresearch 5

CHAPTER1:LITERATUREREVIEW 7

1.1 Greenconsumption 7

1.1.1 Adverseimpactsofenvironmental problems 7

1.1.2 Theemergence ofgreen consumption 9

1.2 EnvironmentalproblemsandsustainabledevelopmentofVietnam 11

1.2.1 Airpollution 12

1.2.2 Water pollution 13

1.2.3 Landdegradationandsoil erosion 14

1.2.4 Deforestationandlossofbiodiversity 14

1.2.5 EnvironmentalprotectionandsustainabledevelopmentofVietnam 16

1.2.6 GreenconsumptioninVietnam asasolutiontoenvironmentalproblem 17

1.2.7 The importanceof generationY consumers in constructing greenconsumptioncultureinVietnam 19

1.3 Antecedentsof greenconsumptionbehaviours 21

1.3.1 Individualfactors 22

1.3.1.1 Demographicfactors 22

1.3.1.2 Sustainable-relatedattitude 24

1.3.1.3 Personal norms 25

1.3.1.4 PerceivedBehavioural Control 26

1.3.1.5 Perceivedconsumereffectiveness 27

1.3.1.6 Trust 28

1.3.1.7 Emotion(GuiltandPride) 29

1.3.1.8 Consumerinnovativeness 30

1.3.1.9 Identity 30

1.3.1.10 Cultureorientation 31

1.3.1.11 Knowledge(EnvironmentalknowledgeandConsumerknowledge) 33

1.3.1.12 Lifestyles 35

1.3.2 Environmental/external factors 36

1.3.2.1 Socialnorms 37

1.3.2.2 Consumptionvalues 39

1.3.2.3 Media information 41

1.3.2.4 Otherenvironmentalfactors(Productprice,Productavailability,Product characteristics,lack of information) 43

1.4 The effectsof humanvalues on greenconsumptionbehaviours 44

1.5 Research gap 47

SUMMARYOFCHAPTER1 50

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICALBACKGROUNDAND RESEARCHFRAMEWORK .51

2.1 Theory ofbasic human value 51

2.2 Value basisof green consumptionbehaviours 55

2.3 Fromhumanvalues togreen consumptionbehaviours 56

2.4 Environmentalinternetcontentexposureasmoderators 58

2.4.1 Environmental internetcontentexposure and biospheric-altruisticvalue-greenconsumption behaviour gap 60

2.4.2 Environmentalinternet contentexposureand egoistic value-greenconsumptionbehaviourgap 61

SUMMARYOFCHAPTER2 65

CHAPTER3:RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY 66

3.1 Research method 66

3.2 Research process 67

3.3 Moderationtestingmethod-ModeratedMultipleRegression 70

3.4 Measurements 70

3.5 Data collection 73

3.5.1 Research siteand sampling 73

3.5.2 Samplingprocess 75

3.6 Commonmethodbias(CMB) 76

SUMMARYOFCHAPTER3 78

CHAPTER4:RESEARCHFINDINGS 79

4.1 Reliabilityand validity ofthemeasures 79

4.1.1 Exploratoryfactoranalysis(EFA) results 79

4.1.2 Confirmatoryfactoranalysis(CFA) results 83

4.2 Descriptive analysis 87

4.3 Hypothesistesting 90

SUMMARYOFCHAPTER4 96

CHAPTER5:DISCUSSIONANDRECOMMENDATION 97

5.1 Summaryand discussionof theresearchfindings 97

5.1.1 Humanvaluesandgreenconsumptionbehaviours 98

5.1.2 The moderating role of exposure to environmental contents on the internetandsocial network 99

5.2 Theoreticalcontributionsoftheresearchfindings 101

5.3 Managerialimplicationsof theresearchfindings 102

5.3.1 Strengtheningbiospheric-altruisticvalue 102

5.3.2.Activatingr e l e v a n t v a l u e s t h r o u g h p r o p e r m e d i a i n f o r m a t i o n c a m p a i g n s 102 5.4 Limitationsand further research 104

5.5 Conclusion 105

SUMMARYOFCHAPTER5 107

REFERENCE 108

APPENDIXA:OFFICIALSURVEYQUESTIONNAIRE(ENGLISH) 130

APPENDIXB:EXPLORATORYFACTORANALYSISRESULTS 134

APPENDIX C: MEASURE OF SAMPLINGADEQUACY (MSA)ANDPARTIALCORRELATIONS 140

APPENDIX D: CORRELATIONS MATRIX BETWEEN MEASUREMENTINDICATORS 142

APPENDIXE:HARMAN’SSINGLEFACTORTESTINGRESULTS 144

Figure 2.1:Hypothesis testingmodel 64 Figure3.1:Mainstepsof quantitativeresearch 69 Figure4.1:Measurementmodel 84 Figure 4.2:Simple slope analysis results for moderating effects of Action-

relatedcontentexposureonbiospheric-altruisticvalue–greenconsumptionbehaviourrelationship 93

Figure 4.3:Simple slope analysis results for moderating effects of

Action-relatedcontentexposureonmoney-basedegoisticvalue–

greenconsumptionbehaviourrelationship 94

Figure 4.4:Simple slope analysis results for moderating effects of Action-relatedcontent

exposure on authority-based egoistic value – green consumption behaviourrelationship 95

Table1.1:The comparison between social normsand personalnorms 38

Table2.1:The comparison between values,norms,and attitudes 53

Table2.2:Human values and their motivationalgoals 54

Table3.1:Summaryof contrasts betweenqualitativeandquantitativeresearch 66

Table3.2:Measurementitems 72

Table3.3:Sampledescription 75

Table4.1:KMO andBartlett'stest 79

Table4.2:Measurereliabilityandvalidity 81

Table4.3:Correlations betweenvariables 83

Table4.4:CFA testing results 85

Table4.5:Constructcorrelationmatrix 86

Table4.6:DescriptiveStatistics ofscoresformeasurement items 87

Table4.7:DescriptiveStatisticsof summatedscoresfor variables 89

Table4.8:Regressionresult with greenconsumption behavioural intention asdependent variable 91

INTRODUCTION 1.1 Reasonsforchoosingtopic

Over the past decades, the development and welfare of human beings have beenthreatened

by a number of serious environmental problems such as air andwaterpollution, resource scarcity, deforestation,

soon.Atregionallevel,significantreductionsinwaterresources,soilerosion,andsalinizationcausedbytheglobalclimatechangehaveadverselyaffectedhumanlivelihoodandtheeconomyinCentralAsiacountries.Ithasbroughtontheineffectivenessoftheagriculturalsectorfollowedbyfoodinsecurity,inadequatefreshwater supplies, or growing religious extremism due to the deepened socialandeconomicproblems(Qi&Kulmatove,2008).Similarly,airpollution,andsoilandwatercontamination because ofindustrialization have also been substantial environmentalissues posing threats to the sustainable development ofcentral and eastern Europeancountries (Carter & Turnock, 1993; Jedrychowski et al., 1997) Atindividual level, theseproblems have undeniably had detrimental impacts on human health andwell-being(Brusseau et al., 2019; Jedrychowski et al., 1997; Qi & Kulmatove, 2008).Pollution isposited to be the main cause of multiple deadly diseases such as asthma,cancer,neurodevelopmentaldisorders,birthdefects,heartdisease,stroke,andchronicobstructivepulmonarydisease.Airpollution,includingbothindoorandoutdoorsources,causesmorethansevenmilliondeathsannuallyasestimated.Meanwhile,waterpollution accounts for approximately 1.8million deaths per year Such illnesses anddeaths in turn result in economic loss for the

socialimpacts(e.g.:considerablecostformedicaltreatments,lossofproductivity,lossoftimefrom work andschool,potentialunemployment,andsoforth)(Brusseauet al.,2019)

It has been affirmed that the excessive exploitation of natural resourcesforproductiontomeettheincreaseindemandoftherapidlyproliferatingglobalpopulationis one of the main causes

b e i n g s onnaturalresourcesisundeniable.Atindividuallevel,peoplerequirelandforagriculture,wood for construction and production, or simply for fire to heat up theirhomes, so they cutdown trees People need meat, animal fur, bone, and other animalproducts that motivatethem to capture and kill wild animals At national level,mostcountriesthroughouttheworldrelyontheirnaturalresourcestofostertheirgrowth,andto satisfy the need oftheir population (Dunlap & Jorgensen, 2012) For them, naturalresources such as oil, coal, gas and other mineral

sand,stone,etc.)arevitaltoeconomicdevelopment.Infact,theremightnotbesuchenvironmentalproblemsifwasteproductsproducedbytheprocessofproductionand

consumption did not exceed the ability of nature to absorb and recover However, theglobaloverpopulation that reached near 7.7 billion in 2019 and is projected to reacharound 8.5billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050 (United Nations, 2019) has led to thedeterioration of naturalresources embodied by the uncontrolled poaching and fishing,the increasing request for living space and timbers, and

an enormous quantity andvarious types of wastes from factories and households Manyserious environmentalproblemsaretheresult(Dunlap &Jorgensen,2012)

Solving the problems requires cooperation among academics andpractitionersfromdifferentfieldsofsciencetofindoutpracticablesolutions.Frombehaviourchangeperspectiv

e, since the late 1990s, there has been a strong belief among scholars that theview and patterns of consumption need to be changed toward moreenvironmentallyfriendly ones to ensure sustainable development for our planet To date,sustainableproductionandconsumptionhavebecomeacommonconcernthroughouttheworld(Liuet al., 2017)

valuableinsightsintodesigningeffectivebehaviouralinterventionstofosterthechanges,scholarshaveputgreateffortintounderstandingwhichfactorsarepromotersorinhibitorsofenvironmentallysignificantbehavioursfromdifferentperspectives

1.2 Purposeoftheresearch

1.2.1 Thehumanvalue–greenconsumptionbehaviourgap

Among different research lines in the field, many scholars have focused on theroles ofhuman values in driving pro-environmental consumption behaviours withthetheoryo f b a s i c h u m a n v a l u e s a s t h e t h e o r e t i c a l f o u n d a t i o n ( S t e g &

V l e k , 2 0 0 9 ) Accordingly, forming and changing values are a common stream of research thatispromisingtochangethebehaviours

To date, increasing numbers of research have investigated the linkbetweenSchwartz’svaluetypes(Schwartz,1992)andpro-

environmentalconsumptionbehaviours Among various values that guide human behaviours,Stern and associates(1995) clearly distinguished underlying values for the behaviours, based

on the workabout human values of Schwartz (1992) The first one is the biospheric-altruisticvaluethat implies the importance an individual places on the benefits of other species,otherpeople, and the biosphere The second one is the egoistic value which indicatestheextent to which self-benefit is important to an individual (Karp, 1996; Stern &Dietz,1994; Wesley Schultz, 2001) These values’ driving forces behind pro-environmentalconsumptionbehavioursthushaveusually beenexamined

Nevertheless, while providing significant contributions to the understanding behaviour relationship in the field, there is still value-behaviour gap that remainsunexplained Morespecifically, this is reflected by empirical evidence that people maynot always be ready to take pro-environmental actions even when they emphasizetheimportanceofenvironmentalprotectionaswellasaltruism(e.g.:Geiger&Keller,2018;Groot & Steg, 2008; Lee et

theresponsibilitytoprotecttheenvironmenteveniftheystronglydisplaytheimportanceofself-benefitsto

themselves(e.g.: Kim &Seock,2019; Landonet al.,2018)

Oneofthemostimportantreasonsforthegapisthatthislineofresearchfocusedonidentifyingthedirectimpactsofinternal valuesindrivinggreenconsumptionbehaviours while overlooking the roles of external factors(Peattie, 2010; Steg & Vlek,2009) More specifically, as “human value” reflects desirable goals that people want toachieve in life, the human value maymatch or mismatch with various situations beforebeing converted into behaviours The linkage between a value and a specific behaviourtherefore may bemoderated by other factors In fact, scholars suggested that people’sbeliefs about target behaviours can be one of suchmoderating factors(Ponizovskiy etal., 2019) More specifically, from this view, people whohold strong value for naturemay engage in green consumption behaviours for environmentalprotection if they areaware of environmental degradation Likewise, people who stronglyvalue personalbenefits for themselves may take green consumption actions if they believethat greenconsumption can bring them such gains and deny the behaviour engagement if itisbelieved to be a threat to their benefits (Groot & Steg, 2008; Stern & Dietz, 1994).Relevantinformation about environmental protection that consumers are exposedtothencanmoderatetherelationshipsbetweenthevaluesandgreenconsumptionbehaviours

1.2.2 The role of exposure to environmental content on the internet in

fillingvalue–behaviourgap

In this study, I expect that the environmental content that a consumer isexposedtomayplayimportantroleinnarrowingvalue–greenconsumptionbehaviourgap.Itisbecausethefrequency ofenvironmental contentexposure can change individuals’beliefs and knowledgeconcerning green consumption behaviours (Green et al., 2019;Staats et al., 1996; Steg & deGroot, 2010; Valkenburg et al., 2016) In line withmyexpectation,theimportantroleofexternalcueslikeenvironmentalcontentinactivatingone’s values andmotivating or demotivating him/her to act in a given situation that isrelevant to the values has been mentioned by scholars

2013;Steg,Bolderdijk,etal.,2014;Verplanken&Holland,2002).Whilebeingemphasized,

theroleofenvironmentalcontentexposureinfillingvalue–behaviourgaptodatehasbeenunder-1.2.3 Theresearchquestions

The current study aims at addressing this gap in value - green consumptionbehaviourrelationship by examining the moderating effect of environmental contentexposure Byexposure to the contents, consumers’ may shape or change their beliefsabout the costs andbenefits of a behaviour for themselves, for other species, for otherpeople, and for the wholenature (Bandura, 2001; Stamm et al., 2000) Exposure toenvironmental content thereforemay activate relevant values held by consumers toresultintheirgreenconsumptionbehaviours

In this study, two types of environmental content that are considered requisiteinfosteringpro-environmentalmotivationincludingenvironmentalproblem-relatedcontent andaction-related content (Abrahamse & Steg, 2013; Bolderdijk et al., 2013)are investigated.The former communicates and enhances consumers’ awareness ofthestateoftheenvironmentortheexistenceofenvironmentalproblems.Thelatterinformsconsumers ofthecourseofactions that areeffectivein alleviatingthe situation

Furthermore,withthedevelopmentoftheinternetandsocialnetwork,traditionalmedia platforms namely

nolongertheinfluentialchannelsfornewsandinformation.Instead,thedigitalenvironment of theinternet has become an integral part of human society (Dawn

Question1:Howandwhydosomerelevanthumanvaluesaffectgreenconsumption behaviouralintention?

Question 2: How and why does exposure to environmental relatedcontent on the internet moderate the relationships between human values and greenconsumption behaviouralintention?

problem-Question 3: How and why does exposure to pro-environmental relatedcontent on the internet moderate the relationships between human values and greenconsumption behaviouralintention?

action-1.3 Subjectandscopeoftheresearch

Current research focuses on investigating the roles of environmental content ontheinternet and social network (hereafter called internet content) in bridging thegapbetweenhumanvaluesandgreenconsumptionbehavioursamonggenerationYconsumersforsomereasons:

First,generationYincludingconsumerswhowerebornbetween1980and2000(Belleauetal.,2007

)isthemostpowerfulcohortofconsumersbecauseofitsheftysize(Naderi & Van Steenburg, 2018) Accordingly, their

havegreateffectsonthequalityoftheenvironmentaswellasthethoughtsandactionsofthenextgenerationofc

thereforesignificantto environmentalprotection

Second,the internet and social network to date have been the most popularchannel for

information seeking in modern societies instead of traditionalplatformsincludingnewspapers,papermagazines, television,r a d i o , o r b i l l b o a r d s T h e

d e p e n d e n c e of consumers of generation Y on this digital environment for information is morestriking since they have grown

up alongside the advancement of the internet (Dawn &Thomas, 2013) Understanding theeffects of exposure to environmental content fromthe internet and social network on their

canofferinsightfulimplicationsforpolicymakersandgovernmentstodesignmoreeffectivebehavioural

interventionsand successfullybuildupgreen consumptionculture

Besides, to ensure the relevance of current research to the context of studyinVietnam,thisstudyfocusesonarangeofdifferentenvironmentallysignificantconsumptionbehaviours that are economical, less behavioural efforts, and commonlyapproved by society.The behaviours including recycling, plastic product usage, publictransport usage, product purchase, and energysaving are expected to stem from bothegoisticandprosocialmotivations

1.4 Originalcontributionsoftheresearch

Theoretically, the results of this study are to contribute to the extant knowledgeofvalue-green consumption behaviour relationships by specifying the moderatingroleofenvironmentalcontentexposure.Thisstudythusmayhelpprovideanswerstothecallbyscholarsforidentifyingtherolesofexternalfactorsindetermininggreenconsumptionb e h a v i o u r ( P e a t t i e ,

2 0 1 0 ; S t e g & V l e k , 2 0 0 9 ) P r a c t i c a l l y , t h i s s t u d y

consumers for a sustainable future for human society.Specifically, the campaigns will bemore effective in bringing on behavioural changetowards more a sustainable pattern if theycommunicate the right messages/ contents totherightconsumerswhoexpressdifferentvalues

CHAPTER1:LITERATUREREVIEW 1.1 Greenconsumption

Theworldhasbeenthreatenedbymanyenvironmentalproblems.Itisrecognizedbyacademicsthatunsustainableconsumptionpatternsofthepopulationareresponsiblefor that People are undeniably dependent on nature to liveand satisfy their demands.The environment provides humankind with the necessary resources for humanlife, fromfresh air to breathe, clean water to drink, meat and cereal to food, living space, andsoon The environment also serves as a “waste repository” for wastes produced bytheprocess of production and consumption and absorbs or recycles them intosubstancesthatareusefuloratleastharmlesstohumans(Dunlap&Jorgensen,2012).Nevertheless,these functions

of the environment have been jeopardized by increasing levels ofunsustainable consumption alongside the growth of

meetincreasingdemand,peopleover-huntandpoachwildanimalsformeatandotherproducts from them, deforest for land and timber, over-exploit other naturalresourcessuch as oil, gas, and minerals for production, excessively use fertilizers andpesticidesforagriculture,etc.Consequently,theadverseimpactshumanshaveontheenvironmentresultinther

e v e r s e o n e t h e n a t u r a l e n v i r o n m e n t h a s o n h u m a n s T h e irresponsibleconsumption without considering the environment conservation has beenfollowed by the increasingnumber of natural disasters such as severe changes in theweather patterns, melting glaciers, global warming,

andhurricanes,risingsealevel,wildfires,anenormousamountofgreenhousegaseemission,contamination ofair,soilandwaterandso forth

1.1.1 Adverseimpactsofenvironmentalproblems

To date, the adverse impacts of many serious environmental issues arevisibleandtheyareexpectedtobemoresevereinthefuture

Morespecifically,watershortageandsoildegradationthataretheresultsofover-pumpingofgroundwater,monocultures,excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides for agriculture, and disposal of an enormousamount

of heavy metals produced by industrialization has been prevalent among manyregions of theworld although these are renewable resources (Gardner et al., 2004).These issues togetherare reducing agricultural productivity which has led to foodinsecurityinmanycountries

Meanwhile, nonrenewable natural resources such as coal, oil, and gas that maytakemillions of years to regenerate are expected to be on the brink of exhaustion sincetheirreform rate is much lower than the exploitation rate of humans (Meadows etal.,2004).Withcurrentstocksandtheexploitationrateoftheseresources,theiravailability

will critically decrease due to the proliferation of the world population that has beenfollowed

by increasing demand for production and consumption As a result, sincehuman society has

no doubt depended on these sources of energy for most of thetransportation, chemicals, food,and many other things (Rifkin, 2003), the developmentof human beings will be threatened if the anticipated energyshortage can not beresolved

Additionally, the high rate of exploitation of fossil fuels for productionandconsumptionhasreleasedanenormousamountofcarbondioxideintotheairsincethesekindsoffuelscontainahighproportionofcarboncontent.Since1750,theconcentrationofcarbondioxidehasincreasedrapidlyasaresultoftheuseoffossilfuels.Theincreaseof carbon dioxide and other harmful gases in the atmosphere is believed to be the maincause ofglobal warming and climate change As estimated by Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change, since the late nineteenth century, the averagetemperature of theearth has increased by around 0.75°C By 2100, the average temperature isprojected torise approximately between 1.1 and 6.4°C (The Intergovernmental Panel onClimateChange,2007b).Globalwarmingandclimatechangehaveposedthreatstothedevelopment inmany regions of the world since it has resulted in glacier retreats andthe rise of the sea level,the increase in the frequency of natural disasters includingfrequent floods, droughts, andhurricanes and the extinction of many species (TheIntergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange, 2007a) That is why climate change andglobalwarming have beenthemostseriousenvironmental issues forhumansociety

Pollution has also been one of the most serious environmental challenges thathaveadversely affected human health and well-being It is the result of a considerableamount ofcontaminants released by the production and consumption processes ofhumans into the air,water, and soil The concentration of toxic contaminants in theatmosphericair,water, andsoil

is injuriousto animals, plants, constructions,andespecially, human health The greenhousegases released from fossil fuels used byvehicles and factories contribute significantly to air

remarkablytomanyproblemsofhumanhealth.Airpollutionexposurecausesirritationsoftheeyes,and nose,breathing problems, heart and lung diseases, and so on Approximately 7million is the reported number of deaths everyyear as a result of outdoor air pollutionexposure Furthermore, nearly 3.8 million people dieannually because of indoor airpollution exposure, according to the report of the World

(2018a,2018b).Similarly,thewaterenvironmentisdamagedbyvariouscontaminantsresultingfromhouseholdwaste,factorywaste,oilspills,chemicals,andpesticidesfromagriculturea n d c o n s t r u c t i

o n s i t e s C o n t a m i n a t e d w a t e r i s t h e c a u s e o f s i c k n e s s a n d

829.000 deaths per year from diarrhea which is strongly associated with poorwaterquality(WorldHealthOrganization,2019).Illindividualswhoarevictimsofenvironmentalpollutionmayexperienceproductivitylossorunemployment,thatinturnresult in their economic loss and adversely affect their dailylives.They also have tobear considerable medical costs associated with illness treatment Atsocietal level,illnesses result in loss of overall productivity of the labor force and increasedhumanwelfare costs such as costs invested in research and development of health caresystemthatinturnhaveadverseimpactsoneconomicgrowth(Brusseauetal.,2019).Meanwhile,soil pollution is caused by pollutants from the exploitation of resources forindustries, deforestation,fertilizer and pesticide from agriculture, and waste disposal Itputs many species in danger as well as hinders food production of human byreducingagricultural productivity,and thus brings on malnourishment forhumans

The loss of biodiversity is also a problem of the most concern The overhunting,poaching,and deforestation of humans have pushed many species closer to extinction.A large area of forests and natural grasslandsthat is habitats for many land species hasbeen devastated Similarly, the ocean environment thathas been contaminated by humanactivities has become unlivable for the ocean ones Habitat loss

in turn leads to the lossof biodiversity or the disappearance of some species In addition, the invasion of alienspecies includingfungi, microorganisms, animals, trees, and vegetation after this lossmakes this state moreserious In the meantime, the dependence of humans onmanyspeciesforlivelihoodsisoutofthequestionwhenhumansneedthemforfoodandmanyother products, to purifywater, to pollinate crops, and so on (Wilson, 2001) Biologicaldiversity implies the diversity of commodities for human choice and betterlivingconditions Accordingly, the loss of biodiversity undeniably has adverse impactsonhuman life

goods and services that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life,whileminimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials and emissions of wasteandpollutants over the life cycle, so as not to jeopardize the needs of futuregenerations”.Sustainableconsumption,greenconsumption,environmentallyresponsibleconsumption,andenvironmentallyfriendlyconsumptionareoftenusedinterchangeablyby scholars in their studies and these

pro-environmentalbehaviours.Fromthispointforward,theterm“greenconsumption”willbeusedconsistentlythroughoutthisstudy

Toclarifytheconceptofpro-environmentalbehaviours,Stern(2000)categorizedenvironmentally significant

theenvironmentsuchassupportingpublicpoliciesthatcontributetoenvironmentalprotectionordo

the private sphere that have impacts on theenvironment such as the purchase, usage, and

environmentconservation.Consequently,aconsensusamongscholarsaboutwhatgreenconsumptionactually ishas not been reached (Jackson, 2005, 2014) In fact, some consumptionbehaviours that are seen as pro-environmentalones may also be disadvantageous to theenvironment to a certain extent and vice versa For example, while usingelectricvehicles,inoneway,mayreduceasignificantamountofgreenhousegasemissions,thebatteries, in anotherway, could seriously damage the environment People diet not forthe environment but for their health but going on dietcould also be beneficial to theenvironment Furthermore, “respond to basic needs and bring abetter quality of life,while minimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials andemissions of wasteand pollutant” seems to express the dilemma in psychological studiessince the feelingsof satisfaction can be achieved only when a wide range of needs of consumers canbefulfilled(Mont&Plepys,2008).It,therefore,raisesahotquestionthatisdifficultto

answer: to what extent consumers’ needs are fulfilled, and to what extentconsumers’consumption sustainable?

mostconcernandattractivefieldforacademicresearch(UnitedNations,1992).Manyscholarshavefocusedoninvestigatingantecedentsofgreenconsumptionbehaviourstooffer insightful implications for governments andpolicymakers to bring about changesin consumer behaviours towards more sustainability Empirically, various factors havebeen explored fromdifferent theoretical perspectives These perspectives are discussedin thefollowingsection

1.2 EnvironmentalproblemsandsustainabledevelopmentofVietnam

Vietnamisa countrylocated onthe east of theIndochinesepeninsula Thecountry ischaracterized by its length and narrowness from the north to the south andabout 3.260kilometers of coastline The dense river network of Vietnam includesvarious rivers and twomain river deltas namely the Red river delta and theMekongriverdeltawhicharethebasesforagriculture.MostoftheareaofVietnamismountainouswith mountain plateaus in the north and the northwest of the country andabout 51.800 squarekilometers of highland area in the south Vietnam's climateisstronglyinfluencedbytheyearlymonsooninthenorthwhichmaketheregiondistinctive for fourreasons in a year Meanwhile, the climate in the south istropicalmonsoonwith only two mainseasons (rainy season and dry one) For such geographiccharacteristics, Vietnam is granteddiversity in natural resources for its development,and therefore, the dependence of thecountry on the environment is undeniable (WorldBank &Ministry ofPlanningandInvestmentofVietnam,2016)

Since1986, theworld has witnessedthe miracleeconomicachievementofVietnam Thismade Vietnam become one of the successful phenomena in economicdevelopment It hasbeen considered the result of the shift from a planned- economy ofhigh centralization toward an economy of asocial-oriented market Since the launch ofthe reform, Vietnam’s economy has grown fast and stably for more than three decades.From being one of thepoorest economies in the world, Vietnam has been transformedintoadynamicmiddle-incomecountrywithkeysocialindicatorscomparabletohigher-incomecountries.Percapita

GDPincreasedrapidlyfromabout100USdollars(currentprices)in1990(970

USdollarsinPPP(purchasingpower parity) terms)toabout2,200US dollars in 2015 (or 6,000 US dollars in PPP terms).Real per capita GDP has had anaveragegrowthrateofabout5.5percentperyearsincethe1990s,onlylowerthanChinainthe same period Strong and stable growth since 1990 has placed the country well onthelong-termincometrajectoryrelativetoglobalcomparators.Thepovertyratewas

only about 3 percent in 2016, which sharply decreased from 50 percent in theearly1990s(WorldBank & Ministry ofPlanning and Investment of Vietnam,2016).

While Vietnam’s rapid growth record has overall been positive, its’ termsustainabilityhasnotbeenensuredbecauseofemergingproblemsfollowingthiseconomicachiev

air,land,andwaterenvironmenthas

deterioratedseriously.Additionally,thediversityoftheecologicalsystemhasbeenthreatenedwhiletheshortageofmanykindsofnaturalresourcesispredictableduetotheover-exploitation for productionand consumption of the country Due to its geographiccharacteristics and the dependence of

isamongthemostvulnerablecountriestovariousenvironmentalissues,especiallyclimatechange and global warming.The economic rapid growth that the country has achievedsince 1986 reform would be destructed if Vietnamese

topreventtheenvironmentfromdestruction.Environmentalproblemsarethereforeoneofthe most challengingissues for the country (World Bank & Ministry of Planning andInvestment ofVietnam,2016)

1.2.1 Airpollution

Along with economic achievement, Vietnam has witnessed the fastest growthofgreenhousegasemissionsinthecountry(Shahbazetal.,2019).Asreported,from2000to2010,thetotalandpercapitaemissionsinthecountryalmosttripled,whilethecarbonintensity rose around 48 percent In comparison with other countries

in the regionincluding Cambodia, Indonesia, China, Philippines,Malaysia, and Thailand,Vietnam’sgrowth pace ofgreenhouse gasemissionswasmuchhigher(World Bank&MinistryofPlanningand Investment of Vietnam, 2016) The main reason for the increasing airpollution in the country is the utilization of fossilfuel and coal by industries and powerplants along with industrialization and urbanization Industrialization andurbanizationinthecountryhavebeenaccompaniedbyanincreasingnumberoffactories,plants,cars,motorcycles,constructions, and so on In the meantime, such processes heavily rely onnon-renewable energy such as fossil fuels and coal, and outdated technologies Asaresult of this transformation, an enormous amount of greenhouse gases has beenreleasedintotheatmosphereandposedadverseimpactsonthehealthandwell-beingofVietnamesepopulation

Morespecifically,fossilfuelconsumptionfortransportationhasincreasedconsiderablydue to the increase in the number of cars and motorbikes in Vietnam.Theincreaseintrafficinurbanareaswasestimatedtobenearly37millionmotorcyclesand

1.6millioncarsin2013(Ortmann,2017)withabout15percentinHoChiMinhCity

and 8.5 percent in Hanoi (World Bank & Ministry of Planning and InvestmentofVietnam,2016).Additionally,theconcentrationofthepopulationinurbanareasandtheownershipofpersonalvehicleshavebeenmuchoutpacingthegrowthinurbanspaceforroads.Consequently,frequenttrafficcongestionandyet,moreseriousairpollutionhaveadversely affected urban life and presented threats to future development.

Energy use for production and consumption in Vietnam is also increasing fasterthan inother nations in the region The most important sources of energy are oilandelectricity.However,thecountryhasbeendependentmostlyoncoalforpowergeneration.AccordingtothereportbytheWorldBankandtheMinistryofPlanningandInvestmentofVietnam(2016),i n 2 0 1 3, 2 3 p e r c e n t o f n a t i o n a l e l e c t r i c i t y production comes from coal and thisshare is projected to continuously rise to about 60percent in 2030 In fact, the demand for coal that outstripped domestic

Electricitydemand is expected to grow at about 10 percent per year and the dependence ofthecountry on coal will continue to contribute to the seriousness of air pollutionandgreenhouse gas emissions (World Bank & Ministry of Planning and InvestmentofVietnam,2016)

1.2.2 Waterpollution

Water pollution has been also one of the most serious environmental issues inalmostlarge cities in Vietnam It results from the utilization of outdatedtechnologiesforproductioninindustrialzonesthatproducemoreuntreatedindustrialwaste.Anotherreason

is the overuse ofchemicalsand pesticidesforagriculture(Ortmann,2017)

Forexample,shrimpfarmsinthecountryhaveproducedagreatdealofwastewater,

chemicals, and antibiotics annually It has contributed significantly tothedegradationofwaterqualitysurroundingthat,inturn,hashadreverseimpactsonshrimpaquacultureproductivity(WorldBank&MinistryofPlanningandInvestmentofVietnam, 2016) Industrial zones have also produced about onemillion cubic meters ofwastewater per day that have often been directly pumped into receiving water areaswithout any treatment Theamount of wastewater from industrial zones accounts forabout 70 percent of the totalindustrial wastewater discharges in the country and bringson a high level of water pollution that is severely injurious to

theecosystems(WorldBank&MinistryofPlanningandInvestmentofVietnam,2016)

1Vietnam’s coal imports reported by Reuters can be found on the website

below:https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vietnam-coal-imports-idUSKCN24E173

Alongside this, a large portion of waste and wastewater that come from householdshasbeenanothercauseofthischallengeforthecountry,especiallyinurbanareas(Ortmann,2017).Factually,bothurbanandruralwastewaterseverelycontributestowaterpollution in many parts of Vietnam Itreflects the poor management of water quality inthe country, especially the management system of fertilizer andagrochemicals in somerural areas Furthermore, the disposal of plastic waste from Vietnamese householdshasseverelyworsenedtheseawaterqualityandputoceanspeciesindanger(Jambecketal.,2015).

1.2.3 Landdegradationandsoilerosion

Due to the geographic characteristics of Vietnam, the land becomes relativelyscarceinthecountry.Vietnamranks only159thintheworldintermsofpercapitalandresources with just 0.11 hectares percapita (World Bank & Ministry of Planning andInvestment of Vietnam, 2016) In addition, 28 percent of the

thecountry(estimatedareaof9.3millionhectares)isuncultivable.Themainreasonforthisproblem is thenegative influence of desertification Consequently, about 5.1 millionhectares of land areaare considered unused land while 2 million hectares are seriouslyeroded although stillusable Another 2 million hectares are at risk of erosion anddegradation (World Bank &Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam, 2016).Soil degradation is a seriousconstraint on agriculture productivity and forestry Soilerosion is also another concern insome parts of the country, given its topographiccharacteristic

The grassroots of the desertification that is followed by the cutback of landquality can

be attributed to the unsustainable agricultural practices throughout Vietnamas well as the effects of otherenvironmental problems including climate change anddeforestation.AgriculturalpracticesinVietnamhaveover-exploitedlandbycultivatingintensively and using more fertilizers, chemicals, and pesticides in excessive amountswithoutconsideration for the recovery ability of arable land In addition, the decline inthe area ofVietnam’s natural forests that have been destroyed for the demand of thepopulation has led

to more frequent and severe flooding threatening the production andlivelihood of lower-altitude farms andhuman settlements This is also another reasonfor land degradation as well as the loss of biodiversity andclimate change (Ortmann,2017)

1.2.4 Deforestationandlossofbiodiversity

Owingtogeographicalandclimatefeatures,Vietnam’sforestsaregrantedagreatstocko f v a r i o u s n a

t u r a l r e s o u r c e s a n d t h e d i v e r s i t y i n b i o l o g y t h a t i n c l u d e s m a n y

endemic animals and plants Forests are an important valuable ecological resourceforthesocioeconomicdevelopmentandwell-beingofthepopulationthroughoutthecountry.

Forests significantly contribute to the adaptation to climate change as wellassoilerosionpreventionandwatercirculationmaintenance.Forestproductsareimportantsourcesofnutritionforhumans.Forestsalsocontributetojobcreationandincomefora large portion of the Vietnamese population Asestimated, 40 percent of the annualincome of about 25 million Vietnamese people comes from forests(Forest ScienceInstituteofVietnam,2009)

AccordingtotheannouncementoftheAdministrationofForestryaboutthestatusof

whichaccountsforabout42percentofthetotallandareaofthecountry.A r o u n d 10.29millionhectares areprimary forests and around 4.3 million hectares of forest are planted bypeople The forest of Vietnam can be categorized

ontreespeciesincludingtimberforestwiththemainportionoftimbertrees,bambooforestwith the majority of thebamboo family trees, palm forest with the major component ofpalm trees of all kinds and mixed forest of timber and bamboo family trees (AccordingtoCircular No.34/2009/TT-BNNPTNT of June 10th,2009,on criteria for

However, Vietnam has witnessed a substantial shrinkage in forest land area.According

lost in the country, accounting for 19 percent of the decrease in treecover since 2000 In thesame period, 689 kilo-hectares of humid primary forest area inVietnam disappeared, equivalent to about 23percent of total tree cover loss and about10 percent of the total area of humid primary forest of the country.Another example ofdeforestation is in the Central Highlands of Vietnam where the level of poverty is highand a large portion of

4Vietnam forest lost datareleased by Global Forest

Watch:https://www.globalforestwatch.org/dashboards/countr

y/VNM

theforestcoverage)and25.5millionm3offorestvolume(accountingfor7.8percentofthetotalforestvolume inthiscountry)(UNDPGlobalEnvironment Facility,2017).

According to UNDP Global Environment Facility (2017), four main reasonsarecontributingtoforestloss.Amongthem,over-exploitationaccountsforabouthalfoftheloss (50 percent) The conversion

of forest land for agricultural production forms 20percent and nomadic migration of some ethnic minority groupsexplains another 20percent of the reduction There is only 10 percent of the decline in forestland comesfrom natural disasters such as wildfires Obviously, most of the reasons areconnectedto theproductionandconsumptionactivities ofthe population

For many kinds of creatures in the country, forest loss means the loss ofhabitatsandlivingenvironmentsforthem.Thechangesinlivingenvironmentsundeniablyhaveadverseimpacts on these animals and put many of them on the edge of extinctionbecause their ability to adapt to such change islimited In addition, overfishing hasseverelydepleted the nearshore fisheries (World Bank &

andInvestmentofVietnam,2016).SincethemajorityoftheVietnamesepopulationlivesincoastal or low-lyingdeltas, such problems have been remarkably posing threats to theirlivelihoods and the sustainable development of the country (World Bank & MinistryofPlanning andInvestmentofVietnam,2016)

1.2.5 EnvironmentalprotectionandsustainabledevelopmentofVietnam

WhileVietnamhasbeenamiraclestoryineconomicdevelopment,environmentalstressesbehind suchgrowth andtheprocesses ofurbanizationandindustrialization are expected toincrease significantly (World Bank & Ministry ofPlanning and Investment of Vietnam,2016) Without changes in consumption patterns,policies, and practices, the sustainable growth of the country will bethreatened since itismostlydependenton land, water, and othernaturalresourcesfordevelopment.Additionally, the risk to the health and well-being of its population isanticipated to beremarkably enhancedbyseriousenvironmentalissues

Fors u c h r e a s o n s , i t i s v e r y i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e V i e t n a m e s e g o v e r

n m e n t a n d policymakers to pay attention to address the question of “how to solve thesechallengestooptimallyusenaturalresourcesandimproveproductivitywhileprotectingtheenvironment(e.g.: improving land degradation, water, and air pollution, etc)?” Apracticable answer tothis question will ensure a sustainable future for the country.Infact,despitetheendeavourofthegovernmenttofindoutsolutionstothis questionsuchas constructing a legal

theresultstodateseemtobelimitedformanyreasons.Meanwhile,apolicythataimsat

(Ortmann,2017)

Being one of the largest populations in Asia with almost 95 million people,thegrowing consumer demand has exerted adverse impacts on the environment withoutadoubt Changing the consumption pattern of Vietnamese consumers toward a greenerone istherefore vital to the country Accordingly, understanding which factorsdrivegreenconsumptionbehavioursplaysanimportantroleindesigningeffectivebehaviouralinterventionstoachievethegoal

1.2.6 GreenconsumptioninVietnamasasolutiontoenvironmentalproblem

The sustainability of Vietnam’s development is threatened by environmentalissueswithout a doubt If the present unsustainable production and consumption modelremains forachieving short-term rapid economic growth, the future of the countrymaybeseriouslyjeopardized.Dealingwithenvironmentalproblemsandpursuingsustainablepatternsofproductionandconsumptionarethereforecrucialtothecountry’sgrowthinthelong-term

Factually, environmental protection requires great effort and cooperationfrominterdisciplinariesandstakeholdersincludingthegovernment,producers,andconsumers Insuch a movement, the Vietnamese government plays an importantandneutralroleinbridgingproducersandconsumersforsustainableproductionandconsumptiongo

thegovernmentneedstoestablish,overseeandimplementeffectiveandforcefulenvironmentalinstitutionsandlegislationthatreducetheadverseimpactsofproductionandconsumptionontheenvironment

For example, environmental policies and instruments need to be enactedtopromoteefficiencyintheuseofnaturalresourcesandenergyinproductionprocessestoalleviatestressontheenvironmentwhilebalancingeconomicdevelopment.Environmentallyfriendlytechnologiesandrenewableresourcesalsoneedtobeencouraged and disseminatedwith support andencouragement from governmentalpolicies Furthermore, waste disposal from production

needstobegovernedbyenvironmentallegislationwhilethedemandanduseofgreenproductsneed to be encouraged by

thedemandf o r t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h t o a l l e v i a t e s t r

e s s o n n a t u r a l resourceexploitationandtheenvironment.Firstandforemost,achangeinconsumptionpatternst o w a r d s m o r e s u s t a i n a b i l i t y i s t h e m o s t r e q u i s i t e o n e s i n c e c o n s u m p t i

o n i s

While fostering green consumption of Vietnamese consumers is one of the mostimportanttargets to achieve a sustainable future for the country, understanding of theirpro-environmental motivation and consumption

ofinsightsfromacademicresearch.Noticeably,unsustainablepatternsofconsumptionareprominent

throughout this country For example, the study by Jambeck and associates(2015) revealedthat the consumption of plastic bags and products is still remarkable inVietnam According to this report,Vietnam ranks fourth in the total quantity of plasticwaste inputs from land into the ocean even though plastic is themost injurious to theenvironment Averagely, the amount of waste disposed by an individual

thedemand for wild animal products is also pervasive in the country, posing threatstobiodiversity The demand for tiger products, especially tiger bone glue for medicine,stillappears to be high among consumers in the two largest cities, Hanoi and Ho ChiMinh cityeven though tigers are on the edge of extinction (Davis et al., 2020) Theuseofproductsfrombearsisalsowidelyacceptedamongconsumersdespitebeingprohibitedinthecountrysince2006(Davisetal.,2019).Meanwhile,wildmeatdemandandconsumptionarecommonamonghigh-incomeandhigh-education-levelconsumersin urbanareas(Sandaljetal.,2016)

ThegreenconsumptionofVietnameseconsumerstodatehasnotbeensystematically

investigated although a number of academic research explored the greenconsumption of Vietnameseconsumers To a certain extent, their findings revealedsomeunderstandingofVietnameseconsumers’pro-environmentalmotivationandbarriers to their behaviours The exploratory research of Koning

(2015)foundthatthegapbetweenpro-environmentalconsumptionintentionandactualbehavioursstillexists.Additionally,themotivationbehindgreenconsumptionadoptionamongVietnameseurbanconsumers ofthe middleclass appearstobe driven bypersonal benefits (for money saving or health concerns) rather than beingdriven

ability,a n d i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t g r e e n c o n s u m p t i o n i s a m a j o r b a r r i e r t

o b e h a v i o u r engagement.The term“green consumption”is new andstrange tomany people

In the meantime, green product purchase motivation and decisions are the majorfocus of

productpurchasesissignificanttoenvironmentalprotection,thebehaviourismotivatedbyself-benefits

Accordingly, the prosocial and pro-environmental motivation behind greenconsumption behaviour remains unrevealed.For example, the study by Nguyen andDekhili (2019) found that health concerns and productquality concerns are the mostimportant contributors to green product purchases while therole of environmentalconcern is weaker Again, lack of information and trust, opportunities,and price arereportedtobemajorinhibitorsofgreenproductpurchasebehavioursamongVietnameseconsumers(Nguyenet al.,2018;Nguyen &Dekhili,2019)

Insum,unsustainableconsumptionisstillacceptableamongVietnameseconsumers

Meanwhile, the motivation behind the green consumption behaviours ofVietnameseconsumers has not been well understood Some studies investigatingthegreenconsumptionofVietnameseconsumers wereonlyforexploratorypurposeswhileothers focused ongreen product purchases It signifies the further need for research inthe field that focuses on various pro-environmentalconsumption behaviours to helpbetterunderstandthe behaviouralmotivationofVietnameseconsumers

1.2.7 TheimportanceofgenerationYconsumersinconstructinggreenconsumpti

on culturein Vietnam

Consumersegmentationisoneofthemostconcernsofmarketingmanagers.Thewaysconsumersaresegmentedhelpmarketersachieveaccurateinformationtoeffectivelypositionaproductanddesigneffectivemarketingstrategies.Cohortgenerationisoneoftheimportantsegmentationcriteriainthefield

borninthesameperiod(Bourcier-Béquaert & de Barnier, 2010) and therefore have shared historical, social,cultural,political,andeconomicexperiences(Chaneyetal.,2017).Accordingly,eachgenerationhas uniquecharacteristics in comparison with the others Thus, different generationsneedtobedifferentlyapproachedbymarketers

Over the past decades, modern society has been particularly shaped bytheadvanceininformationtechnology.Asaresult,traditionalmediaplatformslikenewspapers,radio, television, or paper magazines have been surpassed by theadvanceanddevelopmentofdigitalcommunicationenvironmentssuchastheinternetandsocialnetwork.Theusageoftheinternet,socialnetworks,andotherdigitaltechnologieshas

become an integral part of billions of people throughout the world Consumers havebeenspending an increasing number of hours online for many purposes, includingsearching forinformation, communicating with others, and sharing their experiences(Stephen,2016).

Along with the advancement of the internet, human society has witnessed thebirth andgrowth of a powerful generation of young consumers, Generation Y (ormillennials) Among

receivedmuchconcernfrommarketersandscholarsforits’uniquecharacteristicsincomparisonwithotherconsumercohorts

OneofthemostimportantandprominentcharacteristicsofgenerationYconsumers is theirdominant consumption power granted by this group’s hefty size(Naderi & Van Steenburg,2018; Noble et al., 2009), which accounts for about 27percent of the global population(Bonera et al., 2020) Generation Y is the largestconsumer cohort in America withapproximately 83 million consumers (Solka et al.,2011), three times larger than the size ofgeneration X (Jin Ma & Niehm, 2006) Theprofitable opportunity that this generation of

54.3billionUSdollarsformarketers(L.Luetal.,2013).Thus,achangeintheirconsumptionbehavioursundoubtedlyhasagreatimpactontheenvironmentaswellastheconsumption behaviours of the futuregeneration Accordingly, in the field of greenconsumption, among generations of consumers,generation Y consumers are regularlyconsidered the important driving force that fuels thesustainable movement with theirlifestyle and behavioural changes (Bonera et al., 2020;Hanson-Rasmussen & Lauver,2018; TakenSmith,2012)

Another striking feature of generation Y consumers is that they have grown upandwitnessed the birth and advancement of the digital environment Thus, the internetand socialnetwork have deeply integrated into their lives (Dawn & Thomas, 2013).Early exposure tothe internet and social network shaped their behaviours and hadsignificant impacts on their

al.,2013).Theircommunicationmode,opinion,anddecisionarealsoheavilyinfluencedbytechnology and theinternet while less affected by traditional media (B Valentine &L.Powers,2013).Forsuchreason,theinternethasbecomeanimportantsourceofinformationforthisgenerationofconsumers(Smith,2011).Accordingly,theinternetisthe most promising effective marketing manner to reachconsumers of this generation(TakenSmith,2012)

Like other contexts in the world, generation Y consumers in Vietnam arealsocharacterizedbytheirlargeproportion.AccordingtotheGSOofVietnam(2020),about

34percentofVietnam’stotalpopulationareconsumersofgenerationYwhowerebornbetween 1980 and 2000(based on the segmentation criterion of Belleau et al., 2007),estimated at about 32.474.148 people Additionally, in

fromothercountriesinAsia,Vietnameseconsumersaremorecharacterizedbythefrequencyof internet andsocial network usage 70 percent of the Vietnamese total population,equivalent to about 68.17 million people, is internetusers in 2020 The average timethey spend on social media and the internet as reported by

We are social group (2020)isapproximately2.2hours and6.5 hoursperdayrespectively

For such importance and features of generation Y consumers, encouraging theirgreenconsumption is playing important role in building up green consumptionculture.Theinternetofferspromisingchancestofostertheirbehaviouralchanges.However,themechanismthat internet content exerts influences on green consumption behaviours ofthis generationofconsumers todate has notbeenwellunderstood

1.3 Antecedentsofgreenconsumptionbehaviours

Behavioural interventions become more effective when they are targeted atimportantdeterminants of the target behaviour Thus, motivating consumers to engagein greenconsumption behaviours requires an understanding of inhibitors ormotivatorsofthebehaviours

To offer marketers and policymakers a better understanding of the diversityinconsumers’ decisions and their green consumption behaviours, academic research hasputgreat effort into investigating underlying factors of the behaviours from differenttheoretical

perspectives.The first research linestarts from the assumption that anindividual’s behaviours

are the results of reasoned choices, based on considerationofcostsandbenefits.ThemostinfluentialperspectiveofthislineistheTheoryofplannedbehaviour (TPB) ofAjzen (1991) which was extended from the preceding theory ofreasoned actions The theory assumes that three

abehaviour,subjectivenorms,andperceivedbehaviouralcontroltogetherformconsumers’

intention to perform the behaviour, which is in turn translated into actualbehaviour (Ajzen,

1987, 1991) Another one developed by Sheth and associates (1991)is the theory of consumption values, apowerful perspective in explaining consumers’choices towards green products According to this theory,consumers’ choice towards aproduct is a function of five main basic, independent perceived consumption valuesfrompurchaseanduseoftheproductnamelyfunctionalvalue,socialvalue,emotionalvalue,epistemic value, and

conditional value.The second mainstream of researchfocuses onthe role of moral and normative

concerns in driving the behaviours or examining basisofconsumers’environmentalbeliefsandbehaviourswiththetheoryofbasic

thevalue-human values (Schwartz, 1992, 2012),norm-activation theory (Schwartz, 1977) or theValue –

belief – norm theory (Stern, 2000) as theoretical foundations.The third linepays attention to social normative

influences on the behaviours with the Theory ofnormativeconduct(Cialdini &

Trost,1998)asthetheoreticalbasis

Empirically,manyfactorshavebeeninvestigatedandpositedtobedeterminantsof pro-environmentalconsumption motivation These factors can be categorized intotwo groups - individual factors or individualdifferences and environmental/ externalfactors Individual factors include demographiccharacteristics, internal psychologicalvariables – for example, attitude, moral norm, personal

orperceptualfactorssuchasperceivedbehaviouralcontrol,perceivedconsumereffectiveness,price sensitivity, or emotional factors namely guilt and pride and so onthat affect

greenconsumptionbehaviourswereinconsistentandthusinconclusive.Theeffectsofdemographicsareelaboratedasfollows:

a Gender

Thedirectlinkbetweengenderandgreenconsumptionmotivationandbehaviours has beenexamined by many scholars Although the reported impactsofgenderhaveremainedproblematic,femaleswerefoundtoexpresshigherenvironmentalconcernandweremoreinclinedtoparticipateingreenactivities.Forexample,studyofMohr and Schlich (2016) found that female consumersexpress a greater inclination tobuy green products than their male counterparts This is empirical supportfor

thefindingsofOlliandassociates(2001)thatwomenexpressedmoreconcernforsocial

and environmental issues and reported more pro-environmental behaviours thanmen.Similarly,womenwerereportedtoshowahighertendencytowardsustainableconsumptionbehaviour in terms of overall behaviour as well as more specific activityofproductreusebyBulutandassociates(2017).

On the contrary, there was also evidence that gender has no impact ongreenconsumption behaviours No difference in the inclination to practice energy savingandunsustainable unneeded consumption between males and females was presented in theresearch conducted by Bulut andassociates (2017) Also, no effect of gender on thefavour of green brands was found in the

(2011).Furthermore,genderwasnotapredictorforecologicallyconsciousconsumptionbehaviourinthestudyofKhare(2014)

b Income

Like gender, income is another important demographic factor that hasreceivedattention from academic research in the field.Income was found to be apositivepredictor of ecologically conscious purchase behaviour by Khare (2014).Conversely,empirical evidence from Mohr and Schlich (2016) showed that income was notadeterminant of sustainable consumption Likewise, no proof of the effect of incomeonconsumers’a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d t h e b i o s p h e r e w a s f o u n d i n t h e s t u d y o f L

a r s o n a n d associates (2011) Family income was even reported to negatively relate to differentgreen behaviours by Olli andassociates (2001) The negative relationship betweenincome and green consumption wasfurther supported by the findings of Zhao andassociates(2013)

Theinconsistenteffectofincomeinpreviousresearchmaybeduetothenonlinear relationship between thisvariable and green consumption that was proved byPark and associates (2012) However, empirical evidence supporting thisperspectiveappearstobelimited

c Age

The linkage between age and green consumption has been also examinedbyacademicresearch.However,likeotherdemographicvariables,thelinkagehasnotbeenwell understood On onehand, the study of Olli and associates (2001) reported asignificant positive relationship between age and differentgreen consumption practicesalthough the correlation was weak Similarly, age was proved to be a positive predictorof consumers’consciousness of sustainable purchase behaviour in the study of Mohrand Schlich (2016) and these findings are furtherempirical support for the findings ofZhaoandassociates(2013)

On the other hand, in the study of Bulut and associates (2017), babyboomerconsumerswerelessinclinedtoconsumesustainablywhileyoungconsumersofgenerationZexpressedthestrongesttendencytowardgreenconsumptionincomparisonwith other generations Meanwhile, thecorrelations between age and green productattitude and consumption were found insignificant by somescholars such as Khare(2014)orBhuianandassociates(2014).

d Education

The influence of education on green consumption behaviourshas remainedunclear asreported by empirical evidence For example, in the study of Olli andassociates (2001),among four green consumption behaviours that were investigated,only a significantrelationship between education level and resource conservationwasfoundbutthesizeofthecorrelationwasveryweak.Meanwhile,noconnectionbetweeneducation level andconsumers’ tendency towards sustainable food consumption wasfound in the study of Mohr and Schlich (2016).Likewise, the effects of education levelon green product attitude as well as ecologically conscious purchase behaviourofconsumers were reportedasinsignificantbythestudy ofKhare(2014)

Insummary,demographicvariablesarelessreliablepredictorsofgreenconsumption

behaviours This may be because of the lack of theoretical support for thedemographic influences on thebehaviours The inconsistency in the findings about theeffects of demographic characteristics thus needs to beclarified by future research.Furthermore, reviewing literature shows that academic researchhas focused mostly onage, gender, income, and education level, research on the effects ofother

demographicvariablessuchasmaritalstatus,familystructure,ethnicity,andsoforthisalsonecessary

1.3.1.2 Sustainable-relatedattitude

In the field of green consumption behaviour study, the attitude amongotherpsychological factors is one of the most prominent drivers of behaviouralchange.Attitude is defined as “positive or negative evaluations of something quitespecific”(Dietzetal.,2005)

In the theory of planned behaviour, attitude towards behaviour is one ofthreeindependent predictors of behavioural intention and it refers to “the degree to whichaperson has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation or appraisal of the behaviour inquestion”(Ajzen, 1987, 1991) In other words, people form their positive ornegativeattitudetowardsaspecificbehaviourbasedontheirbeliefthatperformingsuchbehaviourwill produce particular outcomes and their positive or negative evaluationoftheoutcomes(Ajzen,2012).Amongappliedtheoriesingreenconsumptionresearch,

the Theory of planned behaviour is one of the most popular The predictive power ofattitude,therefore, has also been examined in various studies The findings oftheexistingliteraturearefairlyconsistentregardingthepositiverelationship

betweenattitudet o w a r d g r e e n c o n s u m p t i o n b e h a v i o u r s a n d b e h a v i o u r a

l i n t e n t i o n o r a c t u a l behaviours(Hanssetal.,2016;Kangetal.,2013;Lee&Jan,2017;Nguyenetal.,2018;Varshneya et al., 2017; Vermeir & Verbeke, 2006, 2008; Wei et al., 2017; Zhao et al.,2013) Attitude is also proved to be

ofplannedbehaviour.Nevertheless,behaviouralattitudedoesnotalwaysinfluencebehavioural

intention and actual behaviour (Lao, 2014; Moser, 2015) There are manyvariables reportedmoderating this relationship by scholars such as Perceived consumereffectiveness (Berger & Corbin, 1992;Nguyen et al., 2018), Faith in others (Berger &Corbin,1992),Productavailability(Nguyen etal.,2018; Vermeir &Verbeke,2006)

Anotherdimensionoftheattitudinalfactor,attitudetowardstheenvironment,hasalsoreceivedtheattentionofmanyscholars.Environmentalattitudeindicatesa“psychological tendency expressed by

environmental concerns or environmental value in some studies Likebehaviouralattitude,mostoftheexistingliteraturefoundthatenhancingenvironmentalattitude can bring about behavioural change towardmore sustainability (Berger &Corbin, 1992; Cho et al., 2013; Ellen et al., 1991; Heo & Muralidharan,

&Holden,1999;Nguyenetal.,2018;Straughan&Roberts,1999;Wangetal.,2013;Zhaoetal.,2013).Contrarytothesefindings,therelationshipbetweenenvironmentalattitudeand green consumption behaviours was found insignificant

in some studies (Nguyen etal., 2018; Nittala, 2014; Wang et al., 2013) Otherwise, different measurements wereused to capture the effect

of this factor in these studies Among different measurementsare the new environmental paradigm scale (NEP)

newecologicalparadigm.ThescalewasdevelopedbyDunlapandLiere(1978)toassessthegeneralattitudetowardstheenvironmentandwasalsolabelledasenvironmentalworldview Although NEP has been used by manyresearchers, the NEP scale is still inquestion regarding its’ predictive power and what it actually measures Future studiesinvestigating theeffects of environmental attitude need to clarify measurements ofthisfactortofindoutthemostreliableone

1.3.1.3 Personalnorms

Schwartz (1977) defines personal norms or internalized values as the basis of“feelings

of moral obligation generated when perception of another’s need” Inotherwords,personalnormsareassumedtobeactivatedbyinformationaboutanother’sneed

thatleads tothefeelings ofmoral obligationtobehavetohelptheother.Behaviourthatis consistent with one’snorms is performed so as to “enhance or preserve one’s senseof self-worth and avoid self-concept distress”(Schwartz, 1977, p 226) Based on theidea of personal norms of Schwartz (1977), Stern(2000) assumes that “Personal normsto take pro-environmental action are activated by beliefs that environmentalconditionsthreatenthingstheindividualvaluesandthattheindividualcanacttoreducethethreat.Such normscreate a general predisposition that influences all kinds of behaviour takenwith pro-environmentalintent” (Stern, 2000, p 413) Personal norms are deeply rootedin altruistic value (Schwartz, 1977; Stern, 2000), biospheric value, and egoisticvalue(Stern,2000).Personalnormsarealsomentionedasmoralnorms in some studies.

In green consumption research, the explanatory power of personal norms hasbeenproved in various studies The findings of previous studies are fairly consistentinthatp e r s o n a l n o r m s p o s i t i v e l y i n f l u e n c e g r e e n c o n s u m p t i o n b e h a v

i o u r s (Doran& Larsen, 2016; Harland et al., 1999; Landon et al., 2018; López-Mosquera & Sánchez,2012; Moser, 2015;Onel, 2016; Park & Ha, 2014; Tan et al., 2017) In addition,personalnormsplaymediatingroleintherelationshipbetweenSubjectivenormsandbehaviouralintention (Doran &Larsen, 2016; Park & Ha, 2014) Some studies also showed thatadding personal norms into the Theory of plannedbehaviour can also increase theexplanatory power of the model (Ajzen, 1991; Doran &

al.,1999;Onel,2016).Nevertheless,theadditionofpersonalnormscancauseadecreaseintheeffectsofotherfactors(Ajzen,1991; Doran & Larsen,2016; Harlandetal.,1999)

1.3.1.4 PerceivedBehaviouralControl

Perceived behavioural control is the third predictor of the Theory ofplannedbehaviours (TPB) that Ajzen added to his preceding Theory of reasoned action inorderto increase the power of explaining human behaviours Perceived behavioural controlthat stems from the work on self-efficacy of Bandura is defined as “the extent to whichpeople believe that they can perform a given behaviour” (Ajzen,

2012, p 446) Thestronger the belief of a person about his/ her ability to perform a behaviour is, themorelikely he/ she engages in such behaviour This construct is therefore assumed to affectactual behaviour directly or indirectlythrough behavioural intention in the TPB model(Ajzen,2012)

Along with the application of the TPB in green consumption research, variousscholarshave examined the role of perceived behavioural control in predicting greenconsumptionbehaviours Empirically, many studies found that perceived behaviouralcontrol exertspositive influences on behavioural intention or actual greenconsumptionbehaviours(Afrozetal.,2015;Albayraketal.,2013;E.Ghazalietal.,2017;Hametal.,

2015; Harland et al., 1999; Lao, 2014; Lee & Jan, 2017; López-Mosquera & Sánchez,2012;Park & Ha, 2014; Wang et al., 2013) In other words, the more consumers perceivethat theypossess ability in terms of skill, knowledge, information, social support, andso forth, which are

morelikelytheyengageinthebehaviours.Nevertheless,therewerealsostudiesthatreportedinsignificanteffects of perceived behavioural control on the behaviours (Harland et al.,1999; Kangetal.,2013;Onel,2016;Wangetal.,2013)

1.3.1.5 Perceivedconsumereffectiveness

As another dimension of the concept of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1991)besidesperceivedbehaviouralcontrol,theconceptualizationofperceivedconsumereffectivenesshas received considerable attention from scholars throughout the world.To date, existingliterature has proposed various definitions of this concept in differentresearch fields that arebased on the same idea For example, Antil (1984) refers to thisconcept as consumers’ belief that their individualefforts will help contribute to thesolution of the problem based on their awareness of the existence of theproblem.Similarly, Ellen et al (1991) defined perceived consumer effectiveness as “adomain-specificbeliefthattheeffortsofanindividualcanmakeadifferenceinthesolutiontoaproblem” Theidea of this concept is also much similar to the ideas of locus of control(Hines et al., 1987; Rotter, 1966) or responseefficacy (Wang et al., 2013) In the fieldof green consumption, Hanss and Doran (2019)conceptualized perceived consumereffectiveness as “a consumer’s estimate of his or her

specificsustainabledevelopment-relatedoutcomesthroughspecificbehaviours”.Perceivedconsumer effectiveness can be simply understood as the belief ofindividuals about theextent thattheirbehaviours can contributetoalleviating environmental problems

Empirically, many studies proved that enhancing the beliefs of consumers abouttheeffectiveness of their personal behaviours in dealing with environmental issues willdirectly or indirectly motivate consumers to engage in green consumptionbehaviour(Antonetti&Maklan,2014;Ellenetal.,1991;Hanssetal.,2016;Kabadayetal.,2015;Kang et al., 2013;Lee & Holden, 1999; Nguyen et al., 2018; Straughan & Roberts, 1999;Vermeir & Verbeke, 2006, 2008; Wang et al., 2013;Zhao et al., 2013) Additionally,existing studies found that perceived consumer effectivenessexerts positive influenceson attitude toward the environment or attitude towards green consumption behaviour(Cho et al.,2013; Heo & Muralidharan, 2019; Kang et al., 2013; Vermeir &

gapbetweenattitudeandgreenconsumptionbehaviours(Berger&Corbin,1992)orbetweenbehaviouralintentionandgreenconsumptionbehaviours(Nguyenetal.,2018)

consumer effectiveness and green consumption behaviours (Cho et al.,2013;Hanssetal.,2016;Heo&Muralidharan,2019;Lee&Holden,1999;Wangetal.,2013).The moderating role ofPerceived consumer effectiveness is also inconsistent in thestudy of Berger and Corbin (1992) The heterogeneity ofthe findings implicates theneed for further studies to clarify the role of perceived consumereffectiveness infosteringgreenconsumptionbehaviours

1.3.1.6 Trust

Various definitions of “trust” have been proposed by many scholars Trust wasdefined

as “the willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another partybased on theexpectation that the other will perform a particular action important to thetrustor, irrespective of the ability

to monitor or control that other party” (Mayer et al.,1995) or ‘‘a psychological state comprising the intention to

basedonpositiveexpectationsthattheexchangepartnerwillactinamannerthatisresponsible,evidenceintegrity,andisnotpotentiallyinjurious’’(Nuttavuthisit&Thøgersen, 2017; Rousseau et al., 1998) or “the perceivedcredibility and benevolenceof a target of trust” (Doney & Cannon, 1997) Similarly, Mooran andassociates (2012)definedtrustasawillingnesstorelyonanexchangepartnerinwhomonehasconfidence(Moormanetal.,1992)

In the field of green marketing, Chen (2010) proposed the conceptualizationof“greentrust”whichisdefinedas“awillingnesstodependonaproduct,service,orbrandbasedonthebelieforexpectationresultingfromitscredibility,benevolence,andabilityabout its environmental performance” It simply reflects theperception of consumersabout the trustworthiness, reliability, and dependability of the green claimsabout aproductorservice.Somescholarsinvestigatingtheinfluencesofthisconstructongreenpurchasebehaviour reported that green trust positively affects attitudes toward greenproducts (Wei et al., 2017) and green purchase

Trustininformationsourceswasalsofoundtobeapositiveantecedentofintentiontochoosegreen energydevices (Fornara et al., 2016) Additionally, trust in government control,institution, and producers was proved to playimportant role in narrowing the gapbetween green purchase intention and actual purchasebehaviours (Nuttavuthisit &Thøgersen,2017)

Skepticism is another construct concerning trust that has received the attentionofscholars in the field of green marketing “Skeptics are described as those who doubtwhatothers are saying or doing but may be convinced by evidence or proof” (Mohretal.,1998).Inthefieldofadvertising,ObermilerandSpangenbergdefinedskepticism

toward advertising in general as the tendency toward disbelief of advertisingclaims(Obermiller&Spangenberg,1998).Skepticismofconsumersderivesfromtheconfusionabout the green claims of products or services that are sometimes unclear,exaggerated,unsubstantiated, and misleading (Maria et al., 2014; Rios et al., 2006).Consumer skepticismtoward green advertising was proved to negatively affect theextent to which consumers trust

al.,2017)andgreenconsumptionbehaviours(Chenget al.,2017)

1.3.1.7 Emotion(GuiltandPride)

Some scholars have recently paid attention to the effects of emotion ongreenconsumption behaviours However, their studies focused mainly on two dimensionsofemotion includingGuiltandPride

Inthefieldofmarketing,AntonettiandBaine(2014)definedguiltas“anegativeemotional state experienced

by an individual remembering or imagining privately thathe or she is associated with an outcome deemed socially

andthreateningtohisorherself-identitygoals”.Guiltexperiencesaredividedintotwotypesnamely anticipatory and reactive guilt Anticipatory guilt refers to theexperiences of apotentially negative outcome in the future that is considered by an individualwhilereactive guilt refers to the negative experiences of the outcome of an action in thepast(Antonetti &Baine,2014)

When acceptance of green products increases, post-purchase guilt feelings havetheconsumers consider purchasing products that are detrimental to the environment(Burnett &Lunsford, 1994) In line with this perspective, some studies showed that theexperiences of guilt

orindirectlyaffectbehaviouralintentionthroughperceivedconsumereffectiveness(Antonetti

&Maklan,2014; Kabadayetal.,2015)

Pride is another important dimension of emotion The feeling of pride can act asa produced incentive that reinforces or motivate prosocial behaviours (Tracy &Robins, 2007b) Pride is distinguished into twotypes comprising hubristic pride andauthentic pride (Bodolica & Spraggon, 2011; Tracy &

Whiletheformerisconsideredanegativefacetofpridethatisassociatedwithnarcissisticself-aggrandizement andantisocial behaviour, the latter is the positive dimension of pridethat relates to “confidence, self-esteem, and genuine

stemmingfromafavorableappraisalofbehaviouraloutcomesattainedviathedeploymentofone’sown knowledge,

Thispositivedimensionofpride(authenticpride)wasprovedtohaveasignificantpositive

influence on perceived consumer effectiveness and therefore indirectly affectsgreenconsumptionintention(Antonetti &Maklan,2014).

Althoughfewstudiesprovedthattwotypesofemotionaffectgreenconsumptionbehaviours directly orindirectly, work on the role of guilt and pride is still scarce.Scholars need to conduct more research to offer valuableinsights into the role of thesetwo emotionalvariables

1.3.1.8 Consumerinnovativeness

According to Rogers, “innovativeness is the degree to which an individual orother unit

of adoption is relatively earlier in adopting new ideas than other members ofa system” (Rogers, 1983)

In the field of consumer behaviour research, Steenkamp andassociates (1999) defined Consumer innovativeness as “the predisposition to buynewanddifferentproductsandbrandsratherthanremainwithpreviouschoicesandconsumptionpatterns” This construct indicates the extent that consumers arereceptivetonewproducts(Tellis&Yin,2010).Consumerinnovativenessisthereforeanantecedentofnewproductadoption

Ininvestigatinggreenpurchasebehavioursofconsumers,Lao(2014)arguedthatgreen products are not onlyresource-conservative and environment-protective but alsoinnovative and technologically advanced In his study,consumer innovativeness wasfound directly influences attitudes towards green consumption,

andperceivedbehaviouralcontrolandthereforeindirectlyaffectgreenconsumptionbehaviour.However, the lack of study on the relationship between this construct andgreen consumptionbehaviours implies that future research needs to further investigatethemechanismthatconsumer innovativeness affectsgreenconsumptionbehaviours

1.3.1.9 Identity

Identity refers to the concepts about the way a person sees himself/ herself interms ofwho he/she is and what he/she is like (F.Baumeister, 1997) Cook and associates(2002) refer toself-identity as a label that people use to describe themselves Inotherwords,itreflectstheextenttowhichanactorseeshim-orherselfasfulfillingthecriteriafor any societal role (Conner &Armitage, 1998) According to Oyserman (2009), peoplearemotivated to engageinbehavioursthat arecongruentwiththeiridentity

In the field of green consumption, some studies examined the effects that identityexertsongreenconsumptionbehaviours.Werffandassociates(2013)proposedthe conceptualization ofenvironmental self-identity which refers to the extent to whichconsumers see themselves as a type of people who act in an environmentallyfriendlyway.T h e i r s t u d y s h o w e d t h a t t h e m o r e p e o p l e s e e t h e m s e l v e s a s e n v i

self-r o n m e n t a l l y

friendly ones, the more they engage in green consumption behaviours The findingisstrengthened by the studies of Dermody and associates (2015) and Gaterslebenandassociates(2015).Moreover,environmentalself-identitynotonlydirectlyaffectsgreenconsumptionbehaviours but also mediates the relationship between biospheric valueand green consumption behaviours (Werff et al.,2013) The study of Gatersleben andassociates (2015) also reinforces the mediating role of

relationshipbetweenenvironmentalvaluesandgreenconsumptionbehaviours.AnotherstudyconductedbyLeeandJan(2017)reportedtheindirectpositiveinfluenceofself-identityon eco-tourism behaviour throughsubjective norms Similarly, research conducted byJos Bartels and Machiel J Reinders (2016) with a sample of

fourdifferentcountriesalsoconfirmedtheeffectsofmultipleidentitiesongreenconsumptionbehaviours.Thefindingsofthemreporteddifferentcontributionsofdifferenttypesofsocialidentitytothreegreenconsumptionbehavioursnamelyorganicfood consumption, environmentally conscious behaviour, and fair tradeconsumption.Specifically,socialidentificationwithfairtradeconsumersexertsthestrongestinfluences

withorganicconsumerscorrelatessignificantlywithorganicfoodconsumptionandenvironmentallyconsciousbehaviourwhiletheonlyrelationshipbetweensocialidentificationwiththeenvironmen

Although some studies examined the impact of identity on greenconsumptionbehaviours,the role of identity is still unclarified.F u r t h e r r e s e a r c h n e e d s