The determinants of green purchasing in the hospitality sector: a study on the mediation effect of LOHAS orientation

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify the determinants of personal norm and to measure the effect of personal norm on green purchasing behavior as well as a possible mediating role of consumer LOHAS orientation in the effect of personal norm on green purchasing behavior in the hospitality context. A field study was designed to measure the hypothesized effects, and 418 consumers who regularly purchase summer holidays in hotels were included in the survey. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed in order to test the proposed hypotheses. The results confirm that social norm, the ascription of responsibility, and the attitude towards green purchasing behavior are the determinants of personal norm. Personal norm is found to affect both the green purchasing behavior and the LOHAS orientation of consumers. The results of the study also confirmed that LOHAS orientation does not mediate the effect of personal norm on green purchasing behavior due to the dominance of personal norm’s effect on LOHAS orientation. Academic as well as managerial implications are provided in the Discussion. The Conclusion provides the most important academic and practical contributions of the study, limitations related to the generalizability of the findings, and recommendations for future studies.