From awareness to action: The role of green consumer identity, marketing signals, and perceived greenwashing in sustainable consumption

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Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Growing concern over environmental degradation and increasing skepticism toward corporate sustainability claims has heightened interest in how consumers form sustainable consumption decisions in emerging markets. This study examines how internal sustainability orientations and firms’ green marketing practices jointly shape sustainable consumer behavior, and how perceived greenwashing moderates these relationships among Generation Y and adult Generation Z consumers in Vietnam.
Using survey data from 656 urban consumers, the study applies regression, sequential mediation, and moderation analyses. The results show that green consumer identity is the strongest driver of sustainable behavior, with environmental awareness and environmental protection attitude operating indirectly through identity formation. Green purchase willingness serves as a proximal mechanism linking identity to behavior. Green marketing practices have weaker but significant effects, indicating a complementary role alongside internal motivations.
Perceived greenwashing weakens the translation of both identity-based motivation and marketing signals into behavior, but does not affect willingness formation, suggesting a stage-specific credibility effect at the behavioral conversion stage.
The findings highlight an integrated mechanism in which identity-based motivation dominates, external signals complement, and perceived authenticity constrains sustainable consumption in emerging markets.

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    • Figure 1. Proposed research model
    • Table 1. Overview of the sample profile
    • Table 2. Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficients and EFA results
    • Table 3. Pearson correlations among constructs
    • Table 4. Multiple regression model summary
    • Table 5. Mediation analysis
    • Table 6. Multiple regression model summary
    • Conceptualization
      Anh Thi Mai Nguyen, Tuan Thanh Nguyen, Manh Dung Tran
    • Data curation
      Anh Thi Mai Nguyen, Tuan Thanh Nguyen, Manh Dung Tran
    • Formal Analysis
      Anh Thi Mai Nguyen, Tuan Thanh Nguyen, Manh Dung Tran
    • Investigation
      Anh Thi Mai Nguyen, Tuan Thanh Nguyen, Manh Dung Tran
    • Methodology
      Anh Thi Mai Nguyen
    • Project administration
      Anh Thi Mai Nguyen
    • Supervision
      Anh Thi Mai Nguyen
    • Writing – original draft
      Anh Thi Mai Nguyen, Tuan Thanh Nguyen, Manh Dung Tran
    • Writing – review & editing
      Anh Thi Mai Nguyen
    • Validation
      Tuan Thanh Nguyen, Manh Dung Tran
    • Visualization
      Tuan Thanh Nguyen, Manh Dung Tran