Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100158

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Cleaner and Responsible Consumption

journal homepage: www.journals.elsevier.com/cleaner-and-responsible-consumption

Factors affecting sustainable consumption behavior: Roles of pandemics

and perceived consumer effectiveness
Tri Cao Minh *, Nga Nguyen Thi Quynh
Ho Chi Minh City Open University, 35-37 Ho Hao Hon Street, Ward Co Giang, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The objective of the study is to assess the roles of pandemics and perceived consumer effectiveness in factors
Environment concern affecting the sustainable consumption behavior in the Vietnam’s context. Based on two main theoretical foun­
Pandemics dations: Ajzen’s TPB theory (1991) and Schwartz’s NAM model (1977), the study used both qualitative and
Perceived consumer effectiveness
quantitative research methods with 9 scales of 43 observed variables. 645 valid survey responses were collected
Personal norms
Subjective norms
from five major cities in Vietnam in 2022 and were analyzed by using SPSS and SmartPLS 3.8 softwares. The
Sustainable consumption behavior results showed that pandemics have positive impacts on factors affecting the sustainable consumption behavior,
including: environment concern, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, personal norms.
Except the subjective norms factor which did not reach statistical significance, the remaining hypotheses were
tested to have positive impacts on the intention and sustainable consumption behavior. In addition, the study
also demonstrated a positive moderating effect of perceived consumer effectiveness on the relationship between
intention and sustainable consumption behavior. Some managerial implications and future researches are also
suggested.

1. Introduction pandemics have changed the consumption choices of many individuals

Like other pandemics that appeared in human history as SARS,
MERS, Ebola …, Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) is considered a black swan
phenomenon-an unpredictable event with serious consequences (Bogle
and Sullivan, 2009). Unprecedented social distancing causes many
consequences and pressures on global society, politics and economy
(Alzueta et al., 2021; Kolahchi et al., 2021). Jackson et al. (2021) esti­
mated that Covid-19 has an impact on the global economy of $90 trillion
far beyond anything in nearly a century.
When it is still impossible to completely solve the variants of Covid-
19, humans continue to face other dangerous pandemics such as mon­
keypox, influenza A, and dengue fever. They are supposed to be inevi­
table consequences of habitat damage caused by climate change,
depletion of natural resources and environmental pollution. They may
be spread faster if the world does not find solutions to increase aware­
ness and act more sustainably to protect the environment.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (2017),
the best way is to improve the living environment by sustainable con­
sumption. The most essential and core factor that leads to sustainable
consumption comes from the lifestyle and behavior of consumers. The
and made consumers around the world, redefined their priorities, goals
and their consumption patterns, choosing products and services with
greater care and responsibility in attempting to adapt to new habits and
trends created by the global emergency (Esposti et al., 2021). Researches
on sustainable consumer behavior trends are receiving more and more
attention due to the increasing awareness of people about responsibility
and environmental protection issues under the impact of pandemics like
Covid-19 (Ali et al., 2021; Esposti et al., 2021; Abbas et al., 2021;
Maurie, 2020).
Sustainable consumption behavior, especially from individual con­
sumers, has a core and urgent meaning to effectively improve the earth’s
ecological quality and living environment for future generations. It is
essential to identify factors that influence people’s intentions to engage
in sustainable consumption behavior and provide preliminary assess­
ments of how the pandemic has affected these factors. Assessing the
impact of Covid-19 as a specific representative of the pandemic on the
ability of consumers to form sustainable consumption behavior from the
perspective of individual psychology and factors that filling the gap
between intention and actual behavior is practical. It will supplement
the theoretical basis of behavior formation, the foundation for carrying

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: tricaominh9999@gmail.com, tri.cm@ou.edu.vn (T. Cao Minh), ngantq.208b@ou.edu.vn (N. Nguyen Thi Quynh).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2023.100158
Received 29 June 2023; Received in revised form 21 November 2023; Accepted 2 December 2023
Available online 11 December 2023
2666-7843/© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
T. Cao Minh and N. Nguyen Thi Quynh
out new studies on the impact of a force majeure event on the ability to
form behavior, and propose more appropriate solutions to sustainable
consumer behavior, especially in the post-pandemic period.
The Vietnam’s GDP reached more than 343 billion USD in 2020- one
of the few economies in the world have had positive growth during the
stressful period of the pandemic (General Statistics Office of Vietnam,
2021) due to the Government’s prompt response measures, the good
pandemic control efforts of the entire front-line medical force and
serious prevention regulations implementation. However, the pandemic
still leaves huge changes in economic and social life as well as people’s
views on sustainable consumption behavior. Previous studies have been
done on sustainable consumption but still no one assessing how a
pandemic affect sustainable consumption intentions and behaviors. Do
pandemics and perceived consumer effectiveness play key roles in fac­
tors affecting the sustainable consumption behavior? How are their ef­
fects? What are implications for business managers? This study was
conducted in 2022 in five major cities that contribute to 50% GDP in
Vietnam (Quoc and Thanh, 2022), to assess the role of pandemics, which
Covid-19 is a specific one, as well as the role of perceived consumer
effectiveness in factors affecting the sustainable consumption behavior.
Some managerial implications should be suggested then.
2. Literature review
2.1. Sustainable consumption behavior
The concept of sustainable consumption was first raised during the
United Nations Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 (Jackson, 2014). Sustain­
able consumption means greening the entire supply chain, from the
supplier of input materials to production and distribution to the final
market, and at the same time communicating to consumers about sus­
tainability (Tania and Sigrid, 2006). It can be said that sustainable
consumption is not only encapsulated in shopping behavior but also
reflects the views and lifestyles of governments, businesses and end
consumers (individuals and households). It encourages consumers to
buy green products and adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle to the environ­
ment by buying less and buying better in the long run (Sun et al., 2021).
2.2. Environment concern
The limitation of both domestic and foreign transportation during
the Covid-19 period resulted in a substantial decline in travel demand, a
near-paralysis of the transportation infrastructure, and many serious
socioeconomic repercussions (Iacus et al., 2020). In another view, less
transportation activity also means less demand for oil and other fossil
fuels, which has many benefits for the environment, including better air
quality. NO2 emissions have decreased by up to 30%, and environmental
quality has improved (Muhammad et al., 2020). The water quality has
also improved as a result of people staying at home and limiting their
travel and shipping operations (Saadat et al., 2020).
The enormous amount of medical waste that is generated every day,
however, is a huge threat to the environment and ecosystem. When
millions of people abruptly start wearing one or more daily masks,
single-use gloves, and hand sanitizer, the amount of garbage produced
will be taken into account. Additionally, as household organic trash
increases and online purchases are transported and packaged, the
amount of inorganic garbage also grows tremendously (Zam­
brano-Monserrate et al., 2020). Pandemic’s environmental conse­
quences, whether indirect or direct, continue to inspire a range of
questions about fresh avenues and approaches that the entire global
community is interested in exploring to minimize the load on the
environment in the future.
H1. Pandemics have a positive impact on environmental concern.
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Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100158
2.3. Behavioral factors
Pandemics have had major impacts resulting in a regulatory shift to
the state of the global consumer. In the early stages of the outbreak,
everyone had to implement a blockade or isolation regulation, disrupt­
ing many normal activities in life, especially because many local shops
were forced to close due to pandemic control. Worring about the
absence of goods causes psychological disorder, the crowd effect drives
consumers to go shopping and store essential items and medical supplies
in large quantities. However, with the persistence of Covid-19 along
with the continuous introduction of new strains leading to financial
uncertainty caused by the severe crisis and long-term economic reces­
sion, the rising unemployment and inflation in many countries will have
a significant impact on consumer attitudes, perceptions and behavior in
the future (Chauhan and Shah, 2020). Consumers are more cautious in
their consumption decisions to balance income and expenditure with
continuous fluctuations and uncertain salary in commodity prices
because of the pandemic. In 2021, a survey of more than 3,000 con­
sumers in 15 countries proved that the pandemic has potentially created
an era of healthier and more sustainable consumption over the next ten
years (Accenture, 2021). Obviously, not only Covid-19 negatively
affected the economy but also psychologically with consumers and led
to quite noticeable changes in both short-term and long-term con­
sumption behavior.
H2. Pandemics have a positive impact on consumer attitude.
Subjective norms are necessary whether a person feels pressure
deciding to perform the behavior (Ateş, 2020). As a protective instinct
against risks, people frequently experience anxiety and bad feelings
prior to unforeseen and potentially hazardous situations, such as
Covid-19 (Mobbs et al., 2015). People may be more willing to accept the
unfavorable judgment of others in order to protect themselves if they
feel vulnerable (Nabavi et al., 2017). When they feel more threatened
and are unsure of what to do, individuals can, for instance, pay attention
to their partner and keep their distance from the neighborhood to pre­
vent the spread of COVID-19 (Alijanzadeh and Harati, 2021). Addi­
tionally, Asian cultures prioritize social responsibilities and obligations,
and collectivism can encourage people to adhere to societal norms while
stifling personal wants while Western cultures stress autonomy, inde­
pendence, and self-control (Kitayama et al., 2018).
H3. Pandemics have a positive impact on subjective norms.
Perceived behavioral control refers to a person’s self-perception and
self-assessment of how easy or difficult it is to complete a behavior. An
individual will put out more effort to carry out activities if they believe
they have more resources and skills and are less likely to face barriers or
challenges (Ajzen and Madden, 1986). The effect of the Covid-19
epidemic, which disrupted the global supply chain, and the workforce
crisis, which has decreased the accessibility of consumers to sustainable
products/services, have led to a rise in demand for stockpiling but an
inability of the supply capacity to keep up. Consumers should take into
account the additional spending on green products due to the ongoing
price increases on the market as a result of market fluctuations brought
on by the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic, as well as the loss
of income from lost jobs and the implementation of social distancing
orders. However, reducing expenditure offers the chance to encourage
sustainable consumption patterns such as using less energy, recycling
more, cooking at home, cutting back on superfluous buying, and pur­
chasing secondhand clothing to raise the cost of living.
H4. Pandemics have a positive impact on perceived behavioral
control.
The NAM of Schwartz (1977) strongly supports the view that when
people have a high awareness of harmful environmental consequences
and their sense of shared responsibility for the environmental issues
have been raised, the ethical standards are likely to be activated. Climate
change and its consequences have long been no longer a new story,
T. Cao Minh and N. Nguyen Thi Quynh
forcing many governments worldwide to invest a lot of money, effort
and time in solutions to improve goodwill and rescue this planet action.
However, since Covid-19 surfaced, this has changed from being a
faraway tale of the highest authority to a survival issue that is currently
playing out in front of every citizen’s eyes, regardless of wealth. Are
there any pandemics following Covid-19 that are even riskier and more
challenging to treat than waiting? Pandemics brought on by a new
environment are the results that trick individuals out of their ingenuity.
It is time for each person to be aware of the pressing issues in their own
living environment in order to accept responsibility and find solutions to
difficulties starting with the most basic daily duties.
H5. Pandemics have a positive impact on personal norms.
During the Covid-19 period, pollution became a major issue on a
global scale, possibly as a result of the correlation between pollution and
the potential for rising rates, which has been supported by numerous
studies (Copat et al., 2020; Frontera et al., 2020; Hendryx and Luo,
2020; Sarmadi et al., 2021; Murhekar et al., 2021). That has made the
Covid-19 pandemic’s effects on environmental degradation a serious
and crucial issue that has drawn attention from academia, other gov­
ernments, and individuals worldwide. Accordingly, consumers nowa­
days are more aware of sustainable consumption behavior and become
more cautious and responsible in shopping and consumption decisions.
H6. Environmental concern has a positive impact on sustainable con­
sumption intention.
2.4. Theory of Planning Behavior
Ajzen (1991) developed the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to
analyze the behavioral intention formed from three determinants of
beliefs: subjective norms from the pressure of social norms and
self-perception about the presence of factors that can promote or limit
the performance of the behavior and attitude. TPB is a general behav­
ioral model with high applicability and widely used in many kinds of
research in various fields such as business, marketing, public relations …
TPB has also proven to be suitable to account for different types of
behavior related to sustainability, as in studies of recycling behavior
(Park and Ha, 2014), to predict intention formation in individual con­
sumption (Geiger et al., 2017), sustainable consumption behavior in the
fashion industry (Uyen et al., 2021).
H7. Consumer attitude has a positive impact on sustainable con­
sumption intention.
H8. Subjective norms have a positive impact on sustainable con­
sumption intention.
H9. Perceived behavioral control has a positive impact on sustainable
consumption intention.
2.5. Norm activation model
The Norm Activation Model (NAM) was originally developed by
Schwartz (1977). Personal norms, refer to an individual’s expectations
for behavior derived from behavioral norms and values, guide the for­
mation of appropriate behaviors in specific situations. They are at the
core of this model, formed by two factors: the awareness of conse­
quences and the ascription of responsibility.
NAM has been widely applied as a core theory in research papers on
predicting pro-environmental intentions and behaviors, in many areas
as saving electricity (Zhang et al., 2013), using energy (Werff and Steg,
2015), recycling (Thomas and Sharp, 2013), reduce clothing consump­
tion (Joanes, 2019), use public transport (Lind et al., 2015). NAM can
explain the formation of sustainable consumption behavior because it
shares common characteristics with altruistic behavior, in that they all
stem from moral obligations and concern for the living environment for
themselves and others.
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Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100158
H10. Personal norms have a positive impact on sustainable con­
sumption intention.
2.6. Perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE)
Akehurst et al. (2012) argued that “PCE is the belief that every in­
dividual’s actions play an important role in protecting the environ­
ment”. Other studies have also conclusively shown that PCE may
increase levels of green consumption (Hanss et al., 2016; Kim et al.,
2012). People who care about the environment will only take more
aggressive measures if they believe that doing so will help to resolve
environmental problems (Emekci, 2019). From a cognitive standpoint,
whether or not consumer intentions can be translated into real conduct
in studies of consumer behavior may depend on their capacity to
manage their objectives (Fishbein and Ajzen, 2005). In sustainable
consumption, consumers seek to fulfill not only their own demands but
also to advance society at large through environmentally friendly
practices. Additionally, customers who believe their actions will last
longer exhibit higher levels of compliance with environmentally
friendly practices. Because their environmental aims are seen as more
solvable and less at odds with the long-term goals of green behavior in
their spending, it may be assumed that such consumers have better in­
fluence over the impact of green behavior (Miniero et al., 2014).
H11. Sustainable consumption intention has a positive impact on
sustainable consumption behavior.
H12. Perceived consumer effectiveness moderates the relationship
between sustainable consumption intention and sustainable consump­
tion behavior.
Based on the hypotheses, a research model is suggested (Fig. 1).
3. Research methodology
Both qualitative and quantitative methods were conducted in this
research. The constructs in the research model were based on literature
review and expert interviews in the qualitative research (Table A.1).
The study was conducted in 5 biggest cities in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh,
Hanoi, Hai Phong, Can Tho, and Da Nang). 728 replies were received
from 1,000 respondents. Following data cleaning and filtering, 645 re­
plies were accepted to process by using SPSS 25.0 and Smart PLS 3.8
software. The percentage of gender was suitable with the population
statistic in Vietnam. 92.8% of respondents were the ages from 18 to 45
who are the major Vietnamese consumers. All of them were qualified to
understand the sustainable consumption behavior (Table A.2).
4. Results
4.1. Assessment of the measurement models
The assessment of reflective measurement models based on Hair
et al. (2022) including the analysis of indicator reliability, internal
consistency (composite reliability: CR; cronbach’s alpha: ρA), conver­
gent validity (average variance extracted: AVE) and discriminant val­
idity (heterotrait-monotrait ratio of correlations: HTMT). The indicator
loadings reflect the amount of variance that is shared between the in­
dividual indicator variables and the associated construct, which is used
to ensure indicator reliability. Through analysis of factor loadings,
except for two indicators PAN2 and PAN4 are excluded from the mea­
surement model measured due to weak external loadings (λ < 0.4), not
meeting the requirements for reliability, the remaining indicators shown
in Table A.3 all have load factors reaching threshold 0.4 < λ < 0.7, thus,
the model provides sufficient indicator reliability (Hair et al., 2022).
According to Peterson and Kim (2013), the Cronbach’s alpha coef­
ficient often represents the incorrect reliability because it tends to be
lower than the true level, while Hair et al. (2022) argues that the CR
coefficient often overestimates the reliability of the indicator. To
T. Cao Minh and N. Nguyen Thi Quynh
Fig. 1. Research model.
overcome these two shortcomings, Hair et al. (2022) recommend that
the true value of internally consistent confidence (ICR) should be be­
tween alpha coefficient and composite reliability, with coefficient α as
the lower bound and CR as the upper bound. According to the analysis
results. As shown in Table A.4, the sets of indicators have met the above
standard α < ICR < CR, which between the thresholds of 0.70 and 0.95,
and achieved an internal consistency.
Hair et al. (2019) provide a threshold for assessing the average
explanation of the latent variable to the indicator. If the AVE ≥0.5, the
variation of each indicator will be explained by the latent variable about
50% or more. Table A.4 shows that all reflective constructs’ AVE values
in the model exceed the critical value of 0.5. Thus, the resulting mea­
surement models all achieve convergence accuracy.
Before analyzing the accuracy of the discrimination, it is necessary to
check the condition that the external load factor must be bigger than the
cross-loading factor. According to Hair et al. (2019), the cross-load co­
efficient represents the correlation between the indicator scales. To
achieve the necessary degree of discrimination between the scales, the
coefficient cross load must be less than the external load factor of each
question. According to Henseler et al. (2015), the HTMT value ≤ 0.85
shows that the indicator sets of each scale are measuring for different
values, in other words, the result in Table A.5 have reached discriminant
validity.
4.2. Assessment of the structural model
The assessment of the structural model involves checking collin­
earity issues with the variance inflation factor (VIF), the significance and
relevance of the path coefficients in the model, and the models’
explanatory and predictive power. According to Hair et al. (2019) if the
VIF is < 3, then there is no multicollinearity phenomenon, the results
shown in Table A.6 show that there is no multicollinearity between the
concepts in the research model.
The results of the coefficients R2 and R2adjusted shown in Table A.7
show that the Pandemic variable has an average impact on the factors
affecting sustainable consumption behavior, including: Attitude, Envi­
ronmental Concern, Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavioral Control
and Personal Norms with the explanatory level of variation ranging from
25% to 33%. The R2 coefficient of Sustainable Consumption Intention
and Behavior shows that the input variables in the research model are
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Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100158
appropriate and have good explanatory power, reaching 65%.
The coefficient f2 is used to evaluate the explanatory level of the
independent variable to the dependent variable. Cohen (1988) proposed
the following criteria to evaluate the coefficient (f2): f2 ≤ 0.02: does not
play an explanatory role; 0.02 ≤ f2 < 0.15: low level of interpretation;
0.15 ≤ f2 < 0.35: mean interpretation; f2 ≥ 0.35: high level of
interpretation.
The results of the coefficient f2 in Table A.8 below show that the
pandemic input variable has the average explanation for the factors
affecting sustainable consumption behavior. In which, the level of
explanation of the pandemic to environmental concerns and personal
norms is the highest, due to f2PAN-EC and f2PAN-PN average of 0.15 ≤ f2 <
0.35; while the remaining coefficients are all low threshold (0.02 ≤ f2 <
0.15). In the group of factors affecting the intention of sustainable
consumption, personal norms are the factor that plays the most impor­
tant role in the formation of sustainable consumption intentions with
f2PN-SI = 0.192.
According to Nguyen and Vu (2020), when assessing the impact of
the explanatory variable on the dependent variable, it is necessary to
consider through two aspects the significance level of the effects by the
coefficient P value and the path coefficient β. The regression coefficient
will be in the range [− 1;+1], the impact will be lower when
approaching 0, conversely, larger when the value is approaching − 1 or
+1. The effects with the coefficient P_value ≤ 0.05 are said to reach
statistical significance at the 95% confidence area. The results of the
regression analysis of the structural model are summarized in Table A.9.
5. Discussions
Pandemics have the best explanation for the increase in environ­
mental concerns (β = 0.424; f2 = 0.219), which is the premise for dif­
ferences in consumer awareness and behavior. This result is also
consistent with many previous studies: Ali et al. (2021), Severo et al.
(2020), and Saari et al. (2021). According to Sarkis et al. (2020), the
pandemic is the beginning of a sustainable consumption transition when
consumers are forced to practice social distancing and realize the posi­
tive changes of the environment during this period global disruption to
daily production activities. Improved water, air quality and ecosystems
are bright spots in the period when the whole world is struggling
because of the pandemics, together with a big challenge of medical
T. Cao Minh and N. Nguyen Thi Quynh
waste every. People spend more time and attention on environmental
issues after realizing that adverse environmental consequences have a
direct and powerful impact on individuals’ lives and are essential to
solve and join hands of the whole community to start by implementing a
new lifestyle that is more sustainable and environmentally friendly
healthy.
The pandemics also have the second strongest impact on the personal
norms factor with the regression coefficients β = 0.411 and f2 = 0.20,
which means that the pandemics can explain up to 41% of the variation
in the standard. This is consistent with Schwartz (1977) which shows
that when people feel an increased responsibility to restore environ­
mental quality and are aware of the consequences from environmental
damage. They cause new diseases and natural disasters that continu­
ously appear with a denser frequency and more unpredictable de­
velopments will have the ability to activate personal moral standards.
The feeling of responsibility motivates people to change their existing
thoughts and behaviors to improve urgent situations, they will tend to be
willing to sacrifice immediate personal benefits to implement sustain­
able behaviors for the long-term benefit and for future generations. This
has been proven in many studies right in the epidemic period by Ali et al.
(2021), Boons et al. (2020), Sarkis et al. (2020), Aghaei et al. (2021).
The results also show that perceived behavior control is also affected
by the pandemics with β = 0.387 and f2 = 0.176. The pandemics have
disrupted, localized many areas and negatively affected the daily lives of
billions of people on the planet. The restricted regulations on movement
create many vital challenges for manufacturing businesses when fac­
tories are forced to close, workers have to interrupt work or work
remotely, negatively affecting production and income. According to a
survey by YouGov Vietnam conducted in 2021, 56% of workers were
severely affected by the pandemics, 8% fell into unemployment. Even
normal shopping has become difficult, forcing people to stay at home
more to limit direct contact. This is both an obstacle to consumer
accessibility but also a driving force for sustainable consumption
behavior. When consumers’ incomes are long-term affected by the
pandemics, whether directly or indirectly, it will form a defensive
mentality of consumers because the future becomes unpredictable due
to fluctuations related to the situation. Consumers are becoming more
carefully in managing their income, spending, and investments, and
looking for ways to save more, 47% of consumers reported spending less
on non-essential products/services such as travel, entertainment or
dining out in the last six months, 71% said they would continue to cut
these non-essential expenses in the future (YouGov, 2021). This is also
shown by the research results of the hypothesis H2: “Pandemics have a
positive impact on consumer attitudes” with the regression coefficient β
= 0.343; f2 = 0.131. Vietnamese consumers are considered as one of the
most cautious consuming countries in the world. 67% of consumers are
more careful with their personal finances than they were before the
pandemic. Of these, 47% of consumers said they would save more to
prevent unexpected hardship, 34% said they would prioritize protecting
their family finances for emergencies (YouGov, 2021).
The positive impact of the pandemic on the consumer’s subjective
norms is also proved with the coefficient β = 0.364; f2 = 0.152. Faced
with an unexpected and potentially dangerous event like the Covid-19
pandemic, people often become fearful and have negative emotions as
a defensive instinct to fight threats and when individuals feel more
vulnerable, they may be more inclined to accept the important opinions
of others in their own protection, such as the herd instincts of danger
(Mobbs et al., 2015; Nabavi et al., 2017). Accessibility and the explosion
of social media are also the factors driving current subjective norms, as
people use them to find and update new information constantly (Alarcón
et al., 2018). With psychological turmoil and instability due to anxiety
before the pandemic, consumers tend to easily believe information that
has not been carefully checked and from unofficial sources. This result is
also similar to previous studies of Nabavi et al. (2017); Alijanzadeh and
Harati (2021); Aghaei et al. (2021).
Environmental concern, Attitude, Perceived behavioral control,
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Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100158
Personal norms have all proven to have positive impacts on Sustainable
Consumption Intention, in which, Personal norms have the highest
impact with the coefficients β = 0.393 and f2 = 0.192. According to
Schwartz (1977), personal norms reflect an individual’s sense of re­
sponsibility for the need to take specific actions and the willingness to
make sacrifices is important to engage in sustainable consumption
behavior (Hadler and Haller, 2011). When people realize the necessity
of the living environment and suffer the direct effects of the negative
consequences of the changed environment, they feel more responsible
and motivated to change behavior. Personal norms have been shown to
be a core factor leading to sustainable consumption intention and
behavior through the studies of Doran and Larsen (2016) on eco-friendly
travel options and Joanes (2019) on consumer behavior with clothing.
The second place in terms of the ability to form sustainable consumer
behavior intention is perceived behavioral control with regression co­
efficient β = 0.301; f2 = 108. Faced with the mandatory situation of
social distancing leading to the consequences of income reduction and
instability of the future, consumers are forced to limit spending on
non-essential needs and change to a new lifestyle. living more sustain­
ably such as saving electricity, water, gas, petrol, doing green shopping
and recycling clothes, instead of pursuing consumerism like before.
Personal norms and perceived behavioral control represent both internal
and external factors, they complement each other and promote and
complement each other to form the sustainable consumption intention
of consumers. Research results show that the intention is also influenced
by two factors Attitude (β = 0.211) and Environmental Concern (β =
0.129). This result is consistent with many previous studies of Emekci
(2019); Bai and Bai (2020); Saari et al. (2021); Yue et al. (2020); Safuan
et al. (2021); Qi and Ploeger (2021).
Notably, hypothesis H8 “Subjective norms have a positive impact on
sustainable consumption intention” does not reach statistical signifi­
cance (P = 0.073 > 0.05) and has the coefficient β = − 0.078 (the
reverse direction). This is different from the research results of Nguyen
et al. (2019); Emekci (2019); but it is similar to the study by Qi and
Ploeger (2021) that the pandemic will change the way people perceive
and form subjective norms. To explain this result, Pristl et al. (2020)
suggested that researchers should consider the core role of personal
norms as mediating the relationship between social norms as well as
other characteristics of individual scores (such as self-efficacy and
self-concept) for sustained behavior, i.e., for individuals with a high
degree of autonomy, the ability to internalize information perceived
through their own personal normative system, high self-efficacy beliefs,
and strong collective notions that the impact of subjective norms is
reduced. In addition, they also affirmed the importance of considering
the relative influence of social norms message removal (instruction or
description) depending on the sender’s social distance and gender of the
recipient. The ease of access to social media surrounds consumers with a
wealth of unverified misinformation and demonstrates consumer sus­
picion and caution. This result strengthens and expands the theoretical
basis of Ajzen (1991) about the influence of subjective norms on the
ability to form intention of sustainable consumption in the pandemics
context.
The moderating effect of Perceived consumer effectiveness is statis­
tically significant (P-value <0.05, β = 0.092) and has a positive impact
on the relationship between Intention and Sustainable consumption
behavior. That is, the higher the consumer’s perception of effectiveness,
the more it will promote the transformation from consumers’ intentions
into actual actions. The f2 value of this factor should be considered to
evaluate the strength and weakness of the moderating relationship.
Aguinis et al. (2005) demonstrated that the mean effect size in moder­
ation trials was only 0.009 and proposed a more realistic standard for
effect sizes of 0.005, 0.01 and 0.025, respectively small, medium and
large, respectively. Thus, the moderating effect of the variable perceived
efficiency of consumers can be assessed at a good level. This is also
similar to the studies of Akehurst et al. (2012), Kim et al. (2012), Hanss
et al. (2016), Nguyen et al. (2019).
T. Cao Minh and N. Nguyen Thi Quynh
6. Conclusions
6.1. Conclusions
The objective of the study is to assess the roles of pandemics and
perceived consumer effectiveness in factors affecting the sustainable
consumption behavior in the Vietnam’s context. Based on two main
theoretical foundations: Ajzen’s TPB theory (1991) and Schwartz’s NAM
model (1977), the study used both qualitative and quantitative research
methods with 9 scales of 43 observed variables. 645 valid survey re­
sponses were collected from five major cities in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh,
Hanoi, Hai Phong, Can Tho, and Da Nang) and were analyzed by using
SPSS and SmartPLS 3.8 softwares.
The results of the study proved that Pandemics have positive impacts
on the factors affecting sustainable consumption behavior as follows:
Environmental concern (β = 0.424); Personal norms (β = 0.411);
Perceived behavioral control (β = 0.387); Subjective norms (β = 0.364);
Attitude (β = 0.343). It also found a difference compared with the TPB
theory of Ajzen (1991) when the subjective norms do not have a positive
impact on sustainable consumption intention in the current social
context. The moderating effect of Perceived consumer effectiveness on
the relationship between Intention and Sustainable consumption
behavior was confirmed; in other words, when consumers feel that their
behaviors have a significant impact on the environment, they will be
more willing to turn intentions into actual actions. The study’s findings
provide an update on the impact of Covid-19, an urgent topical event,
related to the survival of businesses today, on factors affecting sustain­
able consumer behavior. Finally, some managerial implications are
suggested for timely adjustments and modifying new business solutions
to match sustainable consumption trends of consumers in the
post-pandemic period.
6.2. Managerial implications
Confirming the fundamental influence of the environmental concern
factor on the intents and practices of sustainable consumption is
essential. The results of the EC1 - EC5 observed variables in the Envi­
ronmental Concerns scale have a high average value, showing that
environmental issues are receiving much public attention. The Global
Sustainability Study 2021, conducted by the global strategy and valua­
tion consulting firm Simon-Kucher and Partners (2021) with 10,000
people from 17 countries, shows significant changes in how consumers
perceive sustainability and related generational differences in their
willingness to pay for sustainable products and services. Accordingly,
85% of respondents said that they had changed their buying behavior
towards a more sustainable direction in the past five years, of which Gen
Y (1981-1996) and Gen Z (1997-2012) are the 2 generation groups
leading in the pursuit of sustainability, willing to pay more for products
that contain sustainable or eco-friendly ingredients (Gen Z 39% and Gen
Y 42%). Companies must proactively show consumers the shift in pro­
duction, operation, business and marketing attitudes towards sustain­
able development, transition to a green, eco-friendly economic
environment and continue to make it a central part of their value
proposition. In order to safeguard their profitability and long-term
survival in the post-pandemic COVID-19 era, businesses must raise in­
vestment, innovate, and adapt their business models. If implemented
well, the shift to sustainable consumption will give businesses a clear
economic advantage, enhance their social standing, and win the support
of the two client generations who spend the most money - GenY and Gen
Z.
The pandemics have made people feel uncertainty of the future, the
economic downturn’s heavy impact, and the need for a sustainable,
frugal lifestyle. All have led consumers to become more cautious about
short- and long-term financial plans, abandon hedonistic consumerism,
promote planned, purposeful shopping and switch to sustainable and
reasonable consumption. According to the IBM Institute for Business
6
Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100158
Value survey with more than 14,000 people from 09 countries con­
ducted in 2021, 90% said that COVID-19 has changed their perspective
on environmental and sustainable consumption issues. By 2022, 49% of
respondents would pay 59% more for sustainable or socially responsible
products and services (Cheung et al., 2022). Enterprises need to change
their production and business models from sustainable sourcing to
building a production process that does not pollute negatively impact
the environment and distribute products with “green label” that is
environmentally friendly to consumers. The explosion of social networks
is both an opportunity and a challenge when consumers quickly access
the messages and images conveyed by businesses. Consumer attitudes
towards brands will determine the survival of businesses in today’s
economic times. Therefore, businesses need to be careful in the process
of building a “real” sustainable brand image instead of exhorting and
propagating “virtual” values to deceive modern consumers, which have
become commonplace and have much more communication power than
before.
By creating infographics that feature eye-catching illustrations,
succinct texts or short clips and gain widespread popularity on popular
social media platforms with young people today, businesses can increase
consumer awareness of the detrimental effects of a damaged living
environment. For parents, the topics brought up must be relevant to
everyday life, have a practical application, and be connected with the
well-being and growth of generations that are given considerable
attention. Communication campaigns must demonstrate to young peo­
ple the value of sustainable living and the potential for enhancing the
quality of life for future generations, starting with tiny daily activities.
As a result, people develop a sense of community responsibility. Many
businesses also take measures like minimizing packaging, using eco-
friendly materials for product packaging, and using environmental slo­
gans. In sustainable consumption, consumers not only want to fulfil their
personal needs but also want to make a positive contribution to the in­
terests of the community in general through green shopping or imple­
menting protective environment behaviors (Miniero et al., 2014).
Corporate communication campaigns on green products/green con­
sumption should highlight the positive impact of green products/green
consumption on the environment and the long-term advantages of
leading a sustainable lifestyle and financial performance supported by
scientific data. Businesses should make clear commitments and under­
take practical environmental initiatives like developing policies based
on the 3R principles (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), using eco-friendly ma­
terials, reducing waste, and setting up environmental waste dumps to
achieve sustainable marketing goals.
6.3. Limitations and future research
Nevertheless, this study still have some limitations for future
research. Vietnam is an emerging market so that the sustainable con­
sumption behavior might be different from other countries. Other po­
tential factors are personal finance, that is of great interest to Gen Z and
how intergenerational differences will lead to the ability to moderate the
relationship of intention and behavior. The literature reviews and the
methodology should be updated.
Future studies can assess the impact of specific diseases on individual
psychological factors that lead to the formation of other behaviors or for
a specific industry/sector or explore other potential factors, expand the
research scope with a richer, more diversified number of survey subjects
and present the differences between each group of subjects to propose
effective and compatible measures. Further research on the factors that
lead to the inverse relationship of subjective norms and intention to
sustainable consumption behavior and whether this new finding
emerges in other specific areas. The literature reviews should be updated
in the current year and the methodology should be added some dis­
cussions related to cross-panel data technique and CiteScore rank. In
addition, new studies should use other analytical methods such as
exploratory analysis, predictive analysis, and recommendation analysis
T. Cao Minh and N. Nguyen Thi Quynh Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100158

to further expand studies on both pre- and post-sustainable behavioral Validation, Writing – review & editing. Nga Nguyen Thi Quynh:
sequences to identify barriers that prevent intention from becoming Investigation, Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing – original
behavior. draft.

Funding Declaration of competing interest

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Data availability
Tri Cao Minh: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis,
Funding acquisition, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Data will be made available on request.

Appendix A
Table A.1
Measurement items for the constructs in the theoretical model

Constructs Symbols Measurement items Source

Pandemics PAN1 Pandemics make me worry about the future. Ali et al. (2021)
PAN2 The large number of people infected with pandemics made me change my social behavior. Ali et al. (2021)
PAN3 The large number of deaths related to pandemics has scared me. Ali et al. (2021)
PAN4 I perceive pandemics have influenced me personally Qi and Ploeger
(2021)
PAN5 I perceive pandemics will shift my consumption pattern Qi and Ploeger
(2021)
Environmental Concern EC1 I am very concerned about the environment. Paul et al. (2016)
EC2 Pandemics made me worry even more about the natural resources for future generations. Ali et al. (2021)
EC3 I worry too much about the future of the environment as well as prices and jobs. Saari et al. (2021)
EC4 I worry too much about human progress harming the environment. Saari et al. (2021)
EC5 Many of the claims about environmental threats are exaggerated. Saari et al. (2021)
Attitude ATT1 I like the idea of consuming green products Emekci (2019)
ATT2 Green consumption is a good idea Emekci (2019)
ATT3 I have good attitude towards green consumption Emekci (2019)
ATT4 I have a favourable attitude toward purchasing green version of a product. Paul et al. (2016)
Subjective Norms SN1 Most people who are important to me think I should purchase green products when going for purchasing. Paul et al. (2016)
SN2 Most people who are important to me would want me to purchase green products when going for purchasing. (Paul et al., 2016)
SN3 People whose opinions I value would prefer that I purchase green products. Paul et al. (2016)
SN4 My friend’s positive opinion influences me to purchase green products. Paul et al. (2016)
Perceived Behavioral Control PBC1 I see myself as capable of purchasing green products in future. Paul et al. (2016)
PBC2 If it were entirely up to me, I am confident that I will purchase green products. Paul et al. (2016)
PBC3 I have resources, time and willingness to purchase green products. Paul et al. (2016)
PBC4 Green products are generally available in the shops where I usually do my shopping. Paul et al. (2016)
PBC5 There are likely to be plenty of opportunities for me to purchase green products. Paul et al. (2016)
PBC6 I feel that purchasing green products is not totally within my control. Paul et al. (2016)
Personal Norms PN1 I have an obligation to cherish the limited resources of the earth. Fang et al. (2019)
PN2 I have an obligation to learn more about the natural environment. Fang et al. (2019)
PN3 I have an obligation to respect the life-sustaining needs and rights and interests of all living things in the Fang et al. (2019)
environment.
PN4 I have an obligation to maintain a good natural environment so that the next generation can have the same Fang et al. (2019)
quality of life.
Sustainable Consumption SI1 I will consider buying products because they are less polluting in the coming times. Paul et al. (2016)
Intention SI2 I will consider switching to environmentally friendly brands for ecological reasons. Paul et al. (2016)
SI3 I plan to spend more on environmentally friendly products rather than conventional products. Paul et al. (2016)
SI4 I expect to purchase the product in the future because of its positive environmental contribution. Paul et al. (2016)
SI5 I definitely want to purchase green products in the near future. Paul et al. (2016)
Sustainable Consumption SCB1 My consumption habits have become more sustainable during the COVID-19 Ali et al. (2021)
Behavior SCB2 I have started to buy more environmentally friendly products during the COVID-19 Ali et al. (2021)
SCB3 I have reduced the production of waste by prevention, reuse and recycling during the COVID-19 Ali et al. (2021)
SCB4 The atmospheric gases (CO2) causing the greenhouse effect are reduced during COVID-19 Ali et al. (2021)
SCB5 The deforestation and loss of biodiversity is reduced due to the COVID-19 Ali et al. (2021)
Perceived Consumer PCE1 I feel capable of helping solve the environmental problems Emekci (2019)
Effectiveness PCE2 I can protect the environment by buying products that are friendly to the environment Emekci (2019)
PCE3 I feel I can help solve natural resource problems by conserving water and energy Emekci (2019)
PCE4 Energy-saving products have a significant impact economically on families and society Kim et al. (2012)
PCE5 I will only purchase fresh food if I know its origin Kim et al. (2012)
PCE6 My green consumption behavior can have a positive impact on the environment Kim et al. (2012)

7
T. Cao Minh and N. Nguyen Thi Quynh Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100158

Table A.2
Demographic data

Sample characteristics Amount Percent

Gender Male 337 52.2%

Female 308 47.8%
Age groups 18–30 375 58.1%
30–45 224 34.7%
45–60 46 7.1%
Qualification Diploma 13 2.0%
Degree 98 15.2%
Bachelor 378 58.6%
Master or higher 156 24.2%
City Ho Chi Minh 171 26.5%
Ha Noi 153 23.7%
Hai Phong 84 13.0%
Da Nang 129 20.0%
Can Tho 108 16.7%

Table A.3
Indicator loadings

ATT PAN EC SI*PCE PBC

ATT1 0.891
ATT2 0.885
ATT3 0.867
ATT4 0.793
PAN1 0.731
PAN3 0.781
PAN5 0.827
EC1 0.675
EC2 0.693
EC3 0.661
EC4 0.782
EC5 0.726
PBC1 0.778
PBC2 0.744
PBC3 0.778
PBC4 0.748
PBC5 0.812
PBC6 0.804
PCE1 0.837
PCE2 0.817
PCE3 0.794
PCE4 0.813
PCE5 0.829
PN1 0.853
PN2 0.875
PN3 0.886
PN4 0.854
SCB1 0.837
SCB2 0.88
SCB3 0.875
SCB4 0.82
SCB5 0.769
SI * PCE 1.766
SI1 0.849
SI2 0.858
SI3 0.823
SI4 0.793
SI5 0.652
SN1 0.802
SN2 0.874
SN3 0.833
SN4 0.751

8
T. Cao Minh and N. Nguyen Thi Quynh Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100158

Table A.4
Reliability and validity

Cronbach’s Alpha rho_A CR AVE

ATT 0.854 0.852 0.903 0.701

PAN 0.718 0.744 0.803 0.771
EC 0.707 0.724 0.819 0.633
SI*PCE 1 1 1 1
PBC 0.869 0.874 0.902 0.705
PCE 0.877 0.885 0.91 0.769
PN 0.89 0.891 0.924 0.752
SCB 0.893 0.895 0.921 0.701
SI 0.836 0.853 0.886 0.614
SN 0.8 0.81 0.871 0.631

Table A.5
Heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) ratio of correlations.

ATT PAN EC SI*PCE PBC PCE PN SCB SI

ATT
PAN 0.496
EC 0.611 0.727
SI*PCE 0.086 0.123 0.253
PBC 0.681 0.566 0.585 0.049
PCE 0.601 0.571 0.648 0.206 0.675
PN 0.703 0.587 0.81 0.297 0.653 0.843
SCB 0.618 0.68 0.58 0.059 0.696 0.833 0.747
SI 0.762 0.5 0.744 0.359 0.755 0.776 0.859 0.774
SN 0.703 0.563 0.683 0.077 0.882 0.738 0.661 0.764 0.667

Table A.6
Results of multicollinearity analysis (Inner VIF)

ATT PAN EC SI*PCE PBC PCE PN SCB SI SN

ATT 1.94
PAN 1 1 1 1 1
EC 1.87
SI*PCE 1.126
PBC 2.464
PCE 1.79
PN 2.36
SCB
SI 1.941
SN 2.462

Table A.7
Results of coefficients R2 and R2adjusted

R2 R2adjusted

ATT 0.216 0.314

EC 0.289 0.278
PBC 0.258 0.249
PN 0.269 0.267
SCB 0.649 0.638
SI 0.659 0.656
SN 0.262 0.261

Table A.8
Results of coefficient f2

ATT PAN EC SI*PCE PBC PCE PN SCB SI SN

ATT 0.067
PAN 0.131 0.219 0.176 0.203 0.152
EC 0.026
SI*PCE 0.065
(continued on next page)

9
T. Cao Minh and N. Nguyen Thi Quynh Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100158

Table A.8 (continued )

ATT PAN EC SI*PCE PBC PCE PN SCB SI SN

PBC 0.108
PCE 0.45
PN 0.192
SCB
SI 0.191
SN 0.107

Table A.9
The direct relationship between constructs

Hypothesis Beta STDEV T Values P Values Decision

H1 PAN -> EC 0.424 0.039 10.912 0.000 Accepted

H2 PAN -> ATT 0.343 0.039 8.626 0.000 Accepted
H3 PAN -> SN 0.364 0.036 10.029 0.000 Accepted
H4 PAN -> PBC 0.387 0.034 11.477 0.000 Accepted
H5 PAN -> PN 0.411 0.033 12.613 0.000 Accepted
H6 EC -> SI 0.129 0.038 3.364 0.001 Accepted
H7 ATT -> SI 0.211 0.037 5.772 0.000 Accepted
H8 SN -> SI − 0.078 0.044 1.794 0.073 Rejected
H9 PBC -> SI 0.301 0.042 7.111 0.000 Accepted
H10 PN -> SI 0.393 0.051 7.703 0.000 Accepted
H11 SI -> SCB 0.365 0.048 7.571 0.000 Accepted
H12 SI*PCE -> SCB 0.092 0.011 8.598 0.000 Accepted

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Cao Minh Tri Work experience: Over 20 years as a lecturer, advisor at all levels (BA, MBA,
PhD). Over 22-year working experience as a manager, consultant in state organizations
and private companies, universities. Publication: 69 (in either Vietnamese or English),
Teaching and research focus: International Business, Marketing, Brand, Management
Nguyen Thi Quynh Nga Work experience: over 4 years of working experience in private
companies.