Impact of environmental and health consciousness on ecological consumption intention: the moderating effects of haze and self-competence

This study is an investigation of how environmental consciousness and health consciousness influence consumers' ecological purchase intentions regarding eco-friendly products (pollution-reduction behavior) and self-protective products (pollution-avoidance behavior). Data collected in a between-subject experiment indicate that environmental and health consciousness influence ecological purchase intentions. Moreover, haze pollution moderates these effects. On hazy days, environmental consciousness motivates ecological intentions; on clear days, health consciousness motivates ecological purchase intentions. In addition, perceived self-competence moderates the impacts of environmental consciousness and health consciousness on purchase intentions. Consumers with high self-competence are only influenced by environmental consciousness. Health consciousness has the strongest effects on consumers who have low self-competence. Implications for policymakers and managers are discussed.