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Modeling the Impact of Online Social Marketing Campaigns on Consumers’Environmentally Friendly Behavior

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Author Affiliations

  • 1 Faculty of Marketing, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, ROMANIA

Res. J. Recent Sci., Volume 2, Issue (3), Pages 14-21, February,2 (2013)

Abstract

Nowadays, consumers are becoming more and more aware of how their behavior and their use of resources can affect the environment. To a certain extent, online social marketing campaigns can be hold responsible for the shift from an irresponsible behavior to an environmentally friendly behavior. Trying to explain how online social marketing campaigns can influence consumers' intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner, we have employed the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as our research framework. The basic variables of TPB were developed and adapted for the purpose of our study. Measurements' reliability and validity were assessed as the first phase of our data analysis. Further, we have conducted a PLS-based structural equation modeling for hypotheses testing. All our hypotheses were validated at p<0.05. In order to assess the magnitude of the causal relationships between TPB's variables we used Cohen's effect sizes, which indicate a certain influence of online social campaigns on consumers' intention to behave environmentally friendly. Contrary to these results, consumers' perceived behavioral control, namely the existence of necessary financial resources, time and knowledge for engaging in ecological activities, as having a medium effect on consumers behavioral intentions. The model fit indicates that TPB is a viable research framework when trying to explain and predict consumers' environmentally friendly behavior. Conclusions and implications are further elaborated.

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