EXAMINING CUSTOMERS’ INTENTION TO PURCHASE CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRODUCTS USING THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR AND MODERATING EFFECTS

Abstract

The circular economy is the contemporary approach for environmental solution from the United Nations. It is relatively new in most emerging countries, including Thailand. Therefore, this research aims to explore Thai consumers’ behavior for their purchase intention toward circular economy products to see whether market is ready for circular economy or not. The study has adopted the theory of planned behavior as it is well accepted and widely used in literature. This research was conducted in Thailand by using quantitative approach, collecting data from 559 respondents. The results showed that among the three main determinants in the theory, attitude toward behavior was found to have highest impact on purchase intention of circular economy products while the other two factors, perceived behavioral control and subjective norms, were also positively related to the purchase intention as well. In this research, the authors have also investigated three moderating variables: price sensitivity, perceived convenience, and product involvement. It is interesting to find that all three variables have moderating effects on the attitude towards purchase intention whereas none of these moderators have significant impacts on subjective norms.