Understanding the Role of Consumers for a Sustainable Future: Empirical Evidence From a Three-Stage Hybrid Analysis Incorporating Bibliometrics, PLS-SEM, and ANN

This present study aims to provide ways to surmount the barriers to sustainable green consumption by identifying the main antecedents influencing consumers' green apparel purchasing intentions with Asian, Middle Eastern, and European consumption cultures. The study expands the TPB model (attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) by adding the variables of altruism, openness to change, and receptivity to green communication within the framework of the value–attitude–behavior hierarchy (VABH). It makes significant contributions to the sector along with the relevant literature. In this regard, the green apparel literature was first reviewed using the bibliometrics (R and VOSviewer) method. Secondly, the data collected by the questionnaire method from 440 participants who were conscious of green apparel consumption were analyzed using the structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Finally, the findings obtained from SEM were confirmed with the analysis method using the artificial neural network (PLS-ANN). Moreover, within the framework of the VABH, attitude mediates the relationship between altruism and consumers' green apparel purchase intentions. The findings obtained from SEM revealed that the most determining factors in consumers' green apparel purchase intentions are behavioral control, altruism, attitude, and subjective norms, respectively. These findings are similar to and confirmed by the ANN analysis results.