An alternative view of the millennial green product purchase: the roles of online product review and self-image congruence

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to provide an alternative view to green consumption behaviors of millennials. In fact, studies on green consumption have usually assumed a common attitude–behavior model for different generations. Instead, the view in this paper highlights two other constructs, online product review and self-image congruence, as the key antecedents to the behavior among the generation.

Design/methodology/approach

To test our proposed model, an online survey with a sample of 305 millennials in Vietnam was conducted. The sample shares similar demographic features with the millennials in the country. The data were collected in popular social networks and then validated before being analyzed with AMOS.

Findings

The model analysis results provided supports for the key roles of online product review and self-image congruence among millennials. In particular, online product review was found to have both direct and mediational impacts on green product purchase intention. Self-image congruence was also found to be a key antecedent to the intention.

Research limitations/implications

The model in this paper only examined the purchase intention. Moreover, only a single sample of millennials in Vietnam was investigated. Future research may incorporate the green consumption behavior to enhance the external validity and/or directly compare models for different generations or across countries to further confirm the differential generational patterns.

Practical implications

The paper includes recommendations for managers to use the online channels and to promote green product self-matching among millennials. These recommendations are not contrary to but go beyond the frequently suggested ones for attitude-related training or communication campaigns for green consumption.

Originality/value

This paper fills an identified gap to provide an alternative view to green consumption behaviors of millennials. Different from the common attitude–behavior view in green consumption research, two key constructs of online product review and self-image congruence are highlighted for the generation in this paper.

Citation

Nguyen, Y.T.H. and Nguyen, H.V. (2020), "An alternative view of the millennial green product purchase: the roles of online product review and self-image congruence", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 231-249. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-10-2019-0612