Balancing health and environment in green toy purchases: The moderating role of price consciousness in a contemporary S-O-R framework

Abstract

In the context of growing concerns about the environmental impact of plastic toy waste, understanding the drivers behind parents’ purchase behavior towards sustainable alternatives is crucial, particularly in emerging markets. We employed a contemporary Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework to explore the factors driving green toy purchase behavior among parents in Vietnam. Data were collected from 329 parents and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The results indicate that attitude is the strongest predictor of purchase behavior. Notably, health consciousness exerts a dominant influence on attitude, significantly outweighing both environmental concern and environmental corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, price consciousness acts as a modest negative moderator, weakening the translation of positive attitudes into actual purchase behavior. Theoretically, this study demonstrates how the contemporary S-O-R mechanism operates in a proxy consumption context. It highlights that when parents purchase sustainable products for their children, health consciousness significantly outweighs environmental concern. Practically, the research results provide a strategic roadmap for manufacturers and marketers to prioritize communicating health-related safety information and minimizing cost barriers, thereby bridging the attitude-behavior gap in the sustainable toy market.