How perceived life control shapes sustainable consumption: The role of outcome efficacy

Abstract Sustainable consumption helps solve today's critical environmental problems, but such behavior tends to be altruistic, mainly benefiting the environment and other people. Thus, understanding precursors that drive a consumer to engage in sustainable consumption is important for scholars and green product marketers. This study examines how perceived life control—a factor not directly related to environmental decisions—influences sustainable purchase. Data from two waves of the World Value Survey indicate that perceived life control is positively associated with pro‐environmental attitudes (which is a precondition for sustainable purchases). Five subsequent studies consistently show that perceived life control increases purchase intention for green products, and this happens because consumers with greater life control believe their purchases will be more effective in solving environmental problems (i.e., outcome efficacy). We further reveal that framing the benefits of a green product as temporally present (vs. future) attenuates the observed effect. These findings suggest that the practice of sustainable consumption may be explained by perceived life control in individuals and provide insights for environmental communication regarding the alignment between sustainable product appeals and individual differences.