Turning Social Media Green Usage into Real-World Impact: How Green Psychology Fuels Green Purchase Behaviour

Abstract

Through the use of the S-O-R framework as theoretical basis, this study aims to fill a void and clarify how green social media use informs consumers' behaviour and sustainability by way of psychological processes in the digitally developed but relatively unexplored contexts of Malaysia. Through empirical examination, this research investigates, in detail, the entire stimulus-orientation-response pathway through digital engagement, mediated by psychological factors, resulting in real green behaviors as seen in Southeast Asian consumers. Based on the results of structural equation modelling (N=324), it was determined that social media green use positively affects all four factors (green trust, green satisfaction, green word-of-mouth, and green perceived value), which further contribute to increased purchase intentions for green products, with purchase intentions being an effective predictor of actual green behaviours in the physical world. Specifically, green WOT does not directly nor indirectly affect purchase intentions indicating key contextual boundaries. These findings reinforce the importance of trust- and satisfaction-based mechanisms in bridging the intention-behavior gap. Limitations include the cross-sectional design of the study, and a sample that tends to be made up of young, well-educated users case limits generalizability; longitudinal studies with diverse populations are needed.