[26] GREEN CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOR AMONG HIGHER EDUCATION FACULTY: A COMPREHENSIVE SYNTHESIS OF MOTIVATORS, BARRIERS, AND THE ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR GAP

How to Cite the Article: Sharada R, Shobha (2026). Green Consumption Behavior among Higher Education Faculty: A Comprehensive Synthesis of Motivators, Barriers, and the Attitude-Behavior Gap. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research & Reviews, 5(s2). 231-255.

Abstract

Green consumption—the intentional purchase and use of environmentally sustainable products represents a critical behavioral phenomenon in addressing global environmental degradation. Despite widespread environmental awareness and increasingly positive environmental attitudes, a persistent paradox persists: individuals expressing strong environmental concerns frequently fail to translate these attitudes into actual purchasing behavior. This comprehensive literature synthesis examines 56 recent empirical studies investigating motivators, barriers, and the attitude-behavior gap in green consumption, with particular emphasis on how demographic characteristics and contextual factors reshape behavioral relationships. The analysis reveals that environmental attitudes, internal moral norms, and health-related benefits serve as primary motivators for green consumption, while economic barriers, product availability limitations, consumer skepticism, and psychological constraints actively suppress behavior translation. Critically, demographic characteristics including age, gender, education, and professional discipline significantly moderate these relationships, creating population- specific behavioral patterns. The synthesis identifies higher education faculty as an understudied yet strategically important population whose consumption choices influence students, institutional cultures, and broader community sustainability. The review documents significant research gaps regarding faculty-specific green consumption patterns in developing economy contexts and provides empirical foundations for institutional sustainability initiatives. Integration of Theory of Planned Behavior, Values-Beliefs-Norms theory, and Innovation Resistance Theory offers comprehensive framework capturing both motivational drivers and practical obstacles shaping green consumption adoption.