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Green product purchase Green product

purchase
intention: impact of green intention
brands, attitude, and knowledge
Norazah Mohd Suki 2893
Labuan Faculty of International Finance, Received 1 July 2016
Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Labuan, Malaysia Revised 27 August 2016
Accepted 27 August 2016

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is threefold: to assess the impact of green brand positioning,
consumers’ attitude toward green brands, and green brand knowledge on green product purchase
intention; to investigate the influence of green brand knowledge on consumers’ attitude toward green
brands; and to examine the moderating effect of green brand knowledge on the relationship between
green brand positioning and green product purchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was utilized to gather the data (n ¼ 300) for this
study. The purposive sampling technique was used, involving respondents who practice a green
lifestyle and have had green product purchasing experience. The partial least squares (PLS) method,
which is a variance-based technique for the analysis of structural equation modeling, was used to
analyze the data, with the assistance of the SmartPLS computer program version 2.0.
Findings – Based on the standardized path coefficients of the structural model from the PLS results,
green brand knowledge was found to be the most significant determinant of green product purchase
intention. Knowledge of green brands has caused consumers to develop positive green marketing
awareness and has bolstered their interest in fortifying the environment whilst preventing its
degradation. Furthermore, green brand knowledge also impacted consumers’ attitude toward green
brands. However, this factor was an insignificant moderator of the impact between green brand
positioning and green product purchase intention.
Practical implications – Green brand positioning can be used by firms and businesses to better
market their products and improve consumers’ green brand knowledge and attitude toward green
brands, as well as increase green brand purchase intentions. Successful green brand positioning is seen
as an advantage for marketers that can be used to differentiate their products from the available
competitors, giving the impression that their products are distinguishable, and thus creating more
demand and generating increased intention to purchase more green products.
Originality/value – The empirical results of this study address the gap in the prevailing body of
literature in reference to the impact of green brand positioning and consumer attitude toward green
brands, as well as the effect of green brand knowledge on green product purchase intention. This study
found that green brand knowledge does not moderate the relationship between green brand
positioning and green product purchase intention, thus providing insight into this subject matter,
which has not been clearly examined in previous studies.
Keywords Partial least squares (PLS), Attitude towards green brand, Green brand knowledge,
Green brand positioning, Green products purchase intention
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Companies, besides focusing on profit, are rapidly exploring and researching new
ways, developing new ideas, and planning new strategies to position their green brands
in the consumer’s minds and to stay competitive in the marketplace, so as to achieve British Food Journal
business sustainability. A green brand is defined as “a brand, which offers a significant Vol. 118 No. 12, 2016
pp. 2893-2910
eco-advantage over its competitors and is able to attract consumers who set a high © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0007-070X
priority on making green purchases” (Grant, 2008, p. 25). As reported by Hartmann and DOI 10.1108/BFJ-06-2016-0295
BFJ Ibanez (2006), “a green brand entails a set of attributes and benefits associated with
118,12 reduced adverse environmental impact and the creation of a positive impression on
consumers by raising their environmental concern” (p. 673). Individuals who spend
money to purchase green products and have a high environmental consciousness and
knowledge level are referred to as green customers (Norazah and Norbayah, 2015b).
Consumers have channeled their growing concern for the environment through the
2894 demand for eco-friendly products and this movement of “going-green” has expanded
worldwide due to intensified awareness of living in a healthier way (Norazah, 2013b;
Soyez, 2012; Thøgersen et al., 2015). Some companies are also making genuine efforts to
preserve the environment. In the automotive industry, Honda, Toyota, GM, etc., have
expressed their support of green brands to the public by adopting green technologies that
conserve raw minerals and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, particularly in the
manufacturing of hybrid cars (part electric and part conventional), which aim to preserve
the environment (Marcus and Fremeth, 2009). Cooney (2010) stated that an encouraging
number, eight out of ten members of the Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS)
Club, had spent $300 billion on green products in 2008.
Prior scholars such as Hartmann and Ibanez (2006), Juwaheer et al. (2012), Konuk
(2015), and Yadav and Pathak (2016) noted that extensive studies had been conducted on
green marketing in western countries, while minimal research on green branding and
green buying behavior has been pursued in developing countries, including Malaysia.
Joshi and Rahman (2015) recommended that further research is to be conducted in these
countries to ascertain the impact of environmental knowledge on green purchase
intention. Thus, the aims of this study are threefold: to assess the impact of green brand
positioning, consumers’ attitude toward green brands, and green brand knowledge on
green product purchase intention; to investigate the influence of green brand knowledge
on consumers’ attitude toward green brands; and to examine the moderating effect of
green brand knowledge on the relationship between green brand positioning and green
product purchase intention. The empirical results of this study, including the assessment
of the moderating effects, would address the gap in the prevailing body of literature with
reference to the impact of green brand positioning, consumers’ attitude toward green
brands, and green brand knowledge on green product purchase intention in Malaysia.
The study would also offer new perspectives of the findings of previous studies. The
postulated model could aid marketers to identify specific factors, which have tremendous
impacts on green product purchase intention.
The remainder of this paper is arranged as follows: the literature review and the
formulation of the research model and hypotheses are described in the next section.
This is followed by an explanation of the methodology that was applied for this study.
Next, the quantitative results and analyses of empirical data are further elaborated
upon. Then, discussion of the research findings is specified. Lastly, conclusions and
further opportunities for research are reported in the final section.

Literature review
Theory of reasoned action (TRA)
The TRA model, developed by Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), is a belief-attitude-behavioral
intention model, which postulates that an individual’s perception of what others
consider relevant is affected by their intention and that attitude plays a major role in
predicting behavior (Netemeyer et al., 1993). In this study, green product purchase
intention is related to a consumer’s intention to buy a product that is less harmful to the
environment and the society at large. Oliver and Lee (2002), in their study of hybrid car
purchase intentions stated that green product intention refers to a consumer’s actual Green product
purchase of an environmentally friendly product or brand once they are aware of its purchase
green attributes. Vazifehdousta (2013) affirmed that consumer’s intention to buy green
products is greatly influenced by positive attitude and the perceived green value of the
intention
products. Similarly, a study by Rizwan et al. (2013) also found that consumer’s attitude
impacts his or her green product purchase intention.
2895
Green brand positioning
Green brand positioning is related to the value of green products or services, which is
based on the environmentally friendly attributes of the brand that have significance to
customers (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2002; Hartmann and Ibanez, 2006; Rios et al.,
2006). Furthermore, Saha and Darnton (2005, p. 127) referred to green positioning as
“a company’s green positioning, which represents their green image as perceived by the
public.” This is characterized as a subset of quality, profits, and ecological values that
affects the green clients’ dependence on green items (Hartmann and Ibanez, 2006).
Researchers have stressed the fact that brand positioning must meet consumer
expectations so they can associate the brand with its valuable attributes (Wang, 2016).
It is well known that “the goal of positioning is to generate a competitive advantage in
the mind of consumers over other competitor brands based on tangible or intangible
product attributes” (Gwin and Gwin, 2003, p. 30). Consumers who have some
environmental knowledge and positive past experience with ecological product
purchases have a high tendency to exhibit strong intentions to purchase a green
product due to its green attributes and successful green brand positioning (Lin and
Chang, 2012; Norazah, 2013b). This predisposition varies in accordance to the
consumer’s environmental consciousness and product usage. Thus, green brand
positioning, through active communication campaigns related to green attributes,
could induce a more positive perception of green brands amongst consumers. Earlier
scholars have asserted that green brand positioning significantly affects green product
purchase intention (Huang et al., 2014; Mostafa, 2009). Based on the preceding
literature, the following can be hypothesized:
H1. Green brand positioning has a significant effect on green product purchase
intention.

Attitude toward green brands

Attitude toward a brand is allied to the consumers’ preference and overall evaluation of
a brand, which epitomizes their likes and dislikes (Solomon, 2014). A study by Lim et al.
(2016) on food safety knowledge, attitude, and behavior noted that food safety attitude
had an impact on consumer food safety behavior. Honkanen and Young (2015) noted
that the consumers’ attitude when buying sustainable seafood was the most vital factor
in predicting their motivation to buy sustainable seafood besides the influence of, or
recommendations from family, friends, and colleagues. Likewise, a study on Greek
organic consumers also yielded similar findings (Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).
Earlier scholars noted that purchasing decisions are usually based on the consumers’
environmental attitudes (Felix and Braunsberger, 2016; Gupta and Ogden, 2009).
Feelings and a positive image are the fundamental repercussions that craft customers’
attitude and impact their intention to purchase green products (Schiffman and
Wisenblit, 2014; Thøgersen et al., 2015).
BFJ Previous green marketing studies have conveyed that consumers’ attitude regarding
118,12 eco-friendly behavior significantly influences their environmental knowledge and green
product purchase intention (Aman et al., 2012; Barber et al., 2009; Flamm, 2009).
Correspondingly, this result is comparable to the research of Yadav and Pathak (2016),
which asserted that consumer attitude toward green products significantly influences his
or her green purchase intention. Parallel to these findings, Paul et al. (2016) noted that the
2896 attitude of Indian consumers significantly predicts their purchase intention of a green
product. Indeed, a study by Mostafa (2009) showed that consumers with positive attitudes
toward green products are more apt to develop a stronger predisposition to purchase
green products by referring to its green brands and rely heavily on green brand
positioning. A research effort by Teng (2009) further specified that consumers with a
positive attitude toward a particular brand tend to have a stronger purchase intention to
buy the brand. Consistent with literature, this study therefore postulates that:
H2. Consumers’ attitude toward green brands has a significant effect on green
product purchase intention.

Green brand knowledge

Green brand knowledge is referred to as “a green brand node in the consumers’ memory
with which a variety of associations are linked to environmental commitment and
environmental concerns” (Keller, 1993, p. 2). Green brand knowledge provides
information about a product’s unique brand attributes and its benefits to the overall
environment to the consumers. The two types of brand knowledge are brand awareness
and brand image (Keller, 1993). Brand awareness is the strength of the brand node in
consumer memory, while brand image refers to strong, unique, and favorable brand
association in the consumer memory (Keller, 1993). Consumers expect to receive reliable
information about environmental issues to boost their green brand knowledge and
facilitate green product purchases (Ganapathy et al., 2014; Geyer-Allely and
Zacarias-Farah, 2003). Numerous studies have reported that environmental knowledge
positively impacts consumers’ intention and actual purchase of green products (e.g. Chen
and Chang, 2012; Eze and Ndubisi, 2013; Mostafa, 2009; Norazah, 2013b, c; Pagiaslis and
Krontalis, 2014; Peattie, 2010; Yadav and Pathak, 2016). These research findings further
support the works of Paul et al. (2016).
Former green marketing studies have noted that consumers’ positive attitude toward
green products could influence their purchase intention (Chang and Wu, 2015; Laroche
et al., 2001). Additionally, Smith and Paladino (2010) stated that knowledge of organic food
positively impacted the development of organic attitudes. On the other hand, previous
studies such as Wolsink (2007) could not determine any links between environmental
knowledge and green purchase intention. Indeed, Connell (2010) and Padel and Foster
(2005) stated that lack of information negatively influenced green purchase behavior.
Moreover, superior knowledge of food safety insignificantly contributed to improved food
safety behavior (Lim et al., 2016). Earlier studies by Fraj-Andrés and Martínez-Salinas
(2007) affirmed that environmental knowledge moderated the effect of consumer
ecological attitude toward green behavior. Additionally, consumers with a high level of
environmental knowledge have a much better pro-environmental attitude and have a
stronger intent to purchase green products for consumption (Huang et al., 2014;
Rokicka, 2002). Accordingly, this study posits that:
H3. Green brand knowledge has a significant effect on green product purchase
intention.
 Green product
H4. Green brand knowledge has a significant effect on consumers’ attitude toward
green brands. purchase
H5. Green brand knowledge moderates the relationship between green brand intention
positioning and green product purchase intention.
With reference to the aforementioned literature review, conjectures and hypotheses, the
following research framework is posited (Figure 1). 2897
Methodology
Sampling and population
A quantitative method was applied through the distribution of a structured
self-administered questionnaire to 350 members of the public in the Federal Territory of
Labuan, Malaysia, via the purposive sampling technique over a period of two weeks in
November 2015. The respondents practice a green lifestyle and have green product
purchasing experience such as having purchased organic vegetables at least once a week
at grocery stores and hypermarkets from different parts of the retail chain in the Federal
Territory of Labuan, Malaysia. After the responses were screened, a total of 300 were found
usable and valid as samples for analysis, correlating with a valid response rate of 86
percent. This figure is considered reasonable for statistical analysis, as stated by previous
scholars (Hair et al., 2010). In a similar vein, Bagozzi and Yi (2012) also recommended that
the sample size for a study be above 100, and if possible, above 200.

Questionnaire development
The first section of the three-section questionnaire for this study encompassed
general demographic questions such as gender, age, and monthly income. Second
section posed questions regarding the respondents’ experience with green product
purchases such as frequency and type of green products purchased, sources
that have motivated them to buy green products, and money spent on green product
purchases. The concluding part of the questionnaire included questions on the
respondents’ perception of green product purchase intention with 18 measurement
instruments. Green brand positioning was measured using five items. The
questionnaire items depicting consumers’ attitude toward green brands were
included in five questions. Next, five items were designed to elicit respondents’ green
brand knowledge, whilst three items were designed to measure their green product
purchase intention. The measurement of these items was adapted from the following
sources: green brand positioning (Aaker, 2007; Patrick et al., 2005), attitude toward

Green Brand
Positionin
H1

Attitude towards H2 Green Products

Green Brand
Purchase Intention

H4 H5
H3 Figure 1.
Green Brand Proposed theoretical
Knowledge framework
BFJ green brands (Patrick et al., 2005), green brand knowledge (Keller, 1993), and green
118,12 product purchase intention (Chan, 2001). These items were designed on a five-point
Likert scale, with 1 indicating “strongly disagree” to 5 “strongly agree.”

Statistical technique
The data were analyzed using the partial least squares (PLS) method, which is a variance-
2898 based technique for the analysis of structural equation modeling (SEM). The SmartPLS
computer program version 2.0 was used to assist in the data analysis, as research data do
not necessarily have a multivariate normal distribution and are less sensitive to sample
size than other covariance approaches like LISREL or AMOS (Chin, 1998). Indeed, Harris
and Goode (2004, p. 147) explicitly pointed out that “SEM overcome the limitations of
bivariate analyses through the simultaneous analysis of all the complex relationships
between the constructs.” Correspondingly, Hair et al. (2010, p. 641) stated that “SEM is
most appropriate when the research has multiple constructs, each represented by several
measured variables and allows for all of the relationship/equations to be estimated
simultaneously.” A bootstrapping analysis of 500 sub-samples was used for estimation.

Data analysis
Demographic characteristics of respondents
Descriptive analysis was performed to obtain information regarding the respondents’
demographic profiles. From the gender perspective, out of 300 respondents, 39 percent
were male and 61 percent were female (see Table I). There was a big difference in age
group whereby more than three-quarters of the respondents (92 percent) were less than
23 years old. The majority of the respondents were well educated, with more than half

Variable Frequency Percentage

Gender
Male 117 39.0
Female 183 61.0
Age (years old)
Below 18 8 2.7
19-23 268 89.3
24-28 18 6.0
29-33 4 1.3
Above 34 2 0.7
Education level
SPM 10 3.3
STPM/Matriculation 99 33.0
Diploma 18 6.0
Degree 170 56.7
Master 3 1.0
Monthly income
oRM2500 263 87.7
Table I. RM2501-RM3000 19 6.3
Demographic RM3001-RM3500 8 2.6
characteristics RM3501-RM4000 5 1.7
of respondents WRM4001 5 1.7
(56.7 percent) of the respondents holding a Bachelor’s degree and 1 percent having a Green product
Master’s degree, whereas 42.3 percent had a Diploma and below. In terms of purchase
respondent income, 87.7 percent of the respondents earned less than RM2500 per month,
and 8.9 percent earned between RM2501 and RM3500, while 3.4 percent earned
intention
RM3501 and above.

Experience with green products purchases 2899

Table II itemizes the respondents’ experience with green product purchases. Out of the
four types of green product purchases listed in the questionnaire, close to half of the
respondents (46.7 percent) stated that organic vegetables were their preferred green
product purchase, while 33.7 percent preferred purchasing organic eggs. Respondents
also purchased LED televisions and solar panels (10.7 and 9 percent, respectively).
Further assessment of the descriptive statistics shows that half of the respondents
made purchases less than five times in the past six months while 34 percent purchased
between six and ten times. A small portion of the respondents (15 percent) made
purchases 11-15 times in the past six months. In regard to money spent on green
product purchases, 46 percent spent less than RM100 on green product purchases in
the past six months, 37 percent spent RM101-RM150, while a small percentage
(17 percent) spent more than RM151. Family members were the dominant sources that
motivated them to buy green products.

PLS
PLS was performed, utilizing two stages of data analysis, i.e. measurement and
structural models because this method has been proven to be useful for theoretical
model structures with “high complexity but low theoretical information” ( Jöreskog and
Wold, 1982, p. 270). PLS-SEM handles non-normal data, small sample sizes and uses

Variable Frequency Percentage

Frequency of green purchased

1-5 times 152 50.7
6-10 times 102 34.0
11-15 times 46 15.3
Types of green products purchased
Organic egg 101 33.7
Organic vegetable 140 46.7
Solar Panels 27 9.0
LED television 32 10.7
Source motivated to buy green product
Family member 151 50.3
Friends 107 35.7
Neighbors 28 9.3
Lecturer 14 4.7
Money spent for green product purchases
o RM100 138 46.0 Table II.
RM101-RM150 110 36.7 Experiences on
RM151-RM200 31 10.3 green product
WRM201 21 7.0 purchases
BFJ formative indicators, the most prominent reasons for its application, and also allows the
118,12 examination of more complex model structures or better handling of data inadequacies
such as heterogeneity (Hair et al., 2014).

Measurement model
The measures for latent constructs in reliability and validity such as convergent
2900 validity and discriminant validity were checked at the measurement model stage.

Reliability analysis
The reliability of the latent constructs was scrutinized using Cronbach’s α and
composite reliability. Hair et al. (2010) noted that Cronbach’s α and composite reliability
values greater than 0.70 are tolerable, while values lower than 0.70 point toward a
deficiency in internal consistency. Table III indicates that the Cronbach’s α and
composite reliability values for all constructs surpassed the threshold value of 0.70,
therefore establishing strong reliability among the measures.

Convergent validity
The convergent validity of the construct measures was verified by means of
standardized factor loadings and average variance extracted (AVE). A bootstrapping
analysis of 500 sub-samples demonstrated that the standardized loadings of all
measurement items, as presented in Table III, were beyond the suggested cut-off of 0.60
with no cross-loadings (Hair et al., 2010) (with a minimum of 0.672), and all were
significant (p o 0.001) with strong confirmation of convergent validity, and that the
measurement items were well loaded on their own constructs. Besides that, the
convergent validity was also achieved when the AVE values of each construct in
the model were found to be larger than 0.50, as set by Fornell and Larcker (1981). Their
study specifies that each latent variable explains in excess of 50 percent of the variance
of its respective indicators and guarantees that more valid variance is explained rather
than error (Fornell and Larcker, 1981).

Discriminant validity
Discriminant validity was tested by comparing the shared variances between factors
with individual factor AVE (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Table IV shows that all shared
variances between factors in the model were lower than the square root of the
individual factor AVE, confirming satisfactory discriminant validity and that the
constructs were both conceptually and empirically dissimilar from each other. Indeed,
all the associations between the four factors were below 0.700, postulating an
appropriate level of discriminant validity (Sussman and Siegel, 2003). Green brand
knowledge was found to have the strongest correlation with green product purchase
intention (r ¼ 0.454, p o 0.01), followed by green brand positioning (r ¼ 0.423, p o 0.01),
and attitude toward green brands (r ¼ 0.422, p o 0.01). Thus, each factor was
statistically distinct from the other.
The variance inflation factor values of these analyses ranged between 2.034 (attitude
toward green brands) and 2.406 (green brand knowledge), providing assurance that the
structural model results have not been negatively impacted by collinearity, as the values
were lower than 10, as recommended by Hair et al. (2010). Green product purchase intention
had the highest mean of 3.386 with a standard deviation of 0.722, followed by green brand
knowledge (mean ¼ 3.354, standard deviation ¼ 0.805).
 Average
Green product
Standardized Cronbach’s Composite variance purchase
Items loadings α reliabilitya extractedb intention
Green brand positioning
Quality and price is important when
consumers purchase green products 0.780 0.792 0.858 0.547
I get to know about green branding through 2901
advertisement 0.769
Green products have matched my personal
wants and needs 0.672
Green product always overpriced 0.690
I prefer to purchase environmentally green
products 0.780
Attitude toward green brand
I feel that green product’s environmental
reputation is generally reliable 0.792 0.837 0.885 0.606
I feel that green product’s environmental
performance is generally dependable 0.804
I feel that green product’s environmental
claims are generally trustworthy 0.791
Green product’s environmental concern meets
my expectations 0.759
Green products keep promises and
responsibilities for environmental protection 0.744
Green brand knowledge
Going green products could be a beneficial
investment in long term 0.769 0.816 0.872 0.577
Green product’s environmental performance
meets my expectations 0.718
Lack of availability of access is a major reason
for low popularity and demand of green products 0.762
I purchase green product because it is
environmental friendly 0.820
I purchase green product because it has more
environmental benefit than other products 0.818
Green products purchase intention
I intend to buy green product because of your
environmental concern 0.885 0.874 0.922 0.798
I expect to purchase green product in the
future because of its environmental benefits 0.930
Overall, I am glad to purchase green product
because it is environmental friendly 0.864
Note: aComposite reliability ¼ (square of the summation of the factor loadings)/((square of the summation
of the factor loadings) + (square of the summation of the error variances)); bAVE ¼ (summation of the Table III.
square of the factor loadings)/((summation of the square of the factor loadings) + (summation of the error Reliability and
variances)) validity analysis

Goodness-of-fit (GoF) index

The GoF index of the model was calculated by dividing the geometric mean of AVE
average with R2 average; the GoF criterion values must be between 0 and 1 (Tenenhaus
et al., 2005). Next, Cohen (1988) and Wetzels et al. (2009) put forward three segments of
BFJ the GoF index: small (0.1 o GoF⩽0.25), medium (0.25 o GoF⩽0.36), and large
118,12 (GoF W 0.36). The GoF index for this study was 0.64, which indicates a large GoF
index and that the model has better explaining power in comparison with the baseline
values defined above. Thus, the model provides adequate support to validate the PLS
model globally.

2902 Structural model

The structural model, which is the second stage of the PLS data analysis, was run to
examine the research hypotheses of the model. PLS requires a measure of predictive
capability that utilizes an approach called the blindfolding procedure. A cross-validated
redundancy greater than 0 shows that there is predictive relevance, while a value less
than 0 indicates that the model lacks predictive relevance (Chin, 1998). In this study, the
model was determined to have predictive relevance, as the cross-validated redundancy
result (the Stone-Geisser test Q2) was 0.517, which is greater than 0. The R2 value for
the endogenous variable was 0.655, which exceeded the minimum level of 10 percent
suggested by Falk and Miller (1992), signifying a strong explanatory power for the
model (i.e. all independent variables accounted for 66 percent of the total variance in
green product purchase intention).
This research applied a bootstrapping resampling technique with 500 sub-samples
to assess the influence of exogenous variables (i.e. green brand positioning, attitude
toward green brands, and green brand knowledge) on the endogenous variable
(i.e. green product purchase intention). In other words, a bootstrapping test was used to
determine the estimates of standard errors, so as to examine the statistical significance
of path coefficients from the means of the t-tests (Yi and Davis, 2003).
Specifically, the results of the path coefficients and t-values were itemized as outlined in
Table V, whereby green brand positioning is seen to have a significant and positive link
with green product purchase intention, which is well within expectations (β1 ¼ 0.376,
t-value ¼ 6.098, po0.05). Hence, H1 is therefore supported. In a similar vein, consumers’
attitude toward green brands had a significant influence on green product purchase
intention (β2 ¼ 0.103, t-value ¼ 2.177, po0.05), inferring that H2 is also retained. Further
examination of the path coefficient shows that green brand knowledge is significant and
positively relates to green product purchase intention (β3 ¼ 0.447, t-value ¼ 7.869,
po0.05), as posited by H3. Thus, H3 is reinforced. Besides that, H4 examines whether or
not green brand knowledge has a significant effect on consumers’ attitude toward green

Variables Mean SD 1 2 3 4

1 Green brand positioning 3.232 0.842 0.740

2 Attitude toward green brand 3.179 0.787 0.342** 0.778
3 Green brand knowledge 3.354 0.805 0.409** 0.474** 0.760
**
4 Green products purchase intention 3.386 0.722 0.423 0.422** 0.454** 0.893
Skewness 0.626 0.175 0.587 0.496
Table IV. Kurtosis 0.153 0.362 0.217 0.412
Inter-construct Tolerance 0.448 0.492 0.416 0.448
correlations and Variance inflation factor 2.231 2.034 2.406 2.231
square root of the Notes: SD, standard deviation. Diagonal elements (in italic) show the square root of the average
AVE along the variance extracted. Off-diagonal elements show the shared variances. **Correlation is significant at the
diagonal 0.01 level (two-tailed)
 Path
Green product
Hypothesized paths coefficients t-value Results purchase
Direct relationships
intention
H1 Green brand positioning → Green products purchase 0.376 6.098* H1 supported
intention
H2 Attitude toward green brand → Green products 0.103 2.177* H2 supported
purchase intention 2903
H3 Green brand knowledge → Green products purchase 0.447 7.869* H3 supported
intention
H4 Green brand knowledge → Attitude toward green brand 0.680 21.541* H4 supported
Moderating effects
H5 Green brand positioning  Green brand 0.059 1.478 H5 not supported Table V.
knowledge → Green products purchase intention Statistical results of
Note: *Statistically significant at p o 0.05 (for t-value W1.960) the structural model

brands. The path estimates noted that green brand knowledge does indeed have a
significant and positive relationship with consumers’ attitude toward green brands
(β4 ¼ 0.680, t-value ¼ 21.541, po0.05). Thus, H4 is maintained.
An additional investigation into whether or not green brand knowledge moderates
the relationship between green brand positioning and green product purchase intention
was assessed using . The moderating effects was ascertained by calculating the mean-
centered indicator values before the moderator variable multiplication (i.e. green brand
knowledge) with the predictor variable (i.e. green brand positioning), also known as
interaction terms. This method was endorsed by Ping (1995) as an applicable method
for assessing path models with latent variable interactions. By referring to the results
of the path estimates and t-values, as depicted in Table V, the moderating impact of
green brand knowledge on the relationship between green brand positioning and green
product purchase intention was found to be insignificant (β5 ¼ 0.059, t-value ¼ 1.478,
p W 0.05). Since the estimation of the interaction term resulted in a non-significant
value, the influence of green brand positioning and green product purchase intention
does not vary significantly across green brand knowledge levels, as illustrated in
Figure 2. Thus, H5 is not supported.

5 Moderator
Green products purchase intention

4.5 Low Green brand

knowledge
4 High Green brand
knowledge
3.5

2.5
Figure 2.
2 Moderating effects
of green brand
1.5
knowledge on green
1 products purchase
Low Green brand High Green brand intention
positioning positioning
BFJ Discussion
118,12 This study assessed the impact of green brand positioning, consumers’ attitude toward
green brands, and green brand knowledge on green product purchase intention. Next,
the effect of green brand knowledge on consumers’ attitude toward green brands was
examined. Finally, the moderating effect of green brand knowledge on the relationship
between green brand positioning and green product purchase intention was also
2904 ascertained. The results support the postulated model. Specifically, the PLS approach
yielded an acceptance of H1; where it was found that green brand positioning has a
positive and significant impact on green product purchase intention. This is in
accordance with the results of previous researches found in the literature (Aaker and
Joachimsthaler, 2002; D’Souza et al., 2007; Hartmann and Ibanez, 2006; Huang et al.,
2014; Lin and Chang, 2012; Mostafa, 2009; Norazah, 2013b). The positive effect of green
brand positioning is that the consumers would perceive the purchase of green products
as a necessary thing. In this aspect, successful green brand positioning can be seen as
an advantage for marketers to differentiate their products from available competitors,
giving the impression of being distinguishable, whilst creating more demand and
increase consumers’ intention to purchase more green products.
Additionally, the finding from this quantitative research proves that consumers’
attitude toward green brands have a significant positive relationship with green
product purchase intention. Hence, H2 is maintained. In other words, when consumers’
attitude toward green brands becomes more positive, the level of green product
purchase intention amongst consumers would also increase. In the previous factor
analysis, attitude toward green brands consisted of elements of reliability, dependability,
and trustworthiness. Purchasing green products reflects that the consumer feels
responsible for the environment. This result is in line with the findings in western
countries by preceding scholars such as Chen and Peng (2012), Felix and Braunsberger
(2016), Fotopoulos and Krystallis (2002), Honkanen and Young (2015), Lee et al. (2010), and
Norazah (2013b, c, a). Their findings affirm that consumers with positive attitudes toward
green brands are inclined to nurture a more positive behavior and have a higher intention
to buy green products. Their judgment to purchase green products are often based on
their environmental attitudes (Aman et al., 2012; Barber et al., 2009; Flamm, 2009; Gupta
and Ogden, 2009; Lim et al., 2016; Paul et al., 2016; Yadav and Pathak, 2016). A positive
brand attitude shows that consumers have a high environmental consciousness and
frequently enjoy utilizing green brands, to the point that they mentally start to see these
brands as a major aspect of themselves (Mostafa, 2009; Norazah, 2013b; Teng, 2009).
A closer examination of the PLS results delineates that H3 is strongly supported
because green brand knowledge had a significant effect on green product purchase
intention. Based on the standardized path coefficients of the structural model under
investigation, this factor was found to be the strongest significant determinant of green
product purchase intention. Next, this study also reported that green brand knowledge
significantly affected consumers’ attitude toward green brands. Thus, H4 is also
supported. The results also appear to validate the findings of earlier studies (e.g. Chen
and Chang, 2012; Eze and Ndubisi, 2013; Mostafa, 2009; Norazah, 2013b, c, a; Pagiaslis
and Krontalis, 2014; Peattie, 2010; Yadav and Pathak, 2016). From these encouraging
results, this study has further advanced the current body of knowledge by
investigating the moderating impacts of green brand knowledge on the relationship
between green brand positioning and green product purchase intention, as
posited by H5. Path estimate results of PLS show that H5 is, however, not
supported, implying that the impact of green brand positioning on green product
purchase intention does not vary significantly across green brand knowledge level Green product
(i.e. low level or high level of green brand knowledge). purchase
Knowledge of green brands causes consumers to develop positive green marketing
awareness and induces concern regarding environmental protection and prevention of its
intention
degradation ( Juwaheer et al., 2012; Norazah and Norbayah, 2015b, a; Vitell, 2015). Eco-label
and eco-brand products serve as a guide to consumers’ green brand knowledge during the
decision-making process in buying the products and in their green buying behavior (Chen 2905
and Peng, 2012; Norazah, 2013b, c, a). Additionally, the descriptive findings of this study
revealed that family members and friends with better knowledge of green brands are the
two most important motivation sources for consumers to purchase green products because
someone close to them have already had a positive experience with green product
purchases. These family and friends tend to highlight to others that going for green
products is a beneficial investment for them in the long term. In the same vein, they would
also spread positive word-of-mouth to others and indirectly increase demand for green
products toward fulfilling a healthier lifestyle (Peattie, 2010).

Conclusion and recommendations

This study’s findings provide some important practical implications for research and
green practice, as green brands and consumers’ green buying behavior continue to be
important research issues. Notably, this research confirms that green brand knowledge is
the most critical factor that could sway consumers’ intention to purchase green products.
Consequently, firms should portray to the consumers that they play an imperative role in
practicing a green business environment in the competitive marketplace. Successfully
explaining eco-friendly qualities of a product brand to consumers to fortify their
knowledge would help to better assist their evaluation of green products (Rios et al., 2006).
Besides that, firms need to build an outstanding green brand identity to strengthen the
green brand knowledge of current and potential customers, so as to easily differentiate the
benefits of consuming green products brand from other brands, particularly for a barely
noticeable brand. This can be affected by offering top quality green products with
reasonable pricing that can compete with conventional products, indirectly increasing
consumers’ awareness and knowledge that green products are good for health.
Furthermore, when consumers have knowledge about the advantage of consuming green
products that match with the products’ great performance, the consumers’ level of
awareness, interest, and demand could shift their buying behavior toward a greener
lifestyle (Huang et al., 2014). In this respect, when they have more detailed information
regarding green products such as how they are produced, promoted and packaged, they
could lean toward putting in their own personal set of considerations in the purchase
decision-making process (Norazah, 2013b).
Green brand positioning is the second most important construct that impacts the
intention of consumers to purchase green products. Most importantly, firms should
directly position, promote, and advertize their green products via traditional and
electronic media to enhance green brand positioning, knowledge, and attitude as well
as environmental awareness in the consumers’ minds. This is essential as consumers
are more likely to buy green products if they are familiar with the brand (Norazah,
2013b). Besides increasing sales revenue, efficient green brand positioning could enable
competitive firms to portray promising environmental roles and responsibilities, so as
to be more apparent to the public. Positioning a green product such that it has a high
environmental impact and would be able to meet the consumers’ ecological expectation
could foster the consumers’ belief that the product’s green brand is eco-friendly and
BFJ trusted for its environmental practices. To further boost consumer attitude toward
118,12 green brands, firms should aggressively use various marketing channels including
creative product packaging through convincing eco-labeling, and via social media sites
such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. These efforts would help
disseminate promising green marketing message contents such as superior green
product quality, product ingredients, and competitive prices, all of which would
2906 increase consumer awareness and encourage repeated purchasing and satisfaction.
These strategies could also contribute to business sustainability.
The PLS empirical findings of this study offer academic contributions to the prevalent
body of knowledge on consumers’ environmental behavior by delivering invaluable
understanding of the effect of green brand positioning, consumers’ attitude toward green
brands, and green brand knowledge on the green product purchase intention in
Malaysia. Furthermore, these outcomes convey new and considerable inputs into the
marketing theory, whereby green brand positioning, consumers’ attitude toward green
brands, and green brand knowledge significantly influence green product purchase
intention. Empirically, green brand knowledge is not a significant moderator between
green brand positioning and green product purchase intention. The quantitative data
analyses applied will permit future researchers to explain the significance of the present
study in comprehending green product purchase intention. The empirical findings also
add to the growing literature around consumer environmental behavior.
Although this study has yielded new insights into the subject matter mentioned
above, it still has some limitations, which could be used as future research
opportunities. First, the public sample from the Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia
would not be representative of the population in Malaysia as a whole. Thus, extensive
sampling is recommended to improve the generalizability of the findings. Besides that,
the R2 value for the study was determined to be 66 percent in terms of green product
purchase intention, which implies that there are additional contributing factors that can
be researched, which pertain to the consumers’ intention to buy green products. For
example, the existence of additional moderating variables such as gender and age could
provide important empirical results for managerial and actionable decision making to
generate more acceptance toward green products for environmental consciousness.
People of differing genders and ages would react differently to each construct of green
brand positioning. Attitude toward green brands, green brand knowledge, and green
product purchase intention have been found to be more or less important to younger
people. These factors are helpful in inspiring consumers to change their buying
behavior and to implementing a greener lifestyle.

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About the author

Dr Norazah Mohd Suki is an Associate Professor at the Labuan Faculty of International Finance,
Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Labuan International Campus, Malaysia. Her research interests
include electronic marketing, E-commerce, M-commerce, consumer behavior, mobile learning and
areas related to marketing. She has mentored several post-graduate students, published papers in
peer-review ISI and SCOPUS indexed journals, chapter books and international conference
proceedings, and coordinated and participated in several research projects. She is the Editor-in-
Chief to Labuan e-Journal of Muamalat & Society, a Member in advisory board for several
outstanding journals. She has sound experiences as a Speaker to public and private universities,
government bodies on courses related to structural equation modeling (SEM), Statistical Package
for Social Sciences (SPSS), research methodology. Dr Norazah Mohd Suki can be contacted at:
azahsuki@yahoo.com

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