Abstract:

Attitude-Behavior gap in green consumption has been well documented in the marketing literature. Some research has been done to investigate why consumers often fail to engage in actual green consumption even though they have previously indicated their intention to do so. It is important to gain greater understanding of such attitude-behavior gap in green consumption, as sustainable development becomes the critical social and economic trend. This article 1) summarizes the empirical findings and theories from the literature in the past decade; 2) discusses what have not been studied in the literature; and 3) finally suggests possible directions for future research in the field, such as measurement scale development, possible moderating and mediating factors, motivational factors, learning and trust mechanism, and cross culture issues.

Key words: attitude-behavior gap, green consumption, pro-sociality