Bridging the green gap through understanding the role of perceived risks in sustainable consumption decisions

Despite growing environmental awareness and positive attitudes toward green products, a significant gap persists between consumers’ intentions and their actual sustainable purchase behavior. This study investigates how perceived risks contribute to this “green gap” by identifying, categorizing, and prioritizing the risk factors that hinder sustainable consumption decisions. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research combined systematic literature review, expert interviews (n = 9), and thematic analysis to identify 21 perceived risk factors. A structured questionnaire was administered to 642 consumers in Iran, and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed four underlying dimensions: Personal Factors, Information and Trust, Environmental Assurance, and Quality Expectations and Purchase Value. Subsequently, the Random Forest algorithm prioritized the risk factors, identifying “Internal failure feeling,” “Unreliable information,” “Brand distrust,” “Additional effort,” “Low variety and not being fashionable,” and “Lack of reliable organizations and certifications” as the six most influential barriers. The findings extend perceived risk theory to the green product context and offer practical implications for policymakers, marketers, and manufacturers seeking to bridge the green gap by addressing these multidimensional risks. This study introduces ‘internal failure feeling’ as a novel risk construct in green product consumption and demonstrates the application of the Random Forest algorithm for risk prioritization, offering a methodological contribution to consumer behavior research.