Does Altruism Affect Purchase Intent of Green Products? A Moderated Mediation Analysis

consumption research, the VBN posits that the driver for consumer ethical practices lies in the conjunction of conditions, beliefs, and personal norms that motivate people to behave in ways consistent with ethical consumption behavior (Jung, Kim, & Oh, 2014). Empirical studies support the claim that VBN is a strong predictor of ethical consumption (Stern, Dietz, Abel, Guagnano, & Kalof, 1999). Studies on ethical or green consumption have influenced consumers and businesses to be aware that consumption will impact the environment (Bautista, 2019). Thus, green consumption has emerged as a topic to be investigated (Semprebon, 2019). The study of green consumption among individuals, although a global concern, is still relatively new, especially within the context of developing countries (Yadav, Khandelwal, & Tripathi, 2017). Most studies about consumers’ green purchase intention have been done in the context of developed nations (Khare, 2015; Yadav & Pathak, 2017; Yadav et al., 2017). This study seeks to understand consumers’ intent to buy green products in the context of a developing country. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework has been used to analyze the consumers’ behavior in buying green products (Emekci, 2019; Kareklas, Carlson, & Muehling, 2014; Yadav & Pathak, 2017; Yazdanpanah & Forouzani, 2015). This is because the TPB has been a valid framework in studying human behavior, especially in the field of green consumption (Yadav & Pathak, 2017). Studies that used the TBP as a framework has extended the model to include Due to environmental problems, the issue of protecting the environment has led to researches on green consumption behavior (Semprebon, Mantovani, Demczuk, Maior, & Vilasanti, 2019). Green consumption has been defined as the tendency to preserve the environment in one’s consumption behavior (Haws, Winterich, & Naylor, 2014). Studies on green consumption have considered individual characteristics, expertise, and environmental concern as antecedents to buy green products while another stream has considered social norms as determinants of buying green products (Semprebon et al., 2019). Green products are organic, environmentally-friendly, and minimally-packaged products (Khaola, Potiane, & Mokhethi, 2014). Green products have the following features: (1) It does not affect human and animal health, (2) does not harm the environment before and after usage, (3) consumes energy and other resources adequately, (4) eliminates the usage of materials which can harm the environment, and (5) should not cause unnecessary waste as a result of excessive packaging and short life cycle (Onurlubas, 2018). Studies on green consumption imply that patronizing green products are effective in solving the negative impact of consumption on the environment (Bautista, 2019; Yadav & Pathak, 2017). The value-belief-norm (VBN) theory has been used to explain pro-social behaviors in the context of pro-environmentalism (Stern, 2000). It has been utilized in such diverse areas, such as recycling, environmental citizenships, and national parks (Han & Stoel, 2017. In ethical Asia-Pacific Social Science Review 20(1) 2020, pp. 159– 170