Predicting consumers pro-environmental behaviour

Consumers who report their concern about environment do not necessarily purchase proenvironmental products. This attitude-behaviour inconsistency is related to researchers’choice of the predictor of pro-environmental behaviour. This paper aims to compares the predictive accuracy of two immediate predictors of pro-environmental behaviour, behavioural intention and behavioural expectation. Results from an online survey indicate that subjects are generally over estimate their judgment toward performing pro-environmental behaviour when responding to behavioural intention questions. Meanwhile, when responding to behavioural expectation questions, subjects were able to make a better estimation toward their likelihood to perform the targeted pro-environmental behaviour. In a more specific comparison between consumers with high and low pro-environmental orientation, the underlying process differences between behavioural intention and behavioural expectation is evident. Subjects who have high pro-environmental orientation were more “honest” about their environment concern, thus they have stable responses toward behavioural intention and behavioural expectation questions. Conversely, subjects who have low pro-environmental orientation responded differently when encounter behavioural intention and behavioural expectation questions. These subjects over estimate their likelihood to perform the targeted pro-environmental behaviour when responding to behavioural intention questions, while under estimate it when responding to behavioural expectation questions. It is clear that subjects who have low pro-environmental behaviour were not taking into account the feasibility of performing the pro-environment behaviour. These results provide a basis for marketers and researchers to embrace behavioural expectation as a better predictor of consumers’ adoption of pro-environmental products