Social exclusion and pro-environmental consumption behaviors: the moderating effect of face concern

Purpose Our study aims to clarify the contradictory findings about the positive/negative effects of social exclusion on environmental attitudes and pro-environmental consumption behaviors by investigating the role of face concern. We suggest that consumers who are highly concerned about their social face would be more inclined to see social exclusion as a threat to their need to belong and thus more likely to form favorable environmental attitudes and engage in pro-environmental consumption behaviors in response to social exclusion. Design/methodology/approach Different techniques, including Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Model 8) for SPSS and Amos structural equation modeling (CB-SEM), were employed to test the hypotheses using survey data from 334 Vietnamese consumers. Findings The results show that social exclusion negatively affects environmental attitudes, which, in turn, significantly predict two pro-environmental consumption behaviors: green mobility mode choices and ecologically conscious consumption. Face concern significantly mitigates the adverse effects of social exclusion on environmental attitudes and the two pro-environmental consumption behaviors. Also, environmental attitudes partially mediate the interaction effects of social exclusion and face concern on the two behaviors. Originality/value Our study's findings extend the limited understanding of the effects of social exclusion on pro-environmental consumption behaviors and offer insights into behavioral interventions to redirect the behavioral deviation of socially excluded consumers toward environmentally friendly ways.