The Impact Of Scale Framing On Green Product Purchase Intention

The problems of environmental pollution and resource shortage have aroused the thinking of the academia and the managers on environmental protection and sustainable development.The excessive consumption of energy and materials by consumers is one of the causes of environmental deterioration.Therefore,it is of great practical significance to advocate green consumption and reduce environmental pollutions caused by consumption behaviors.Green product information is one of the most direct way to promote consumers to purchase green products.Companies and marketers can use numerical information to communicate with consumers about the energy efficiency or environmental impact of green products in two different ways: based on either a larger scale or a smaller scale.Extant literature has not yet analyzed which approach of the numerical information is more effective.To fill this gap,this study examines the relationship between presentation,construct or description style of green information in the different scale(i.e.scale framing)and green purchase intention,and analyses its potential influence routes and influence boundary conditions.Based on the theory of dual system of decision making and theories of communication persuasion,this paper constructs a theoretical model of the influence of scale framing on green purchase intention.First,by reviewing and summarizing the extant literature,this study defines the relevant core variables,including green products,green purchase intention,measurement scale,expanded scale and contracted scale,scale framing,perceived value,perceived environmental value,perceived economic value,consumer skepticism,regulatory focus,mediation effect,suppressing effect and moderation effect.Second,according to the theory of dual system of decision making,this study proposes the hypothesis of the direct relationship between scale framing and green purchase intention.Third,based on theories of communication persuasion,this paper constructs a multi-mediation model of the influence of scale framing on green purchase intention,and proposes the research hypotheses about the mediation effect of perceived environmental value and perceived economic value,as well as the suppressing effect of consumer skepticism.Finally,this paper discusses the influence boundary conditions of scale framing on green purchase intention,and proposes the research hypotheses about the moderation effect of regulatory focus.This study adopts the method of experiment design and questionnaire to verify the research hypothesis.Specifically,in this study,scale framing was controlled as independent variables by the means of experimental scenario simulation,and subjects were randomly assigned to the situations of expanded scale framing or contracted scale framing via a within-subject design,and the relevant variables were measured and controlled by the means of questionnaire.In order to ensure the smooth and effectiveness of experiment manipulation,a pretest was conducted before the formal survey.Specifically,pretest designs three levels of scale framing,i.e.a small-scale framing,a middle-scale framing and a large-scale framing.155 valid data were collected by the means of snowball sampling,and then one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD were employed to test and compare green purchase intention between different scale framings.Then,based on the results of pretest,in the formal survey,this study selected two levels of scale framing,i.e.the small-scale and middle-scale framings,and regarded them as contracted scale and expanded scale respectively to retest the scale framing effect.In the formal survey,a total of 302 valid data were collected by means of random sampling,and the direct and mediation effects proposed in the research hypothesis were tested repeatedly by means of one-way ANOVA method and regression analysis.In addition,two-way ANOVA method and regression analysis were used to test the moderation effects proposed in the research hypothesis.The results of pretest show that,compared to the small-scale framing,the middlescale framing can promote green purchase intention,but there is no significant difference between the middle-scale framing and the large-scale framing.The empirical analysis results of formal survey once again prove that scale framing has an influence on green purchase intention.In contrast to the contracted scale,the expanded scale framing can promote green purchase intention.In addition,the results also show that perceived environmental value and perceived economic value have a mediation effect on the relationship between the expanded scale framing and green purchase intention,and consumer skepticism has a suppressing effect on the relationship between the expanded scale framing and green purchase intention.Regulatory focus moderates the influence of the expanded scale framing on perceived economic value and consumer skepticism,and the indirect influence of the expanded scale framing on green purchase intention through perceived economic value and consumer skepticism.However,the moderation effect of regulatory focus on the relationship between the expanded scale framing and perceived environmental value,and the moderated mediation effect of the expanded scale framing on green purchase intention through perceived environmental value are insignificant.Based on the above analysis results,this study provides suggestions for companies and marketers to advertise green products and enhance consumers' green purchase intention from three aspects,namely product strategy,information strategy and market strategy.