DataSheet1_Role of Eco-Friendly Products in the Revival of Developing Countries’ Economies and Achieving a Sustainable Green Economy.docx

Sustainable green economy is the need of time, and eco-friendly products can play a decisive role in this goal. Low consumption of eco-friendly products is a serious concern of researchers and policymakers. To address this issue, we have studied the phenomenon in a developing country and provided insights to researchers and policymakers about the factors that influence the consumers’ behaviour in developing behaviour. We have designed an integrated model based on UTAUT to study the developing countries’ behavioural intentions towards eco-friendly products. 805 useable sample is obtained to analyze by implying SEM-ANN dual-stage hybrid model. Results revealed that environmental knowledge is a significant predictor and a moderator, but consumers are less educated about ecological issues in developing countries. Results also revealed that male and female consumers’ preferences are differently influenced by factors studied to measure adoption intentions of eco-friendly products. Sensitivity analysis results revealed that social influence followed by effort expectance and perceived expectancy of eco-friendly products are more important for developing countries’ customers. The study also provides empirical evidence of methodological advancement using SEM-ANN and suggests a dual-stage hybrid model in studies involving human behaviour.

可持续绿色经济是时代发展的必然需求，环保产品（eco-friendly products）在此目标中可发挥决定性作用。当前环保产品的低消费现状是研究者与政策制定者共同关注的重大议题。为解决这一问题，本研究在某发展中国家针对该现象展开调研，并为研究者与政策制定者提供了影响发展中国家消费者行为的相关因素洞察。本研究基于统一技术接受与使用理论（UTAUT）构建整合模型，以探究发展中国家消费者对环保产品的行为意向。本研究共回收有效样本805份，采用结构方程模型-人工神经网络（SEM-ANN）双阶段混合模型开展分析。研究结果显示，环境知识是重要的预测变量与调节变量，但发展中国家消费者对生态议题的认知水平普遍偏低。此外，研究结果还表明，男性与女性消费者的偏好受本次研究所考察的、用于衡量环保产品采纳意向的各类因素的影响存在显著差异。敏感性分析结果显示，社会影响（social influence）、其次为努力期望（effort expectance）与绩效期望（perceived expectancy），对发展中国家消费者而言是更为关键的影响因素。本研究同时为采用SEM-ANN模型的方法学进阶提供了实证依据，并建议在涉及人类行为的研究中采用双阶段混合模型。