People have been more curious about the world around them in recent years. People have been inspired to help save the world as a result of problems such as global warming and greenhouse effects, and therefore to promote a shift in behavioral development for the green movement (Khare, 2015). In Vietnam, green marketing is also in its early stages. It is gaining traction as a result of its strong and direct concern for Vietnam's economic and environmental conditions. Companies are attempting to raise enough concern about green marketing and green product purchases. Further efforts should be considered due to a lack of understanding (Awan & Shahid, 2015). According to Grunert (1993), both underdeveloped and developed countries are actively involved in the green movement in the process of environmental protection. Consumer purchasing behavior is linked to awareness of environmental disruption. As a result, more and more people are becoming involved
in green marketing in this day and age (Chan, 2004). In order to better understand the relationship between green marketing and environmental consciousness, Awan and Wamiq (2016) conducted a study in Pakistan. People with higher incomes have a higher degree of understanding of the environment and green goods, according to a sample size of 276 respondents, implying that in order to expand the reach of green marketing, consumers' environmental awareness must be improved.
According to studies, having a higher level of environmental awareness will lead to pro-environmental action. In a study of US and Austrian customers, Matthes and Wonneberger (2014) discovered that those with more environmental awareness are more likely to act in a pro-environmental manner. Kianpour et al. (2014) investigated the relationship between consumer purchasing behavior and environmental awareness in the Indian context. They came to the conclusion that environmental awareness influences consumer purchasing behavior against green goods in a positive way.
However, PickettBaker and Ozaki (2008) argue that, unlike Western consumers, Asian and Arab consumers have only recently become aware of environmental problems and, as a result, do not always act in an environmentally friendly manner.
Thus, although environmental awareness is generally poor in developing countries, it has been found that even low levels of environmental concern have a direct effect on consumer purchasing behaviour. Singh and Pandey (2012) conducted research in the Indian market to further verify the findings of PickettBaker and Ozaki (2008).
They discovered that Indian consumers have low levels of environmental awareness, but they tend to buy green goods. The findings of a study by Han et al.
(2010) also indicate that increased awareness of environmental problems and green goods affects consumers' positive attitudes toward green hotel marketing.
In contrast, the situation seems to be different in developing countries. People in developing countries have been found to have more environmental awareness, but their purchasing decisions vary even more (Dahlstorm, 2011). Alevizou et al.
(2015), for example, investigated consumer purchasing activity in the United
Kingdom and Greece. The findings of their research showed that consumers in the United Kingdom base their purchasing decisions primarily on cultural norms and approval, implying that social forces affect purchasing decisions, including for green goods. In Greece, on the other hand, it was discovered that consumers' purchasing decisions were directly affected by their values and behavioral controls, i.e., rather than being influenced by social influences, they made their purchasing decisions based on their own beliefs (Cronin et al., 2011).
Going green includes a variety of activities such as reducing power usage and seeking to find alternative energy sources, recycling, paper conservation, increased use of biodegradable materials, organic food, aerosols, and so on. Green marketing, according to PickettBaker and Ozaki (2008), can help shape environmental values, but it does not always result in shifting customer purchasing behavior to purchase green goods. Olofsson and hman (2015), on the other hand, presented contradictory conclusions based on the findings of a study conducted in four countries: Sweden, Canada, the United States, and Norway. Environmental views greatly increase environmental issues, according to their findings. As a result, buyers make green purchases until they are persuaded that their purchase would aid in the reduction of environmental problems. Similarly, Conraud and Rivas (2009) discovered that in the Mexican sense, environmental awareness has a direct effect on the relationship between green marketing and how it affects consumer purchasing behaviour.Based on this, Khare et al. (2013) conducted a more in-depth study in Malaysia and discovered that environmental awareness and environmental consciousness are powerful mediators between green confidence, green availability, green pricing, and consumer purchasing behaviour. Chowdhury (2013) and Lee et al. (2012), on the other hand, argued that consumers' socially responsible behavior is often influenced by their level of environmental awareness. Because of selfish actions, even higher levels of environmental awareness may not generate the necessary consumer purchasing behavior. However, the number of studies that support the positive effect of green marketing on consumer purchasing behavior and the role of environmental awareness in further influencing such behavior outnumber those that have contrary findings. As a result, previous research results generally seem to
agree on a positive relationship between consumer purchasing behavior and environmental knowledge, as well as the role of environmental knowledge in the relationship between consumer purchasing behavior and green marketing. However, such findings are primarily applicable to developed countries, while emerging countries, which have received less attention, have mixed results. The inspiration for the current research study comes from mixed outcomes in developed countries.
Previous research (Conraud & Rivas 2009; Khare et al., 2013) has found a correlation between environmental awareness and consumer purchasing behavior.
Given the scarcity of empirical evidence for developing countries, this study will examine the relationship between environmental awareness and consumer purchasing behavior in Vietnam. Based on the findings of the literature, the following hypotheses were developed:
H2: Environmental knowledge has a significant positive relationship with consumer purchasing patterns.
H3: Environmental knowledge mediates the relationship between green marketing and consumer purchasing patterns.