An integrated TAM–TPB–VBN framework with empirical validation from Gujarat for green banking consumer adoption in the Indian market

Abstract Green banking has emerged as a pivotal strategy for aligning the financial sector with sustainable development goals. Despite growing policy momentum under the Reserve Bank of India’s Green Finance Framework, empirical understanding of what drives Indian consumers to adopt green banking services remains limited. This study proposes and examines the Green Banking Consumer Adoption Model for India (GB-CAM-India), an integrated theoretical framework combining the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and the Value–Belief–Norm (VBN) theory, augmented with Indian-market-specific constructs. Using primary survey data from $$n=760$$ respondents across five regions of Gujarat, India, we compute composite (summed) scale scores for each construct and apply exploratory factor analysis (EFA), reliability analysis, and multiple regression to test eight hypotheses. The composite measures demonstrate adequate psychometric properties: KMO = 0.906, all composite reliability values $$\\ge 0.829$$ , and all average variance extracted values $$\\ge 0.545$$ , computed from EFA-derived standardised loadings. The regression model explains 46.8% of variance in green banking adoption behaviour ( $$F(8,751)=82.51$$ , $$p<0.001$$ ). Customer satisfaction emerges as the dominant predictor ( $$\\beta =0.464$$ , $$p<0.001$$ ), followed by perceived ease of use ( $$\\beta =0.193$$ , $$p<0.001$$ ) and social influence ( $$\\beta =0.083$$ , $$p<0.001$$ ). Perceived risk exerts a significant negative effect ( $$\\beta =-0.085$$ , $$p=0.002$$ ). Bootstrapped indirect-effect tests (5,000 resamples, bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals) show that customer satisfaction carries significant indirect effects from perceived usefulness, perceived trust, and environmental attitude to adoption behaviour; because the corresponding direct paths are statistically nonsignificant, these are best characterised as indirect-only effects rather than partial mediation. Income level significantly moderates the satisfaction–adoption path, with higher-income consumers exhibiting reduced sensitivity to satisfaction signals. Mean adoption scores also differ significantly across Gujarat’s five regions ( $$F(4,755)=9.88$$ , $$p<0.001$$ ), a group-difference finding rather than a formally tested regional moderation effect. Theoretical contributions, practical implications for banks and policymakers, and directions for future confirmatory (SEM-based) research are discussed.