This study proposed an extended value-attitude-behavior model to explain for consumers’ green purchase behavior and validated this model on a random sample of 399 Chinese consumers in Hong Kong. Results of structural equation modelling showed that consumers’ environmental consciousness (value) strongly influenced their attitude towards environmental issues and towards eco-social benefits (attitude), which in turn exerted positive effects on their green purchase behavior (behavior). Green product information was found to be a key determinant of consumers’ green purchase behavior. Moreover, high quality green products were reported to moderate the relationships between attitude towards eco-social benefits and green purchase behavior and between green product information and green purchase behavior, but not on the relationship between attitude toward environmental issues and green purchase behavior.

Introduction

Organizations have been paying more attention to market green products (Kumar et al., 2017; Moser, 2016). In the European Union (EU), 26% of consumers purchased green products frequently while 54% of EU consumers purchased them sometimes (The European Commission, 2016). In China, demand for organic and green food has surged because of increasing disposable income (McCarthy et al., 2015). Young consumers have high intention to purchase green products (Chekima et al., 2016; Yadav and Pathak, 2017) and health consciousness and environmental consciousness influenced their purchase of organic food (Rana and Paul, 2017). Ritter et al. (2015) suggested that more studies should be done on what and how to promote green purchase behavior. Using customerdominant logic that focuses on consumers’ values, attitudes, behavior, and context rather than organizational strategy, policy, practices, and activities (Cheung and To, 2016; Heinonen and Strandvik, 2015), valueattitude-model (VAB) (Homer and Kahle, 1988; Milfont et al., 2010) was selected because Kim and Choi (2005) highlighted that value-attitude behavior model proved to be useful for understanding the predictors of environmentally conscious behavior and their interrelationships of environmental concern and green purchase behavior in a collectivistic society where individuals are prone to engage in recycling behavior because they are more cooperative and tend to help others than those in collectivistic society (Li, 1997). We also extended this model in this study by examining how consumers’ environmental consciousness (value) affects their attitudes towards environmental issues and eco-social benefits (attitudes), which in turn influence consumers’ green purchase (behavior). The VAB model is chosen because there is a gap between the high value that people place on the environment and their low level of action taken by them to handle environmental issues. Unless we have a better understanding on reasons of people’s considerations on environment, otherwise, we cannot translate their environmental concern onto intensively protecting the environment and achieving sustainable development.