Leveraging Influencer Credibility in Green Marketing: The Effect of Environmental Knowledge, Concern, Attitude, and Intention on Green Purchase Behavior via S-O-R Theory
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Abstract
Since the emergence of Marketing 4.0, social media influencer marketing has gained significant popularity as a marketing strategy. It is particularly suitable for sustainable businesses, as it enables organizations to achieve superior performance while enhancing environmental sustainability. This research aims to explore the impact of consumers’ environmental knowledge on green purchase behavior in Thailand, focusing on the serial mediating roles of environmental concern, green attitudes, and green purchase intention. In addition, the study examines how influencer credibility moderates the relationship between green purchase intention and green purchase behavior. Data were collected from 538 consumers aged 18 and above residing in urban areas of Thailand using offline questionnaires administered through the mall-intercept method. The proposed model was analyzed using the PROCESS Macro.
This study adopts the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) theory as the primary theoretical framework. Within this model, environmental knowledge and environmental concern function as stimuli, green attitude and green purchase intention represent internal organismic processes, and green purchase behavior constitutes the response. By empirically testing this framework in the Thai context, the study contributes to validating and extending the applicability of the S-O-R model within emerging green consumer markets. The results demonstrate that green purchase behavior is indirectly influenced by environmental knowledge and environmental concern through the examined mediating variables. Furthermore, influencer credibility exhibits a moderating effect on the relationship between green purchase intention and green purchase behavior. These findings provide valuable insights for the development of effective green marketing strategies that enhance competitive advantage while promoting environmental sustainability.
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