Consumers’ purchasing intentions for efficient water-saving products: the mediating effects of altruistic and egoistic values

Efficient water-saving appliances are an essential part of changing water consumption toward a more sustainable future. Unlike previous studies, this research focuses on egoistic and altruistic values as determinants of consumers’ willingness to buy efficient water-saving appliances. In this study, a convenient sampling technique was used to solicit data from 308 potential consumers. Using a two-step structural equation model method for data analysis, the results show that both egoistic and altruistic values affect the willingness of consumers to purchase efficient water-saving appliances. However, compared with altruistic values, egoistic values had a greater influence on consumers’ purchasing intention. From the Chinese perspective, this study is one of the primary efforts to understand the association and importance of ethical values and consumers’willingness to support water-saving innovations. The findings of this study put forward significant policy effects that could serve as a benchmark for measures that are likely to promote purchasing intentions toward efficient water-saving appliances.


INTRODUCTION
Since the 1992 International Water and Environment Conference promoted integrated water resource management on the political level, significant improvements have been made in deliberations, studies and actions aimed at advancing the relation between humans and the natural water environment. More so, the literature from both empirical and predictive science has demonstrated the sense of inevitability for a transition toward efficient water development and management to strengthen water-use resiliency and efficiency through the consolidation of innovation and behavioral values. Arguably, the subject of protecting and understanding of water environment is constantly growing, hence explains why water environmental resource protection has become a major concern not only for the governments and environmental protection agencies but as well, citizens have also been identified to play significant Consequently, it is expected that, as the population continues to grow, demands on precious water resources will as well increase. The use of efficient water-saving products has, therefore, become an important bridge aiding both organizations and individuals to appreciate saving water and protecting water supplies. As advised by the USA -Environmental Protection Agency, using water-saving techniques can save consumers money and divert less water from rivers, bays, and estuaries, which helps keep the environment healthy. The adoption of these products as well reduces water and wastewater treatment costs and the amount of energy used to treat, pump, and heat water, which tends to lower energy demand and aid in preventing air pollution. As important as the subject of adopting efficient watersaving products may be, studies focusing on consumer's purchasing intentions of such products are still evolving, yet, one cannot question the incentives that consumers derive from the purchase and use of these products, more so, the benefits it accrues to the environment. As presented by previous studies that seek to examine consumer's purchasing intention toward energy-efficient products, similar arguments relating to the influence of information availability, consumer awareness (Bouton et  Again, a substantial amount of studies have focused on studying the green purchasing intentions of consumers worldwide through their behavior and awareness (Ha &  whereas altruistic values enable individuals to act for the wellbeing of others without any personal benefit. In view of this, an overarching objective of this work is to assess the association and rationalities behind consumers' intention toward the purchase of efficient water-saving appliances while using a structural model and questionnaire items that capture altruistic and egoistic values. By doing so and statistically verifying our models, we are confident this work could inform water management initiatives through interventions such as information provision which seek to influence consumers' intention toward purchasing efficient water-saving appliances.  Environmental concern (altruistic value)

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
The extant literature shows that environmental concern is an important determinant of consumer behavior (Pickett- Many studies have emphasized environmental concern as an effect of altruistic values. Yadav & Pathak () argue that altruistic values are an important mechanism that directs consumers' environmental behavior. In recent years, environmental concern has caused altruistic individuals to go green through the purchase and use of green products (Shin . Therefore, the study assumes that consumers' concern for the environment is an important aspect to influence their intention to purchase efficient water-saving appliances. Based on the literature discussed, the following hypotheses are proposed: H1: Environmental concern (altruistic value) has a positive impact on individuals' attitudes toward purchasing waterefficient products.
H2: Environmental concern (altruistic value) has a positive impact on individuals' willingness toward purchasing water-efficient products.
H3: Perceived benefit (egoistic value) has a positive impact on individuals' attitudes toward purchasing water-efficient products.
H4: Perceived benefit (egoistic value) has a positive impact on individuals' willingness toward purchasing water-efficient products.
H5: Attitude toward water-efficient products has a positive impact on individuals' willingness to purchase water-efficient products.
Based on the discussed literature and proposed hypothesis, the following conceptual framework has been developed (refer to Figure 1).

Study area
The study was conducted in Harbin, a major city with a population of over 10.46 million and a land area of 53,068 km 2 in the northeast of China. One important fact about Harbin is that the city has to shut down its water supply to more than 4 million people in 2005 due to contamination and toxic leakage. The water supply shutdown in 2005 signaled that Harbin was in the throes of water shortage. Over time, the combination of Harbin's rapid industrialization, the vast population, and the exorbitant lifestyle of water consumption has compromised its water quality and quantity of water. To make matters worse, the gap between supply and demand has widened in recent years. In 2007, the Harbin government agreed to develop a water-saving city for a sustainable water system in Harbin. Some initiatives have been introduced over the last few years, such as increasing sewage facilities and encouraging residents and businesses to conserve water according to the NDRC evaluation indicators. However, the potential for the use of efficient water-saving appliances and how it could improve the water situation in the city has not been studied. The study, therefore, applies a proposed approach of customer willingness to buy effective watersaving appliances linked to ethical values. The location of Harbin is shown in Figure 2.

Characterization of efficient water-saving appliances
At the basic stage of growth, a rapidly developing economy may assume an upward trend in per capita water use to a 'turning point' where it begins to decline. This pattern of development and water use has been argued to some   Efficient water-saving appliances essentially consider appliances that use less water while providing comparable performance. The most common water-efficient appliances include dishwashers and washing machines. The most popular appliances include toilets, showers, and faucets. Some efficient water-saving appliances could be complex, like devices that use gray water from the sink for toilet flushing.
Other products offer visual or auditory input on resource use to the user and rely on behavioral improvement (Elizondo & Lofthouse ).

Questionnaire design
A 5-point Likert scale was used as the measurement scale.
Taking guide from the previous literature, a structured questionnaire containing four constructs of attitude, perceived benefit, environmental concern, and purchase intention was designed to collect data ( Table 1). The questionnaire also contained a section that captures demographic details.
In order to improve the quality and clarity of the questionnaire, we conducted a preliminary study on 25 potential respondents. The reason was to see how easy it was for the respondents to answer the survey questions. The results of this turned out to be that few of the respondents could easily answer the survey, but most of the respondents complained about the questionnaire's language in English.
Hence, we translated the questionnaires to the Chinese for easier comprehension.

Data collection procedure and response
The formal questionnaire was administered in the city of Harbin (water-stressed city) between August and September 2019.
Using convenience sampling, questionnaires were distributed to customers in different shopping centers and markets as they walked out. Questionnaires were handed to customers after confirming whether they had purchased an efficient water-saving appliance from any of these shopping outlets or markets. This was done on three different days (Monday, Thursday, and Friday) over a period of 2 months. The reason for this was to avoid meeting the same set of customers and to ensure that a good amount of information was collected. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed. After removing outliers and incomplete responses, data from 308 respondents were considered valid for further analysis. Among the 308 responses, 168 were males (54.55%), and 98 are females (45.45%). The Attitude (ATT) ATT1 I consider purchasing water-efficient products as a good idea ATT2 I am confident purchasing waterefficient products is a smart choice ATT3 I like the thought of purchasing water-efficient products ATT4 It would be a pleasant experience to purchase water-efficient products Perceived benefit (PB) PB1) Buying water-saving-efficient products can lower the cost of potable water and trade waste PB2) Buying water-efficient products often come with rebates that bring the purchase price more in line with conventional appliances PB3) Buying a certified water-efficient product usually means a better result in delivery and performance Environmental concern (EC) EC1 The stability of water resources is fragile and vulnerable EC2 The integrity of water resources is seriously endangered by human beings EC3 When the water environment is disturbed, the consequences can be devastating EC4 In order to survive, man must maintain a balance in the water environment Purchase intention (PI) P1 I am willing to purchase water-efficient products P2 In the future, I will try to purchase water-efficient products overall age profiles showed that the majority of the respondents (49.3%) were in the age categories of 30-40 years.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
To measure the validity and reliability of the questionnaire responses, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was con-  (1) and (2), respectively where λ is the standardized factor loading for item and δ is the indicator measurement error for the item. Comprehensively, AVE is the sum of the square of the standard load divided by where λ is the standardized factor loading for item and δ is the indicator measurement error for the item. This can be interpreted as the square of the sum of standardized factor loads divided by the square of the sum of loads plus the sum of measurement errors of the index.

Discriminant validity
Discriminant validity is obtained when the estimate of the AVE factor is greater than the correlation squared of two constructs (Fornell & Larcker ). Table 3 shows the results of the estimated variance extraction (VE) to confirm the discriminant validity of the model. From the results, AVE values were higher than the squared correlations between latent variables, thus the requirement of discriminant validity has been satisfied.

Model statistics: goodness of fit indices
Using comparative fit indices such as relative Chi-square (CMIN/df), GFI, CFI, TLI, IFI, and RMSEA, the structural model was estimated to fit its consistency with the data.
From Table 4, the results of all fit indices were above the acceptable limit of 0.9 (Bagozzi & Yi ). The value of RMSEA was 0.051, which is less than the acceptable limit of 0.08 (Browne & Cudeck ). Thus, the model shows an overall acceptable fit. Table 5 confirms the relationship between the independent and dependent constructs (β). Given β-value of 0.117, t-value of 2.128, and P-value of 0.010, environmental concern (altruistic value) was established to have a positive impact on individuals' attitude toward purchasing waterefficient products. This supported Hypothesis H1. Equally, the results (β-value ¼ 0.209, t-value ¼ 3.539, P-value ¼ 0.000) confirmed environmental concern to significantly predict individuals' intention toward the purchase of efficient water-saving products. Hence, Hypotheses H2 was supported. Attitude (β-value ¼ 0.640, t-value ¼ 9.396, P-value ¼ 0.000) and individual's willingness to purchase efficient water-saving appliances (β-value ¼ 0.372, t-value ¼ 3.811, P-value ¼ 0.024) were established to be predicted by individual's perceived benefits (egoistic value) of appliance ownership. This supported Hypothesis H3 and H4, respectively. Attitude toward waterefficient products was also confirmed to have a positive impact on individuals' willingness to purchase water-efficient products (β-value ¼ 0.341, t-value ¼ 24.174, P-value ¼ 0.005), thus hypothesis H5 was supported.

Analysis of hypothesis
Attitude was established to have a partial effect as a mediating variable on the independent constructs (perceived benefit and environmental concern) and dependent construct (purchase intention) ( Table 6). Attitude showed partial mediation between perceived benefit and individual's  intention to purchase (β ¼ 0.736, P-value ¼ 0.010). Similarly, the mediation of attitude between environmental concern and the individual's willingness to purchase was partially registered (β ¼ 0.234, P-value ¼ 0.000).

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
This study underscores the association between value orientation and consumers' willingness to purchase water-efficient appliances. In the quest to establishing this connection, a premium was given to values associated with altruism and egoism, particularly with those linked to concerns for the environment and the benefits an individual stands to achieve prior to the purchase of an efficient watersaving appliance. Results of the empirical analysis revealed that it is highly probable for altruistic and egoistic individuals to purchase efficient water-saving products, thus a positive and statistically significant relationship was found between values and purchase intention.
From the results, both value orientations as predictor variables had a significant impact on purchase intention. Nevertheless, the empirical field of proself (egoism) could be quite revealing to study not just the strains and inconsistencies between cost and benefit associated with a proenvironmental behavior or intent but also the covert support sometimes given to prosocial (altruism) rationalities. In this regard, acting a priori more on egoistic rationalities could seldomly support altruistic considerations and concerns for the environment through the purchase or willingness to purchase an efficient water-saving product. This does not necessarily mean that egoistic rationalities are factors that identify the actualization of a green cause or environmental concerns.
By this account, the inventiveness to overlap egoistic rationalities with altruistic rationalities with respect to purchasing intention is highly needed. Using economic incentives could steer egoists' purchasing intention toward efficient watersaving appliances without necessarily changing their individual rationalities. Conversely, disincentives could be used to decrease the attractiveness of water-intensive appliances.
Further to this, intervention programs could focus on changing purchasing intentions by way of highlighting the disadvantages associated with the ownership of high-intensive water appliances (e.g. emphasizing the extra cost in using a conventional toilet which takes between 3.5 and 7.0 gallons of water per flush) while simultaneously highlighting on the alternative efficient water-saving appliances that are cost-effective and environmentally friendly (e.g. stressing on the money that could be saved from using an efficient modern toilet which takes between 1.2 and 1.6 gallons of water per flush).
Conclusively, campaigners, manufacturers, marketing managers, and policymakers may need to develop suitable strategies so that the perceived benefit of an efficient watersaving product could advance green trust among consumers.
Registering altruistic value orientation as the recessive predictor, the study, nevertheless, has cognizance of the great concern altruists have for the environment and issues related to sustainability, thus consumers' intention to purchase efficient water-saving products. Most often, efficient water-saving appliances are costlier compared  innovations that seek to enhance the management of water resources.

General conclusion
Our study has examined the role of orientational values and how they influence intention toward the purchase of efficient water-saving appliances. Environmental concern (altruistic value) has been described as having a positive effect on the individual's attitude toward the purchasing of water-efficient products, suggesting that an individual's intention to purchase efficient water-saving products is predicated on environmental concerns. In addition, the attitude and willingness of individuals to purchase efficient watersaving appliances have been identified to predict the perceived benefits (egoistic value) of appliance ownership.
Attitude toward water-efficient products has also been found to have a beneficial effect on the willingness of individuals to purchase water-efficient appliances. The attitude was identified as having a partial impact on independent constructs (perceived benefit and environmental concerns) and dependent constructs (purchase intention) as a mediating variable. Attitude reflected partial mediation between perceived benefit and buying purpose, and environmental considerations and desire to purchase. Nonetheless, this study has not examined the purchase behavior of efficient water-saving appliances among consumers. Further research should seek to both expand the survey and investigate actual behavior together with the intention to purchase water-efficient appliances. We are confident this research has policy effects and could serve as a benchmark for measures to managing residential water use. Additionally, this work is timely in light of the broader UN-wide discussion of sustainable development goal six, which seeks to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
All relevant data are included in the paper or its Supplementary Information.