Transforming Airline Consumers: The Interaction between Environmental Knowledge, Green Advertising, and Green Switch Intention

Öz

In recent years, green practices have emerged as a strategic priority within airline industry. The study investigates the effect of environmental knowledge on green switch intentions in air transportation, while also considering the moderating effect of green advertising within this relationship. To evaluate the proposed hypotheses in the model developed in the study, data is collected with a survey administered via Google Forms, resulting in responses from 340 participants. The dataset is analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with the software package WarpPLS. After completing the reliability and validity tests, a structural framework analysis is conducted. The results indicate that environmental knowledge plays a positive role in shaping green switch intention. Furthermore, green advertising moderates this relationship by attenuating the effect of environmental knowledge on green switch intention. The findings provide valuable theoretical and managerial implications.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Air Transportation
• Green Advertising
• Green Switch Intention
• Environmental Knowledge
• Consumer Behavior

Havayolu Tüketicilerinin Dönüşümü: Çevresel Bilgi, Yeşil Reklamcılık ve Yeşil Değiştirme Niyeti Arasındaki Etkileşim

Öz

Günümüzde yeşil uygulamalar havayolu endüstrisi için stratejik bir odak noktası olmaya başlamıştır. Bu çalışmada, havayolu taşımacılığında çevresel bilginin yeşil değiştirme niyeti üzerindeki etkisi ve yeşil reklamcılığın bu ilişkideki moderatör rolü incelenmiştir. Bu araştırma kapsamında oluşturulan modelin hipotezlerini test etmek amacıyla, Google Forms üzerinden anket yoluyla veri toplanmıştır. Toplamda 340 katılımcıdan elde edilen veriler, kısmi en küçük kareler yapısal eşitlik modeli (PLS-SEM) yaklaşımı ile WarpPLS programı aracılığıyla analiz edilmiştir. Güvenirlik ve geçerlilik testleri yapılarak yapısal model analizi uygulanmıştır. Analiz sonuçları, çevresel bilginin yeşil değiştirme niyeti üzerinde önemli ve pozitif bir etkisi olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Bunun yanı sıra, yeşil reklamcılığın, çevresel bilgi ile yeşil değiştirme niyeti arasındaki ilişkiyi zayıflatan bir moderatör rolü üstlendiği tespit edilmiştir. Araştırma bulgularının hem teorik hem de yönetsel açıdan önemli çıktılar sunduğu değerlendirilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Hava Taşımacılığı
• Yeşil Reklamcılık
• Yeşil Değiştirme Niyeti
• Çevresel Bilgi
• Tüketici Davranışı

Kaynakça

1. Abrantes, I., Ferreira, A. F., Magalhães, L. B., Costa, M., & Silva, A. (2024). The impact of revolutionary aircraft designs on global aviation emissions. Renewable Energy, 223(November 2023), 119937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2024.119937
2. Afifa, Arshad, K., Hussain, N., Ashraf, M. H., & Saleem, M. Z. (2024). Air pollution and climate change as grand challenges to sustainability. Science of the Total Environment, 928(September 2023), 172370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172370
3. Agarwal, N. D., & Kumar, V. V. R. (2020). Three decades of green advertising – a review of literature and bibliometric analysis. Benchmarking, 28(6), 1934–1958. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-07-2020-0380
4. Aldahmashi, F. A., Hassan, T. H., Abdou, A. H., Saleh, M. I., Helal, M. Y., Gebreslassie, D. A., Salem, A. E., & Radwan, S. H. (2023). Managing airline emissions, noise, and bird strikes: Passengers’ perspectives on airlines’ extrinsic and intrinsic environmental practices. Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712734
5. Atabekov, M., Bilotkach, V., Kawata, K., Khan, G. D., Miyoshi, C., Sakamoto, M., & Yoshida, Y. (2024). Double-edged impacts of carbon footprint information on international air travel demand. Journal of Air Transport Management, 117(February), 102570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102570
6. Atalık, Ö. (2016). Havayolu pazarlaması. Anadolu University Press.
7. Attia, S. T. (2014). The effect of green advertising as a moderator on green purchase attitude - green purchase intentions relationship: The case of young Egyptian consumers. Journal of IMS Group, 11(1), 1–15.
8. Azila, N., Noor, M., Muhammad, A., Kassim, A., Zuriana, C., Jamil, M., Mat, N., Mat, N., & Salleh, H. S. (2012). Creating green consumers: How environmental knowledge and environmental attitude lead to green purchase behaviour? International Journal of Arts & Sciences, 5(1), 55–71.

9. Beglar, D., & Nemoto, T. (2014). Developing Likert-scale questionnaires. JALT2013 Conference Proceedings, 1–8.
10. Bilynets, I., & Knezevic Cvelbar, L. (2022). Tourist pro-environmental behaviour: The role of environmental image of destination and daily behaviour. Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, 3(2), 100070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annale.2022.100070
11. Blanca-Alcubilla, G., Bala, A., Hermira, J. I., De-Castro, N., Chavarri, R., Perales, R., Barredo, I., & Fullana-I-palmer, P. (2018). Tackling international airline catering waste management: Life zero cabin waste project. State of the art and first steps. Detritus, 3(September), 159–166. https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2018.13698
12. Bruton, A., Conway, J. H., & Holgate, S. T. (2000). Reliability: What is it, and how is it measured? Physiotherapy, 86(2), 94–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9406(05)61211-4
13. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Lawrence Erlbaum.
14. Divyam, A. K., Jasrai, L., & Gupta, V. (2024). Echoes of sustainability unravelling green purchase intentions through CSR and eco-advertising: Mediating role of green trust in retail consumerism. In T. K. Tarnanidis (Ed.), Reshaping Marketing Science in Wholesaling and Retailing (p. 170–193). IGI Global.
15. El-Mawardy, G. (2023). The effect of airlines’ green image on the Egyptian air travelers’ behavioural intentions to adopt green practices. Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality, 24(2), 732–749. https://doi.org/10.21608/jaauth.2023.219410.1479
16. Ertz, M., Karakas, F., & Sarigöllü, E. (2016). Exploring pro-environmental behaviors of consumers: An analysis of contextual factors, attitude, and behaviors. Journal of Business Research, 69(10), 3971–3980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.06.010
17. Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312
18. Galhoz, I., Ramos, R. F., & Biscaia, R. (2024). Airline environmental sustainability actions and CSR impact on customer behavior. Research in Transportation Business and Management, 53(February). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2024.101111
19. Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2016). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
20. Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
21. Hamzah, M. I., Nazlan, N. H., Rashid, M. H. A., & Mansor, A. A. (2025). Linking climate change and green consumerism among young shoppers. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 9(9), 7543–7553. https://doi.org/10.47772/ijriss.2025.909000617
22. Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
23. Hussain, S. A., Haq, M. A. U., & Soomro, Y. A. (2020). Factors influencing consumers’ green purchase behavior: Green advertising as moderator. Marketing and Management of Innovations, 6718(4), 144–153. https://doi.org/10.21272/mmi.2020.4-11
24. ICAO. (2019). Environmental Trends in Aviation to 2050. 2019 Environmental Report, 17-23. Retrieved February 3, 2025, from. https://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/pages/envrep2019.aspx
25. Kelly, E. (2024). The big commitment to cut cabin waste. The West Australian, Retrieved February 6, 2025. https://thewest.com.au/travel/the-big-commitment-to-cut-cabin-waste--c-15687150
26. Kock, N. (2021). WarpPLS User Manual: Version 7.0. ScriptWarp Systems. 1-142. Retrieved February 15, 2025. www.scriptwarp.com
27. Lee, Y. K. (2017). A comparative study of green purchase intention between korean and chinese consumers: The moderating role of collectivism. Sustainability (Switzerland), 9(10), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101930
28. Lin, C., Lai, X., & Yu, C. (2021). Switching Intent of Disruptive Green Products: The Roles of Comparative Economic Value and Green Trust. Frontiers in Energy Research, 9(December), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2021.764581
29. Lufthansa. (2026). Creating change together – by making flying more sustainable. Retrieved January 10, 2026. https://www.miles-and-more.com/row/en/program/flight-benefits/sustainability.html
30. Luo, B., Sun, Y., Shen, J., & Xia, L. (2020). How does green advertising skepticism on social media affect consumer intention to purchase green products? Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 19(4), 371–381. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1818
31. Margariti, K., Hatzithomas, L., & Boutsouki, C. (2024). Elucidating the gap between green attitudes, intentions, and behavior through the prism of greenwashing concerns. Sustainability, 16(12), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16125108
32. Ming, W. W. P., Sheng En, V. L., Chin, C. H., & bin Khairuddin, A. S. (2022). The influence of external and internal determinants on generation z’s purchase intention for sport shoes: A PLS-SEM approach. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(6), 1001–1017. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v12-i6/13196
33. Mkik, S., Khouilid, M., & Aomari, A. (2017). Green advertising and environmentally consumption: The level of awareness and moroccan costumer’s perception. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 19(8), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.9790/487X-1908030111
34. Nekmahmud, M., Ramkissoon, H., & Fekete-Farkas, M. (2022). Green purchase and sustainable consumption: A comparative study between European and non-European tourists. Tourism Management Perspectives, 43(June), 100980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2022.100980
35. Netto, S. V. de F., Sobral, M. F. F., Ribeiro, A. R. B., & Soares, G. R. da L. (2020). Concepts and forms of greenwashing: a systematic review. Environmental Sciences Europe, 32(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-020-0300-3
36. Neureiter, A., Hirsch, M., Matthes, J., & Naderer, B. (2024). Sustainable flying? The effects of greenwashed claims in airline advertising on perceived greenwashing, brand outcomes, and attitudes toward flying. Environmental Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2024.2327060
37. Nyilasy, G., Gangadharbatla, H., & Paladino, A. (2014). Perceived Greenwashing: The Interactive Effects of Green Advertising and Corporate Environmental Performance on Consumer Reactions. Journal of Business Ethics, 125(4), 693–707. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1944-3
38. Paraschi, E. P., Poulaki, I., & Papageorgiou, A. (2024). Sustainability challenges in airlines contemporary environmental management. Journal of Air Transport Management, 118(December 2022), 102616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102616
39. Raykov, T. (2003). Testing equality of proportions explained latent variance in structural equation models. Structural Equation Modeling, 10(4), 534–543. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM1004_3
40. Rogers, R. W. (1975). A protection motivation theory of fear appeals and attitude change. The Journal of Psychology, 91(1), 93–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.1975.9915803
41. Ruepert, A., Keizer, K., Steg, L., Maricchiolo, F., Carrus, G., Dumitru, A., García Mira, R., Stancu, A., & Moza, D. (2016). Environmental considerations in the organizational context: A pathway to pro-environmental behaviour at work. Energy Research and Social Science, 17, 59–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2016.04.004
42. Rüger, M., & Maertens, S. U. (2023). The content scope of airline sustainability reporting according to the GRI standards—An assessment for Europe’s five largest airline groups. Administrative Sciences, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13010010
43. Santa, J. C., & Drews, S. (2023). Heuristics processing of green advertising: Review and policy implications. Ecological Economics, 206(January 2022), 107760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107760
44. Sio, S. de, Zamagni, A., Casu, G., & Gremigni, P. (2022). Green trust as a mediator in the relationship between green advertising skepticism, environmental knowledge, and intention to buy green food. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(24). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416757
45. Southwest. (2026). Wanna offset carbon? https://www.southwest.com/carbon-offset-program
46. Statista. (2023). Carbon dioxide emissions from international aviation worldwide from 1970 to 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2025 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1417212/international-aviation-emissions-worldwide/#:~:text=International aviation carbon dioxide emissions,record high of 625 MtCO₂
47. Swastika, M. T., & Hapsari, I. D. (2023). The effect of brand trust on purchase intention for the ampo beverage brand in Jember. Journal of Digital Business Innovation (DIGBI), 1(1), 1–10.
48. Verleye, G., De Ruyck, A., Vermeulen, W., & Schoenaers, I. (2023). Credibility of green advertising: six elements that drive credibility in green advertising. Frontiers in Communication, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1056020
49. Voltes-Dorta, A., Britto, R., & Wilson, B. (2024). Efficiency of global airlines incorporating sustainability objectives: A Malmquist-DEA approach. Journal of Air Transport Management, 119(June), 102634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102634
50. Windya Giri, R. R., & Alfaruqi, F. F. (2023). The effect of endorser credibility on purchase ıntention mediated by brand attitude and brand credibility on online travel agent Traveloka. Jurnal Manajemen Indonesia, 23(2), 209–220. https://doi.org/10.25124/jmi.v23i2.4295
51. Wu, H.-C., Cheng, C.-C., & Ai, C.-H. (2018). An empirical analysis of green switching intentions in the airline industry. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 61(8), 1438–1468. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2017.1352495
52. Wu, H. C., Cheng, C. C., & Hong, W. (2017). An empirical analysis of green convention attendees’ switching intentions. Journal of Convention and Event Tourism, 18(3), 159–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/15470148.2017.1296393
53. Yoo, C.-K., & Yoon, D. (2024). Factors Affecting Airline Customers’ Green Switching Behavior: A Comparison between Full-Service Carriers. Culinary Science & Hospitality Research, 30(12), 119–129.