Does social crowding promote green products purchasing? Analyzing the role of face consciousness and relative price

Promoting environmental sustainability, green consumption behavior is a crucial approach for individuals. Utilizing the "factor-intention" logic, we constructed a model to examine the relationship between social crowding, face consciousness, relative price level, and consumers' intentions to purchase green products. We conducted three experiments to assess the influence of social crowding on green product purchasing, along with examining the mediating effect of face consciousness and the moderating effect of relative price level. The results demonstrated a positive impact of social crowding on consumers' intentions to purchase green products, with the relationship being moderated by the relative price level. Additionally, the desire to gain face and the fear of losing face partially mediated the interaction between social crowding and green product purchasing.