Environmental Responsibility, Psychological Distance, and Environmental Consumption: Mediation in Accounting Students

Meurer, Alison Martins; Jesus, Cristina Viana de; Panhoca, Luiz

doi:10.1590/1982-7849rac2021190223.en

Alison Martins Meurer

Universidade Federal do Paraná, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Contabilidade, Brasil.

Alison Martins Meurer*, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Contabilidade, Av. Prefeito Lothário Meissner, nº 632, Jardim Botânico, 80210-170, Curitiba, PR, Brazil. E-mail address: alisonmmeurer@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3704-933X

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3704-933X

Cristina Viana de Jesus

Universidade Federal do Paraná, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Contabilidade, Brasil.

Cristina Viana de Jesus, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Contabilidade, Av. Prefeito Lothário Meissner, nº 632, Jardim Botânico, 80210-170, Curitiba, PR, Brazil. E-mail address: cryssviana1@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0375-4310

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0375-4310

Luiz Panhoca

Universidade Federal do Paraná, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Contabilidade, Brasil.

Luiz Panhoca, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Contabilidade, Av. Prefeito Lothário Meissner, nº 632, Jardim Botânico, 80210-170, Curitiba, PR, Brazil. E-mail address: panhoca.luiz@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0839-1611

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0839-1611

* Corresponding Author

Editor-in-chief:

Wesley Mendes-Da-Silva (Fundação Getulio Vargas, EAESP, Brazil)

Alison Martins Meurer*, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Contabilidade, Av. Prefeito Lothário Meissner, nº 632, Jardim Botânico, 80210-170, Curitiba, PR, Brazil. E-mail address: alisonmmeurer@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3704-933X

Cristina Viana de Jesus, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Contabilidade, Av. Prefeito Lothário Meissner, nº 632, Jardim Botânico, 80210-170, Curitiba, PR, Brazil. E-mail address: cryssviana1@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0375-4310

Luiz Panhoca, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Contabilidade, Av. Prefeito Lothário Meissner, nº 632, Jardim Botânico, 80210-170, Curitiba, PR, Brazil. E-mail address: panhoca.luiz@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0839-1611

Authors' Contributions

1^st author: conceptualization (equal); formal analysis (equal); investigation (equal); methodology (equal); validation (equal); visualization (equal); writing-original draft (equal); writing-review & editing (equal). 2^nd author: methodology (supporting); resources (supporting); data curation (supporting); acquisition of financing (supporting). 3^rd author: formal analysis (equal); investigation (equal); methodology (equal); supervision (equal); validation (equal); writing-original draft (equal); writing-review & editing (lead).

Conflict of Interests

The authors have stated that there is no conflict of interest.

Research instrument construct		Description	Exemplification of assertive that composes the construct
Psychological distance		Psychological distance from environmental and climatic changes in the temporal, spatial, social, and hypothetical dimensions.	I am sure that environmental and climate changes are really happening.
Environmental responsibility	Environmental social responsibility	Engagement and social pressure related to pro-environmental behavior.	I participate in activities that aim at protecting and improving the quality of the environment.
	Environmental ethics	Moral commitment to environmental responsibility.	I avoid buying products that are potentially harmful to the environment.
	Environmental self-responsibility	Self-perception and commitment to pro-environmental behaviors.	I think that individuals have a responsibility to protect the environment.
Purchase intention		Propensity to buy pro-environmental products.	In the near future, I plan to buy only products with an eco-label.
Consumer loyalty		Frequency and commitment to the consumption of pro-environmental products.	I am willing to pay more money for environmentally friendly products.

Stage		Objective	Parameter	Reference
Descriptive statistics		Describe the percentage values referring to the characteristics of the respondents.	There isn't.	The authors (2017)
Measurement model	Average variance extracted - AVE	Measure the portion of the data (in the respective variables) that is explained by each of the constructs.	Values above 0.50.	Henseler, Ringle and Sinkovics (2009)Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sinkovics, R. R. (2009). The use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing. Advances in International Marketing, 20, 277-319. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1474-7979(2009)0000020014 https://doi.org/10.1108/S1474-7979(2009)...
	DG. Rho	Evaluate the reliability and the internal grouping capacity of the construct.	Values above 0.7.	Sanchez (2013)Sanchez, G. (2013). PLS path modeling with R. Berkeley: Trowchez Editions.
	1st eigenvalue		Values above 1.
	2nd eigenvalue		Values below 1.
	Cross factorial loads	Evaluate the independence of the latent variables observed in relation to the others.	Values above 0.5 and highest crossing value.	Hair, Hult, Ringle and Sarstedt (2014)Hair, J. F. Jr., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2014). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.; Sanchez (2013)Sanchez, G. (2013). PLS path modeling with R. Berkeley: Trowchez Editions.
Structural model	Coefficient estimates	Evaluate the significance of coefficients and endogenous regressions (t test).	Significant p-value by up to 10%.	Sanchez (2013)Sanchez, G. (2013). PLS path modeling with R. Berkeley: Trowchez Editions.
	Correlations between latent variables	Evaluate the correlation between latent variables.	Relevant correlations, above 0.5.
	R²	Evaluate the explanatory power of exogenous to endogenous variables.	Up to 2%, small effect; above 2% to 13%, medium effect; above 13% up to 26%, large effect.	Cohen (1988)Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed). New York: Psychology Press.
	Goodness-of-Fit (GoF)	Check the fit of the model.	Above 0.36.	Tenenhaus, Vinzi, Chatelin and Lauro (2005)Tenenhaus, M., Vinzi, V. E., Chatelin, Y & Lauro, C. (2005). PLS path modeling. Computational Statistics & Data Analysis. 48(1), 159-205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csda.2004.03.005 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csda.2004.03.0... ; Sanchez (2013)Sanchez, G. (2013). PLS path modeling with R. Berkeley: Trowchez Editions.

Respondents profile
Gender		Do you currently work or do an internship?
Male	56.64%	Yes	76.10%
Female	43.36%	No	23.90%
What is your age group?		What is your marital status?
Up to 20 years	43.36%	Not married	85.84%
21-25 years	33.63%	Married	10.62%
26-30 years	14.16%	Divorced	0.88%
31-35 years	4.42%	Stable relationship	1.77%
36-40 years	2.66%	Widower	0.88%
Above 40 years	1.77%

Variables	Psychological distance	Environmental ethics	Environ-mental social responsibility	Environmental self- responsibility	Purchase intention	Consumer loyalty
Psychological distance	1.000
Environmental ethics	0.383	1.000
Environmental social responsibility	0.303	0.695	1.000
Environmental self- responsibility	0.393	0.672	0.703	1.000
Purchase intention	0.361	0.638	0.761	0.783	1.000
Consumer loyalty	0.212	0.592	0.706	0.675	0.701	1.000
DG. Rho	0.895	0.807	0.860	0.865	0.903	0.891
1^st eigenvalue	2.22	2.06	2.77	2.47	3.26	3.11
2^nd eigenvalue	0.486	0.846	0.943	0.926	0.793	0.870
AVE	0.730	0.506	0.553	0.616	0.652	0.616

Discriminant validity	Cross loads (minimum)	Cross loads (maximum)	Associated construct (minimum)	Associated construct (maximum)
Psychological distance	0.067	0.394	0.772	0.899
Environmental ethics	0.147	0.631	0.704	0.743
Social responsibility	0.088	0.675	0.611	0.861
Social self-responsibility	0.306	0.658	0.773	0.840
Purchase intention	0.243	0.689	0.703	0.870
Consumer loyalty	0.020	0.719	0.642	0.884

Premise	Path	Direct effect	Conclusion
(A)	Psychological distance > Environmental ethics	0.382^* ***** indicate significance at the level of 1%.	Attended premise
	Psychological distance > Environmental social responsibility	0.302^* ***** indicate significance at the level of 1%.
	Psychological distance > Environmental social responsibility	0.393^* ***** indicate significance at the level of 1%.
(B)	Environmental ethics > Purchase intention	0.032^* ***** indicate significance at the level of 1%.	Attended premise
	Environmental ethics > Consumer loyalty	0.102^* ***** indicate significance at the level of 1%.
	Environmental social responsibility > Purchase intention	0.399^* ***** indicate significance at the level of 1%.
	Environmental social responsibility > Consumer loyalty	0.416^* ***** indicate significance at the level of 1%.
	Environmental self-responsibility > Purchase intention	0.462^* ***** indicate significance at the level of 1%.
	Environmental self-responsibility > Consumer loyalty	0.349^* ***** indicate significance at the level of 1%.

Premise (c)	Model without mediation	Model with mediation considering academic performance						H₁mediation
	Effect	Direct effect		Indirect effect		Total effect	Mediation effect
	β	β	%	β	%	β	%
Psychological distance > Purchase intention	0.372^* ***** and	0.045^* ***** and	12.50	0.315	87.50	0.360^ indicate significance at the level of 1% and 5%, respectively.	+87.50	Partial
Psychological distance > Consumer loyalty	0.237^ indicate significance at the level of 1% and 5%, respectively.	-0.090^* ***** and	-42.65	0.303	142.65	0.211^ indicate significance at the level of 1% and 5%, respectively.	+142.65	Total

Construct	R² - Model without mediation	R² - Model with mediation
Environmental ethics	There is not	0.146 ^ indicate significance at the level of 5%.
Environmental social responsibility	There is not	0.091 ^ indicate significance at the level of 5%.
Environmental self-responsibility	There is not	0.154 ^ indicate significance at the level of 5%.
Buy intention	0.138 ^ indicate significance at the level of 5%.	0.703 ^ indicate significance at the level of 5%.
Consumer loyalty	0.056 ^ indicate significance at the level of 5%.	0.571
Goodness-of-Fit (GoF)	0.25	0.45

Psychological distance	1 - Climate change is likely to have a big impact on people.
	2 - I am sure that climate change is really happening.
	3 - If it happens, Brazil will feel the effects of climate change.
	4 - Climate change will affect areas that are close to Brazil.
Social responsibility	5 - I recommend green and/or organic products to my friends and family.
	6 - I feel morally obliged to buy green and/or organic products.
	7 - I participate in activities that aim at protecting and improving the quality of the environment.
	8 - I support non-governmental organizations that work to minimize the negative impacts caused by other organizations to the environment.
	9 - We must take responsibility for environmental issues.
Ethical behavior	10 - I avoid buying products that are potentially harmful to the environment.
	11 - When I use ecological and/or organic products, I feel that I can help the environment.
	12 - I feel more comfortable when I use ecological products instead of non-ecological products.
	13 - I try to buy products made with recycled materials.
	14 - To maintain a healthy economy, all living beings have a moral right to exist.
Environmental self- responsibility	15 - I consider environmental issues when making a purchase.
	16 - I have already changed the option to purchase an important product for ecological reasons.
	17 - I think that individuals have a responsibility to protect the environment.
	18 - When I use ecological products, I feel that I support environmental preservation.
Purchase intention	19 - In the near future, I am willing to buy environmentally friendly products.
	20 - In the near future, I am willing to buy products with an ecological brand.
	21 - In the near future, I plan to buy only products with an ecological brand.
	22 - In the near future, I will only buy products that avoid the use of corrosive chemical materials.
	23 - In the near future, I will buy products made from recyclable materials.
Consumer loyalty	24 - I will definitely continue to consume environmentally friendly and recyclable products.
	25 - I am willing to pay more money for ecological products.
	26 - Ecological products are always my first choice.
	27 - I consider myself loyal to ecological products.
	28 - If ecological products are not available in the store, I do not buy other products.

Distância psicológica	1 - Mudanças climáticas provavelmente terão um grande impacto sobre as pessoas.
	2 - Estou certo que as mudanças climáticas realmente estão acontecendo.
	3 - Se houver, o Brasil sentirá os efeitos das mudanças climáticas.
	4 - Mudanças climáticas afetarão áreas que estão próximas ao Brasil.
Responsabilidade social	5 - Eu recomendo produtos verdes e/ou orgânicos para meus amigos e familiares.
	6 - Sinto-me moralmente obrigado a comprar produtos verdes e/ou orgânicos.
	7 - Participo de atividades que visam a proteger e melhorar a qualidade do meio ambiente.
	8 - Eu apoio organizações não governamentais que trabalham para minimizar os impactos negativos causados por outras organizações ao meio ambiente.
	9 - Devemos assumir a responsabilidade por questões ambientais.
Comportamento ético	10 - Evito comprar produtos potencialmente prejudiciais ao meio ambiente.
	11 - Quando uso produtos ecológicos e/ou orgânicos, sinto que posso ajudar o meio ambiente.
	12 - Sinto-me mais confortável quando uso produtos ecológicos ao invés de produtos não ecológicos.
	13 - Procuro comprar produtos feitos com materiais reciclados.
	14 - Para manter uma economia saudável, todos os seres vivos têm o direito moral de existir.
Autorresponsabilidade ambiental	15 - Considero questões ambientais ao realizar uma compra.
	16 - Já alterei a opção de compra de algum produto importante por razões ecológicas.
	17 - Eu acho que os indivíduos têm a responsabilidade de proteger o meio ambiente.
	18 - Quando uso produtos ecológicos, sinto que apoio a preservação ambiental.
Intenção de compra	19 - Em um futuro próximo, estou disposto a comprar produtos ecológicos.
	20 - Em um futuro próximo, estou disposto a comprar produtos com uma marca ecológica.
	21 - Em um futuro próximo, planejo comprar somente produtos com uma marca ecológica.
	22 - Em um futuro próximo, vou comprar somente produtos que evitam o uso de materiais químicos corrosivos.
	23 - Em um futuro próximo, comprarei produtos feitos de materiais recicláveis.
Lealdade do consumidor	24 - Definitivamente vou continuar consumindo produtos ecológicos e recicláveis.
	25 - Estou disposto a pagar mais dinheiro por produtos ecológicos.
	26 - Os produtos ecológicos são sempre a minha primeira escolha.
	27 - Eu me considero leal aos produtos ecológicos.
	28 - Se os produtos ecológicos não estiverem disponíveis na loja, eu não compro outros produtos.

[1] * Corresponding Author

Brasil

Brasil

Environmental Responsibility, Psychological Distance, and Environmental Consumption: Mediation in Accounting Students

ABSTRACT

Objective:

Methods:

Results:

Conclusions: