FACTORS AFFECTING GREEN PURCHASE INTENTION AND THE ROLE OF CONSUMER SKEPTICISM

Environmental conservation behaviors are now considered the responsibility of all citizens, individuals and institutions alike. Societies require both consumers and producers to protect the environment and adopt green strategies. Therefore, it is important to know the dynamics of conservation behaviors and green initiatives. This study approaches this philosophy from consumer behavior perspective and measures the influence of environmental knowledge, environmental concern and conservation behavior on green purchase intention of consumers in Pakistan. Moreover, the study also investigates the moderating role of consumer skepticism towards environmental claims between the independent and dependent variables. Employing a survey methodology, a sample of 300 students completed a structured questionnaire. Findings from Pearson correlation matrix and hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that environmental knowledge, environmental concern and conservation behavior are positively related to green purchase intention. Moreover, consumer skepticism towards environmental claim moderates the relationship between environmental knowledge and green purchase intention, whereas, it does not significantly moderate the relationship between environmental concern and purchase intention, neither does it moderate the relationship between conservation behavior and green purchase intention. Hence it implies that the marketing managers should consider green concerns while developing an advertisement and should run marketing campaigns to inculcate environmental awareness among consumers in order to increase consumer intention to purchase green products.