With the best of intentions: A large sample test of the intention-behaviour gap in pro-environmental consumer behaviour

Martin Grimmer, Morgan P. Miles

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

122 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Many consumers intend to make pro-environmental purchases; however, this is not always what occurs. A gap exists between consumer intentions to purchase environmentally friendly products and their actual purchase behaviour. The current study uses a large sample of Australian consumers (N 5 772) to test Carrington, Neville and Whitwell’s (2010) conceptual model of the intention-behaviour gap. Responses showed that implementation intentions mediated the relationship between intention and proenvironmental consumer behaviour. Behavioural control and environmental involvementwere found to moderate the relationship between implementation intentions and behaviour. Shopping context was found to moderate the relationship between intention and implementation intentions. The findings have theoretical implications for furthering understanding of pro-environmental consumer behaviour, and practical implications regarding how to generate socially beneficial behaviours.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2-10
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal of Consumer Studies
Volume41
Issue number1
Early online date10 Jun 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01 Jan 2017

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'With the best of intentions: A large sample test of the intention-behaviour gap in pro-environmental consumer behaviour'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this