Effect of Collectivist Orientation and Ecological Attitude on Actual Environmental Commitment: The Moderating Role of Consumer Demographics and Product Involvement

Abstract

Despite previous research efforts on mapping the demographic profile of a general conserving consumer, a review on the ecological concern literature shows that previous studies had limited success in explaining the social basis of ecological behaviour. An empirical study was carried out to ascertain the role of demographics in determining ecological purchase commitment. It examines the moderating role of consumer demographic characteristics and product involvement on the value-attitude-behaviour relationship in the context of health food consumption. The general pattern of findings supports the primary thesis of the research that the effect of collectivist orientation and ecological attitude on ecological commitment depends on the nature of the targeted consumer group. Essentially, people who are male, those who earn high income, and people who have high involvement in the health food category, engage in more extensive green-product-related information search, and purchase green products more frequently.