The purpose of this study is to examine the role of intention and other predictors in predicting consumers’ behaviour of purchasing green personal care products. This was a cross sectional study with 305 college students in the 2020-2021 academic year in completed a self-reported online survey. The findings revealed that three predictors as attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control have a significantly positive influence on green purchase intention of green personal care products among students. The analysis also showed that the additional of environmental concern and price to the standard TPB model has contributed to the increase in variance for the model. However, analysis of the mediation effect of intention for perceived behavioral control and behavior also shows insignificant. To academics, our findings indicate that future intervention should consider TPB constructs and additional constructs, price, and environmental concerns. It also provides insight to the green marketer in understanding young consumers' decision-making in relation to green personal care products. These findings can assist marketers in starting point for the conception of target group-specific strategies. This study offers valuable insight into current academic findings on young adult consumers and climate-friendly products research which further enhance the predicting of the TPB model.
Abdullah, S., Mansor, A. A., Napi, N. N. L. M., Mansor, W. N. W., Ahmed, A. N., Ismail, M., & Ramly, Z. T. A. (2020). Air quality status during 2020 Malaysia Movement Control Order (MCO) due to 2019 novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic. Science of the Total Environment, 729, 139022.
Agrawal, A., & Karmakar, M. L. (2018). Consumers’ Green Purchase Decision: A Study in Durg City. International Journal of Management Studies, V(3(5)), 145.
Ahmad, S. N. B., & Juhdi, N. (2010). Organic Food: A Study on Demographic Characteristics and Factors Influencing Purchase Intentions among Consumers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(2), 105-118.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211.
Albayrak, T., Aksoy, S., & Caber, M. (2013). The effect of environmental concern and skepticism on green purchase behavior. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 31(1), 27-39.
Ali, A., & Ahmad, I. (2012). Environment friendly products: factors that influence the green purchase intentions of Pakistani consumers. PJETS, 2(1), 84-117.
Alibeli, M. A., & Johnson, C. (2009). Environmental concern: a concern national analysis. Journal of International and Cross-cultural Studies, 3(1), 1–10.
Aman, A. H. L., Harun, A., & Hussein, Z. (2012). The influence of environmental knowledge and concern on green purchase intention the role of attitude as a mediating variable. British Journal of Art and Social Sciences, 7(2), 145-167.
Anvar, M., & Venter, M. (2014). Attitudes and Purchase Behaviour of Green Products among Generation Y Consumers in South Africa. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(21), 183-194.
Awuni, J., Du, J., & Yiranbon, E. (2016). Factors Influencing Green Purchasing Behaviors: Some Insights from Tamale, Ghana. British Journal of Economics, Management & Trade, 14(4), 1–12.
Bang, H. K., Ellinger, A. E., Hadjimarcou, J., & Traichal, P. A. (2000). Consumer concern, knowledge, belief, and attitude toward renewable energy: An application of the reasoned action theory. Psychology and Marketing, 17(6), 449–468.
Barber, N. A., Bishop, M., & Gruen, T. (2014). Who pays more (or less) for pro-environmental consumer goods? Using the auction method to assess actual willingness-to-pay. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 40, 218–227.
Boztepe, A. (2012). Green marketing and its impact on consumer buying behavior. European Journal of Economic and Political Studies, 5(1), 5-21.
Chai, L. G. (2020). The river water quality before and during the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 2, 100027.
Chan, L. M., Chalupka, S. M., & Barrett, R. (2015). Female College Student Awareness of Exposures to Environmental Toxins in Personal Care Products and Their Effect on Preconception Health. Workplace Health & Safety, 63(2), 64–70.
Che In, F., & Ahmad, A. Z. (2018). The effect of demographic factors on consumer intention to purchase green personal care products. Conference Paper: 1st International Conference on Religion, Social Sciences and Technological Education.
Chen, A., & Peng, N. (2012). Green hotel knowledge and tourists’ staying behavior. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(4), 2211–2216.
Cinelli, P., Coltelli, M. B., Signori, F., Morganti, P., & Lazzeri, A. (2019). Cosmetic Packaging to Save the Environment: Future Perspectives. Cosmetics. 6(26).
Dangelico, R. M., Nonino, F., & Pompei, A. (2021). Which are the determinants of green purchase behaviour? A study of Italian consumers. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(5), 2600–2620.
Department of Statistics Malaysia Official Portal. (2020). Compendium of Environment Statistics, Malaysia 2020.
Diamantopoulos, A., Schlegelmilch, B. B., Sinkovics, R. R., & Bohlen, G. M. (2003). Can socio-demographics still play a role in profiling green consumers? A review of the evidence and an empirical investigation. Journal of Business Research, 56(6), 465-480.
Dilotsotlhe, N. (2021). Factors influencing the green purchase behaviour of millennials: An emerging country perspective. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1), 1908745.
Du, X., & Han, Y. (2012). Study on purchasing behavior of sustainable apparel based on structural equation model. Journal of Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology, 32, 57-73.
D’Souza, C., Taghian, M., & Khosla, R. (2007). Examination of environmental beliefs and its impact on the influence of price, quality and demographic characteristics with respect to green purchase intention. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 15(2), 69–78.
Fauzi, N. F. S. N., Hashim, R. A. (2015). Generation X and purchase intention toward green cosmetic and skin care products. International Journal of Business and Management, 1(2), 79-92.
Ganeshan, H., & Suresh, P. (2016). Green purchasing of personal care products. Advances in Economics and Business Management (AEBM), 3(1), 58-63.
Han, H., Hsu, L. T., & Sheu, C. (2010). Application of the theory of planned behavior to green hotel choice: Testing the effect of environmental friendly activities. Tourism Management, 31(3), 325-334.
Hansen, J. K., and Sorensen, H. C. (1993). The importance of price for the sale of ecological products. MAPP working paper no. 13.
Hartmann, P., & Ibanez, V. A. (2006). Green value added. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 24 (7), 673-80.
Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium. Communication Monographs, 76, 408–420.
Helm, S., Serido, J., Ahn, Y. S., Ligon, V., and Shim, S. (2019). Materialist values, financial and pro-environmental behaviors, and well-being. Young Consumers, Vol. 20. No. 4. pp.264-284.
Herjanto, H., and Amin, M. (2022). Customer personal values of hygiene product consumption: a means-end analytic approach. Young Consumers, Vol. 23 No 1. pp 112-128.
Irawan, R., & Darmayanti, D. (2012). The influence factors of green purchasing behavior: A study of university students in Jakarta. In Proc. 6th Asian Business Research Conference, 1-11.
Jog, D., & Singhal, D. (2019). Pseudo green players and their green washing practices: a differentiating strategy for real green firms of personal care category. Strategic Direction, 35(12), 4-7.
Kautish, P., and Sharma, R. (2019). Value orientation, green attitude and green behavior intentions: an empirical investigation among young consumers. Young Consumers, Vol. 20. No. 4, pp. 338-358.
Khuzaimah, A. B., Taslim, F. A., Zabri, I. F., Jia Jia, K., Ganamoorthi, K. R., En Ling, L., Abu Samah, M. A., Isai, K. I. A., Muthutamilselvan, K., Naidu Kanan, V., Ramalingam, S., & Maruthai, E. (2020). Consumer Behaviour in Green Purchasing: A Case Study in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 5(5), 44–59.
Kim, H. Y., & Chung, J. E. (2011). Consumer purchase intention for organic personal care products. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28(1), 40-47.
Kline. (2019). The Personal Care Ingredients Market Accelerates Globally in 2019. https://klinegroup.com/news/the-personal-care-ingredients-market-accelerates-globally-in-2019/
Konuk, F. A. (2015). The effects of price consciousness and sale proneness on purchase intention towards expiration date-based priced perishable foods. British Food Journal, 117(2), 793–804.
Lang, C., Fisher, M., Neisa, A., MacKinnon, L., Kuchta, S., MacPherson, S., Probert, A., & Arbuckle, T. (2016). Personal Care Product Use in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: Implications for Exposure Assessment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(1), 105.
Laroche, M., Bergeron, J., & Barbaro?Forleo, G. (2001). Targeting consumers who are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 18(6), 503–520.
Lee, C. H., Ling, H. Y., Yeow, J. A., Hasan, M. A. (2011). Factors influencing Malaysian consumers to purchase green products: A conceptual framework. Conference Paper: Asia Pacific Marketing and Management Conference.
Liobikiene, G., Grinceviciene, V., & Bernatoniene, J. (2017). Environmentally friendly behaviour and green purchase in Austria and Lithuania. Journal of Cleaner Production, 142, 3789–3797.
MacKinnon, D. P., Fairchild, A. J., & Fritz, M. S. (2007). Mediation analysis. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 593–614.
Mahmoud, T. O. (2018). Impact of green marketing mix on purchase intention. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 5(2), 127–135.
Maichum, K., Parichatnon, S., & Peng, K. C. (2016). Application of the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior Model to Investigate Purchase Intention of Green Products among Thai Consumers. Sustainability, 8(10), 1077.
Maradesa, S., Pangemanan, S., & Worang, F. G. (2015). The impact of consumer attitude and brand equity toward green purchase intention for the green product cosmetic on Sariayu Martha Tilaar. Jurnal Berkala Ilmiah Efisiensi, 15(5), 485-495.
Murphy, F., Ewins, C., Carbonnier, F., Quinn, B., (2016). Wastewater treatment works (WwTW) as a source of microplastics in the aquatic environment. Environ. Sci. Technol., 50(11), 5800–5808.
Naderi, I., and Van Steenburg, E. (2018). Me first, then the environment: Young millennials as green consumers. Young Consumers, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 280-295.
Nizam, N. Z., Rajiani, I., Mansor, N., & Yahaya, S. N. (2014). Understanding green purchasing behavior among Gen Y in Malaysia by examining the factors influenced. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 6(2), 181-194.
Nunnally, J. (1978) Psychometric Methods. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.
Oliver, H., Volschenk, J., & Smit, E. (2011). Residential consumers in the Cape Peninsula’s willingness to pay for premium priced green electricity. Energy Policy, 39(2), 544–550.
Palat, B., & Delhomme, P. (2012). What factors can predict why drivers go through yellow traffic lights? An approach based on an extended Theory of Planned Behavior. Safety Science, 50(3), 408–417.
Palazon, M., & Delgado, E. (2009). The moderating role of price consciousness on the effectiveness of price discounts and premium promotions. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 18(4), 306–312.
Pinto de Moura, A., Cunha, L. M., Castro?Cunha, M., & Lima, C. R. (2012). A comparative evaluation of women’s perceptions and importance of sustainability in fish consumption. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 23(4), 451–461.
Praveena, S. M., Shaifuddin, S. N. M., & Akizuki, S. (2018). Exploration of microplastics from personal care and cosmetic products and its estimated emissions to marine environment: An evidence from Malaysia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 136, 135–140.
Rajadurai, J., Bathmanathan, V., & Azami, N. (2018). Gen Y Green Purchasing Behavior in Relation to Energy Conservation and Environmental Preservation Products in Malaysia. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(4.35), 810.
Rezai, G., Mohamed, Z., & Shamsudin, M. N. (2011). Malaysian consumer’s perception towards purchasing organically produces vegetable. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Business and Economics Research (pp. 1774-1783). Malaysia.
Roman, T., Bostan, I., Manolica, A., & Mitrica, I. (2015). Profile of Green Consumers in Romania in Light of Sustainability Challenges and Opportunities. Sustainability, 7(6), 6394–6411.
Soonthonsmai, V. (2007). Environmental or green marketing as global competitive edge: Concept, synthesis, and implication. In EABR (Business) and ETLC (Teaching) Conference Proceeding, Venice, Italy.
Sulaiman, Y., Yusr, M. M., & Ismail, K. A. (2017). The influence of marketing mix and perceived risk factors on online purchase intentions. International Journal of Research in Business Studies and Management, 4(9), 30-40.
Swaim, J. A., Maloni, M. J., Napshin, S. A., & Henley, A. B. (2013). Influences on Student Intention and Behavior Toward Environmental Sustainability. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(3), 465–484.
Vazifehdoust, H., Taleghani, M., Esmaeilpour, F., Nazari, K., & Khadang, M. (2013). Purchasing green to become greener: Factors influence consumers’ green purchasing behavior. Management Science Letters, 2489–2500.
Wang, P., Liu, Q., & Qi, Y. (2014). Factors influencing sustainable consumption behaviors: a survey of the rural residents in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 63, 152–165.
Werf, P., Seabrook, J. A., & Gilliland, J. A. (2019). Food for naught: Using the theory of planned behaviour to better understand household food wasting behaviour. The Canadian Geographer 63(3), 478–493.
Wheeler, M., Sharp, A., & Nenycz-Thiel, M. (2013). The Effect of ‘Green’ Messages on Brand Purchase and Brand Rejection. Australasian Marketing Journal, 21(2), 105–110.
Wong, S. S., & Aini, M. S. (2017). Factors influencing purchase intention of organic meat among consumers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. International Food Research Journal, 24(2), 767-778.
Zhang, B., Fu, Z., Huang, J., Wang, J., Xu, S., & Zhang, L. (2018). Consumers’ perceptions, purchase intention, and willingness to pay a premium price for safe vegetables: A case study of Beijing, China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 197, 1498–1507.
Zheng, G. W., Siddik, A. B., Masukujjaman, M., Alam, S. S., & Akter, A. (2020). Perceived Environmental Responsibilities and Green Buying Behavior: The Mediating Effect of Attitude. Sustainability, 13(1), 35.
Zhou, Y. F., Thogersen, J., Ruan, Y. J., & Huang, G. (2013). The moderating role of human values planned behaviour: The case of Chinese consumers’ intention to buy organic food. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 30(4), 335-344.
In-Text Citation: (Zainudin et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Zainudin, N., Wei, L. K., Osman, S., & Munusami, C. (2022). Assessing Young Adult Consumers’ Responses to Green Personal Care Products: Insights from Extended Theory of Planned Behavior. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(12), 1969– 1986.
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
