Knowledge-awareness paradox in sustainable consumption: Attitudes and intentions toward green restaurants

This study examines the effects of general environmental awareness and knowledge on patronage intention and intention to pay more, mediated by green restaurant attitude. Data were collected from 327 participants via a survey method and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), demonstrating robust measurement reliability and validity. The findings indicate that environmental awareness (value-based commitment) has a significantly stronger influence on the formation of green restaurant attitude than cognitive knowledge. Green restaurant attitude accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in patronage intention and emerged as its strongest positive predictor. This confirms that a positive attitude is a fundamental antecedent of restaurant choice. However, while the impact of positive attitude on willingness to pay more was significant, it was notably weaker than other observed relationships. This suggests that the willingness to incur additional costs for green products depends on factors extending beyond attitude alone. Furthermore, green restaurant attitude functions as a full mediator between the external variables (awareness and knowledge) and patronage intention. Consequently, green restaurants should focus marketing strategies on environmental awareness to build positive attitudes, while addressing additional factors, such as perceived value, to justify pricing policies.