Male Consumers' Motivation and Intent to acquire Eco-friendly Apparel in the South African Emerging Market Context

Abstract

<p>Although many studies have focused on female consumers’ acceptance of eco-friendly alternatives, comparatively few have focused on their male counterparts, especially in an emerging market context. This study addresses this gap by exploring male consumers’ pro-environmental motivation and intent to acquire eco-friendly apparel in Gauteng, South Africa, based on the theoretical underpinnings of the Norm-Activation Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior. A non-probable purposive sample of 305 male consumers participated in the survey. Data obtained from the measuring instrument was subjected to initial exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Subsequent path analysis established significant relationships between awareness of consequences and social norms as well as social norms, attitudes, moral norms, self-efficacy and controllability. Attitude was found to be the strongest predictor of intent in addition to moral norms and self-efficacy. The findings of this study offer valuable input for pro-environmental campaigns and may serve as a basis for further investigation.</p>