Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ ______________________________ ______ ____ ___ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 2 ( 3 ), 14 - 21 , March (201 3 ) Res. J. Recent Sci. International Science Congress Association 14 Modeling the Impact of Online Social Marketing Campaigns on Consumers’ Environmentally Friendly Behavior Orzan G., Serban C., Iconaru C. and Macovei O.I. Faculty of Marketing, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, ROMANIA Available onl ine at: www.isca.in Received 7 th August 2012 , revised 13 th September 2012 , accepted 21 st October 2012 Abstract Nowadays, consumers are becoming more and more aware of how their behavior and their use of resources can a ffect 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 influenc e 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’ relia bility 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.05. In order to assess the magnitude of the cau sal 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 con trol, 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. Keywords: Online social marketing campaigns, environmentally friendly behavior, t heory of p lanned b ehavior. Introduction Nowaday s, many studies are carried out to increase awareness on the ecological issues the world is facing 1,2 . While some studies focus on health beliefs and perceptions of well - being 3 , other try to provide solutions to different environmental problems, like waste 4 or supply chain management 5 . Social organizations have an important role in solving environmental issues 6 . They contribute to fulfilling complex tasks, by strengthening social cohesion and organizing specific campaigns to protect the environment. Theref ore, a social organization emphasizes the satisfaction of human needs (e.g. pollution control) and increases the ability of individuals and communities to respond more quickly to environmental issues (e.g. global warming, natural disasters, genetically mod ified organisms, etc.). Social organizations can prove their effectiveness in changing attitudes and norms concerning countless environmental problems, such as recycling, climate change, waste collection, protection of fauna and flora or avoiding ecologica l accidents. Nowadays, every organization uses the Internet for its everyday office tasks as it removes communication gap and distance. As a flexible, dynamic and interactive channel of communication, Internet has opened new possibilities for communicati on and social interaction 7 . More and more social organizations now seek to convince people to adopt a healthy behavior by using online communication channels like email, chat, blogs, forums, bulletin boards or social networks. The increase in use of person al Internet access led to a whole new raft of social campaigns – online social campaigns. Online social campaigns have the potential to reach more people at faster rates and exert influence at different level of society development. Through Internet, socia l organizations can now bring positive changes to the way people work, learn and live. Issues like anti - smoking, drug abuse, nutrition, family planning, spreading AIDS awareness, blood donation and energy conservation, can be communicated online, reducing the distance between the individual consumer and the desired health - related behavior. The message is important in behavioral change that is why online social organizations must deliver through their campaigns an ideal marketing mix of product, price, promo tion and place. Moreover, social organizations must undertake market research, market segmentation and positioning strategies in order to develop successful marketing campaigns. There are many factors that can contribute to the success or failure of an o nline social marketing campaign. For example, a person’s membership of a smoking group can represent a barrier in being able to quit smoking, as the very habit facilitates the person’s integration. In this regard, social organizations should also consider activities aimed at educating people, preventing the adoption of negative behavior and questioning the utility of negative habits for personal health and happiness 8 . Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ _ _ _______________________________ ______________ _ ________ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 2 ( 3 ), 1 4 - 21 , March (201 3 ) Res. J. Recent Sci. I nternational Science Congress Association 15 However, in choosing the optimal strategy to support an ecological cause, it is important for a social organization to consider not only the net costs associated to the entities directly involved but also the manner in which the strategy can affect the overall behavior of consumers. There are various theories and models of consumers’ behavior that can be adapted to the study of environmentally friendly behavior. First of all, there are the rational choices models upon which are based many of the existing environmental policies. These models make the assumption that the consumer is a rational i ndividual, who will make buying and consumption decisions based upon individual costs and benefits of his or her actions. Individuals perceive behavior change as a cost 9 . When costs are low, many individuals are willing to adopt a new behavior, while, wh en costs are very high, only individuals with a strong environmental motivation accept a behavior change. Behavior change due to environmental morale (B) can be expressed as a function of net cost (C) 9 , also represented in figure 1. Thus, as C will decrea se, B will increase. For example, in regions of extreme poverty, where people are preoccupied more about survival, few will be willing to stop cutting trees for fuel, in favor to protect the environment. If, however, it would be available other cheaper opt ions for heating, the environmental protection could become possible. Figure - 1 Changing consumer’s behavior through environmental ethics Rational choice models have been intensively criticized for emphasizing cognition alone, whereas consumers also base their buying decisions on affective responses to choice, social, moral and altruistic values of self 10 . As a response, various psychological theories accounted for the implicit effect of social influence. For example, Fishbein and Ajzen’s Theory of Reason ed Actions 11 , further developed into the Theory of Planned Behavior, accounts for those particular behaviors when the individual does not have complete volitional control over his behavior 12 . Various aspects of morality have been studied in relation to con sumers’ choice of sustainable consumption. The choice of buying and consuming environmentally friendly products raises important contradicting issues like self interest versus the interest of the groups 13 . Moral beliefs have been also introduced in various expectancy value models. These beliefs have been operated as a special kind of norms which are formed by the individual’s awareness about the consequences of his own actions and they lead to consumers’ manifested willingness to assume responsibility for s uch actions 14 . Theories as TPB put a great emphasize on consumers perceptions about what their referent groups may think in regards to their behavior but also highlight the importance of consumers’ personal beliefs, such as their perceived moral duty to su pport the environment 15 . Many authors have employed Theory of Planned Behavior in predicting recycling behavior, concluding that TPB provides a useful model for exploring those factors that guide behavioral intention to perform an ecological behavior 16 . The Theory of Planned Behavior, also presented in figure 2, provides guidance in exploring the customer - specific internal factors, e.g. perceptions about a particular behavior, and as in the identification of external factors, e.g. social influences or res ource availability. In conjunction, these factors can influence consumer s’ intention to engage in a behavior 17 . It is known that when people increase their intention to adopt a certain behavior, they are more likely to adopt the effective behavior 18 . Figure - 2 The Theory of Planned Behavior Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ _ _ _______________________________ ______________ _ ________ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 2 ( 3 ), 1 4 - 21 , March (201 3 ) Res. J. Recent Sci. I nternational Science Congress Association 16 Considering attitude as the main determinant of behavioral intention, the first hypothesis of this study is: Consumers’ attitude towards environmentally friendly behavior will have a direct and positive effect on consumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner. Attitude, as a multi - dimensional construct formed by affective and cognitive components, has been previously validated as determining behavioral intentions, which subsequent leads to e ffective behavior 19 . Following this assumption, the second hypothesis of the research is: Consumers’ salient beliefs about preserving the environment will have a direct and positive effect on consumers’ attitude towards behaving in an environmentally frien dly manner. Since adopting an environmentally friendly behavior is a moral/ethical choice, the authors have implemented the social influence coming from referent groups as a direct determinant of behavioral intentions. Therefore the third hypothesis is: T he perceived social influence will have a direct and positive effect on consumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner. The following variable, perceived behavioral control includes those situations when the individual is constrained by circumstances like time, money or knowledge. For adopting an environmentally friendly behavior, consumers need to hold knowledge about the consequences of a supposed irresponsible behavior. For example, previous research has validated a direct relation ship between environmental knowledge and pro - environmental attitudes 20 . Consumers also need knowledge to distinguish between a green product and an ordinary product, whose attributes are more easily observed 21 . Another impediment for adopting an environmen tally friendly behavior is represented by the price of green products, which represents a high barrier in consumption of green products. Finally, a responsible behavior towards the environment requires time, since not all the green products and alternative s can be found at the nearest supermarket, but rather in specialized departments or stores. In line with TPB’s assumptions, the following hypotheses were defined: i. Consumers’ perceived behavioral control will have a direct and positive influence on con sumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner. ii. Consumers’ perceived behavioral control will have a direct and positive influence on consumers’ attitude towards behaving in an environmentally friendly manner. Finally, consumers’ int entions can be influenced by external pressure coming from different organizations in forms of various marketing campaigns. Thus, the last hypothesis is: Online social marketing campaigns will have a direct and positive influence on consumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner. The proposed research framework for this study is defined in figure 3. Methodology Data collection : In order to test the hypotheses, a web - survey was employed due to the fact our target population is formed mainly by Internet users. The survey was conducted from May to June 2012 and comprised respondents of different ages and originating from several social environments. A total of 382 respondents completed the questionnaire, of which 65% women and 35% men. T he average age is 24 - 35 years. The questionnaire was translated from English to Romanian by a certified translator. Measurements : Intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner was constructed as a formative latent variable comprising various components of sustainable behavior: consumers’ intention to attend ecological activities, consumers’ intention to use natural resources in a responsible manner, consumers’ intentions to purchase eco - friendly products and consumers’ intention to use green t ransportation methods. All these behaviors formed the environmentally - friendly behavior. For measuring attitude, it was taken into consideration two components: the affective component and the cognitive component. While the affective component investigat es consumers’ feelings of pleasure, like or dislikes, aversion towards an object or behavior, the cognitive component investigates consumers’ perceptions, knowledge and beliefs 22 . These two dimensions were united in a single formative latent variable. Co nsumers’ beliefs of environmental issues was considered a formative latent variable with three dimensions: consumers’ desire to solve environment problems, consumers’ desire to help preserve the environment and consumers’ desire to become role models among their peers 23,24 . Subjective norms associated with the environmentally friendly behavior represent the social pressure coming from referent groups augmented with pressure coming from mass - media and the government and other non - governmental organizations. Consumers’ perceived behavioral control was constructed as a 3 items formative latent variable comprising three components: knowledge, financial resources and time 21 . For measuring the six latent variables of the study it was used the 5 point Likert's s cale, where 1 - strongly disagree and 5 - strongly agree. Likert's scale is successfully used for many years in researches of social marketing and social responsibility 25 . The Likert's scale, which has the main advantage that its values should not be seman tic identified 26 . Data analysis was conducted using two statistical softwares: IBM SPSS v. 13 for testing the reliability of measurements and WarpPLS v. 3 for testing measurements for convergent, discrimnant validity and conducting the structural equation modeling. Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ _ _ _______________________________ ______________ _ ________ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 2 ( 3 ), 1 4 - 21 , March (201 3 ) Res. J. Recent Sci. I nternational Science Congress Association 17 Results and Discussion Reliability and validity of measurements : For assessing the reliability of measurements we have was analyzed Cronbach Alpha coefficients, also presented in table 1. Since the values for Cronbach Alpha are above the recomme nded threshold of 0.7 27 , the reliability of the measurements is considered valid. We have used Fornell and Larcker’s approach to assess convergent validity of the measurements. Convergent validity provides the foundation for stating that the proposed indi cators do reflect the particular construct they were design to reflect 28 . The factors’ loadings and cross loadings presented in table 2, show that all factor loadings are above the recommended threshold of 0.5 29 at p.001. Also, the cross - loadings are ver y low (below 0.228). Moreover, both composite reliability (CR) indicators are above the recommending value of 0.7, indicating that measurements have strong convergent validity. This is also represented in table 3. For assessing measurements’ discriminan t validity it was used Fornell and Larker’s approach of comparing the square roots of the average variance extracted (AVE) to the other correlations among latent variables. Discriminant validity assesses the extent to which constructs differ among themsel ves. As square roots of AVE are greater than any other bivariate correlations, it was concluded that measurements have good discriminant validity. Values are presented in table 4. Since measurements indicate good reliability and validity, we have perform ed a structural equation modeling analysis for hypotheses testing, which is represented in figure 4. Based on these results, all the initial hypotheses are supported at p<0.05. The best predictor of consumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally frie ndly manner is represented by consumers’ attitude towards environmentally friendly behavior (β=0.42), followed by perceived behavioral control (β=0.26), social influence (β=0.15) and online social marketing campaigns (β=0.11). Consumers’ attitude towards environmentally friendly behavior is determined by consumers behavioral be liefs (β=0.45) and consumers’ perceived behavioral control (β=0.32). Further, it was assessed the model fit by analyzing three indicators: average path coefficients (APC), average R squared (ARS) and average variance inflation factors (AVIF). According t o Kock’s model fit assumptions in table 5, the model has good fit 30 . The magnitude of the relationships between our latent variables is assessed using Cohen’s effect sizes as 0.02, 0.15 and 0.35 for small, medium and large effect sizes 30 . Results are pres ented in table 6. According to Cohen’s f - squared effect size coefficients, it can be stated that: i. Attitude and perceived behavioral control have a medium effect on consumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner, while online socia l marketing campaigns and social influence have a small effect; ii. Both beliefs about preserving the environment and perceived behavioral control have a moderate effect on consumers’ attitude towards environmentally friendly behavior. Figure - 3 The prop osed research framework based on TPB’s causal relationships Figure - 4 PLS - based structural equation modeling Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ _ _ _______________________________ ______________ _ ________ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 2 ( 3 ), 1 4 - 21 , March (201 3 ) Res. J. Recent Sci. I nternational Science Congress Association 18 Table - 1 Reliability and Internal Consistency Analysis Mean SD Alpha Corected Item - Total Correlation Alpha if Item Deleted Intention to beh ave in an environmentally friendly manner (Formative – 4 Indicators) I intend to attend ecological activities. 5.61 1.28 0.925 0.773 0.921 I intend to use natural resources in a responsible manner (e.g. water, paper, heat). 5.60 1.27 0.925 0.832 0.901 I have purchased at least once organic products (e.g. energy saving light bulbs, recycled paper). 5.71 1.17 0.925 0.817 0.906 I don’t drive unless it's necessary and I try to use public transportation or the bicycle. 5.56 1.27 0.925 0.887 0.882 Attitude t owards environmentally friendly behavior (Formative – 4 Indicators) Behaving in an environmentally friendly manner is a wise idea. 5.57 1.16 0.928 0.760 0.932 Behaving in an environmentally friendly manner is a good idea. 5.75 1.10 0.928 0.851 0.900 Beh aving in an environmentally friendly manner gives me pleasure. 5.75 1.04 0.928 0.865 0.897 I like to behave in an environmentally friendly manner. 5.73 1.07 0.928 0.862 0.897 Beliefs about preserving the environment (Formative – 6 Indicators) I belie ve that environmental protection should be a priority for society. 5.64 1.18 0.863 0.609 0.848 In my opinion, protected areas and disappearing plant species and animals need special attention. 5.85 1.15 0.863 0.691 0.836 I think it is important to be env ironmentally friendly. 5.05 1.55 0.863 0.697 0.834 I think I can preserve the environment if I behave in a responsible manner. 5.63 1.23 0.863 0.567 0.855 I think I can solve environmental issues if I behave in a responsible manner. 5.62 1.31 0.863 0.686 0.835 I believe it’s my duty to be a role model for my peers in regards to environmentally friendly behavior. 5.36 1.43 0.863 0.711 0.830 Perceived behavioral control (Formative – 3 Indicators) I have enough environmental knowledge for discerning bet ween responsible and harmful behavior. 5.54 1.26 0.884 0.744 0.865 I have the necessary financial resources to sustain a green consumption. 5.69 1.17 0.884 0.801 0.813 I have enough time to be involved in environmental protection activities. 5.74 1.16 0. 884 0.782 0.830 Social influence (Formative – 8 Indicators) I frequently discuss with my colleagues about the need to protect the natural environment. 5.49 1.39 0.957 0.818 0.952 My friends agree to participate in different ecological activities (e.g. t ree planting, greening an area). 5.54 1.34 0.957 0.893 0.947 Parents always taught me to respect and protect the nature. 5.53 1.28 0.957 0.885 0.948 The company where I work is sometimes engaged in recycling activities. 5.68 1.29 0.957 0.750 0.956 The e ducational institution where I study/studied is/was sometimes engaged in recycling activities. 5.55 1.31 0.957 0.889 0.947 In company where I work/ the educational institution where I study resources are used responsibly. 5.66 1.28 0.957 0.785 0.954 The government and other NGO are pro - active when it comes to environmental issues. 5.52 1.36 0.957 0.842 0.950 Mass - media promotes environmentally friendly behaviors. 5.51 1.35 0.957 0.824 0.951 Online social marketing campaigns (Formative – 4 Indicators) I think that social programs that promote a healthy and cleaner lifestyle are very important for training ecological consciousness of the consumer. 5.65 1.25 0.913 0.833 0.875 I am receptive to online social marketing campaigns. 5.63 1.27 0.913 0.800 0.88 7 I think online social marketing campaigns are very useful. 5.59 1.21 0.913 0.795 0.889 Online social marketing campaigns can influence the way I behave. 5.56 1.26 0.913 0.775 0.896 Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ _ _ _______________________________ ______________ _ ________ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 2 ( 3 ), 1 4 - 21 , March (201 3 ) Res. J. Recent Sci. I nternational Science Congress Association 19 Table - 2 Factor loadings and cross - loadings BFS ATT INT OSM PBC SI S E P value BE1 0.734 0.151 0.084 - 0.019 - 0.002 0.01 0.049 .001 BE2 0.801 0.01 - 0.129 0.059 0.167 - 0.025 0.053 .001 BE3 0.8 - 0.228 0.068 - 0.056 - 0.056 0.017 0.041 .001 BE4 0.696 0.177 0.038 0.029 - 0.113 - 0.012 0.055 .001 BE5 0.795 0.111 - 0.164 0 .05 0.024 0.008 0.052 .001 BE6 0.808 - 0.183 0.113 - 0.059 - 0.036 0.001 0.041 .001 AT1 - 0.129 0.859 0.141 - 0.046 0.022 0.066 0.035 .001 AT2 0.052 0.921 - 0.118 - 0.005 - 0.015 - 0.014 0.038 .001 AT3 0.034 0.929 - 0.041 0.041 - 0.002 - 0.022 0.035 .001 AT4 0.033 0.927 0.028 0.007 - 0.003 - 0.025 0.035 .001 INT1 0.023 - 0.091 0.868 - 0.073 - 0.017 - 0.06 0.056 .001 INT2 0.035 - 0.008 0.909 0.035 - 0.075 - 0.022 0.044 .001 INT3 - 0.029 0.177 0.899 0.046 0.072 0.078 0.047 .001 INT4 - 0.027 - 0.077 0.94 - 0 .011 0.02 0.002 0.043 .001 OSM1 0.024 - 0.16 0.081 0.91 0.004 0.034 0.038 .001 OSM2 - 0.051 0.07 - 0.052 0.89 0.003 - 0.008 0.041 .001 OSM3 - 0.002 0.077 - 0.028 0.887 - 0.049 0.014 0.045 .001 OSM4 0.03 0.018 - 0.004 0.873 0.043 - 0.042 0.041 .001 PB C2 0.037 - 0.046 0.085 0.002 0.884 - 0.056 0.042 .001 PBC3 - 0.021 0.08 - 0.051 - 0.025 0.916 0.039 0.047 .001 PBC4 - 0.014 - 0.036 - 0.031 0.024 0.906 0.015 0.051 .001 SI1 0.01 - 0.117 0.045 0.003 - 0.076 0.861 0.042 .001 SI2 0.072 - 0.001 - 0.073 - 0.035 - 0.047 0.923 0.039 .001 SI3 0.044 - 0.009 - 0.051 0.038 0.031 0.918 0.038 .001 SI4 - 0.134 0.139 0.084 - 0.009 0.098 0.803 0.055 .001 SI5 - 0.061 - 0.062 0.038 0.073 0.011 0.92 0.04 .001 SI6 0.099 0.059 0.021 - 0.025 - 0.019 0.835 0.049 .001 SI7 0.0 26 - 0.052 - 0.031 - 0.062 0.051 0.881 0.043 .001 SI8 - 0.067 0.061 - 0.02 0.011 - 0.044 0.866 0.044 .001 Table - 3 Composite reliabilities (CR) BFS ATT INT OSM PBC SI 0.899 0.95 0.947 0.939 0.929 0.964 Table - 4 Correlations among variables with square ro ots of AVE on the diagonal BFS ATT INT OSM PBC SI BFS 0.773 0.625 0.62 0.51 0.564 0.489 ATT 0.625 0.909 0.686 0.418 0.57 0.471 INT 0.62 0.686 0.904 0.458 0.621 0.515 OSM 0.51 0.418 0.458 0.89 0.47 0.399 PBC 0.564 0.57 0.621 0.47 0.902 0.463 SI 0.489 0.471 0.515 0.399 0.463 0.877 Table - 5 Model fit indicators APC = 0.284, P0.001 Good if p0.05 ARS = 0.524, P=0.001 Good if p0.05 AVIF =1.574 Good if AVIF 5 Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ _ _ _______________________________ ______________ _ ________ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 2 ( 3 ), 1 4 - 21 , March (201 3 ) Res. J. Recent Sci. I nternational Science Congress Association 20 Table - 6 Cohen’s effect sizes BFS ATT INT OSM PBC SI BFS - - - - - - ATT 0.283 - - - 0 .187 - INT - 0.286 - 0.055 0.16 0.078 OSM - - - - - - PBC - - - - - - SI - - - - - - Conclusion In modeling consumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner, we began from the assumption that sustainable behavior is a moral choic e of individuals. They have to choose between responsible and irresponsible actions that are governed by certain deeply held beliefs, identified in current study. A responsible behavior was constructed in our study as a 4 indicator formative latent variabl e, comprising several declared intentions such as: attending ecological activities, using natural resources in a responsible manner, purchasing organic products and using green transportation. We chose to employ the Theory of Planned Behavior as a concep tual model for our research. The reasons for choosing TPB are various. First of all, TPB accounts for the social influence coming from referent groups and we have postulated that consumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner will be influenced not only by the actions and choices of close friends and family, but also by other entities such as mass - media, government and non - governmental organizations. This hypothesis was confirmed after conducting the PLS - based SEM analysis, with a path coefficient of 0.15 at p<0.01. Moreover, analyzing Cohen’s effect sizes, we can state that the effect of social influence on consumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner is small, but significant. Second of al, we chose TPB becaus e it accounts for those behaviors when the individuals do not have complete volitional control over their behavior. This complies with environmentally friendly behavior, which is governed by certain constraints: knowledge, financial resources and time, all analyzed under a 3 indicator formative latent variable. The path coefficient between behavioral intention and perceived behavioral control supports the hypothesis that consumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner is positively aff ected by the perceived lack of behavioral control, with a path coefficient of 0.26 at p<0.01. Moreover, Cohen’s effect size indicates that the magnitude of the influence of perceived behavioral control on consumers’ behavioral intention is medium. This mea ns that the existence of knowledge, financial resources and time weights higher in adopting a responsible behavior than does social influence. For example, consumers may want to buy organic food but due to higher prices and lack of sufficient financial res ources, they have no choice but to buy ordinary products. A consumer may want to use the bicycle to drive to work but due to the high distance and lack of time to engage in such behavior, he is forced to use his personal car. We have postulated a third belief as having a direct effect on consumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner: online social marketing campaigns. Various organizations can trigger an environmentally friendly behavior by using the Internet as a marketing tool. Consumers’ seem to be open to social communications from organizations and assign them a special importance. Online social marketing campaigns can shape and change behavior as consumers become more educated and their revenues increase, even though Cohen’s effect size indicate a small effect of online social marketing campaigns on consumers’ intention to behave in an environmentally friendly manner. Last, we have studied if attitude towards behavior will have a direct and positive effect on consumers’ inte ntion to behave in an environmentally friendly manner, as initially postulated by TPB. Indeed, consumers with a more favorable attitude toward such behaviors are more likely to engage in environmentally friendly behaviors, as the path coefficient between a ttitude and intention is very high (β=0.42). We have also identified various beliefs that would influence consumers’ attitude towards behaving in an environmentally friendly manner: the importance that consumers assign to environmental issues, their belie f that a responsible behavior could contribute to solving environmentally issues and preserving the environment and also their belief that they can become role models for the society if behaving responsible towards the environment. These beliefs account fo r 45% of the variation in consumers’ attitude. Thus, an adaptation of the TPB research framework, augmented with the influence of the online social marketing campaigns is suitable for explaining consumers’ intentions to behave in an environmentally friend ly manner. A cknowledgement This article is a result of the project POSDRU/88/1.5./S/55287 Doctoral Programme in Economics at European Knowledge Standards (DOESEC)". This project is co - funded by the European Social Fund through The Sectoral Operational Pr ogramme for Human Resources Development 2007 - 2013 Research Journal of Recent Sciences ______ _ _ _______________________________ ______________ _ ________ ISSN 2277 - 2502 Vol. 2 ( 3 ), 1 4 - 21 , March (201 3 ) Res. J. Recent Sci. I nternational Science Congress Association 21 coordinated by The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies in partnership with West University of Timisoara. R eferences 1. Rodrigues L., Artificial and Natural Regeneration of the Forests of Bombay Presidency: 1838 to 1860, Res. J. 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