How Environmental Knowledge and Concern Shape Chinese Consumers’ Green Purchase Intention?

The planet experiences a sense of urgency in environmental issues, and the economic growth of China accelerates the pressure on sustainable consumption. More frequent and extreme weather events and climatic variation are threatening the safety of people and food security in China. Hence, it is essential to understand the people`s attitudes and behaviors towards environmental protection. Drawing on a Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)-informed integrated model, this paper investigates how environmental concern (EC) and environmental knowledge (EK) influence green purchase intention (GPI) among Chinese consumers, with subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC), and green perceived value (GPV) examined as mediating mechanisms. The study addresses a more specific gap in the literature by examining whether social, control, and value-based pathways differently mediate the effects of EC and EK on GPI within one model. The survey involved 546 consumers and data was analyzed through SmartPLS 4.0. The findings reveal that EC and EK positively influence SN and PBC. SN and PBC mediate the effects of both antecedents on GPI, whereas GPV does not emerge as a significant mediator. The direct effect remains significant for EC but not for EK, indicating partial mediation for EC and indirect-only influence for EK. These findings indicate that SN and PBC are the principal pathways through which EK and EC translate into GPI, while GPV does not function as a significant mediating route in this sample. This paper offers an initial empirical basis to further studies and is consistent with the aims of the United Nation’s sustainable development goal (SDG) 12 relating to responsible consumption and production and SDG 13, which is to promote climate action.