Social Cognitive Theory in Understanding Green Car Purchase Intention

International Journal of Economics and Management Studies
© 2019 by SSRG - IJEMS Journal
Volume 6 Issue 4
Year of Publication : 2019
Authors : Yi Jin Lim, Selvan Perumal, Norzieiriani Ahmad
pdf
How to Cite?

Yi Jin Lim, Selvan Perumal, Norzieiriani Ahmad, "Social Cognitive Theory in Understanding Green Car Purchase Intention," SSRG International Journal of Economics and Management Studies, vol. 6,  no. 4, pp. 16-24, 2019. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V6I4P104

Abstract:

The extensive energy consumption in the transportation sector is a major concern especially with the worsen global warming and climate change in ASEAN countries. However, the inconsistent results indicated in the existing green marketing literatures have raised questions as whether the direct relationship of social influence, economic incentives, environmental attitude and environmental knowledge are sufficient for behavioral change among the consumers to become more environmentally friendly that subsequently lead them to adopt green cars. In this regard, this paper addresses the importance of environmental collective efficacy seeing that the absence of environmental collective efficacy may exert challenges to the marketers when they are implementing marketing strategies that related to social influence, economic incentives, environmental attitude and environmental knowledge to popularize green cars among the consumers. Subsequently, this research will examine the relationships by grounded on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) that may serve as a basis for future empirical research.

Keywords:

Social Cognitive Theory, Green car purchase intention, Social influence, Economic incentives, Environmental attitude, Environmental knowledge, Environmental collective efficacy

References:

[1] Silitonga, A., Atabani, A., & Mahlia, T. (2012). Review on fuel economy standard and label for vehicle in selected ASEAN countries. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16, 1683-1695.
[2] Malaysia Automative Institute. (2018). National Automotive Policy. Santiago, Chile: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
[3] Mahalingam, E. (2014, March 15). Plans for auto hub in Malaysia. Retrieved from The Star Online Website:
https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2014/03/15/plans-for-auto-hub-in-malaysia-nap-designed-to-grow-domestic-auto-industry/
[4] MyCarsearch. (2017, July 20). 3 Reasons Why Electric Vehicle (EV) is still Irrelevant for Malaysian. Retrieved from Mycarsearch: https://mycarsearch.my/news/84-3-reasons-why-electric-vehicle-ev-is-still-irrelevant-for-malaysian
[5] Rodionova, Z. (2017, March 7). Half of All New Cars in Norway are now Electric or Hybrid. Retrieved from Independent Corporation Website: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/norway-half-new-cars-electric-hybrid-ofv-vehicle-registrations-a7615556.html
[6] Bloomberg New Energy Finance. (2018). Electric Vehicles. London: Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
[7] Joshi, Y., & Rahman, Z. (2015). Factors Affecting Green Purchase Behaviour and Future Research Directions. International Strategic Management Review, 3(1/2), 128-143.
[8] Lee, K. (2011). The green purchase behavior of Hong Kong young consumers: The role of peer influence, local environmental involvement, and concrete environmental knowledge. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 23(1), 21-44.
[9] Esakki, T. (2017). Green Marketing and Environmental Responsibility in Modern Corporations. Hershey: IGI Global.
[10] Uddin, S. M., & Khan, M. N. (2016). Exploring green purchasing behaviour of young urban consumers: empirical evidences from India. South Asian Journal of Global Business Research, 5(1), 85-103.
[11] Han, T.-I., & Stoel, L. (2016). The effect of social norms and product knowledge on purchase of organic cotton and fair trade. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 7(2), 89-102.
[12] Maloney, J., Lee, M.-Y., Jackson, V., & Miller-Spillman, K. A. (2014). Consumer willingness to purchase organic products: Application of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 5(4), 307-320.
[13] Ajzen, I. (1985). From Intentions to Actions: A Theory of Planned Behavior. In J. Kuhl, & J. Beckmann, Action Control: From Cognition to Behavior (pp. 11-39). Berlin, Heidelberg: Spinger.
[14] Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
[15] Lee, K. (2014). Predictors of sustainable consumption among young educated consumers in Hong Kong. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 26, 217-238.
[16] Sinnappan, P., & Rahman, A. A. (2011). Antecedents of green purchasing behavior among Malaysian consumers. International Business Management, 5(3), 129-139.
[17] Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Academy of Management Review, 12(1), 169-171.
[18] Bandura, A. (2006). Toward a Psychology of Human Agency. Association for Psychological Science, 1(2), 164-180.
[19] Bandura, A. (1989). Social Cognitive Theory. In R. Vasta, Annals of Child Development (Vol. 6, pp. 1-60). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
[20] Johnstone, M.-L., & Hooper, S. (2016). Social influence and green consumption behaviour: A need for greater government involvement. Journal of Marketing Management, 32(9-10), 827-855.
[21] Sata, M. (2013). Factors affecting consumer buying behavior of mobile phone devices. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 4(12), 103-112.
[22] Phipps, M., Ozanne, L. K., Luchs, M. G., Subrahmanyan, S., Kapitan, S., Catlin, J. R., . . . Weaver, T. (2013). Understanding the inherent complexity of sustainable consumption: A social cognitive framework. Journal of Business Research, 66, 1227-1234.
[23] Kumar, P., & Ghodeswar, B. M. (2015). Factors affecting consumers’ green product purchase decisions. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 33(3), 330-347.
[24] Stern, P. C. (2000). Toward a coherent theory of environmentally significant behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 407-424.
[25] Hoonsopon, D., & Puriwat, W. (2016). The impact of reference group on purchase intention: A case study in distinct types of shoppers. In L. Petruzzellis, & R. Winer, Rediscovering the Essentiality of Marketing. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science (pp. 85-85). Springer, Cham.
[26] Jamil, N. A., & Mat, N. N. (2011). To Investigate The Drivers of Online Purchasing Behavioral In Malaysia Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB): A Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Approach. International Coference On Management, (pp. 453-460).
[27] Lim, Y., Osman, A., Romle, A., & Othman, Y. H. (2015). Attitude towards online shopping activities in Malaysia Public University. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(2), 456-462.
[28] Lim, Y. J., Osman, A., Salahuddin, S. N., Romle, A. R., & Abdullah, S. (2016). Factors influencing online shopping behavior: The mediating role of purchase intention. 7th International Economics & Business Management Conference. 35, pp. 401-410. Pahang: Elsevier B.V.
[29] Limayem, M., Khalifa, M., & Frini, A. (2000). What makes consumers buy from Internet? A longitudinal study of online shopping. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part A: Systems and Humans, 30(4), 421-432.
[30] Orapin, L. (2009). Factors influencing internet shopping behaviour: a survey of consumers in Thailand. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 13(4), 501-513.
[31] Rahim, A., Safin, S. Z., Kheng, L. K., Abas, N., & Ali, S. M. (2016). Factors influencing purchasing intention of smartphone among unversity students. Fifth International Conference on Marketing and Retailing (5th INCOMaR) 2015. 37, pp. 245-253. Penang: Elsevier B.V.
[32] Tseng, Y. F., Lee, T.-Z., Kao, S.-C., & Wu, C. (2011). An extension of trust and privacy in the initial adoption of online shopping: An empirical study. International Conference on Information Society (i-Society 2011) (pp. 159-164). London, UK: IEEE Xplore .
[33] Xie, G., Zhu, J., Lu, Q., & Xu, S. (2011). Influencing factors of consumer intention towards web group buying. IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM) (pp. 1397-1401). Singapore: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
[34] Husin, M. M., & Rahman, A. A. (2013). What drives consumers to participate into family takaful schemes? A
literature review. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 4(3), 264-280.
[35] Zhou, T. (2011). Understanding online community user participation: a social influence perspective. Internet Research, 21(1), 67-81.
[36] Joshi, Y., & Rahman, Z. (2016). Predictors of young consumer's green purchase behavior. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 27(4), 452-472.
[37] Wahid, N. A., Rahbar, E., & Shyan, T. S. (2011). Factors influencing the green purchase behavior of Penang Environmental Volunteers. International Business Management, 5(1), 38-49.
[38] Wang, S.-T. (2014). Consumer characteristics and social influence factors on green purchasing intentions. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 32(7), 738-753.
[39] Gleim, M., & Lawson, S. J. (2014). Spanning the gap: an examination of the factors leading to the green gap. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 31(6/7), 503-514.
[40] Chang, S.-H., & Chang, C.-W. (2017). Tie strength, green expertise, and interpersonal influences on the purchase of organic food in an emerging market. British Food Journal, 119(2), 284-300.
[41] Synodinos, C., & Bevan-Dye, A. (2014). Determining Africa generation Y students' likelihood of engaging in pro-environmental purchasing behaviour. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(21), 101-110.
[42] Qu, Y., Liu, Y., Zhu, Q., & Liu, Y. (2014). Motivating small-displacement car purchasing in China. Transportation Research Part A, 67, 47-58.
[43] Wilmink, K. (2015). A Study on the Factors Influencing the Adoption of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in The Netherlands: Insights from A Conjoint Analysis among Dutch Respondents. Rotterdam: Erasmus University.
[44] Zhang, L., Chen, L., Wu, Z., Zhang, S., & Song, H. (2018). Investigating young consumers' purchasing intention of green housing in China. Sustainability, 10(1044), 1-15.
[45] Kim, E. Y., & Kim, Y.-K. (2004). Predicting online purchase intentions for clothing products. European Journal of Marketing, 38(7), 883-897.
[46] Mhurchu, C. N., Eyles, H., Dixon, R., Matoe, L., Teevale, T., & Meagher-Lundberg, P. (2012). Economic incentives to promote healthier food purchases: exploring acceptability and key factors for success. Health Promotion International, 27(3), 331-341.
[47] Leng, K. C., Chin, T. A., Hamid, A. B., & Choon, T. L. (2017). Exploring the influence of government policies on hybrid car purchase intention in Malaysia. The Social Sciences, 12(5), 762-768.
[48] Nedra, B.-A., Sharma, S., & Dakhli, A. (2015). Perception and motivation to purchase organic products in Mediterranean countries: An empirical study in Tunisian context. Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, 17(1), 67-90.
[49] Liobikiene, G., Mandravickaite, J., & Bernatoniene, J. (2016). Theory of planned behavior approach to understand the green purchasing behavior in the EU: A cross-cultural study. Ecological Economics, 125, 38-46.
[50] Carrus, G., Passafaro, P., & Bonnes, M. (2008). Emotions, habits and rational choices in ecological behaviours: The case of recycling and use of public transportation. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 28, 51-62.
[51] Cheah, I., Phau, I., & Liang, J. (2015). Factors influencing consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions of e-deals. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 33(5), 763-783.
[52] Jain, S., Khan, M. N., & Mishra, S. (2017). Understanding consumer behavior regarding luxury fashion goods in India based on the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 11(1), 4-21.
[53] Khor, K. S., & Hazen, B. T. (2016). Remanufactured products purchase intentions and behaviour: Evidence from Malaysia. International Journal of Production Research, 55(8), 2149-2162.
[54] Chiu, W., & Leng, H. (2016). Consumers’ intention to purchase counterfeit sporting goods in Singapore and Taiwan. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 28(1), 23-36.
[55] Andrews, L., & Bianchi, C. (2013). Consumer internet purchasing behavior in Chile. Journal of Business Research, 66, 1791-1799.
[56] Wu, W.-Y., Lee, C.-L., Fu, C.-S., & Wang, H.-C. (2014). How Can Online Store Layout Design and Atmosphere influence Consumer Shopping Intention on Website. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 42(1), 4-24.
[57] Almossawi, M. (2014). Promoting green purchase behavior to the youth (Case of Bahrain). British Journal of Marketing Studies, 2(5), 1-16.
[58] Felix, R., & Braunsberger, K. (2016). I believe therefore I care: The relationship between religiosity, environmental attitudes, and green product purchase in Mexico. International Marketing Review, 33(1), 137-155.
[59] Gupta, S., & Ogden, D. T. (2009). To buy or not to buy? A social dilemma perspective on green buying. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 26(6), 376-391.
[60] Lai, C. K., & Cheng, E. W. (2016). Green purchase behavior of undergraduate students in Hong Kong. The Social Science Journal, 53(1), 67-76.
[61] Lee, K. (2009). Gender differences in Hong Kong adolescent consumers' green purchasing behavior. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 26(2), 87-96.
[62] Moser, A. K. (2015). Thinking green, buying green? Drivers of pro-environmental purchasing behavior. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 32(3), 167-175.
[63] Moser, A. K. (2016). Buying organic – decision-making heuristics and empirical evidence from Germany. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 33(7), 552-561.
[64] Mun, T. S. (2014). Factors that Influence Green Purchase Behaviour of Malaysian Consumers. Kampar: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.
[65] Shahnaei, S. (2012). The impact of individual differences on green purchasing of Malaysian consumers. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(16), 132-140.
[66] Tan, B.-C., & Lau, T.-C. (2011). Green purchase behavior: Examining the influence of green environmental attitude, perceived consumer effectiveness and specific green purchase attitude. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 5(8), 559-567.
[67] Afroz, R., Masud, M. M., Akhtar, R., Islam, M. A., & Duasa, J. B. (2015). Consumer purchase intention towards environmentally friendly vehicles: an empirical investigation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22(20), 16153-16163.
[68] Jayaraman, K., Yun, W. W., Seo, Y., & Joo, H. (2015). Customers’ reflections on the intention to purchase hybrid cars: an empirical study from Malaysia. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 13(2), 304-312.
[69] Mohiuddin, M., Mamun, A. A., Syed, F. A., Masud, M. M., & Su, Z. (2018). Environmental knowledge, awareness, and business school students' intentions to purchase green vehicles in emerging countries. Sustainability, 10(1534), 1-18.
[70] Kanchanapibul, M., Lacka, E., Wang, X., & Chan, H. (2014). An empirical investigation of green purchase behaviour among the young generation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 66, 528-536.
[71] Fisher, C., Bashyal, S., & Bachman, B. (2012). Demographic impacts on environmentally friendly purchase behaviors. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 20(3-4), 172-184.
[72] Wunderlich, S., & Gatto, K. (2016). Consumers' food choices and the role of perceived environmental impact. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 11(6), 989-995.
[73] Bian, X., & Moutinho, L. (2011). The role of brand image, product involvment, and knowledge in explaining consumer purchase behaviour of counterfeits: Direct and indirect effects. European Journal of Marketing, 45(1/2), 191-216.
[74] Lin, L.-Y., & Chen, C.-S. (2006). The influence of the country-of-origin image, product knowledge and product
involvement on consumer purchase decisions: an empirical study of insurance and catering services in Taiwan. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 23(5), 248-265.
[75] Wang, Y., & Hazen, B. T. (2016). Consumer product knowledge and intention to purchase remanufactured products. International Journal of Production Economics, 181, 460-469.
[76] Aertsens, J., Mondelaers, K., Verbeke, W., Buysse, J., & Huylenbroeck, G. V. (2011). The influence of subjective and objective knowledge on attitude, motivations and consumption of organic food. British Food Journal, 113(11), 1353-1378.
[77] Göçer, A., & Oflaç, B. S. (2017). Understanding young consumers' tendencies regarding eco-labelled products. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 29(1), 80-97.
[78] Dansirichaisawat, R., & Suwunnamek, O. (2014). A comparison of Thai consumers purchasing behaviour with the environmental characteristics: Electric appliances market. Research Journal of Business Management, 8 (4), 338-352.
[79] Goh, S., & Balaji, M. (2016). Linking green skepticism to green purchase behavior. Cleaner Production, 131, 629-638.
[80] Joshi, Y., & Rahman, Z. (2017). Investigating the determinants of consumers’ sustainable purchase behaviour. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 10, 110-120.
[81] Kianpour, K., Anvari, R., Jusoh, A., & Othman, M. F. (2014). Important motivators for buying green products. Intangible Capital, 10(5), 873-896.
[82] Rahbar, E., & Wahid, N. A. (2010). The Malaysian consumer and the environment: Purchase behavior. Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal, 2(4), 323-336.
[83] Yeoh, M., & Paladino, A. (2013). Prestige and environmental behaviors: Does branding matter? Journal of Brand Management, 20(4), 333-349.
[84] Zhao, H.-h., Gao, Q., Wu, Y.-p., Wang, Y., & Zhu, X.-d. (2014). What affects green consumer behavior in China? A case study from Qingdao. Journal of Cleaner Production, 63, 143-151.
[85] Yusof, J. M., Singh, G. K., & Razak, R. A. (2013). Purchase intention of environment-friendly automobile. ASEAN Conference on Environment-Behaviour Studies. 85, pp. 400-410. Hanoi, Vietnam: Elsevier.
[86] Julina, Kartini, D., Rufaidah, P., & Cahyandito, M. F. (2017). Green purchase behavior: The role of religiosity, environmental attitude, and environmental knowledge. Journal of Management and Marketing Review, 2(3), 83-88.
[87] Schlegelmilch, B. B., Bohlen, G. M., & Diamantopoulos, A. (1996). The link between green purchasing decisions and measures of environmental consciousness. European Journal of Marketing, 30(5), 35-55.
[88] Ferguson, K. E. (2014). An Investigation of Sustainable Product Purchase Behavior: A Social Cognitive Perspective of Consumer Action. Kennesaw, GA: Kennesaw State University.
[89] Marx‐Pienaar, N. J., & Erasmus, A. C. (2014). Status consciousness and knowledge as potential impediments of households' sustainable consumption practices of fresh produce amidst times of climate change. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 38(4), 419-426.
[90] Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
[91] Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. Ramachaudran, Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (pp. 71-81). New York: Academic Press.
[92] Bandura, A. (2000). Exercise of Human Agency Through Collective Efficacy. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9(3), 75-78.
[93] Lee, Y. K. (2017). A comparative study of green purchase intention between Korean and Chinese consumers: The moderating role of collectivism. Sustainability, 9(10), 1-17.
[94] Lucas, T., Alexander, S., Firestone, I. J., & Baltes, B. B. (2006). Self-efficacy and independence from social influence: Discovery of an efficacy-difficulty effect. Social influence, 1(1), 58-80.
[95] Barbarossa, C., Beckmann, S. C., Pelsmacker, P. D., Moons, I., & Gwozdz, W. (2015). A self-identity based model of electric car adoption intention: A cross-cultural comparative study. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 42, 149-160.
[96] Pudaruth, S., Juwaheer, T. D., & Seewoo, Y. D. (2015). Gender-based differences in understanding the purchasing patterns of eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products in Mauritius: a study of femaile customers. Social Responsibility Journal, 11(1), 179-198.
[97] Smith, S., & Paladino, A. (2010). Eating clean and green? Investigating consumer motivations towards the purchase of organic food. Australasian Marketing Journal, 18(2), 93-104.
[98] Mogler, B. K., Shu, S. B., Fox, C. R., Goldstein, N. J., Victor, R. G., Escarce, J. J., & Shapiro, M. F. (2013). Using insights from behavioral economics and social psychology to help patients manage chronic diseases. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 28(5), 711-718.
[99] Xu, L., Ling, M., & Wu, Y. (2018). Economic incentive and social influence to overcome household waste separation dilemma: A field intervention study. Waste Management.
[100] Rezvani, Z., Jansson, J., & Bodin, J. (2015). Advances in consumer electric vehicle adoption research: A review and research agenda. Transportation Research Part D, 34, 122-136.
[101] Fritsche, L., Barth, M., Jugert, P., Masson, T., & Reese, G. (2018). A social identity model of pro-environmental action (SIMPEA). Psychological Review, 125(2), 245-269.
[102] Jugert, P., Greenaway, K. H., Barth, M., Büchner, R., Eisentraut, S., & Fritsche, I. (2016). Collective efficacy
increases pro-environmental intentions through increasing self-efficacy. Journal of Environmental Pcychology, 48, 12-23.
[103] Leonard, R., & Leviston, Z. (2017). Applying a model of collective efficacy for understanding consuemr and civic pro-environmental actions. Soc. Ekol. Zagreb, 26(3), 105-123.
[104] Altman, M. (2015). Handbook of Contemporary Behavioral Economics: Foundations and Developments. New York: Routledge.
[105] Thøgersen, J. (2005). How may consumer policy empower consumers for sustainable lifestyles? Journal of Consumer Policy, 28(2), 143-177.
[106] Finkel, S. E., Muller, E. N., & Opp, K.-D. (1989). Personal influence, collective rationality, and mass political action. The American Political Science Review, 83(3), 885-903.
[107] Oliver, J. D., & Rosen, D. E. (2010). Applying the environmental propensity framework: A Segmented Approach to hybrid electric vehicle marketing strategies. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 18(4), 377-393.
[108] Solhaug, T. (2006). Knowledge and self-efficacy as predictors of political participation and civic atittudes: with relevance for educational practice. Policy Future in Education, 4(3), 265-278.
[109] Estrada, M., Schultz, P. W., Silva-Send, N., & Boudrias, M. A. (2017). The Role of Social Influences on Pro-Environment Behaviors. Journal of Urban Health, 94, 170-179.