The influence of personal motives and personal norm on purchasing sustainable products

This paper investigates personal motives and their role in predicting the purchase of sustainable products. Five types of personal motives were identified and tested by applying structural equation modelling. The present research also confirms the influence of inherent constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. It investigates the role of personal norms, often neglected in previous research. The results revealed that altruism, generativity, and environmental concern significantly positively influence the attitude toward purchasing sustainable products. Furthermore, a negative impact of frugality on the attitude towards purchasing sustainable products was found. It confirms that, although pro-environmental behaviour can be seen as frugal behaviour, frugality can harm the attitude towards purchasing sustainable products if consumers perceive sustainable products as more expensive. However, the impact of health consciousness on the attitude towards the purchase of sustainable products was found to be insignificant, which could be explained by the fact that consumers may not perceive all sustainable products to be healthier, indicating that this variable is category-specific. Finally, a positive impact of personal norms on the intention to purchase sustainable products was confirmed, indicating that personal norms should be included in prediction models alongside social norms.