Will “Green” Parents Have “Green” Children? The Relationship Between Parents’ and Early Adolescents’ Green Consumption Values

Yanping Gong, Jian Li, Julan Xie (), Long Zhang and Qiuyin Lou
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Yanping Gong: Central South University
Jian Li: Central South University
Julan Xie: Central South University
Long Zhang: Hunan University
Qiuyin Lou: Central South University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2022, vol. 179, issue 2, No 4, 369-385

Abstract: Abstract Green consumption values have been shown to motivate consumers to engage in green consumption practices. However, surprisingly little research has examined how green consumption values develop in young people. In the current study, we employed ecological socialization theory as a framework to investigate the process by which parents’ green consumption values shape similar values in their young adolescents. In Study 1, data from 722 Chinese families that included an early adolescent (ages 10 to 15) showed that both mothers’ and fathers’ green consumption values were positively associated with early adolescents’ green consumption values, and this association was mediated by each parent’s environmentally responsible consumption behavior. Study 2 replicated the results of Study 1 using two waves of matched parent-adolescent data collected a month apart from another group of 477 Chinese families. Furthermore, Study 2 showed that the mediation process identified in Study 1 was evident only when there was a close parent–child relationship. These findings have implications for cultivating the green consumption values of today’s youth. The results also have heuristic value for future research on the ecological socialization and inter-generational transmission of pro-environmental values.

Keywords: Green consumption values; Environmentally responsible consumption behavior; Parent–child relationship; Ecological socialization; Inter-generational transmission of values (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-021-04835-y

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