Factors influencing air passengers' intention to purchase voluntary carbon offsetting programs: The moderating role of environmental knowledge

• Published in: Journal of air transport management Vol. 118; p. 102619
• Main Authors: Park, Jihyeon, Ryu, Yebin, Kim, Yitae
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-07-2024
• Subjects: Climate change mitigation; Environmental knowledge; Extended theory of planned behavior; Moderating effect; Voluntary carbon offsetting program; Environmental knowledge; Voluntary carbon offsetting program; Climate change mitigation; Moderating effect; Extended theory of planned behavior
• ISSN: 0969-6997; 1873-2089
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102619

This paper aims to investigate the factors that influence air passengers' intention to purchase the VCO program by applying the extended Theory of Planned Behavior. Furthermore, we examine how the influence of these factors on purchasing intention varies according to passengers' levels of environmental knowledge.
We surveyed 319 individuals in Korea who have had air travel experience within the past three years and are planning future air travel. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0. To verify validity and reliability, we conducted confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis. Hypotheses were tested using a structural equation model, and the moderating effect of environmental knowledge was verified through multi-group analysis.
Our findings revealed that personal norms, subjective norms, attitudes, and perceived behavioral control influence customers' intentions to purchase VCO program, in that order. Additionally, a critical aspect of our research is the multigroup analysis that demonstrates how environmental knowledge moderates the effects of attitudes and personal norms on purchase intentions. This indicates that the level of environmental awareness significantly shapes the decision-making process for participating in VCO program. Our study provides valuable insights for developing effective communication strategies to promote VCO program, emphasizing the need for tailored approaches based on individuals’ environmental knowledge.
This study is the first to analyze the intention to purchase voluntary carbon offset (VCO) program among Korean passengers. We conducted a comprehensive analysis based on the extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and investigated how the relative influence of each factor varies depending on the level of environmental knowledge.
•This paper explores factors influencing airline passengers' intention to purchase VCO programs using the theory.•Personal norms, subjective norms, attitudes, and perceived behavioral control significantly affect purchse intentions.•The study also found that environmental knowledge moderates the impact of attitudes and personal norms on these intentions.•These findings indicate that communication tactics based on environmental awareness are critical for promoting VCO programs.•This study offers significant insights for improving airline passengers' participation in VCO activities.