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“I buy green products, do you. . .?” Green

purchase
The moderating effect of eWOM on green behavior
purchase behavior in Malaysian
cosmetics industry
Azila Jaini
School of Business, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia Received 28 February 2019
Revised 20 October 2019
and Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Accepted 14 November 2019
Pengkalan Chepa, Malaysia
Farzana Quoquab
School of Business, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia
Jihad Mohammad
Department of Management and Marketing, Qatar University, Doha Qatar, and
Nazimah Hussin
School of Business, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia

Abstract
Purpose – In recent years, consumers are moving toward purchasing green cosmetics instead of
chemical one. Plenty of cosmetics products are banned globally due to the usage of poisonous substances
such as triphenyl phosphate and petroleum. As such, it is needed to shift the conventional purchase
behavior to green purchase behavior (GPB) to reduce the negative impact on the environment and health.
This study aims to investigate the factors that affect GPB in the context of cosmetics products purchase.
Additionally, this study examines the moderating role of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in influencing
such green behavior.
Design/methodology/approach – This study used value-belief-norm (VBN) theory and elaboration
likelihood model as a theoretical basis. By using judgmental sampling techniques, a total of 318 usable
responses were gathered through online survey. The structural equation modeling approach using partial
least square (SmartPLS, version 3.7) technique was used to test the study hypotheses.
Findings – Results reveal that altruistic value and hedonic value both positively affect pro-environmental
beliefs, which eventually affect consumers’ personal norms. It is found that hedonic value has a greater
influence on pro-environmental belief than altruistic value. Additionally, personal norm also exerts significant
influence on GPB. Data also support the mediating role of pro-environmental belief and personal norm.
Moreover, the multidimensional eWOM moderates the relationship between personal norm and GPB.
Practical implications – The findings from this study provide valuable insights for marketers,
academicians and practitioners about the drivers of consumers’ green cosmetics purchase behavior. It will
enable marketers to develop better strategies for the green market segment.
Social implications – The study findings also contribute to the social aspects by understanding
consumers’ purchase behavior toward green cosmetics products. It ultimately promotes to consider a
healthier lifestyle and to be concerned about environmental well-being.
Originality/value – This study is the first to introduce the eWOM as a moderator in the VBN theory. International Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Healthcare
Moreover, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the field by examining few new Marketing
linkages; more specifically, considering pro-environmental belief as to the mediator between “hedonic value © Emerald Publishing Limited
1750-6123
and personal norm,” as well as the mediating effect of personal norm in the relationship between DOI 10.1108/IJPHM-02-2019-0017
IJPHM “pro-environmental belief and GPB.” Moreover, this is a pioneer study to consider eWOM as a
multidimensional construct rather than unidimensional, which is new in green marketing literature.
Keywords Green purchase behaviour, Values, Pro-environmental belief, Personal norm, eWOM,
Cosmetic product, Value orientation, Green cosmetics industry
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Due to the environmental pollution, the notion of sustainability is now in the forefront (Chua
et al., 2019; Quoquab et al., 2019). It is argued that the green purchase behavior (GPB) can be
considered as one of the major contributors to environmental sustainability (Joshi and
Rahman, 2016). Indeed, there is a need to have a paradigm shift of consumers’ purchase
preferences and behavior toward green products to reduce the negative impact on the
environment (Quoquab and Mohamad, 2017). Thus, understanding the GPB in regard to
environmental issues is crucial to minimize the negative impact of high chemical product
consumption (Yadav and Pathak, 2017).
Although the environmental issues are well-known globally, not all consumers exhibit GPB
in their day-to-day activities (Joshi and Rahman, 2016; Quoquab and Mohamad, 2019). Studies
found that a positive attitude toward green product purchases does not lead to GPB all the time
(Bruschi et al., 2015; Tanner and Kast, 2003; Vermeir and Verbeke, 2006, 2008). Similarly,
though most consumers hold positive intentions toward green product purchases, some of
them still refuse to purchase it (Boulstridge and Carrigan, 2000; Carrington et al., 2010, 2014). It
is found that in the developing country like Malaysia, many consumers do not purchase green
products even though they understand the benefits of it (Quoquab et al., 2018; Rahbar and
Wahid, 2011). It is also the case in cosmetics products purchase, which calls for research
attention to understand the GPB of cosmetics industry consumers. However, there is a lack of
studies that examined consumers’ GPB from the perspective of cosmetics industry. The present
study is such an effort to address this gap.
According to the Ministry of Health Malaysia, Malaysian market has been facing serious
problem on the dumping of chemical cosmetics that contain toxic ingredients such as
triphenyl, phosphate, petroleum, propyl paraben, phthalates, avobenzone, mercury, tretinoin
and hydroquinone that pose serious negative effects on consumers’ body and their lives
(Abdullah, 2018). Although the global market witnessed the rise of environmental
consciousness among the consumers at large (Kautish and Sharma, 2018; Mishal et al., 2017),
the issue of purchasing illegal cosmetics has been increasing. In 2016, more than 300 websites
were submitted for sanctions and closure and more than 12,000 cosmetic products were
declared as poisonous by the Ministry of Health Malaysia (Abdullah, 2018). The uncontrolled
illegal cosmetics sales become more prevalent because of the flexibility of social media, which
becomes a primary media in promoting cosmetics products without having any specific
restrictions. In addition, the desperate intention of consumers to look beautiful in a short
period of time creates high demand for such chemical cosmetics (Idzham, 2017).
The rapid proliferation of social media has become increasingly influential in changing the
buying behavior of consumers (Wang, 2017). It assists in forming consumers’ opinion and
contributes to the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) to a great extent. Recently, the role of
eWOM has been widely acknowledged by consumers to seek other consumers’ opinions or to
express their own purchase experience. The influence of eWOM in making purchase decisions
has been explored by past researchers (Jalilvand and Samiei, 2012; Shang et al., 2017; Vahdati
and Nejad, 2016). However, the moderating role of eWOM in the relationship between personal
norm and GPB is yet to be examined. This moderating effect is crucial, as many consumers are
looking for social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the like to seek Green
opinion regarding the products before making the purchase decision. purchase
The value-belief-norm (VBN) norm theory provides meaningful understanding in forming
individuals’ environmentally significant behavior (Chua et al., 2016; Stern, 2000). Past studies that
behavior
used VBN theory have considered biospheric, altruistic and egoistic values as the antecedents of
environmental belief (Choi et al., 2015; Lopez-Mosquera and Sanchez, 2012; Nguyen et al., 2016)
and ignored considering the hedonic value. Additionally, the relationship between personal norm
and environmental citizenship behavior (Chua et al., 2019), non-activist behavior in the public
sphere (Aasen and Vatn, 2018), organizational behavior (Ture and Ganesh, 2018) and private
sphere behavior (Hartmann et al., 2018; Stern, 2000) are examined. However, little has been
known about the relationship between personal norms and consumers’ GPB. Taking into
consideration these gaps in the existing literature, the present study aims to examine:

hedonic and altruistic values as the predictors of pro-environmental belief (PEB);

pro-environmental belief as to the predictor of personal norm (PN); and

personal norm as the antecedent of GPB.

Moreover, this study examines:

the mediating effect of pro-environmental belief in the relationship between value
orientations and PEB;

the mediating effect of the personal norm in the relationship between PEB and GPB; and

the moderating effect of eWOM on the personal norm and GPB link.

This study makes some useful contributions to the existing body of literature. First, this stud
considers eWOM as a moderator in the VBN theory, which is yet to be tested. Second, the
eWOM construct is considered as multidimensional, which is comparatively new in the green
marketing literature. Third, this study considered the hedonic value in relation to the VBN
theory, which was ignored in past studies in environmental studies. Fourth, this study tested
pro-environmental belief as a mediator between “hedonic value and personal norm,” which is
also new in the literature. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In the next section,
relevant literature is reviewed and the conceptual framework is developed. Next, the adopted
methodology is discussed followed by the results, findings, and discussion. Finally, a
conclusion is made and implications, limitations and future research directions are highlighted.

Cosmetics industry as the research context

According to Health Science Authority (2017), cosmetics products can be defined as any
substance or mixture of natural and/or synthetic ingredients intended to be used at various parts
of human body or teeth for the purpose of cleaning, perfuming, enhancing or changing
consumers’ appearances to maintain them in a good condition. It is classified under several
categories such as skin care products, hair care products, bath products, fragrance products,
makeup products, personal cleanliness, oral hygiene products and manicuring and pedicuring
products (US Food and Drug Administration, 2017). It has been reported that the sales of
cosmetics products grew positively because of the consistent demand from the consumers,
which reached US$532bn in 2017. Furthermore, Asia Pacific region holds the biggest market
share in global cosmetics industry with 3 billion consumers (Zion Market Research, 2018). Thus,
it is evident that the cosmetics industry is one of the prominent industries in the global market.
In Malaysia, there is a great demand for cosmetics products that are produced by
international manufacturers, as well as by the local companies. As reported by Cheong et al.
(2016), the sales of international cosmetics products increased to 25 per cent, while domestic
IJPHM sales reached up to RM1.124bn in 2015. Each cosmetic product in Malaysia is regulated
under Drug Control and Cosmetics Regulations 1984, Drug Sale Act 1952 to avoid any
prohibited substance in negative list or any substance that exceeds the permitted conditions
and limits (Abdullah, 2018). The cosmetic notification system in Malaysia is aligned with
the cosmetic regulatory harmonization system that has been implemented in all association
of Southeast Asian nations countries, as well as other countries such as the EU where the
cosmetics products are generally categorized as low-risk products.
Generally, cosmetics products are made of chemical compounds such as synthetics
ingredients (Oishi, 2002). The use of synthetic ingredients is to boost the instant results on
consumers’ body. However, most of the chemical ingredients used in cosmetics products are
toxic, linking to the health problem in the long run such as headaches, acne, hair problems,
cancer, skin allergies and other serious illnesses (Oishi, 2002). In recent years, the
manufacturers of cosmetics products invented green cosmetics, which is free from side-effects.
In the context of the cosmetics industry, “green cosmetics” (sometimes called sustainable
cosmetics) are referred as cosmetics products that are made from natural ingredients produced
from renewable raw materials (Acme-Hardesty, 2019). The marketers of green cosmetics
consider sustainable packaging that shows eco-label in each product design (Lin et al., 2018).
The demand for green cosmetics has been increasing because of its long-term benefits on
health and environmental wellness, which became a symbol of health and environmental
responsibility in the cosmetics industry (Women With Mind, 2019). In present day, using green
cosmetics became a lifestyle of self-care and treating the environment with respect (Lin et al.,
2018). Being motivated by favorable demand, hundreds and thousands of companies and
suppliers are now producing and selling green cosmetics products (Green Choices, 2012).
However, there are obstacles that could destabilize consumers’ confidence, including the lack
of strict regulation and misleading marketing information (Saleki et al., 2019). Moreover, with the
rising awareness of green cosmetics products, Malaysia is facing major issues in the dumping of
artificial cosmetics products in the market. The explosion of illegal products in social media
platform rises because of consumers’ ignorance to ensure the quality and safety of cosmetics
products before making any purchase, which calls for further studies to understand consumers’
GPB. Although, there is a significant body of literature that focused on understanding consumer
behavior in the pharmaceutical industry (Adomah-Afari et al., 2019; Rawwas et al., 2019;
Stadtelmann et al., 2019; Umar, 2019), less attention has been paid to understand consumers’
purchase behavior in nutricosmetics purchase context. Therefore, the present study attempts to
investigate the GPB among Malaysian consumers from the perspective of cosmetics purchases
with the moderating effect of eWOM on the personal norm and GPB link.

Theoretical underpinning
Theory of value-belief-norm
The VBN theory is developed based on value theory, a new environmental paradigm (NEP)
perspective and the norm-activation theory (Stern, 2000). This theory posits that individuals
who hold high value toward other species tend to be more concerned about the surroundings
that cause threat to valuable objects. Thus, personal values are considered as the first step of
pro-environmental behavior. The environmental values are based on self-transcendent value
and self-enhancement value (Schwartz, 1977). Generally, altruism value and biospheric
value are classified as self-transcendence values, which exert positive effect on personal
norm, whereas, the self-enhancement value (i.e. egoistic value) displays negative influence
on personal norm (Nordlund and Garvill, 2002).
The VBN theory contributes to understanding the effect of beliefs [NEP, awareness of
consequences (AC) and ascription of responsibility (AR)] toward the personal norm. The
elements of personal norm and value orientation is important in social movements because Green
of their organized effort to consider others’ needs (Stern et al., 1999). More specifically, purchase
personal norm is being activated by individuals’ beliefs of NEP, AC and AR, where the
awareness of the environmental situation (or deterioration) threatens individuals’ personal
behavior
values and make them react to the threats. This kind of beliefs produce general
predisposition that influences personal norm, and thus, directly encourage pro-
environmental behavior (Stern, 2000).
The VBN theory suggests that personal norm is the major basis for individuals’ general
predispositions to act environmentally. Furthermore, Black et al. (1985) suggested that the
formation of pro-environmental behavior is influenced by the values and the causal chain of
specific beliefs and personal norms. Thus, the major elements of VBN theory are derived
from the integration of values on environmentalism that affects a set of beliefs, which, in
turn, shapes the personal norm and creates predisposition to respond to the environment.
Guided by this theory, the present study considers altruistic value and hedonic value as the
antecedents of pro-environmental belief and assumes that personal norm is the function of
pro-environmental belief, which eventually lead to consumers’ GPB.

Elaboration likelihood model

The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) was developed by Petty and Cacioppo (1986) to
address the issue of “attitude change” in terms of persuasion. This model is classified into
two different types of persuasion, namely, the central route and peripheral route. The central
route is the persuasion that derived from a person’s careful and deep thinking regarding the
validity of the information he/she receives to support an argument. The person who poses a
central route of persuasion prefers to gather more information regarding the news he/she
receives. Conversely, peripheral route occurs, once the person receives information from
other sources that attract his/her interest without further investigation on the validity of the
information he/she received (Petty and Cacioppo, 1986).
Past studies have widely used this ELM in studying eWOM in the consumer behavior
field (Cheung and Thadani, 2012; Park and Lee, 2008; Yan et al., 2016). This model explains
the impact of eWOM communication in forming consumers’ purchase decisions. The facets
of eWOM are classified into three aspects: opinion seeking, opinion giving and opinion
passing. Opinion seeking can be described as the process of searching information and
advice from other people (Chu and Kim, 2011). The past study had found that consumers
who frequently seek opinions have high intentions to purchase organic products (Pandey
and Khare, 2015). Moreover, opinion seekers rely on the information shared on social
networking sites and seek others’ recommendations that are reliable and believable before
making a purchase decision (Chu and Kim, 2011).
Opinion giving is defined as a motivation in individuals’ behaviors to share information
regarding their experiences with others (Chu and Kim, 2011). Such opinion givers can be
classified as opinion leaders in the context of online communications (Sotiriadis and Van Zyl,
2013). Feick and Price (1987) indicated that opinion leaders greatly impact others’ attitudes and
behavior. They have the ability to clarify the meaning of information and influence opinion
seekers’ purchase decisions. Meanwhile, opinion passing can be considered as the behavioral
outcome of opinion seeking and opinion giving (Sun et al., 2006). It is related to the action of
forwarding other people’s opinions or information to others. On the other hand, opinion passing
can be considered as opinion transmission where the online users are willing to share insightful
information or experience about particular products/services regarding the usage of the
products that can enhance the brand engagement and can be a reference to the others in their
purchase decision-making (Chu and Kim, 2011).
IJPHM The role of eWOM communication has been widely studied in different industry contexts
(Lin et al., 2013; See-To and Ho, 2014; Torlak et al., 2014; Yoon, 2015). However, there is a
dearth of research investigating the moderating effect of eWOM communication on the
relationship between personal norm and GPB. Thus, the present study addresses this gap
by introducing the multidimensional eWOM as the moderator on the relationship between
personal norm and GPB.

Conceptual framework and hypotheses development

Relationship between value orientations and pro-environmental belief
Value orientation can be defined as a guiding principle about desirable or appropriate states
or outcomes (Schwartz, 1977; Stern et al., 1999). Value can be considered as the major
determinant in forming individuals’ personal beliefs and norms, which, in turn, affect
consumer’s environmentally significant behavior (Stern, 2000). In this instance, altruistic
value has found to have the greatest effect on recycling behavior (Izagirre-Olaizola et al.,
2015). Altruistic value refers to the feelings or concerns for other people in relation to the
environment (Swami et al., 2010). In terms of attitude formation, altruistic value is found to
have great influence in preserving the wildlife as compared to egoistic and biospheric values
(Ojea and Loureiro, 2007). Furthermore, past studies also found that altruistic value
influences travelers’ environmental belief, and thus, strengthens travelers’ behavior to
conserve the environment while traveling (Kiatkawsin and Han, 2017). Thus, it implies that
individuals with high altruistic values are likely to be more concerned about the
environmental issues.
Prior studies have found a significant positive relationship between altruistic value
and environmental beliefs (NEP, AC and AR) (Chen, 2015; Jansson et al., 2011; Kiatkawsin
and Han, 2017; Stern et al., 1999). However, the relationship between altruistic value and
consumers’ pro-environmental belief in the context of green cosmetics purchase is yet to be
examined. It is expected that consumers with high altruistic value directly impact their
belief to purchase green cosmetics products. Based on this assumption, the following
relationship is hypothesized:

H1. Altruistic value has a positive effect on green cosmetics consumers’ pro-
environmental beliefs.
Hedonic value can be defined as the value that individuals hold based on the subject of
experience of fun and playfulness (Babin et al., 1994). In recent studies, hedonic value is
identified as the strongest factor in forming consumers’ attitudes in personal care products
as compared to other values such as health, safety and environmental values (Ghazali et al.,
2017). In support of this view, Werff and Steg (2016) stated that hedonic value is the most
important predictor of belief (AC). It is suggested that hedonic value exerts a significant
influence on organic food consumption behavior where the feeling of enjoyment affects
consumers’ food choices (Bauer et al., 2013). Similarly, past studies confirmed that the
consumption of organic foods among Italian consumers increased because of the hedonic
value (Naspetti and Zanoli, 2009). In the context of shopping experience, it is found that
hedonic value has a significant influence on impulse buying behavior (Dey and Srivastava,
2017).
Prior research studies have examined the relationship between hedonic value and
particular beliefs such as problem awareness and NEP (Lind et al., 2015; Werff and Steg,
2016). However, there is a dearth of research that has examined the relationship between
hedonic value and pro-environmental belief. Thus, considering this gap, the following
relationship is hypothesized:
 Green
H2. Hedonic value has a positive effect on green cosmetics consumers’ pro- purchase
environmental beliefs. behavior

Relationship between pro-environmental belief and personal norm

The VBN theory suggests the link between pro-environmental beliefs and personal norms
(Werff and Steg, 2016). Pro-environmental belief connects the value orientation of an individual
with a sense of obligation to embrace environmentally significant behavior (Chua et al., 2019;
Stern, 2000). Based on VBN theory, different beliefs (NEP, AC and AR) found to act as
significant predictors of personal norm (Stern, 2000). In support of this view, Jansson et al.
(2010) found significant effect of pro-environmental beliefs in terms of NEP, AC and AR toward
personal norm among the Swedish consumers. This view is also supported by similar research
done by Zhang et al. (2017), who have stated that the AC (belief) influences the personal norm
among Chinese consumers. Additionally, Choi et al. (2015) suggested that people with high pro-
environmental beliefs (AC and AR) display strong personal norms and hold high intentions
response to the environmental welfare. On the basis of these arguments, and theoretical and
empirical evidence, it can be expected that individuals with strong environmental beliefs will
hold positive norm to act environmentally.
The positive relationship between the interrelationship of pro-environmental beliefs
(NEP, AC and AR) and the personal norm is well documented by past studies (Kiatkawsin
and Han, 2017; Onel and Mukherjee, 2015; Wynveen et al., 2015). Nevertheless, there is a lack
of studies that address the relationship between the pro-environmental belief and personal
norm in the context of green cosmetics purchase. Therefore, in this study, it is assumed that
consumers who have strong environmental beliefs are prone to display high personal
obligation to purchase green cosmetics. By taking into consideration this assumption, the
following hypothesis is developed:

H3. Pro-environmental belief has a positive effect on green cosmetics consumers’

personal norms.

Relationship between pro-environmental personal norm and green purchase behavior

The pro-environmental personal norm refers to the moral obligation to act and protect the
environment (Chua et al., 2019). The VBN theory supports the role of personal norms on the
social environmental movement such as environmental activism, environmental citizenship
behavior, policy support and private-sphere behaviors (Stern et al., 1999). Based on the VBN
theory, the success of the environmental movement relies on the collective good of
individuals’ values and beliefs, and thus, activating the personal norm that makes them
obliged to support the movement’s goal.
According to Choi et al. (2015), a high level of personal norm increases the likelihood of
consumers to visit green hotels. In support of this view, Riper and Kyle (2014) found a
significant relationship between pro-environmental personal norm and visiting intention of
tourists at the national park. Similarly, Jansson et al. (2010) stated that strong personal norm
increases the intention of people to apply eco-innovation in their daily lives. These claims
also supported by Park and Ha (2012), who found a significant relationship between
personal norms and green consumption behavior in tourism context.
The positive relationship between personal norm and pro-environmental behaviors such
as environmental citizenship behavior (Chua et al., 2016, 2019), non-activist behavior in the
IJPHM public sphere (Aasen and Vatn, 2018), organizational behavior (Ture and Ganesh, 2018) and
private sphere behavior (Hartmann et al., 2018; Stern, 2000) is well documented. However,
there is a dearth of research that has examined the relationship between personal norm and
GPB in the context of cosmetics products purchase. Therefore, considering this gap, the
following relationship is hypothesized:

H4. Personal norm has a positive effect on consumers’ green cosmetics purchase
behavior.

The mediating role of pro-environmental belief

The mediating role of pro-environmental belief can be justified based on the VBN theory
(Stern et al., 1999). According to this theory, NEP, AC and AR mediate the relationship
between value and personal norm. Specifically, the environmental values (altruistic value
and biospheric value), which also called as the transcendence values positively affect
people’s beliefs that trigger their awareness and responsibility; consequently, it drives their
sense of obligation (personal norm) to perform pro-environmental behavior (Choi et al., 2015;
Jansson et al., 2010).
The mediating effect of environmental beliefs (NEP, AC and AR) between values and the
personal norm is well documented (Chen, 2015; Kiatkawsin and Han, 2017; Stern et al., 1999).
However, whether the mediating effect of pro-environmental belief is also applicable in the
context of Malaysia’s green cosmetics purchase is yet to be conclusive. Therefore,
considering this gap, the following relationship is hypothesized:

H5. Pro-environmental belief mediates the relationship between altruistic value and
green cosmetics consumers’ personal norms.
The mediating effect of trust has found to be a significant mediator in the relationship
between customer orientation and repurchase intention (Izogo, 2016). In the environmental
study, the mediating effect of environmental beliefs (NEP, AC and AR) between value
orientations (biospheric, altruistic and egoistic value) and the personal norm has been
studied (Chen, 2015; Kiatkawsin and Han, 2017). Nonetheless, there is a dearth of research
that studied the mediating effect of pro-environmental belief in the relationship between
hedonic value and personal norm. Therefore, considering this gap, the following relationship
is hypothesized:

H6. Pro-environmental belief mediates the relationship between hedonic value and
green cosmetics consumers’ personal norms.

The mediating role of personal norm

Besides the theoretical justifications, empirical support for the positive relationship between
personal norm and pro-environmental behaviors also exist. For example, Doran and Larsen
(2016) found that the personal norm is the strongest predictor of consumers’ behavioral
intention. Similarly, past study revealed that personal norm is a strong predictor of
participation behavior in sustainable consumption as compared to the other relevant
variables (Roos and Hahn, 2017).
Past studies have examined the mediating effect of the personal norm in the relationship
between beliefs and pro-environmental behavior from the perspective of shared
consumption (Choi et al., 2015) and pro-environmental intention (Garling et al., 2003).
Nevertheless, there is a lack of studies that examined the mediating effect of personal norm
in the relationship between pro-environmental belief and GPB. Thus, guided by the VBN Green
theory, this study considers personal norm as a mediator between pro-environmental belief purchase
and GPB in the context of cosmetics industry. Hence, the following hypothesis is postulated: behavior
H7. Personal norm mediates the relationship between pro-environmental belief and
consumers’ green cosmetics purchase behavior.

The moderating role of electronic word-of-mouth

This is a pioneer study that attempted to bridge the gap between personal norm and GPB
by introducing a new moderator, i.e. eWOM. Although personal norm has been found to
be a major predictor of pro-environmental behaviors (Han, 2015; Moser, 2016; Stern et al.,
1999), there are contradictory findings exist in the literature (Hynes and Wilson, 2016;
Khare, 2015). It implies that people behave differently according to their personality
where the practice of environmental actions is beyond the awareness that reflects the
behavior of a person (Khare, 2015). In support of this view, Werff and Steg (2016)
contended that personal norm is positively related to the green behavior but this
relationship was asymmetric. It is argued that this non-linear relationship occurred
because of the effect of comfort and pleasure, which goes beyond the environmental
obligation of a person. Therefore, to resolve the conflict of past study findings, it is
necessary to consider the effect of a third variable as a moderator that can strengthen this
relationship.
Past studies considered eWOM as an antecedent of consumers’ purchase behavior in
online communications (Chang et al., 2012; Jalilvand et al., 2011). On the other hand, Kuo
et al. (2013) suggested that eWOM plays a vital role as a moderator of the link between
satisfaction and online purchase intention. Therefore, this study considers
incorporating eWOM as a moderator in the relationship between personal norm and
GPB, which is comparatively a new link in the literature. Hence, the following
hypothesis is developed:

H8. The role of eWOM moderates the relationship between personal norms and
consumers’ green cosmetics purchase behavior.

Conceptual framework
The proposed relationships among the study variables are shown in Figure 1.

Altruistic
Value

Pro-
Personal Green
environmental
Norm Purchase
belief
Behavior

Hedonic eWOM
Value • Opinion seeking Figure 1.
• Opinion Giving Proposed conceptual
• Opinion Passing
framework
IJPHM Methodology
Survey and data collection
To test the study hypotheses, a survey was designed. To ensure the adequacy and
suitability of the items to measure its relevant constructs, the questionnaire was subject to
content validity with the help of three academics from a reputed public university in
Malaysia. To ascertain face validity, 10 doctoral students helped to fill up the questionnaire
and gave their feedback about the clarity and readability of the questionnaire. The
questionnaire was also piloted.
The data were collected from individuals who had experience in purchasing cosmetics
products such as skin care products, hair care products, bath products, fragrance products,
makeup products, personal cleanliness, oral hygiene products and manicuring and
pedicuring products. A web-based survey was used to collect the data for this study. Google
Docs was used to build the online questionnaire and distributed the web link via green
cosmetic providers’ Facebook pages and through personal contacts of the researchers. A
non-probability sampling technique, more specifically, judgmental sampling was used. To
obtain the right participant a screening question was used i.e. “Do you purchase green
cosmetics products?” The required sample size was determined based on Hair et al.’s (1998)
recommendation i.e. to have 10 times observation as the number of variables to be analyzed.
Accordingly, the required sample size for this study supposed to be 28  10 = 280. In total,
340 responses were received over a two-month period, which exceeds the minimum required
number of the responses. In total, 22 cases were deleted because of outlier and straight-lining
answers, which yielded 318 usable responses to proceed to analyze the data.

Measurement
All measures used in this research were adapted from previous studies with minor
modifications to reflect the context of this study. A five-point Likert scale ranging from 1
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) was used. Three dimensions were used to measure
eWOM, namely, opinion seeking (3 items), opinion giving (3 items) and opinion passing (3
items). This three-dimensional scale to measure e-WOM was adapted from Yoon (2015).
GPB was measured via five items adapted from Khare (2015) and pro-environmental belief
was measured by using three items adapted from Kim et al. (2015). The altruistic value was
measured by a three-item scale adapted from Izagirre-Olaizola et al. (2015), whereas, the
hedonic value was measured by a five-item scale adapted from (Ghazali et al., 2017).
Conversely, personal norm was measured by using a three-item scale from Khare (2015).

Respondents’ demographic profile

As shown in Table I, the majority of the respondents are female (75.2 per cent). Regarding
the respondents’ age, the majority are less than 35 years of age (73.3 per cent). With
respect to the participants’ ethnicity, the highest percentage is from Malay race (94.3 per
cent). Regarding education background, majority of the participants hold a bachelor’s
degree (36.5 per cent). With respect to marital status, most of the respondents are married
(58 per cent). In terms of the occupation, the highest percentage is from professional
group (45.3 per cent). Last but not least, most of the respondents’ income is less than
RM3,500 (55.3 per cent).

Common method variance

In this study, data were collected from a single source (i.e. consumer who are purchasing
green cosmetic products), which may raise question about common method variance.
Therefore, this study used procedural and statistical approaches to reduce common method
Demographics No. of respondents (N = 318) (%)
Green
purchase
Gender behavior
Male 79 24.8
Female 239 75.2
Age
18-25 51 16
26-30 56 17.6
31-35 126 39.6
36-40 42 13.2
41-45 25 7.9
46 and above 18 5.6
Race
Malay 300 94.3
Chinese 12 3.8
Indian 6 1.9
Education
PMR/SPM 57 17.9
Certificate/diploma 51 16
Bachelor degree 116 36.5
Master degree 72 22.6
PhD 22 6.9
Marital status
Single 103 32.4
Married 211 66.4
Divorced 3 0.9
Widowed 1 0.3
Occupation
Housewife 13 4.1
Self-employed 12 3.8
Entrepreneur 7 2.2
Professional 144 45.3
Non-professional 90 28.3
Retired 3 0.9
Student 48 15.1
Others 1 0.3
Monthly income
Less than RM500 38 11.9
RM501-RM2,000 50 15.7
RM2,001-RM3,500 88 27.7
RM3,501-RM5,000 77 24.2
RM5,001-RM6,500 39 12.3 Table I.
More than RM6,501 26 8.2 Demographic profile

bias. For Procedural remedy, this study ensured the anonymity and confidentiality of the
participants, the questionnaire was validated (content and face validity) to avoid vague and
difficult questions (Podsakoff et al., 2003). In regard to the statistical procedure, Harman’s
single-factor test was used (Podsakoff et al., 2003). The result of principal component factor
analysis revealed that the first factor explained 40.992 per cent of the total variance,
confirming that common method bias was not a serious issue in this research.
IJPHM Data analysis and results
This study used partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the
relationships developed in this research. As this study is exploratory in nature and aims to
maximize the explained variance in the dependent variable, the used of PLS-SEM is justified
(Hair et al., 2014). As suggested by literature, two stages approach was used to examine the
theoretical model. First, the measurement model was assessed in terms of convergent and
discriminant validity and internal consistency reliability followed by assessing the structure
model in term of its explanatory power and predictive accuracy (Anderson and Gerbing,
1988; Hair et al., 2014; Mohammad et al., 2018).
Before analyzing the data in SmartPLS, this study used SPSS version 24 to confirm the
multivariate assumptions in terms of normality, multicollinearity and outliers. First, the
normality of the data were examined based on skewness and kurtosis values. The skewness
value ranged from 0.249 to 0.666 and the kurtosis value ranged from 0.016 to 0.666.
According to Hair et al. (2014), skewness and kurtosis values within 61 confirm the
normality of the data. Second, we examined the presence of outliers, which represent an
observation(s) that deviate markedly from other observations because of high or low scores
(Hair et al., 2010). Researchers demonstrated that outliers can violate the normality and can
lead to Types I and II errors (Kline, 2005). As a rule of thumb, outliers exist when the cases
have standard scores greater than 63.29 (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2001). In this study, five
cases identified as outliers and were removed. Third, multicollinearity issue was examined
based the variance inflation factor (VIF). The VIF value of lower than 5 is denoting no
multicollinearity issue in this study (Hair et al., 2014).

Measurement model
The mean and standard deviation of all constructs are shown in Table II. All variables were
measured using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly
agree). The outcomes revealed that the mean values of all variables exceeded the midpoint of
the scale i.e. 3 and range from 3.173 to 4.466, indicating a moderate to high perception
toward all variables. The measurement model was tested in term of its validity and
reliability. The reliability of the model was assessed based on factor loadings, Cronbach’s
alpha (CA) and composite reliability (CR) (Henseler et al., 2009; Tan et al., 2017). In Table II,
all factors showed loadings of more than 0.7, CA > 0.7 and CR > 0.7, thus confirming the
reliability of the measurement model at the item and construct levels. Convergent validity
was examined based on average variance extracted (AVE), which represents the amount of
variance that the construct can explain in its respective indicators (Henseler et al., 2016).
AVE greater than 0.50 indicates the construct shared substantial variance with its
respective items (Henseler et al., 2016). In Table II, all constructs have AVE values greater
than 0.50, which confirm the convergent validity of all constructs. Discriminant validity was
established based on Fornell and Larcker (1981) suggestion i.e. the square root of the AVE
must be greater than all the correlations in row and column. As demonstrated in Table III,
the diagonal values of all constructs exceeded the off-diagonal values in row and column for
same construct, which ascertain the discriminate validity.

Structural model
The assessment of the structural model was decided based on several criteria including
explanatory power of the model (R2), path coefficient ( b ) and their corresponding t-values,
effect size (f 2) and predictive relevance of the model (Q2) (Hair et al., 2014). According to Cohen
(1988) R2 values of 0.26, 0.13 and 0.02 are, respectively, described as substantial, moderate and
weak. The results of the present study revealed that altruistic value and hedonic value
Construct Items Loadings M SD a (> 0.7) CR (> 0.7) AVE (> 0.5)
Green
purchase
AV AV1 0.858 4.329 0.569 0.724 0.844 0.644 behavior
AV2 0.786
AV3 0.760
GPB GPB1 0.535 3.994 0.662 0.826 0.880 0.600
GPB2 0.868
GPB3 0.845
GPB4 0.774
GPB5 0.805
HV HV1 0.851 4.272 0.638 0.922 0.942 0.763
HV2 0.864
HV3 0.899
HV4 0.878
HV5 0.875
PEB PEB1 0.835 4.466 0.526 0.886 0.930 0.816
PEB2 0.937
PEB3 0.935
PN PN1 0.884 4.406 0.516 0.827 0.897 0.745
PN2 0.912
PN3 0.789
OG OG1 0.931 3.262 0.971 0.924 0.952 0.868
OG2 0.933
OG3 0.932
OP OP1 0.907 3.173 0.985 0.906 0.941 0.841
OP2 0.935
OP3 0.908
OS OS1 0.935 3.531 0.963 0.931 0.956 0.877 Table II.
OS2 0.951
Mean, standard
OS3 0.923
deviation, loading,
Notes: M = Mean; SD = Standard deviation; a = Cronbach’s alpha; CR = Composite reliability; AVE = Cronbach’s alpha, CR
Average variance extracted and AVE

AV GPB HV OG OP OS PEB PN

AV 0.802
GPB 0.643 0.774
HV 0.711 0.649 0.874
OG 0.353 0.440 0.452 0.932
OP 0.326 0.445 0.403 0.788 0.917
OS 0.258 0.324 0.313 0.675 0.614 0.937
PEB 0.562 0.492 0.596 0.169 0.147 0.080 0.903
Table III.
PN 0.600 0.530 0.668 0.283 0.233 0.153 0.789 0.863
Discriminate validity
Note: Diagonals represent the square root of the average variance extracted while off-diagonal represent result using Fornell–
the correlations Larcker criterion

explained a substantial amount of variance (R2 = 0.394) in pro-environmental beliefs. Further,

pro-environmental beliefs also explained a huge amount of variance (R2 = 0.623) in personal
norm. Also, personal norm explained great amount of variance (R2 = 0.281) in GPB. In a
nutshell, the explanatory power of the model is substantial.
IJPHM Next, this study examined the predictive accuracy of the model by means of blindfolding
procedure. This procedure should be used only for reflective endogenous constructs
(Hair et al., 2014). Q2 values greater than zero indicate the model has predictive relevance for
a certain endogenous construct (Fornell and Cha, 1994). Recent literature (Hair et al., 2014)
suggested values of 0.35 (large), 0.15 (medium) and 0.02 (small) as a measure of predictive
relevance. As reported in Table IV, all the values of Q2 are greater than 0, indicating the
proposed model has adequate predictive relevance.
The effect size (f2) measures the individual effect of specific independent variable on
dependent variable (Hair et al., 2014; Mohammad et al., 2016) was evaluated. According to
Cohen (1988) effect size values of 0.02, 0.15, and 0.35, respectively, indicate small, medium
and large. As presented in Table III altruistic value (f2 = 0.064) and hedonic value (f2 =
0.128) exert weak effect on pro-environmental beliefs. In contrast, pro-environmental belief
exerts strong effect on personal norm (f2 = 0.655). Likewise, personal norm exerts strong
effect on GPB (f2 = 0.391).
To examine the hypothesized relationship between the construct, PLS bootstrapping
procedures with 5,000 resample was used to produce path coefficient and their
corresponding t-values. As all relationships developed in this study are positive, one-tailed
test for t student distribution was applied (Hair et al., 2014). Table IV presents a summary of
the hypothesized relationships among the constructs. Altruistic value significantly predicts
pro-environmental belief, thus, H1 is supported ( b = 0.28, t = 3.094 and p < 0.01). Similarly,
a hedonic value significantly predicts pro-environmental belief, hence, H2 is supported ( b =
0.397, t = 4.565 and p <0.01). Pro-environmental belief significantly predicts personal norm,
hence, H3 is supported ( b = 0.79, t = 34.45 and p <0.01). Personal norm significantly
predicts GPB, thus H4 is accepted b = 0.53, t =11.24 and p <0.01).
Mediating hypotheses were examined by bootstrapping the indirect effect with 5,000
resamples as suggested by Preacher and Hayes (2008). Table V presents a summary of the
indirect relationships. The results indicate that pro-environmental belief significantly
mediates the relationship between altruistic value and personal norm ( b = 0.221, t = 3.08
and p <0.01), and between hedonic value and personal norm ( b = 0.313, t = 4.414 and

Standard Standard
Hypotheses Relationships beta error t-value LL UP Decision R2 f2 Q2
Table IV. H1 AV ! PEB 0.28 0.09 3.094 0.119 0.473 Supported 0.394 0.064 0.302
Structural model H2 HV ! PEB 0.397 0.087 4.565 0.205 0.554 Supported 0.128
result (direct H3 PEB ! PN 0.79 0.023 34.45 0.744 0.831 Supported 0.623 0.655 0.439
relationships) H4 PN ! GPB 0.53 0.047 11.24 0.43 0.613 Supported 0.281 0.391 0.158

Standard Standard
Hypotheses Relationship beta error t-value LL UP Decision

H5 AV ! PEB ! PN 0.221 0.072 3.08 0.076 0.357 Supported

Table V. H6 HV ! PEB ! PN 0.313 0.071 4.414 0.172 0.45 Supported
Structural model H7 PEB !PN ! GPB 0.419 0.043 9.838 0.322 0.492 Supported
result (indirect H8 PN ! GPB 0.095 0.043 2.235 0.024 0.17 Supported
relationships) moderated by eWOM
p <0.01). This provides support for H5 and H6. The result also found that personal nom Green
significantly mediates the relationship between pro-environmental belief and GPB ( b = purchase
0.419, t = 9.838 and p <0.01), thus H7 was accepted.
Hypothesis eight assumed that e-WOM will moderate the relationship between personal
behavior
norm and GPB. The two-stage approach was used to test this hypothesis (Chin et al., 2003).
The two-stage approach exhibit higher level of statistical power compared with
orthogonalizing approach, hence, it is recommended to be used (Hair et al., 2014). The
bootstrapping result shows that the paths coefficient that connects the interaction construct
with GPB ( b = 0.095, t = 2.235) was statistically significant at 0.01 (Table V). This signifies
that e-WOM was able to moderate the relationships between PN and GPB. This provides
support for accepting H8.
In Figure 2, the strength of the positive relationship between personal norm and GPB
was increased by high eWOM. More clearly, a one standard deviation increase in eWOM
will not only impact GPB by 0.095 but also it would increase the impact of the personal norm
on GPB from 0.423 to 0.518 (i.e. 0.423  0.095 = 0.518).

Discussion and conclusions

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that affect consumers’ GPB in
the context of green cosmetics industry from a developing country perspective like
Malaysia. The empirical results of the study found that all predictive variables (altruistic
value, hedonic value, pro-environmental belief, personal norm and eWOM) play significant
roles in consumers’ GPB. It is revealed that hedonic value exerts a strong effect on pro-
environmental belief. This is consistent with past research in organic food consumption
(Bauer et al., 2013). It shows that Malaysian consumers are concerned about their feelings of
comfort and pleasure while consuming green cosmetics. In addition, the hypothesized
relationship between altruistic value and pro-environmental belief is also supported. This
result is aligned with the past studies that found positive correlation between altruistic
value and pro-environmental beliefs (Garling et al., 2003; Izagirre-Olaizola et al., 2015; Ojea
and Loureiro, 2007).
Furthermore, the hypothesized relationships between “pro-environmental belief and
personal norm,” as well as between “personal norm and GPB” are also supported by the
data, which are lined with the VBN theory (Stern et al., 1999). These findings are consistent
with past studies that found significant relationship between “pro-environmental belief and
personal norm” and between “personal norm and environmental citizenship behavior”
(Chua et al., 2019; Kim et al., 2015).
The mediation effect of pro-environmental belief between altruistic value and personal
norm, and between hedonic value and personal were also supported. Prior studies also
confirmed such relationships (Kiatkawsin and Han, 2017; Steg et al., 2014). Consumers who

5
4.5
4
Dependent variable

3.5
Low WOM
3
High WOM
2.5
2
Figure 2.
1.5 Interaction effect of
1 eWOM and PN
Low PN High PN
IJPHM exert high altruistic value and hedonic value develop positive beliefs and display high
obligation to act environmentally. Furthermore, the findings of this study also support the
mediating effect of personal norms in the relationship between pro-environmental beliefs
and GPB. This is consistent with past studies indicating that environmental self-identity has
significant influence on personal norms, thus exerts positive response on participation of
smart energy system (Werff and Steg, 2016).
Furthermore, the findings also support the moderating role of eWOM on the relationship
between personal norm and GPB. A possible explanation of this result is because of the fact
that individuals who has strong obligation on environmental issues are likely to purchase
green cosmetics by being influenced by the positive information they receive through
eWOM communication. This finding is in line past study that found that eWOM
communication leads to consumers’ purchase intention (Kuo et al., 2013).
In a nutshell, this study sheds some light on GPB in the Malaysian cosmetic industry.
The conceptual framework is developed based on VBN theory and ELM as a theoretical
basis. By using PLS-SEM software (SmartPLS version 3.7), the findings of the study provide
support for all direct relationships between value orientation (altruistic value and hedonic
value), pro-environmental belief, personal norm and GPB. Additionally, this study found
support for mediating effect of pro-environmental belief and personal norm toward GPB.
Also, eWOM moderates the relationship between personal norm and GPB. Overall, the
findings indicate the applicability of VBN theory and ELM in explaining the research
hypotheses highlighted in the present study.

Theoretical contribution, managerial implications and social contributions

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the field by integrating the VBN
theory and ELM to develop the conceptual framework. Stern et al. (1999) suggested that the
basis of the environmental movement was based on three general elements, namely, value,
belief and personal norm that eventually lead to pro-environmental behavior. Thus, the
present research followed these sequence of relationships as suggested by Stern (2000). Also,
based on ELM, eWOM has been considered as the moderator on the personal norm and
GPB link.
Furthermore, this study contributes to the literature by introducing new relationships to
the existing theoretical linkages. More specifically, the current study is one of the pioneer
studies that examined the moderating role of eWOM on the relationship between personal
norm and GPB. Past literature suggests that personal norm strongly affects the pro-
environmental behavior (Doran and Larsen, 2016); however, the relationship is found to be
asymmetric (Werff and Steg, 2016). Nonetheless, there was a dearth of research to examine
the moderating effect of eWOM in relation to GPB. Hence, this research attempted to fill this
gap in the existing literature. The results of this study found that eWOM communication
influences consumers’ green cosmetics purchase decisions. Thus, it can be explained that
personal norm affects the choice of consumers to purchase green products especially when
they are actively involved in obtaining positive feedback via eWOM communication. Hence,
the marketers of green cosmetics should rely on eWOM communication as one of their
promotional tools to attract consumers to buy green cosmetics instead of chemical
cosmetics.
In addition, this study proposes new direct relationships between hedonic value and pro-
environmental belief and between personal norm and GPB. Theoretically, VBN theory
considers altruistic, biospheric and egoistic values in predicting the pro-environmental
behavior (Stern et al., 1999). Nonetheless, there is a dearth of research to examine the effect of
hedonic value in relation to PEB. The findings of this study confirmed that hedonic value is
another important antecedent of PEB, which is also a new theoretical link. Emphasizing the Green
hedonic value may be considered as a useful marketing strategy for the marketing purchase
managers to look at the concept of pleasure and comfort while designing their cosmetics
behavior
products instead of solely focusing on the products’ benefit. As suggested by Cervellon and
Carey (2011), the sensory of gratification and affective experience may help marketers to
innovate their products to meet the current market demand. In addition, it also may help in
retaining the existing consumers in the long run.
Furthermore, past literature have focused on measuring purchase behavior by adapting
the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1977). This study incorporates the VBN
theory and ELM in explaining the GPB. The findings of this study have contributed to the
existing literature and confirmed the applicability of VBN theory and ELM in explaining the
GPB in a non-Western context. Thus, it shows that the usability of this theory and model
that had been developed in Western culture is applicable to be used in developing country
context.
The findings of this study also contribute to the social aspect. Understanding and
enhancing the usage of green cosmetics products is not only beneficial to the consumers’
health but also plays a significant role in providing a better environment on the whole. As
the practice of GPB is crucial on environmental sustainability (Joshi and Rahman, 2016),
social marketers are suggested to focus on enhancing consumers’ value by conducting more
awareness campaigns on the danger of chemical cosmetics products use to mankind and to
the environment. Besides, joint efforts from the government and non-governmental
organizations are needed to instill positive values among Malaysian consumers to
emphasize green practices in their daily lives.

Limitations and future research directions

The present study is not beyond its limitations. However, the limitations addressed in this
research may provide future research directions for other researchers. For example, in this
study, data were gathered using quantitative approach. Future studies can consider
qualitative methods or mixed methods to gain deeper insights on the issue. Furthermore, as
the present study’s context is cosmetics purchase, further studies can be conducted in other
industries such as supplement products and can examine possible differences. It is also
suggested that other variables can be included in the model as a moderator such as gender
and income level. This is because different backgrounds of consumers may exert different
responses and give further insights for policymakers, managers and practitioners to look
into green behavior from another point of view.

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IJPHM About the authors
Azila Jaini is a PhD candidate at International Business School, UTM. She serves as a lecturer at
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan. Her research focus is pertaining to consumer behavior and green
marketing. Azila Jaini is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: azila.j@umk.edu.my
Dr Farzana Quoquab is an Associate Professor at Azman Hashim International Business School,
UTM. She is an active researcher and managed to secure several research grants since 2014 such as
FRGS, GUP-1, GUP-2 and CWGS. She is the recipient of several awards such as the “Excellent
Service Awards,” “Faculty Award for Research,” “Highly Commended Award” and so on. Till to date,
she has graduated 6 PhD students and currently, she is supervising 10 Doctoral students as the main
supervisor. She has published articles in peer-reviewed international journals. She is one of the
editorial board members of “Emerald Emerging Market Case Studies,” “Case Studies in Business and
Management” and “Journal of Management, Economics and Industrial Organization.” She is also a
member of several national and international professional bodies.
Dr Jihad Mohammad is a senior lecturer at the Azman Hashim International Business School,
UTM, Malaysia. He has received his DBA degree from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He has
published articles in peer-reviewed international journals such as Cross-Cultural and Strategic
Management, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, International Journal of Business
Governance and Ethics, Asian Academy of Management Journal, Gadjah Mada International Journal
of Business, International Journal of Innovation and Learning and Journal of Islamic Marketing. He
has versatile career exposure. He has conducted several workshops for postgraduate students
regarding research methodology and PLS-SEM.
Dr Nazimah Hussin is a Senior Lecturer at Azman Hashim International Business School UTM.
She has PhD from Durham University, MSc from Loughborough University and BSc from Arizona
State University. She has more than 17 years of teaching experience and has been awarded the
fellowship status from the Higher Education Academy. She supervises Master and PhD students and
has graduated some of them. She has also completed several research grants. She has also been
appointed as the examiner, panelist, chairperson and reviewer relating to the academic activities
especially involving postgraduate students. She writes articles related to Islamic finance and services
marketing and has published more than 30 articles in refereed indexed journals.

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