Conspicuous Green Consumption under Dual Identity Motivations: The Moderating Roles of Empathy and Future Orientation

Qiuxue Huang; Shih-Tung Shu; Theeralak Satjawathee

doi:10.60027/iarj.2026.e295650

Authors

Qiuxue Huang Interdisciplinary Studies College, Payap University, Thailand https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2879-4125
Shih-Tung Shu Interdisciplinary Studies College, Payap University, Thailand https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9326-2492
Theeralak Satjawathee Interdisciplinary Studies College, Payap University, Thailand https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8683-1241

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60027/iarj.2026.e295650

Keywords:

Conspicuous Green Consumption, Green Self-identity, Moral Identity, Empathy and Future Orientation, Costly Signaling Theory

Abstract

Background and Aims: Based on altruistic motivation, identity, and costly signaling theories, this study explores the effects of green self-identity and moral identity on conspicuous green consumption, and examines the moderating roles of empathy and future orientation.

Methodology: Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze survey data collected in March 2025 from 929 Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) owners, obtained through an online convenience sampling approach using WeChat and QQ.

Results: Both green self-identity and moral identity positively affect conspicuous green consumption; empathy moderates both relationships positively, while future orientation only positively moderates the link between moral identity and the consumption.

Conclusion: This study uncovers the dual identities driving the consumption, clarifies the boundary conditions of empathy and future orientation, and provides insights for practitioners and policymakers to design strategies for promoting conspicuous green and sustainable consumption.

References

Aquino, K., & Reed, A., II. (2002). The self-importance of moral identity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(6), 1423–1440. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.83.6.1423

Aquino, K., McFerran, B., & Laven, M. (2011). Moral identity and the experience of moral elevation in response to acts of uncommon goodness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(4), 703–718. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022540

Barbarossa, C., De Pelsmacker, P., & Moons, I. (2017). Personal values, green self-identity and electric car adoption. Ecological Economics, 140, 190–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.05.015

Batson, C. D., Chang, J., Orr, R., & Rowland, J. (2002). Empathy, attitudes, and action: Can feeling for a member of a stigmatized group motivate one to help the group? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(4), 853–866. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.83.4.853

Becerra, E. P., Carrete, L., & Arroyo, P. (2023). A study of the antecedents and effects of green self-identity on green behavioral intentions of young adults. Journal of Business Research, 155, Article 113380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113380

Brick, C., Sherman, D. K., & Kim, H. S. (2017). “Green to be seen” and “brown to keep down”: Visibility moderates the effect of identity on pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 51, 226–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.04.004

Brough, A. R., Wilkie, J. E. B., Ma, J., Isaac, M. S., & Gal, D. (2016). Is eco-friendly unmanly? The green-feminine stereotype and its effect on sustainable consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(4), 567–582. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucw044

Carmi, N., & Arnon, S. (2014). The role of future orientation in environmental behavior: Analyzing the relationship on the individual and cultural levels. Society & Natural Resources, 27(12), 1304–1320. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2014.911926

Chekima, B., Chekima, K., & Chekima, K. (2019). Understanding factors underlying actual consumption of organic food: The moderating effect of future orientation. Food Quality and Preference, 74, 49–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.01.001

Choi, H. S., Cho, S. J., Seo, J. G., & Bechtoldt, M. N. (2018). The joint impact of collectivistic value orientation and independent self-representation on group creativity. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 21(1), 37–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430216672761

Chowdhury, R. M., & Fernando, M. (2014). The relationships of empathy, moral identity and cynicism with consumers’ ethical beliefs: The mediating role of moral disengagement. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(4), 677–694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1900-3

Davis, M. H. (1980). Multidimensional approach to individual differences in empathy. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10, 85. https://www.uv.es/friasnav/Davis_1980.pdf

Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(1), 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.113

Font, X., Garay, L., & Jones, S. (2016). A social cognitive theory of sustainability empathy. Annals of Tourism Research, 58, 65–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2016.02.004

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error: Algebra and statistics. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(3), 382–388. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312

Funder, D. C., & Ozer, D. J. (2019). Evaluating effect size in psychological research: Sense and nonsense. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 2(2), 156–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245919847202

Gifford, R., & Nilsson, A. (2014). Personal and social factors that influence pro-environmental concern and behaviour: A review. International Journal of Psychology, 49(3), 141–157. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12034

Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., & Van den Bergh, B. (2010). Going green to be seen: Status, reputation, and conspicuous conservation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(3), 392. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017346

Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). The use of partial least squares (PLS) to address marketing management topics. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 19(2), 135–138. https://doi.org/10.2753/MTP1069-6679190202

Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203

Hershfield, H. E. (2011). Future self-continuity: How conceptions of the future self transform intertemporal choice. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1235(1), 30–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06201.x

Hui, Z., & Khan, A. N. (2022). Beyond pro-environmental consumerism: Role of social exclusion and green self-identity in green product consumption intentions. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(50), 76339–76351. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19771-2

Hustvedt, G., & Dickson, M. A. (2009). Consumer likelihood of purchasing organic cotton apparel: Influence of attitudes and self-identity. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 13(1), 49–65. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612020910939648

Hwang, J., & Kim, H. (2019). Consequences of a green image of drone food delivery services: The moderating role of gender and age. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(5), 872–884. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2289

Jiao, J., & Wang, J. (2018). Can lonely people behave morally? The joint influence of loneliness and empathy on moral identity. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 28(4), 597–611. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1032

Johnson, C. M., Tariq, A., & Baker, T. L. (2018). From Gucci to green bags: Conspicuous consumption as a signal for pro-social behavior. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 26(4), 339–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/10696679.2018.1488043

Joireman, J., Balliet, D., Sprott, D., Spangenberg, E., & Schultz, J. (2008). Consideration of future consequences, ego-depletion, and self-control: Support for distinguishing between CFC-Immediate and CFC-Future sub-scales. Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 15–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.02.008

Khare, A., & Pandey, S. (2017). Role of green self-identity and peer influence in fostering trust towards organic food retailers. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 45(9), 969–990. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-04-2016-0077

Lee, S., Winterich, K. P., & Ross, W. T., Jr. (2014). I’m moral, but I won’t help you: The distinct roles of empathy and justice in donations. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(3), 678–696. https://doi.org/10.1086/676024

Li, D., Cheng, G., & Wang, C. (2022). The influence of moral identity on green consumption. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 1020333. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1020333

Lu, J., & Li, H. (2023). The impact of environmental corruption on green consumption: A quantitative analysis based on China’s Judicial Document Network and Baidu Index. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 86, Article 101451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2023.101451

Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Cultural variation in the self-concept. In The self: Interdisciplinary approaches (pp. 18–48). Springer.

Mazar, N., & Zhong, C. B. (2010). Do green products make us better people? Psychological Science, 21(4), 494–498. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610363538

Nelissen, R. M. A., & Meijers, M. H. C. (2011). Social benefits of luxury brands as costly signals of wealth and status. Evolution and Human Behavior, 32(5), 343–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.12.002

Oyserman, D. (2007). Social identity and self-regulation. In A. W. Kruglanski & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (2nd ed., pp. 432–453). Guilford Press.

Patel, J. D., Trivedi, R. H., & Yagnik, A. (2020). Self-identity and internal environmental locus of control: Comparing their influences on green purchase intentions in high-context versus low-context cultures. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53, Article 102003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.102003

Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879

Rezvani, Z., Jansson, J., & Bodin, J. (2015). Advances in consumer electric vehicle adoption research: A review and research agenda. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 34, 122–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2014.10.010

Sharma, N., Saha, R., Sreedharan, V. R., & Paul, J. (2020). Relating the role of green self-concepts and identity on green purchasing behaviour: An empirical analysis. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(8), 3203–3219. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2497

Thøgersen, J. (2014). Unsustainable consumption: Basic causes and implications for policy. European Psychologist, 19(2), 84–95. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000176

Van der Werff, E., Steg, L., & Keizer, K. (2013). The value of environmental self-identity: The relationship between biospheric values, environmental self-identity and environmental preferences, intentions and behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 34, 55–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.01.003

Vanhamme, J., Lindgreen, A., & Sarial-Abi, G. (2023). Luxury ethical consumers: Who are they? Journal of Business Ethics, 183(3), 805–838. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05073-1

Wang, H., Ao, L., Gao, Y., Liu, Y., & Zhang, X. (2023). Empathy for pain in individuals influenced by moral identity: Evidence from an ERP study. Physiology & Behavior, 266, Article 114202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114202

White, K., Habib, R., & Hardisty, D. J. (2019). How to SHIFT consumer behaviors to be more sustainable: A literature review and guiding framework. Journal of Marketing, 83(3), 22–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919825649

Winterich, K. P., Mittal, V., & Aquino, K. (2013). When does recognition increase charitable behavior? Toward a moral identity-based model. Journal of Marketing, 77(3), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.11.0533

Wong, N. Y., & Ahuvia, A. C. (1998). Personal taste and family face: Luxury consumption in Confucian and Western societies. Psychology & Marketing, 15(5), 423–441. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6793(199808)15:5<423::AID-MAR2>3.0.CO;2-9

Wu, B., & Yang, Z. (2018). The impact of moral identity on consumers’ green consumption tendency: The role of perceived responsibility for environmental damage. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 59, 74–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.08.004

Xie, C., Bagozzi, R. P., & Grønhaug, K. (2015). The role of moral emotions and individual differences in consumer responses to corporate green and non-green actions. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(3), 333–356. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0396-0

Yuan, S. (2011). Status and conspicuous consumption tendency: Mediating role of self-esteem [Doctoral dissertation, Liaoning University].

Zhang, J., & Bunchapattanasakda, C. (2025). Effect of reference groups on green consumption intention: A case of organic foods in Yunnan, China. Asian Interdisciplinary and Sustainability Review, 14(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.14456/aisr.2025.8