The position of financial prudence, social influence, and environmental satisfaction in the sustainable consumption behavioural model: Cross-market intergenerational investigation during the Covid-19 pandemic

The main purpose of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of the impact of financial prudence (FIN) on social influence and environmental satisfaction in the sustainable consumption (SC) behavioural model from a cross-market intergenerational perspective in the context of COVID-19. Surprisingly, we discovered that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, significant differences emerge between the Chinese and European markets in the four factors (social influence, SC behaviour, environmental satisfaction, and FIN). Unpredictably, Generation X in the European market and Generation Y in the Chinese market had the highest FIN during the pandemic. Another substantial contribution is that, during the epidemic, the influence of social interaction promotes SC behaviour and social influence motivates users to implement SC behaviours by enhancing environmental satisfaction. However, differences arise in the moderating effect of FIN. In China, the moderating effect occurs in the relationship between social influence and SC behaviour, whereas, in Europe, it reflects in the relationship between social influence and environmental satisfaction.