Exploring the moderating role of price sensitivity between attitude and intention to buy sustainable products in India

As environmental degradation becomes a growing concern, consumers’ interest in sustainable products has also increased. However, consumers find it challenging to align their attitudes with their intention to buy. This discrepancy in the attitude-intention gap is well documented, but existing studies offer limited explanations as attitude and intention to buy are influenced by different economic, contextual and cultural factors. Consequently, traditional linear models that capture attitudes as unidimensional constructs may not address this gap. This study seeks to address this gap by expanding the Theory of Trying (ToT), which conceptualizes attitude as a multidimensional construct. The model includes environmental knowledge and green culture as precursors to consumer attitudes and price sensitivity as a moderating factor that bridges the attitude-intention relationship. Analyzing data from 667 participants in Delhi-NCR using structural equation modeling, the findings revealed that attitudes toward sustainable products negatively impacted the intention to buy. This suggests that structural and financial barriers overshadowed attitudinal support. Price sensitivity further diminishes this negative relationship, highlighting that economic constraints significantly limit the intention to buy in accordance with attitudes. Theoretically, this study contributes to the understanding of the attitude intention gap. This demonstrates that positive attitudes alone are insufficient to drive sustainable intentions in the presence of economic constraints. By integrating green culture and environmental knowledge, this study extends prior research that has largely relied on intention-based models. From a managerial perspective, the findings highlight the importance of pricing strategies to address price-related concerns directly and to convert favorable attitudes into purchase intentions.