How Ethical Perceptions Contribute To Consumers’ Willingness To Buy Green Products

As society continues to develop,the conflict between economic growth and resource and environmental protection is growing.In order to promote economic transformation and achieve sustainable development,it is very necessary to promote green consumption.However,green consumption in China is still at an early stage of development and is still restricted by many factors,making the development process slow.This is why it is particularly important to understand the drivers of green consumption.At the same time,the New Crown Pneumonia epidemic has made people gradually aware of the importance of respecting and protecting nature,restraining undesirable desires and reducing blind behaviour.How individuals can reduce the negative impact on society,the environment and ecology in the process of consumption is also beginning to be one of the factors that individuals take into account when they consume.How to effectively encourage and promote the evaluation and purchase of green products has gradually become a key consideration for companies and society.In recent years,there has been a growing interest in the ethical attributes of products.Numerous recent studies have found that consumers also use ethical and sustainable criteria as guidelines for their consumption.A number of companies are already using the ethical attributes of their products to position themselves in order to gain consumer acceptance and improve product and company ratings.This paper tests the hypothesis that "consumers perceive green products to be ethical and that green products stimulate consumers’ intrinsic moral perceptions".The aim is to understand how perceived product morality affects the value of green products.Using concepts such as warm glow theory and positive spillover effects as conceptual foundations,this paper tests implicitly and explicitly whether consumers’ perceptions of the morality of green products and perceived moral values can increase their willingness to purchase green products.There are relatively few empirical studies related to ethical/good cause marketing of green products,so it is necessary to extend the research in this way.Study 1 used the Implicit Association Test to initially explore individuals’ implicit virtue attitudes towards green products(whether they show a significant implicit virtue perception bias towards green products);Study 2 used mainly questionnaires to test individuals’ explicit beliefs about green products,whether they consider them to be more ethical,and the effect of perceived ethical value of green products on individuals’ purchase intentions;Study 3 went on to test the role of positive affect and green self-identity in green consumption,and the specific driving mechanisms of ethical perception in the evaluation of green products.The findings show that: subjects in general show a significant implicit virtue perception bias,identifying more with green products than with conventional products;moral perceptions drive individuals’ willingness to purchase green products;individuals’ perceived moral value of green products also leads to positive emotions,which could explain the increase in individuals’ willingness to purchase green products,and in line with this idea,the paper also shows that this effect is moderated by individuals’ degree of green self-identification.The findings of these three studies provide interesting insights into the role played by ethical perceptions in green product consumption;and the interdependence of ethical perceptions and positive emotions in green product consumption;as well as further evidence of the importance of green self-identity in the consumption experience and as a basis for segmentation.The findings confirm the perception that green products can act as an ethical medium and provide marketers with insights into the marketing value of ethical cues/ethical labels in the consumption of green products.In order to promote green products,it is also necessary for marketing managers to emphasise the ethical nature of green products to trigger ethical identification among consumers,leading to more positive brand interactions,as well as to position green products in the minds of consumers with new ideas(green products have ethical value)to reduce price sensitivity.