A Comparative Study of Green Purchase Behavior Between Chinese and American Consumers in College: An Examination of Collectivism, Perceived Peer Pressure, and Environmental Concerns

Green products emerge and gradually take over a larger market share as consumer environmental awareness raises over time. Businesses attempt to reframe their products to become more environmentally friendly to meet customer demands. This paper examines three possible societal factors—collectivism and perceived peer pressure, and environmental concerns—that impact green purchase behaviors on college students in China and the United States. Although environmental issues are globalized, rather than regional, green purchase attitudes, intentions, and behaviors vary across cultures. Therefore, based on 91 college students in China and 48 in the United States, this study modifies a model of green purchase behavior with regression analysis from survey results. The results illustrate an overall positive correlation between collectivism, environmental concerns, and green purchase behavior. Although the correlation between environmental concern and green purchase behavior is similar in both countries, there is a stronger positive correlation between collectivism and green acquisition in the United States. However, perceived peer pressure makes little influence on green purchasing in both areas. Based on the predictions and hypothesis, this paper also discusses a few theoretical implications of the findings and can be applied to illustrate a future trend of green purchase.