SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT PURCHASE BEHAVIOR: ARE CONSUMERS STILL CONCERNED? EXTENDED ABSTRACT.

Research Question Consumers have expressed an interest in their likelihood of purchasing sustainable products, but their intentions sometimes do not match this desire. When this occurs, the result is a halo effect (Auger & Devinney, 2007). To reduce the negative impact non sustainable products have on the earth and society, research must be conducted to find ways to reduce the likelihood of a negative halo effect so the outcome is a positive impact. This study focuses on two research questions. First, we examine the effects of waste reduction, consumption levels, attitudes, values, eco-labels, defaults, and eco-literacy on sustainable initiatives and ultimately the likelihood to purchase sustainable products. Second, we examine the moderating effect of consumer's level of concern on the relationship between sustainable initiatives and likelihood to purchase. Previous studies by Cachero-Martinez (2020), Tandon et al. (2020), and DeCanio, Martinelli, and Endrighi (2021) revealed that environmental concern was positively associated with consumers' purchase intentions. The current study proposes that when consumers are more concerned with the environment and society, they will purchase more sustainable products. The proposed theoretical model identifies and evaluates the impact of three exogenous constructs (environmental, social, and economic) on likelihood to purchase. Method and Data The sample consisted of 180 respondents from a Midwest community college involved in several sustainable projects who were knowledgeable about the concepts associated with sustainable products. Data was collected using the Qualtrics software platform. The PLS-SEM power analysis method (Hair et al., 2022) guideline for sample size indicates a minimum useable sample size of 137 so the 180 useable surveys exceed this guideline. Following data cleaning, the confirmatory composite analysis (CCA; Hair et al., 2020) was executed to assess the measurement models using SmartPLS 3 software (Ringle, Wende, & Becker, 2015). Then the structural model relationships and metrics were assessed including out-of-sample prediction applying PLSpredict. Summary of Findings The analysis revealed both hypotheses were supported. Sustainable initiatives were associated with likelihood to purchase sustainable products (p value <.001) and environmental concern moderated the relationship between sustainable initiatives and likelihood to purchase (p value <.05). Path coefficients (Hair et.al., 2021) associated with eco-labels, defaults, values, waste reduction, and consumption levels were relied on to identify the most influential predictors of sustainable initiatives. The most influential predictor constructs of likelihood to purchase were, respectively, environmental, social, and economic. The findings provide insights for managerial decisionmaking regarding products that facilitate sustainable benefit for consumers. Key Contributions Key contributions of this study include: (1) sustainable initiatives indicate firms need to utilize eco-labels informing consumers of the sustainable impact their products make; and (2) when consumers opt into programs, firms should consider using defaults that automatically move individual toward more sustainable alternatives. The cost is typically not expensive, and results show consumers will typically not opt out. In addition, many consumers indicate their values are increasingly focused on being sustainable. The third contribution is: consumers indicate a willingness to consider reducing their waste - typically by recycling and decreasing their use of items that impact the environment. Finally, consumers exhibited an interest in products and/or services that help the environment and society, and indicate they are willing to support firms that promote and follow sustainable initiatives. Among the greatest contributions of this study are the findings regarding the effect environmental concern has on the relationship between sustainable consumer initiatives and the likelihood to purchase sustainable products and particularly that environmental concern fully moderates this relationship. This finding suggests an opportunity for firms to emphasize how their products are better for the world and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]