IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i13p7130-d581889.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effects of Temporal Discounting on Perceived Seriousness of Environmental Behavior: Exploring the Moderator Role of Consumer Attitudes Regarding Green Purchasing

Author

Listed:
  • Ana Rita Farias

    (Hei-Lab: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab, Universidade Lusófona, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Seray Coruk

    (Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, 1649-023 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Cláudia Simão

    (Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, 1649-023 Lisbon, Portugal)

Abstract

Emerging issues related to climate change have been explored in recent years as the need for appropriate behavioral solutions grows. However, one of the main problems raised and yet to be solved is the challenge to encourage people to act against climate change. One of the identified barriers is the mental indirect link between the influence of human activities in the present and their future consequences. This psychological distance could be investigated by examining temporal discounting—the overvaluation of benefits in the present compared to benefits in the future—and its relationship to environmental behavior on consumers’ attitudes toward green purchasing. In this research, we conducted a survey (n = 337) to examine the relationship between temporal discounting and perceived seriousness of environmental behavior and investigated the moderating effect of consumers’ attitudes regarding green purchasing. The results show a moderating effect of these consumers’ attitudes on the relationship between temporal discounting and perceived seriousness of environmental behavior. These findings make important contributions to environmental policies by rethinking and adapting new solutions that promote behavioral change, namely by exploring psychological variables and identifying green consumption profiles.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Rita Farias & Seray Coruk & Cláudia Simão, 2021. "The Effects of Temporal Discounting on Perceived Seriousness of Environmental Behavior: Exploring the Moderator Role of Consumer Attitudes Regarding Green Purchasing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-8, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:13:p:7130-:d:581889
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7130/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7130/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hsu, Chia-Lin & Chang, Chi-Ya & Yansritakul, Chutinart, 2017. "Exploring purchase intention of green skincare products using the theory of planned behavior: Testing the moderating effects of country of origin and price sensitivity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 145-152.
    2. Camilla Barbarossa & Patrick Pelsmacker, 2016. "Positive and Negative Antecedents of Purchasing Eco-friendly Products: A Comparison Between Green and Non-green Consumers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 229-247, March.
    3. Sreen, Naman & Purbey, Shankar & Sadarangani, Pradip, 2018. "Impact of culture, behavior and gender on green purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 177-189.
    4. Richard H. Thaler, 2018. "From Cashews to Nudges: The Evolution of Behavioral Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(6), pages 1265-1287, June.
    5. Remi Trudel & Jennifer J. Argo & Matthew D. Meng, 2016. "The Recycled Self: Consumers’ Disposal Decisions of Identity-Linked Products," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 43(2), pages 246-264.
    6. Noah J. Goldstein & Robert B. Cialdini & Vladas Griskevicius, 2008. "A Room with a Viewpoint: Using Social Norms to Motivate Environmental Conservation in Hotels," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 35(3), pages 472-482, March.
    7. Shane Frederick & George Loewenstein & Ted O'Donoghue, 2002. "Time Discounting and Time Preference: A Critical Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 351-401, June.
    8. Frederick, Shane, 2003. "Measuring Intergenerational Time Preference: Are Future Lives Valued Less?," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 39-53, January.
    9. Richard H. Thaler, 2016. "Behavioral Economics: Past, Present, and Future," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(7), pages 1577-1600, July.
    10. Paul, Justin & Modi, Ashwin & Patel, Jayesh, 2016. "Predicting green product consumption using theory of planned behavior and reasoned action," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 123-134.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ana Rita Farias & Hakan Lane & Jayanna Killingsworth & Julia M. Warden & Sara Wais, 2023. "Exploring the Interplay of Pro-Environmental Attitudes, Dietary Choices, and Packaging Preferences: A Virtual Reality Restaurant Scenario Study," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francesco Testa & Gaia Pretner & Roberta Iovino & Guia Bianchi & Sara Tessitore & Fabio Iraldo, 2021. "Drivers to green consumption: a systematic review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 4826-4880, April.
    2. Zohra Ghali-Zinoubi, 2022. "Examining Drivers of Environmentally Conscious Consumer Behavior: Theory of Planned Behavior Extended with Cultural Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-17, July.
    3. Nekmahmud, Md. & Naz, Farheen & Ramkissoon, Haywantee & Fekete-Farkas, Maria, 2022. "Transforming consumers' intention to purchase green products: Role of social media," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    4. Jana Hojnik & Mitja Ruzzier & Tatiana S. Manolova, 2020. "Sustainable development: Predictors of green consumerism in Slovenia," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1695-1708, July.
    5. Hsiao-Ping Chang & Chun-Chieh Ma & Han-Shen Chen, 2019. "Climate Change and Consumer’s Attitude toward Insect Food," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-17, May.
    6. Xiaoyun Zhang & Feng Dong, 2020. "Why Do Consumers Make Green Purchase Decisions? Insights from a Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-25, September.
    7. Emel Yarimoglu & Tugrul Gunay, 2020. "The extended theory of planned behavior in Turkish customers' intentions to visit green hotels," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1097-1108, March.
    8. Guang-Wen Zheng & Abu Bakkar Siddik & Mohammad Masukujjaman & Syed Shah Alam & Alvina Akter, 2020. "Perceived Environmental Responsibilities and Green Buying Behavior: The Mediating Effect of Attitude," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-27, December.
    9. Osarodion Ogiemwonyi & Amran Harun & Mohammad Imtiaz Hossain & Asif Mahbub Karim, 2023. "The Influence of Green Behaviour Using Theory of Planned Behaviour Approach: Evidence from Malaysia," Millennial Asia, , vol. 14(4), pages 582-604, December.
    10. Shimiao Li & Nor Siah Jaharuddin, 2020. "Identifying the key purchase factors for organic food among Chinese consumers," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-23, December.
    11. Moeun Saut & Tithdane Saing, 2021. "Factors affecting consumer purchase intention towards environmentally friendly products: a case of generation Z studying at universities in Phnom Penh," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(6), pages 1-20, June.
    12. Van Tonder, E. & Fullerton, S. & De Beer, L.T. & Saunders, S.G., 2023. "Social and personal factors influencing green customer citizenship behaviours: The role of subjective norm, internal values and attitudes," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    13. Nishant Kumar & Divya Mohan, 2021. "Sustainable apparel purchase intention: collectivist cultural orientation and price sensitivity in extended TPB model," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(2), pages 149-161, April.
    14. Nadine Strauß, 2021. "Communicating Sustainable Responsible Investments as Financial Advisors: Engaging Private Investors with Strategic Communication," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-18, March.
    15. Haj-Salem, Narjes & Ishaq, Muhammad Ishtiaq & Raza, Ali, 2022. "How anticipated pride and guilt influence green consumption in the Middle East: The moderating role of environmental consciousness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    16. Leibao Zhang & Yanli Fan & Wenyu Zhang & Shuai Zhang, 2019. "Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior to Explain the Effects of Cognitive Factors across Different Kinds of Green Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-17, August.
    17. Sadiq, Mohd & Adil, Mohd & Paul, Justin, 2021. "An innovation resistance theory perspective on purchase of eco-friendly cosmetics," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    18. Rambabu Lavuri & Abhinav Jindal & Umair Akram & Bhukya Koteswara Rao Naik & Alrence Santiago Halibas, 2023. "Exploring the antecedents of sustainable consumers' purchase intentions: Evidence from emerging countries," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 280-291, February.
    19. Ming, Yaxin & Deng, Huixin & Wu, Xiaoyue, 2022. "The negative effect of air pollution on people's pro-environmental behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 72-87.
    20. Jaiswal, Deepak & Kant, Rishi, 2018. "Green purchasing behaviour: A conceptual framework and empirical investigation of Indian consumers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 60-69.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:13:p:7130-:d:581889. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.