Exploring Gen Z's Intention Towards Socially Responsible Consumption (SRC): The Role Of CSR Campaigns And EWOM

Abstract

Society has paid much attention to ethical issues in recent years. Two decades ago, customers started to be more aware of the importance of including moral matters in their purchasing decisions. As a consequence, socially responsible consumption (SRC) has increased in popularity since the early 2000s. Buyers can express ethical concerns by purchasing products with positive attributes or boycotting those with negative attributes in this way. In Vietnam, SRC amid the youth has gradually emerged recently, as can be seen in various trends of alternative straws, fabric cup holders, and plastic use reduction. Nonetheless, it is hard to state for sure whether this is just a temporary support for a social movement or a signal of youngsters starting to engage in SRC as a habit or lifestyle. Therefore, this paper aims at investigating the potential of SRC becoming a popular consumption behavior of the new generation in the future by apply the theory of planned behavior. The research objectives are to investigate (1) the impact of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, which are intention drivers according to the theory of planned behavior, on Gen Z’s intention to conduct SRC; (2) the impact of Gen Zs’ attitude towards CSR campaigns on their attitude towards SRC; and (3) the effect of eWOM on Gen Z’s attitude towards CSR campaigns, their attitude, subjective norms, and intention towards SRC. The paper found that (1) attitude towards CSR activities has a significant and positive effect on attitude towards SRC, (2) eWOM has a significant and positive effect on attitude towards CSR campaigns, (3) eWOM has a significant and positive effect on attitude towards SRC, (4) eWOM has a significant and positive effect on subjective norms about SRC. Other than that, the research also found other useful and practical insights to leverage future strategies of businesses, the government, and educators: positive attitude of Gen Z towards CSR and SRC mainly comes from the practical benefits of these activities rather than mere emotions; eWOM gains more attention and consideration than subjective norms when it is related to SRC conduct;ix and although Gen Z has positive attitude towards CSR and SRC as well as show high intention to conduct SRC, their perceived behavioral control is just at average level, indicating that they are not sure whether they can practice this behavior or not