Planned Behavior under Economic Pressure: Understanding College Students’ Intentions to Buy Second-Hand Digital Products
Keywords:
Environmental awareness, Purchase intention, Attitude, Subjective norms, Theory of Planned Behavior, Economic pressureAbstract
Driven by sustainability concerns, Chinese university students are increasingly purchasing second-hand digital products to balance economic savings with environmental protection. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study examines how environmental awareness and economic pressure influence purchase intentions through the mediating roles of attitude and subjective norms. Structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) of 307 survey responses reveals that environmental awareness significantly drives purchase intention by enhancing both attitudes and subjective norms. Conversely, economic pressure affects intention solely through indirect mediation, showing no significant direct impact. Notably, the influence of environmental awareness on subjective norms emerged as the strongest pathway. By extending TPB to high-involvement, risk-sensitive goods, this research enriches the green consumption literature and offers practical implications for promoting environmentally responsible behaviors among youth.
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