A protection motivation explanation of base-of-pyramid consumers' environmental sustainability

The purpose of this research is to use the protection motivation theory to examine base-of-the pyramid (BoP) consumers' environmentally friendly behaviors. BoP consumers suffer from the threat of environmental degradation and resource scarcity, particularly in emerging economies. They have not benefited from worldwide economic development as much as their counterparts in the middle and affluent classes. Based on the protection motivation theory, we investigate how threat appraisal and coping appraisal affect BoP consumers' intentions to engage in pro-environmental household behaviors. The proposed relationships are tested using self-reported data of Chinese BoP consumers. The results indicate that these threat and coping appraisal variables are related to BoP consumers' low-cost and/or high-cost household green behaviors. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.