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The Green Choice with a Guilty Conscience: Exploring Consumer Guilt and Moral Disengagement in Organic Purchase Decisions

In: Vietnamese Business and Sustainable Development in a Globalized and Digitalized Era

Author

Listed:
  • Tien Anh Tran

    (International University, Vietnam National University HCMC, School of Business)

  • Minh Thi Ngoc Phan

    (International University, Vietnam National University HCMC, School of Business)

Abstract

Consumers frequently face dilemmas when choosing green products, as moral intentions often conflict with practical barriers, resulting in cognitive dissonance and guilt over actions misaligned with their environmental values. This study aims to consider such dissonance, consumer guilt, and the role of moral disengagement in their green purchasing. Using a quantitative method, data were collected from 267 consumers living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with experience purchasing organic products, then analyzed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The main findings prove that barriers to organic purchasing can cause cognitive discomfort and lead to consumer guilt. The results also find moral disengagement an important mechanism for coping with consumer guilt. This provides insights into the psychological processes behind purchasing decisions and enforces the growing understanding of consumer behavior toward green products, which furnishes important implications for marketers, policy makers, and environmental organizations for developing strategies in promoting sustainable consumption.

Suggested Citation

  • Tien Anh Tran & Minh Thi Ngoc Phan, 2026. "The Green Choice with a Guilty Conscience: Exploring Consumer Guilt and Moral Disengagement in Organic Purchase Decisions," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Zafar U. Ahmed & Nhat Tan Pham (ed.), Vietnamese Business and Sustainable Development in a Globalized and Digitalized Era, pages 550-576, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:prbchp:978-3-032-24745-2_28
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-24745-2_28
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