Determinants of vietnamese consumers’ intention to purchase reusable plastic products

Meanwhile, the study proved that subjective norms and perceived behavioral control have no effect on purchase intention of reusable plastic products... Many studies have been looking int

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

GRADUATION PROJECT

DETERMINANTS OF VIETNAMESE CONSUMERS’ INTENTION TO PURCHASE REUSABLE PLASTIC PRODUCTS

BUI LE THUY LINH

Hanoi - Year 2019

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

GRADUATION PROJECT

DETERMINANTS OF VIETNAMESE CONSUMERS’ INTENTION TO PURCHASE REUSABLE PLASTIC PRODUCTS

SUPERVISOR: Dr Doan Thu Trang STUDENT: Bui Le Thuy Linh STUDENT ID: 15071279 COHORT: IB2015C

MAJOR: International Business

Hanoi - Year 2019

LETTER OF DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the Graduation Project “Determinants of Vietnamese Consumer’ Intention to Purchase Reusable Plastic Product” is the results of my own research and has never been published in any work of others During the implementation process of this project, I have seriously taken research ethics; all findings of this project are results of my own research and surveys; all references in this project are clearly cited according to regulations

I bear full responsibility for the fidelity of the number and data and other contents of my graduation project

Hanoi, 3 rd December 2019

Linh Bui Le Thuy Linh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to express the sincerest gratitude to my supervisor,

Dr Doan Thu Trang who inspired me to do this thesis, guided me how to make

it done properly, and spent time on helping me to correct it during last time

I also would like to express my gratitude to all the lecturers and professors

of Vietnam National University – International School, who gave me the very useful and practical knowledge about international business and other fields during five years I studied here That helped me a lot when I conducted this research

Besides, I also would like to say thank you to all the participants who helped me answering the questionnaires so that I can get data to do the research

I really appreciated those who spent time on helping me completing the survey

Finally, I wish all the best will come to my supervisor and all the lecturers and professors of Vietnam National University – International School Wish everyone will have more happiness in life and more success in career

Thank you all very much!

Student,

Bui Le Thuy Linh

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LETTER OF DECLARATION 3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 4

LIST OF TABLES 8

LIST OF FIGURES 10

ABSTRACT 12

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 13

1.1 Problem background 13

1.2 Reusable Plastic Products 14

1.3 Literature Gaps 15

1.4 Research Objectives 15

1.5 Research Questions 15

1.6 Research Structure 16

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 17

2.1 Previous Research about Intention to Use of Eco-friendly Products 17

2.2 Related Research about Plastic Products 20

CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 23

3.1 Theory of Planned Behavior 23

3.2 TPB Components 25

3.2.1 Attitude 25

3.2.2 Subjective Norms 26

3.2.3 Perceived Behavioral Control 27

3.2.4 Environmental Concern 27

3.3 Moderating Variables: Price Concern and Inconvenience 28

3.3.1 Price Concern 28

3.3.2 Inconvenience 29

3.4 Proposed Research Model 31

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 32

4.1 Research Process 32

4.2 Sampling and Data Collection 33

4.3 Designing Questionnaire 34

4.4 Analyzing Data Plan 38

4.4.1 Reliability Analysis by Cronbach’s Alpha 41

4.4.2 Exploratory Factor Analysis – EFA 43

4.4.3 Regression Analysis 44

4.4.4 Moderator Effect Analysis 45

CHAPTER 5: DATA PRESENTATION AND FINDINGS 48

5.1 Data Description 48

5.2 Reliability Analysis 53

5.2.1 Reliability of Purchase Intention – PI scale 53

5.2.2 Reliability of Attitude – ATT scale 54

5.2.3 Reliability of Subjective Norms – SN scale 56

5.2.4 Reliability of Perceived Behavioral Control – PBC scale 57

5.2.5 Reliability of Environmental Concern – EC scale 58

5.2.6 Reliability of Price Concern – PC scale 59

5.2.7 Reliability of Inconvenience – IC scale 60

5.3 Exploratory Factor Analysis 61

5.4 Regression Analysis 63

5.5 Moderation Analysis via PROCESS model 1 SPSS 67

5.5.1 Moderation Analysis of Price Concern and the relationship between Attitude and Purchase Intention 67

5.5.2 Moderation Analysis of Price Concern and the relationship between

Environmental Concern and Purchase Intention 69

5.5.3 Moderation Analysis of Inconvenience and the relationship between Attitude and Purchase Intention 71

5.5.4 Moderation Analysis of Inconvenience and the relationship between Environmental Concern and Purchase Intention 73

5.6 Hypothesis Tested results 75

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION 78

6.1 Discussion 78

6.2 Contributions of The Research 80

6.3 Limitations and Future Research Direction 82

REFERENCE: 83

APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE 93

APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE 98

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.4 Guidelines for Identifying Significant Factor Loading Based

Table 5.1 Descriptive Statistics of 150 Observations 45

Table 5.8 Reliability of ATT scale after remove ATT5 52

Table 5.14 KMO and Bartlett’s Test of Dependent Variable 57 Table 5.15 KMO and Bartlett’s Test of Independent Variables 58

Table 5.16 Rotated Component Matrix of Independent Variables 58

Table 5.20 Regression Analysis Summary (the 2nd test) 62

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 5.5 Proposed Conceptual Moderating Effect of PC to the

Figure 5.6 Proposed Conceptual Moderating Effect of PC to the

relationship of ATT and PI

Figure 5.9 Proposed Conceptual Moderating Effect of PC to the

relationship of ATT and PI

68

Figure 5.10 Proposed Conceptual Moderating Effect of PC to the

Relationship of EC and PI

68

Figure 5.11 Proposed Conceptual Moderating Effect of PC to the

relationship of ATT and PI

70

Figure 5.12 Proposed Conceptual Moderating Effect of PC to the

Relationship of EC and PI

70

ABSTRACT

The increasing of plastic waste has reached crisis level and it caused significant environmental damage The reduction of plastic waste therefore become a very serious problem of not only Vietnam but also all the world Vietnamese people recently seem to be more aware of the negative effects when using plastic products especially single-use plastic products Reusable plastic products are considered as a solution for people to reduce the use of single-use plastic and also reduce the plastic waste to environment

This study using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to investigate the determinants of Vietnamese consumers’ intention to purchase reusable plastic products A questionnaire including demographic questions, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, environmental concern, price concern, and inconvenience was developed and distributed to 150 people The finding shows that attitude and environmental concern are two main factors that affecting consumers’ purchase intention In addition, the relationship between attitude and purchase intention is stronger with lower concern Besides, the relationship between environmental concern and purchase intention will be strengthened with lower price concern and less inconvenience Meanwhile, the study proved that subjective norms and perceived behavioral control have no effect on purchase intention of reusable plastic products

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Problem background

Since the 1950s, the production of plastic has outpaced that of almost every other material From 1970 to 2010, annual global extraction of materials grew from almost 22 to 70 billion tones Each year, at least eight million tons of plastic leak into the ocean, contributing to a major new challenge for the 21st century (Jambeck, 2015) Much of the plastic we produce is designed to be thrown away after being used only once Most plastics do not biodegrade Instead, they slowly break down into smaller fragments known as micro-plastics Studies suggest that plastic bags and containers made of expanded polystyrene foam can take up to thousands of years to decompose, contaminating soil and water (UNE, 2018)

Many governments and firms in the world have taken steps to protect the environment One of the remarkable solutions is that governments have developed and implemented policies and economic measure in order to reduce the use of plastic (UNE, 2018) One hundred and twenty-seven countries had adopted some form of legislation to regulate plastic bags, sixty-three countries have mandates for producer responsibility on single-use plastics, including deposit-refunds, product take-back and recycling targets, twenty-seven countries have instituted taxes on the production

of plastic bag, and so on (UNE, 2018) The UK government’s ban on all “rinse off” personal care and cosmetic products containing microbeads (a part of micro-plastic) (Shoe, 2018) South Korea bans single-use plastic bags from major supermarkets (Regan and Kwon, 2018) Meanwhile, some big and famous brands are also taking steps to reduce the impact of their business on environment Addidas debuted their new editions of its popular UltraBoost shoe, all made from plastic debris found in the ocean P&G plans to introduce 25% recycled plastic across 500 million bottles sold annually on its haircare brands Coca-cola has already responded to pressure by raising its 2020 recycling target to 50% (Mintel, 2018)

Plastic-related issues or plastic waste are currently a serious threat to Vietnam

According to Quach and Milne (2019), more than 1.8 million tons of plastic are produced and 0.73 million tons of plastic are released into the ocean in Vietnam per year Vietnam’s plastic consumption per capita had increased significantly from 3.8kg to 41kg in the period from 1990-2015 Moreover, Vietnam is one of the top five countries which dump the most land-based plastic waste into the ocean (Ocean Conservancy, 2015)

These problems force the government to put more efforts to environmetal pollution and have regulations to reduce plastic wast in daily life of people Government is calling for action to achieve “zero disposable plastic use” in urban shops, markets and supermarkets by 2021 an d nationwide by 2025 (Nguyen, 2019) In fact, many big retail supermarkets, coffee shops or restaurants are running promotion to encourage customers reduce the use of plastic products

1.2 Reusable Plastic Products

One of the ways to reduce plastic waste is using eco-friendly products or reusable plastic products The promotion and adoption of reusable plastic items as alternatives to single-use plastic items are examples of a reduction strategy where the choice rests with the consumer This strategy has been effective in many local and national contexts to change consumer behavior and reduce the use of conventional plastic products (UNE, 2018)

This study focuses on reusable plastic products for the following reasons Firstly, according to Miler et al (2019), the replacement of single-use plastic with other single-use material items (for example, bamboo) would maintain wasteful economies and shift pressures onto limited natural resources Secondly, some items such as paper-cup are essentially made of paper, but actually there is a thin plastic coating inside the cup to prevent leakage Therefore, the recycling process of these items is much more complicated and difficult (Simmonds, 2019) Thirdly, the use of

reusable in long term can save the cost that people have to pay for single-use items

in general (Miler et al., 2019)

Therefore, this study will focus on the use of reusable plastic products and investigate the factors affecting purchase intention of Vietnamese people when choosing a reusable plastic product

1.3 Literature Gaps

After reading the previous studies, it is found that there were the literature gaps that those studies have not been explored or is under-explored

Firstly, there are many studies focused on the purchase of eco-friendly products

or green products but very few study focused on plastic products, especially reusable

plastic products One of the typical research is “From single-use to multi-use: Study

of consumers’ behavior toward consumption of reusable container” (Ertz et al., 2017)

In this study, the author found that perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and motivation had a significant impact on reusable container purchase intention Moreover, the cultural difference is also a factor affecting purchase intention and behavior of reusable food containers The point is that this study just focus on reusable container which is consider a type of reusable plastic products

Secondly, In Vietnamese context, green purchasing is somehow a “brand-new concept” There are still not so many studies working on green consumption behavior

of Vietnamese consumers Therefore, this study might contribute as an example for future studies with similar concern

Together with the objectives research, this thesis will answer the following question:

What are the determinants that affect consumers’ purchasing intention of reusable plastic products?

1.6 Research Structure

The thesis is divided into six chapters as following:

• Chapter 1: Introduction - this chapter introduces briefly about problem background, green consumption trend in general, single-use plastic andreusable plastic, research objectives and research questions

• Chapter 2: Literature Review - this chapter summarizes the findings of the previous studies about green products and reusable plastic products

• Chapter 3: Theoretical framework - this chapter explains the theory used in the research and also explains the hypotheses

• Chapter 4: Research Methodology - this chapter is about the methodology used to do the research, design questionnaire survey and describe how data was collected

• Chapter 5: Data Findings - this chapter provides description of data collected, analyzes results from SPSS software and tests proposed hypothesis

• Chapter 6: Conclusion - this chapter is about answering research questions, recommendation for future research and limitation of the research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Previous Research about Intention to Use of Eco-friendly Products

Eco-friendly products (also known as environmentally friendly products or green products) are defined in many different ways Ottman (1998) defined that

“green products are typically durable, non-toxic, made of recycled materials, or minimally packaged There are no completely green products, for they all use up energy and resources and create by-products and emissions during their manufacture, transport to warehouses and stores, usage, and eventual disposal So, green is relative, describing products with less impact on the environment than their alternatives.” Similarly, Chen and Chang (2012) also stated that eco-friendly

products are those products which have less negative impact on the environment and less detrimental to human health It is manufactured in more energy conservative way,

or are supplied to the market with less packaging

Between 1980 and 1990, a trend of “green products” appeared, and this type

of niche products occupied a distinct place in the market (Sandu, 2014) Until the beginning of the 21th century, when people paid more attention to global warming and other environmentally related problems, “green products” started influencing purchase behavior of consumers (Sandu, 2014) Jansson et al (2014) indicated that the growth of concerns for environmental issues at all levels of society have led to a considerable increase of green products

Academic researchers and market research agencies have striven to define and understand the relationship between environmental concern of people and their purchase intention and behaviors Green consumers’ behaviors come to be recognized as commercial opportunities for an expanding range of business and developed further as a field for research (Peatties, 2010) There are many factors have been proposed as influences on green consumers’ behaviors such as demographic factors, environmental knowledge, and the ability of the individual to make an

effective contribution

Many studies have been looking into the concept of green products and green consumption and consumers’ purchase intention by using different theories such as Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991), the Value – Belief – Norm Theory (Stern, 2000), and the Attitude – Behavior – Context Theory (Stern, 2000) In addition, from the original model, several studies using the extended Theory of Planned Behavior

by adding other predictors and moderators to make it more appropriate with their research context

Hsu et al (2017) used model of Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the moderating effects of country of origin and price sensitivity to explore purchase intention of green skincare products They found that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control primarily affect consumers’ purchase intention of green skincare products Moreover, the effect of those three determinants on intention to buy of green skincare products becomes stronger when country of origin and price sensitivity are stronger

Meanwhile, a study of consumers’ intention to select eco-friendly restaurants

by Kim et al (2013) indicated that not all of the TPB constructs have a significant correlation toward purchase intention Subjective norms are the best predictor of behavioral intention when selecting an eco-friendly restaurant In contrast, perceived behavioral control is a non-significant independent variable in predicting the influence of TPB constructs

A study conducted by Jaiswal and Kant (2018) proved that green purchase intention was significantly and directly impacted by Attitude towards green products, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental concern Mostafa (2006) also found that Environmental Concern was a positive and significant predictor It means that the more people care about environment, the more likely they use pro-environmental products Meanwhile, Chaudhary and Bisai (2018) investigated that

the direct effect of environmental concern on purchase intention of eco-friendly products was non-significant However, environmental concern can affect purchase intention directly via its effect on attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control

In Vietnam, green purchasing is somehow a “brand-new concept” There are still not so many studies working on green consumption behavior of Vietnamese consumers In addition, those studies are neither popular nor conducted carefully, especially empirical studies (Vu, et al., 2013)

A study conducted by Hoang et al (2019) indicated that the intention to purchase organic food was affected by attitude toward green food consumption, perceived behavioral control, and belief The finding also pointed out that most consumer concern about environment, but that does not affect the process of forming the intention to buy those products

On the other hand, Hoang and Nguyen (2012) stated that people with high level of education have better knowledge and understanding about eco-friendly products than those with lower level of education

It can be said that, the studies about green consumption can be subdivided in several ways One subdivision is about studies rooted in marketing field which examine the purchasing intentions and behavior of the consumers, and those rooted

in industrial ecology or ecological economics, which examine the environmental outcomes of those behaviors (Peattie, 2010)

In this research, green consumption is approached in terms of marketing field

It examines purchasing intention and behavior of consumers toward reusable plastic products

2.2 Related Research about Plastic Products

As reported by Miller, et al (2019), global consumption of plastics has increased more than 20 times within 50 years, and it is predicted that plastic consumption will be double by 2034 if action is not taken immediately

According to the report of United Nations Environment (2018), plastic is defined as a lightweight, hygienic and resistant material which can be moulded in a variety of ways and utilized in a wide range of applications Single-use plastic is considered as disposable plastic It is commonly used for packaging including items intended to be used only once before they are thrown away or recycled For example, food packaging, water bottles, straws, food containers, cups, and so on (UNE, 2018) The largest industrial sector is plastic packaging, single-use material designed for immediate disposal

Since the 1950s, the production of plastic has outpaced that of almost every other material From 1970 to 2010, annual global extraction of materials grew from almost 22 to 70 billion tones Each year, at least eight million tons of plastic leak into the ocean, contributing to a major new challenge for the 21st century (Jambeck, 2015) Much of the plastic we produce is designed to be thrown away after being used only once As a result, plastic packaging accounts for about half of the plastic waste in the world Most plastics do not biodegrade Instead, they slowly break down into smaller fragments known as micro-plastics Studies suggest that plastic bags and containers made of expanded polystyrene foam can take up to thousands of years to decompose, contaminating soil and water (UNE, 2018)

On the other hand, reusable plastic products refer to plastic products which made by high quality plastic or environmentally friendly plastic These products are supposed to be safe for consumers and can be reusable multiple times According to the report of Ellen Macarthur Foundation (2019), if people replace 20% of single-use plastic packaging with reusable alternative, it will offer an opportunity worth at least

USD 10 billion globally There are four main business-to-consumer reusable models

in terms of packaging These models are refill at home (users refill their reusable containers at home), refill on the go (users refill their reusable container away from home), return from home (packaging is picked up from home by a pick-up service) and return on the go (users return the packaging at a store or drop-off point)

Reusable products are considered as a key solution in shifting away from single-use plastic products and it is can be implemented at national level to reduces the use of single-plastic products (Miler et al., 2019) Moreover, transitioning to reusable plastic products is one of the most efficient solutions for handling the single-use plastic issues, providing tangible economic as well as environmental and social benefits (Miller, et al., 2019) A study conducted by Greene (2011) concluded that the use of reusable plastic bags can reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste generation, and acid rain pollution than single-use plastic bags

In fact, there are several research about the factors affecting customers’ purchasing intention of green products in general, but not so many research have done with plastic products due to the research field of plastic-related perception and behavior is somehow new and very diverse (Heidbreder et al., 2019) One of the few research about customer behavior toward plastic products is “Tackling the plastic problem: A review on perceptions, behaviors, and interventions” (Heidbreder et al., 2019) This research investigates that there are seven factors that impact on plastic consumption behavior which are sociodemographic variables, environmental attitudes, convenience, context factors, habit, diffusion of responsibility and social factors Another study is “From single-use to multi-use: Study of consumers’ behavior toward consumption of reusable containers” (Ertz, et al., 2017) This study indicated that motivation had a significant impact on reusable container purchase intention Moreover, the cultural difference is also a factor affecting purchase intention and behavior of reusable containers

From the literature, it can be said that the trend to research on plastic

purchasing and using will become more popular since the plastic related problems are getting more serious in the world

CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

3.1 Theory of Planned Behavior

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was proposed by Icek Ajzen in 1985 through his article: “From Intentions to Actions: A Theory of Planned Behavior” It

is an extension of Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) made necessary by the original model’s limitations in dealing with behaviors over which people have incomplete volitional control

The theory of reasoned action aims to explain the relationship between attitudes and behaviors within human action It is mainly used to predict how individuals will behave based on their pre-existing attitudes and behavioral intentions (Figure 3.1) An individual's decision to engage in a particular behavior is based on the outcomes the individual expects will come as a result of performing the behavior According to Theory of Reasoned Action, behavioral intention is the main motivator

of behavior while attitudes and subjective norms are two key determinants of behavioral intention (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975)

Figure 3.1 Theory of Reasoned Action

To take into account the limitations in performing a given behavior, real or perceived, Ajzen (1985,1988) added a third element to the original model, the concept

of perceived behavioral control (Figure 3.2) As in the original theory of reasoned action, the main determinants in the Theory of Planned Behavior is the individual’s intention to perform a given behavior The theory suggests that strong intentions lead

to increase of the effort to perform the behavior, which also increases the likelihood for the behavior to be performed (Ajzen, 1991)

Figure 3.2: Theory of Planned Behavior

According to Theory of Planned Behavior, attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are three conceptually independent determinants of

intention Ajzen (1991) defined that attitude toward the behavior “refers to the degree

to which a person has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation or appraisal of the

behavior in question” The second determinant is a social factor termed subjective norms which “refers to the perceived social pressure to perform or not to perform the behavior” The third predictor of intention is the degree of perceived behavioral

control which “refers to the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior

It is assumed to reflect past experience, the anticipated impediments and obstacles”

As a general rule, the more favorable the attitude and subjective norm with respect to a behavior, and the greater the perceived behavioral control, the stronger should be an individual's intention to perform the behavior under consideration (Ajzen, 1991)

Rivis, et al (2009, p 2985) proposed that the Theory of Planned Behavior is probably the most influential theory in the prediction of social and health behaviors It has been applied to studies of the relations among beliefs, attitudes, behavioral intentions and behaviors in various fields such

as advertising, public relations, healthcare, sport management and sustainability It is also applied in various studies of green purchasing intention as well as green purchasing behavior, for example: purchasing intention of green skincare products (Hsu, et al., 2017), visiting intention of green hotels (Chen & Tung, 2014), intention

to select eco-friendly restaurants (Kim, et al., 2013), recycling attitude and behavior (Wan, et al, 2012), and so on

The argument about the relationship between the variables of TPB model and intention to buy reusable plastic products will be stated in the following section In addition, Environmental Concern is added in the model as the extended factor of TPB model and two moderating factors (Price Concern and Inconvenience) are also added

widely considered as the predominant variable that predict environmentally behaviors (Nguyen, et al., 2016) Previous studies found that those who has positive attitudes toward environmental protection will have positive purchase intention and behavior of green products and services (Nguyen, et al (2016), Mostafa (2006), Han,

et al (2010), etc.) A study on consumers’ purchase intentions of green electric products in Vietnam found that Vietnamese consumers’ attitudes which are led by environmental knowledge have important impact on their purchase intention Ajzen (1991) also indicated that an individual’s positive attitude toward a certain behavior will strengthen his/her intention to perform the behavior Therefore, the first proposed research hypothesis is:

H1: Attitude has a positive relationship with purchase intention.


3.2.2 Subjective Norms

In the model of Theory of Planned Behavior, subjective norms (also known as social norms) are postulated as a second determinant of behavioral intention Subjective norms are a social factor which refers to perceived social pressure toward performance or non-performance of a particular behavior (Ajzen, 1991) It is represented as a function of a person’s normative beliefs about what salient referents think he/she should (or should not) do, and his/her motivation to comply to those referents (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) The role of subjective norms toward behavioral intention has been proved in various contexts when researching about marketing and consumer purchasing behavior (Han et al., 2010) By using TPB model, several studies have indicated that subjective norms are a determinant of green purchase intention Wang (2014) proved that positive subjective norms will lead to positive purchase intention of green products in general Han et al (2010) found that subjective norms is one of the factors that influence on the visiting intention of green hotel Besides, Hsu (2017) also showed that subjective norms have a significant and positive relationship with green skin care products purchase intention, while Kim (2013) stated that subjective norms are the strongest predictor of behavioral intention

when choosing an eco-friendly restaurant Base on the above arguments, the hypothesis is proposed as following:

H2: Subjective norm has a positive relationship with purchase intention

3.2.3 Perceived Behavioral Control

The third antecedent of intention is the degree of perceived behavioral control which refers to the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior and it is assumed to reflect past experience as well as anticipated impediments and obstacles (Ajzen, 1991) In other words, it is about the chances, the resources beliefs and the difficulties that a person has in performing certain behaviors This can be described

in two different aspects: the degree one can control in a certain when performing in a certain target behavior while the other concerns the amount of confidence one can have in it (Chan and Hung, 2016) Chen and Tung (2014) proved that “consumers’ perceived behavioral control is the most indispensable factor in the TPB model” Previous studies have been indicated that perceived behavioral control had a significant positive influence on behavioral intention such as green skin care products (Hsu, et al., 2017), consumers’ intention to visit green hotels (Chen and Hung, 2016) and purchase intention of green products among Thai consumers (Maichum, etal., 2016) Chen and Hung (2016) explained that as consumers increase their resources and confidence, for instance, having sufficient income to buy green products, being able to judge the correction of green mark, they will increase their devotion to environmental protection, which increases their intention to use green products Accordingly, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H3: Perceived behavioral control has a positive relationship with purchase intention

3.2.4 Environmental Concern

Consumers’ environmental concern is considered as one of the major

determinants of consumer green purchase behavior (Joshi and Rahman, 2015) Harun (2012) stated that environmental concern can be identified as one of the important factors that affect consumers‟ green purchasing intention It means that the more consumers concern about environment, the more likelihood of their intention to purchase green products In other words, the more favorable consumer attitudes toward the environment are, the stronger their intentions to stop purchasing from polluting companies and to make personal sacrifices to slow down pollution, leading

to more environmentally friendly consumer behavior (Minton and Rose, 1997) Those individuals with greater environmental knowledge and concerns of environmental issues are more likely to take an action for environment than those who did not concern about these issues (Hines, et al., 1987) A study of Fraj and Martinez (2006) also proved that those individuals concerned about environment show a higher ecological behavior Hence, the study proposes the following hypothesis:

H4 Environmental concern has a positive relationship with purchasing intention

3.3 Moderating Variables: Price Concern and Inconvenience

3.3.1 Price Concern

Previous research indicates that environmental awareness alone cannot guarantee the willingness of consumers to purchase green products because factors, such as price, trust, relevance, brand and product quality, can play a role in customers’ decision making (Hopkins, 2009) The high price of eco-friendly products is identified as a major barrier of consumer purchasing (Gleim et al., 2013) Consumers generally prefer low price of eco-friendly products and attach more importance to

price as compared to environmental claims (Eze and Ndubisi, 2013) Therefore, if the

price of the product is higher than their expectations, it will undermine the influence

of their green attitude and increase the attitude-behavior gap in green purchasing (Joshi and Rahman, 2015) Base on the above statements, the following hypotheses

are proposed:

H5: With lower price concern

a The positive relationship between attitude and purchase intention will be strengthened

b The positive relationship between subjective norm and purchase intention will be strengthened

c The positive relationship between perceived behavioral control and purchase intention will be strengthened

d The positive between Environmental Concern and Purchase Intention will be strengthened

3.3.2 Inconvenience

Convenience shopping can be defined that shopping can be done with reduced effort: saving time, physical and mental energy Convenience orientation, being an attitudinal construct, is expected to have an impact on convenience-related behaviors, like the purchase of convenience products, the use of convenient shopping outlets and the use of eating out and home meal replacements (Scholderer & Grunert, 2005) Hjelmar (2011) also indicated that, for the convenience-oriented consumers, visibility was a key factor for them to purchase a product It means that products have to be clearly and easy to find The inconvenience in purchasing green products is one of the major barriers towards green purchasing behavior of consumers and it leads to the increase of the gap between positive attitude and actual behavior of green purchasing (Joshi & Rahman, 2015) Therefore, this study postulates following hypotheses:

H6: With less inconvenience of reusable plastic products

a The positive relationship between attitude and purchase intention will be strengthened

b The positive relationship between subjective norm and purchase intention will be strengthened

c The positive relationship between perceived behavioral control and purchase intention will be strengthened

d The positive relationship between environmental concern and purchase intention will be strengthened

3.4 Proposed Research Model

Figure 3.3 Proposed Research Model

H5c

H5d

H6a H6b

H6c

H6d

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 Research Process

The research was conducted by following steps which shown in the figure below:

Figure 4.1: Research process proposed by the author

Review literature and

develop research

Identify research objectives,

research scope, research

model and methodology

Plan to do questionnaire and

develop questions based on

previous studies

Advise with the supervisors

for final questionnaire and

doing pilot test

Identify research population,

sample, and measurement

Final questionnaire

Import data and run it by

SPSS 20 software

Conclusions and suggestions

Summarize the related research and literature then come up with the research

Finalize research objectives, research scope, research model and methodology

Measurements in consumers’ purchase intention and associated constructs in TPB

4.2 Sampling and Data Collection

In this study, quantitative research method is used to quantify the problem by way of generating numerical data Primary data were collected by the author for analyzing and obtaining the results

Primary Data Collection

The primary data were collected to investigate factors affecting consumers’ purchase intention of reusable plastic products and they were collected by the following ways:

130 questionnaires were distributed online via google doc file

20 questionnaires were distributed in VNU-IS

Sample Size

According to Hair, et al (2014, p.100) the minimum of sample size is to have

at least five times as many observations as the number of items in questionnaire to be analyzed This can be interpreted that each variable need at least 5 respondents This

is the lowest limit for the number of respondents Due to limited time and resources, this study will apply this for calculating the number of sample size

Considering this research is following quantitative approach, with the number

of variables is 26 in total, the sample size is above: 26*5= 130 Be aware of the response can be invalid due to the respondents’ limitation, the final sample number for distributing questionnaire is 150

Sampling Method

Convenience sampling method is used to collect data According to Etikan, et

al (2016), this method is frequently used in quantitative research because it is affordable, eay to collect and the subjects are readily available Convenience sampling (also known as Haphazard Sampling or Accidental Sampling) is a type of

non-profitability where members of the target population that meet certain practical criteria, such as geographical proximity, easy accessibility, availability at a given time, or the willingness to participate (Etikan, et al., 2016) Convenience sample are sometimes regarded as “accidental samples” because elements may be selected in the sample simply as they just happen to be situated, spatially or administrative, nearby

where the researcher is collecting data (Ekitan, et al., 2016)

For online surveys, the respondents are chosen randomly from under 18 years old to over 41 years old with different jobs and level of education

Meanwhile, for hand-out surveys, the respondents are staffs, professors and students from Vietnam National University – International School

Because the research explores consumers’ purchase intention of reusable plastic products which is widely available and can be used by everyone, the respondents are not limited by any of their demographic characteristics

4.3 Designing Questionnaire

The questionnaire was designed to be simple for the respondents easily to understand This approach is in harmony with Easterby-Mith et al (2008) who recommended that “the shorter the questionnaire, and the simpler the questions, the more likely that people will reply it” In addition, it was designed in English then translated to Vietnamese for Vietnamese respondents The questions are used in the questionnaire are obtained and modified based on similar ones from previous studies The questionnaire is used in this study composed of two sections:

• The first section is introduction and it contained 4 questions for demographic information

• The second section consisted 26 measuring items of 7 constructs including purchase intention, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, environmental concern, price concern and inconvenience

Table 4.1: Measuring items for questionnaire

2 I plan to spend more on reusable plastic products and other eco-friendly products rather than single-use plastic product

Chaudhary, Bisai, 2018

3 I expect to purchase eco-friendly products such as reusable plastic products in the future because of its positive environmental contribution

Chaudhary, Bisai, 2018

4 I will recommend reusable plastic products

4 I am willing to reduce my consumption of single-use plastic to protect the environment

Chaudhary, Bisai, 2018

5 I have avoided buying single-use plastic product because it had potentially harmful environmental effects

Lin, Huang,

2012

2 My friend’s positive opinion about environmental protection influences me on using reusable plastic products

Chaudhary, Bisai, 2018

3 Most people who are important to me think

I should use reusable plastic products

2 Whether or not I purchase reusable plastic products is up to me

Han, 2010

3 I am confident that I would purchase reusable plastic products instead of single-use plastic products

Gleim et al.,

2013

2 Although eco-friendly products such as reusable plastic products are good for the environment, they are somewhat expensive for the average income

Gleim et al.,

2013

3 I buy eco-friendly products when they are in similar price, within a 20% range of so, of regular price However, if the price is higher than regular products, I tend to buy the regular products

Gleim et al.,

2013

4 I find it inconvenient when I have to bring

my own plastic container or water bottles, etc along to the restaurants or coffee shops

to buy things then take away

development

Self-Each item will be measured by five-point Likert scale

Table 4.2 Likert scale of agreement extent

Strongly disagree Strongly Agree

4.4 Analyzing Data Plan

Table 4.3 Encoded terms for data testing

PURCHASE INTENTION

1 PI1 I plan to switch to a green version of a plastic product

2 PI2 I plan to spend more on reusable plastic products and other

eco-friendly products rather than single-use plastic product

3 PI3

I expect to purchase eco-friendly products such as reusable plastic products in the future because of its positive environmental contribution

4 PI4 I will recommend reusable plastic products to my friends

ATTTUDE

1 ATT1 I believe that using reusable plastic products will reduce the plastic

waste into environment

2 ATT2 I believe that using reusable plastic product can contribute to save

natural resources

3 ATT3 I have a favorable attitude toward purchasing green version of a

product

4 ATT4 I am willing to reduce my consumption of single-use plastic to

protect the environment

5 ATT5 I have avoided buying single-use plastic product because it had

potentially harmful environmental effects

SUBJECTIVE NORMS

1 SN1 My friends think that it’s good to use reusable plastic products

2 SN2 My friend’s positive opinion about environmental protection

influences me on using reusable plastic products

3 SN3 Most people who are important to me think I should use reusable

plastic products

PERCEIVED BEHAVIORAL CONTROL

1 PBC1 I believe I have the ability to purchase reusable plastic products

2 PBC2 Whether or not I purchase reusable plastic products is up to me

3 PBC3 I am confident that I would purchase reusable plastic products

instead of single-use plastic products

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN

1 EC1 I am very concerned about the environment

2 EC2 I become incensed when I think about the harm being done to life

by pollution

3 EC3 I believe that people must live in harmony with nature to survive

4 EC4 I believe that when people interfere with nature, it often produces

disastrous consequences

PRICE CONCERN