Abstract
The general consensus is that climate change poses a significant danger. Scientists and policymakers are increasingly acknowledging that consumer behavior plays a crucial role in this matter. Specifically, the choices people make regarding what they consume, how they consume it, and the quantities they consume have a direct impact on the environment. In this context, this study aims to examine the effects of sustainable marketing strategies and environmental consciousness on consumer behavior. The research collected data from 532 respondents by administering an online questionnaire. The partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using the SmartPLS 4 was used to test the hypotheses, and the findings revealed that sustainable marketing strategies positively influence consumer behavior and environmental consciousness levels of consumers. In addition, environmental consciousness positively mediated the relationship between sustainable marketing strategies and consumer behavior. The study also found that environmental knowledge moderates the relationship between sustainable marketing strategies and environmental consciousness. The theoretical implications of the research suggest that sustainable marketing strategies can be effective in shaping consumer behavior and promoting environmental consciousness. The managerial implications propose that manufacturing firms in the sports industry can benefit from implementing sustainable marketing strategies and promoting environmental consciousness among their consumers.
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This study is supported by the Teaching Reform Research Project of Wuhan Technology and Business University (2022Z07) and Construction of multiple evaluation system of college Sports from the perspective of “Internet +”.
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Conceptualization, Jing Li; data curation, Lifen Hu and Muhammad Farhan Basheer; formal analysis, Lifen Hu and Muhammad Farhan Basheer; funding acquisition, Jing Li; methodology, Jing Li and Muhammad Farhan Basheer; resources, Jing Li; software, Lifen Hu; supervision, Jing Li; validation, Lifen Hu; writing—review and editing, Jing Li and Muhammad Farhan Basheer.
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Appendix
Appendix
Sustainable marketing strategies (Jung et al. 2020) | |
“Support activities for the community” | |
“Efforts are made for efficient management” | |
“Environmentally friendly materials used” | |
“Consider the environment throughout the design process” | |
“Prevent environmental pollution during production and distribution process” | |
Consumer behavior (Straughan and Roberts 1999) | |
“I normally make a conscious effort to limit my use of products that are made of or use scarce resources” | |
“I will not buy products which have excessive packaging” | |
“When there is a choice, I always choose that product which contributes to the least amount of pollution” | |
“If I understand the potential damage to the environment that some products can cause, I do not purchase these products” | |
“I have switched products for ecological reasons” | |
“I have convinced members of my family or friends not to buy some products which are harmful to the environment” | |
Environmental knowledge (Ellen 1994) | |
“Trying to figure out the best packaging in terms of the effects on the environment is very confusing” | |
“1 am very confident that 1 buy products in packages which are environmentally safe” | |
“I know more about recycling than the average person” | |
“Every time 1 turn around, the “experts” are changing their minds about what are the “best” products or packages to buy” | |
Environmental consciousness (Kautish and Dash 2017; Mishal et al. 2017) | |
“I am pleased to purchase green products” | |
“I believe consuming green product is really good for environment” | |
“Overall feeling I get about green products is always satisfying” | |
“Overall feeling I get about green products put me in environmentally safe mode” | |
“I really feel good about green products” |
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Li, J., Hu, L. & Basheer, M.F. Exploring the impact of sustainable marketing on consumer behavior in the sports industry. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 97723–97733 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29215-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29215-z