Antecedents and pro-environmental consumer behavior (PECB): the moderating role of religiosity
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the predictabilities of five intra-personal factors to predict pro-environmental consumer behavior (PECB) and the moderating role of religiosity in Oman.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses neural network to analyze the antecedents/antecedents × religiosity → PECB relationships by using a sample of 306 consumers from Oman.
Findings
This study finds that the most important predictors of PECB, according to the order of importance, are attitude × religiosity, knowledge, concern × religiosity, knowledge × religiosity, value, religiosity, attitude, concern and value × religiosity.
Research limitations/implications
The convenience sample from a single Islamic country limits the generalizability of the findings. Future studies should use probabilistic sampling techniques and multiple Islamic countries located in different geographical regions.
Practical implications
To promote PECB, businesses and policymakers should provide environmental education to expand knowledge and value, leverage ecological religious values in integrated marketing communications, make positive inducements to change attitude and concern enhancing interventions.
Social implications
As religiosity enhances PECB by moderating the impacts of environmental intra-personal factors on PECB, businesses and policymakers should find ways to use faith-based ecological messages in Islamic countries.
Originality/value
Determining the predictabilities of psychological factors and their interactions with religiosity to predict PECB in Islamic countries is necessary for promoting environmentally friendly products in Islamic countries and for reducing the ecological damage to the environment.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Professor Zafar U. Ahmed is currently serving American University of Ras Al Khaimah (United Arab Emirates) as a Professor of Marketing.
Citation
Bhuian, S.N., Sharma, S.K., Butt, I. and Ahmed, Z.U. (2018), "Antecedents and pro-environmental consumer behavior (PECB): the moderating role of religiosity", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 287-299. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-02-2017-2076
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited