My Values or Our Identity? The Moderating Role of Identities on Values-Behavior Congruence and Green Consumption Decisions

Abstract

The present research examines how personal and social identities moderate the impact of values on green consumption decisions. Prior consumer research has demonstrated that self-transcendence (self-enhancement) values have a greater influence green consumption decisions, so called values-behavior congruence. The authors divert from the conventional perspective of values-behavior congruence to propose that opposite values can also influence green consumption decisions, depending on whether a personal or social identity is activated. Specifically, contrary to conventional wisdom, the authors find that self-transcendence (self-enhancement) values do not always have a greater impact on green consumption decisions. Instead, our findings demonstrate that people can behave in opposite direction from their values, depending on the activated identity. When social identity is activated, results are incongruent with values: self-transcendence and self-enhancement values have similar impact on green consumption decisions. Research and managerial implications are discussed.