Toward green purchase behavior: does sustainability become the dominant mare for Lebanese restaurants

Abstract

Purpose

The current research seeks to investigate the antecedents of customers’ sustainable purchasing behavior from eco-friendly restaurants located in Lebanon. Moreover, it explores the mediating role of purchase intention on the relationships between pro-environmental antecedents and green purchase behavior. Additionally, it examines the moderating role of willingness to pay premium prices for sustainable products.

Design/methodology/approach

The questionnaire technique was used to gather data, and the convenience sample technique was used to select 397 restaurants’ customers.

Findings

The results revealed a positive effect of customers’ green purchase behavior exerted by environmental concern, purchase intention, and willingness to pay premium prices for sustainable products. Also, the findings adopted a significant mediating role of green purchase intention between pro-environmental antecedents and purchase behavior toward green products.

Practical implications

The current study presents several practical implications for managers and decision-makers. Such as issuing green marketing campaigns on a regular basis to highlight the value of organic food safety, the necessity of using eco-friendly cutlery and the use of renewable energy systems.

Originality/value

This study examined the model pro-environmental antecedents in Lebanon as one of the Middle Eastern developing countries, whereas few studies examined this relationship. Furthermore, this paper contributes by examining the mediating role of green purchase intention.

Citation

Darwish, I.M., Bazzi, A.M. and Ali, A.A. (2025), "Toward green purchase behavior: does sustainability become the dominant mare for Lebanese restaurants", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-07-2024-0715