Any behavior that benefits the environment or that strives to harm the environment as little as possible without causing significant harm to the environment is considered pro-environmental behavior (Kollmuss and Agyeman, 2002). In summary, a wide range of factors have been examined in the past to explore the factors influencing pro-environmental behavior, including sociodemographic characteristics, rational cognitive factors, and external situational factors. Scholars have focused on demographics in terms of gender (Sreen et al., 2018; Li et al., 2019), age (Wiernik et al., 2013), educational level (Gifford and Nilsson, 2014; Meyer, 2015), and income level (Meyer, 2015; Lim and Moon, 2022). In regard to rational cognitive factors, attitudes, norms, motivation, beliefs, and values play an important role (Poortinga et al., 2004; Gilg et al., 2005; Polonsky et al., 2012; Casaló et al., 2019; Punzo et al., 2019; Chen, 2020a; Gu et al., 2020), and the majority of these studies are based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the Normative Activation Model (NAM), and the Value-Belief-Normative Theory (VBN). Additionally, external situational factors include infrastructure, individual capabilities, availability of technical equipment and products, governmental enforcement, public media, culture of society, and economic conditions (Tanner, 1999; Corraliza and Berenguer, 2000; Haddad, 2015; Sun et al., 2018; Shi et al., 2019; Zhou et al., 2019; He and Filimonau, 2020; Kaiser, 2021).

Risk perception is considered a value judgment related to the uncertainty caused by a particular risk (Tversky and Fox, 1995) and can be understood from both cognitive and affective perspectives. People’s perceptions of COVID-19 risk are influenced by the danger it poses to their lives and health, which in turn influences their coping strategies and behavioral changes (Shulman et al., 2022). In addition to having a significant impact on the normal functioning of society, COVID-19 has also had profound effects on human social cognition and emotions (Sun et al., 2021b; Lawrance et al., 2022).

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the economy and lives of humans. The widespread lockdown triggered feelings of boredom and loneliness (Zhou et al., 2022), making people nostalgic for the past (Gibbs and Egermann, 2021; Xia et al., 2021). A sense of awe is associated with perceived grandeur, which means that the individual has encountered something shocking. Second, the feeling of awe triggers a need for adaptation, i.e., the individual’s existing mental structure is insufficient to comprehend the awe-inspiring object (Keltner and Haidt, 2003). Additionally, widespread social blockades and restrictions on social distance have altered the way people live and consume (Vázquez-Martínez et al., 2021), which is consistent with the two core characteristics of awe-inspiring emotions. In addition, human arrogance and excessive claims of nature have led to an imbalance in the relationship between humans and nature, which has resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers will be upset when they see the destruction of the ecological environment and serious social consequences, believe that humans are responsible for it, and feel guilty for not taking action to improve the environment (Lawrance et al., 2022). To alleviate this sense of guilt, individuals may engage in compensatory behaviors, such as green purchasing and pro-environmental behavior.

Previous studies have indicated that information and sensitivity about global crises such as COVID-19 positively impact individuals’ knowledge, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and motivation and provide a basis for encouraging environmentally responsible behavior (Sun et al., 2022; Zebardast and Radaei, 2022). In addition, according to protective motivation theory, consumers’ perception of COVID-19 risk makes individuals vulnerable and feel that their lives and health are threatened; this state, in turn, shifts an individual’s focus from materialism to pro-social values (Shulman et al., 2022). Consumers may be inclined to minimize social contact due to the perceived risk of COVID-19 (Im et al., 2021), which may result in a preference and a greater sense of connection with the natural environment. It is possible that individuals may be more inclined to act in an environmentally friendly manner as a result of this perceived connection (Tam, 2013). It has also been shown that perceptions of COVID-19 risk and vulnerability stimulate empathy in individuals, and the emotion of empathy is an important psychological factor in motivating pro-environmental behavior (Yin et al., 2021; Ienna et al., 2022). Therefore, it is hypothesized that:

The emotion of nostalgia serves key psychological functions as a positive, self-relevant, and social emotion (Sedikides et al., 2008). Nostalgia is a psychological variable that stimulates emotions and cognition; it can trigger positive actions or behavioral tendencies; and it can enhance social connection, facilitate social interaction, and serve as a catalyst for social interaction (Srivastava et al., 2022). The experience of nostalgia is often associated with positive emotions, allowing people to mentally escape the fast pace of modern life and return to an earlier time for solace. Temporary escapes provide psychological buffers and promote positive emotional and social relationships. In addition to providing a sense of presence, it enhances the sense that one is living a meaningful life (Zhang et al., 2021) and helps increase social connectedness and promote pro-social behavior (Christou et al., 2018). In addition to expressing the inner self through nostalgia, consumers become concerned about the welfare of others and develop greater empathy, while focusing on the inner self predicts more altruistic behaviors, including pro-environmental behaviors (Newman et al., 2014). However, few studies have explored the role of nostalgia in consumer pro-environmental behavior. Zhang et al. (2021) found that the emotion of nostalgia creates a sense of meaning in life, which in turn encourages consumers to invest in more sustainable recycling practices. Similarly, Wang et al. (2020) found that consumers’ product disposal behavior is affected differently by individual and collective nostalgia because they trigger different mechanisms.

Typically, guilt is a negative experience that occurs when an individual engages in moral reflection and takes responsibility for his or her actions after having hurt others, which plays an important role in prosocial behavior (Eisenberg et al., 2005; Teper et al., 2015). Compensatory ethics theory suggests that when an individual commits an unethical act, he or she will experience a strong sense of discomfort, which is caused by guilt (Zhong et al., 2010). The emotion of guilt plays an important role in influencing the attitude and behavior of the pro-environment (Escadas et al., 2019), and researchers have also explored how guilt affects individuals’ pro-environmental behavior as a type of pro-social behavior. Bamberg and Möser (2007) concluded, from a meta-analysis of 57 articles, that the feeling of guilt was one of the eight core variables that influence pro-environmental behavior. It is important to note that consumers’ feelings of guilt indicate that they have not achieved behavioral goals (e.g., environmentally friendly behaviors), which can drive motivation and change in attitudes toward environmentally friendly behaviors (Adams et al., 2020). It has also been shown in recent research that guilt plays a vital role in the change of attitudes toward environmental protection and the promotion of environmental behavior (Adams et al., 2020; Eom et al., 2021; Shipley and van Riper, 2021; Haj-Salem et al., 2022).

Awe is an emotional reaction to a stimulus that is perceived as powerful, vast, and beyond an individual’s cognitive abilities (Keltner and Haidt, 2003). This study defines awe as a self-transcending positive emotion that allows individuals to pay more attention to their surroundings than to themselves (Stellar et al., 2017; Zhao et al., 2018). There is evidence that awe leads to a number of positive effects on an individual. From a cognitive perspective, awe not only expands an individual’s perception of time’s abundance (Rudd et al., 2012) but can also lead to systematic cognitive processes. As a positive emotion of self-transcendence, awe enables individuals to extend their self-concept to pay more attention to their surroundings and outside world (Piff et al., 2015; Stellar et al., 2017; Zhao et al., 2018), and an individual’s pro-environmental behavior is stimulated when the natural environment is integrated into their self-concept (Schultz, 2001). By transforming the notion that humans are not above nature (Wang et al., 2019) but instead are part of the natural world, individuals feel that they are not isolated, resulting in an inescapable sense of responsibility for existing environmental consequences, which in turn promotes individual pro-environmental behavior (Jacobs and McConnell, 2022). Individuals with this mindset tend to be more conscious of the consequences of their actions, re-examine the relationship between humans and nature (Wang et al., 2019), and change their attitudes toward nature. From an emotional perspective, awe can also bring spiritual pleasure to individuals (Rudd et al., 2012), thereby enhancing their prosocial behavior (Prade and Saroglou, 2016). Therefore, it is hypothesized that:

A person’s attitude toward the environment has a significant impact on his or her behavior and intentions in relation to the environment (Cheung and To, 2019). Despite the fact that scholars acknowledge the discrepancy between consumers’ attitudes and actual behavior (Yadav et al., 2019), environmental attitude is still considered to be one of the best predictors of actual environmental behavior (Herbes et al., 2020; Felix et al., 2022). According to the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991), an individual’s behavior can be effectively controlled by his or her inner subjective consciousness and is a rational decision. An individual’s behavioral attitudes influence their behavioral intentions, which in turn influence their actual behavior. In terms of cognitive dissonance theory, people tend to act on their beliefs to avoid mental discomfort (Festinger, 1962). It appears that people with a higher level of environmental awareness demonstrate more pro-environmental behaviors (Lin et al., 2022). Therefore, it is hypothesized that:

The concept of power distance is a cultural value that reflects the individual’s acceptance of the gap in power (Hofstede, 1984, 1989). In social cultures where power distance is generally high, vertical hierarchical relationships are strongly felt. As a result of accepting power differences, individuals are expected to act in accordance with their position in the social hierarchy and maintain the existing state of power distribution, and they may maintain this position in the social hierarchy. Compared to Westerners, Chinese people are heavily influenced by Confucian culture and tend to have a higher power distance orientation (Thompson et al., 2020). Due to the long-term influence of Confucian culture and the high-powered distance society, individuals view inequality as justified as a result of power distribution, and higher-ranking individuals will receive greater “rent-seeking,” resulting in an unequal distribution of income. As a result, Chinese consumers not only subconsciously accept their social class and position but also link their social responsibility to their social status. In light of the high cost of pro-environmental behavior (Wang and Chao, 2019; De Silva et al., 2021), many Chinese residents view pro-environmental behavior as a greater social responsibility that should be borne by external forces with more wealth and power, such as celebrities, large corporations, or the central government (Dendler and Dewick, 2016; De Silva et al., 2021).

Despite the fact that the Chinese have a high PD, there is a wide variation in the degree to which individuals accept unequal power distributions within institutions and organizations (Kirkman et al., 2009; Mi et al., 2020). As a result, individuals with high PDs are more sensitive to the concept of social status than those with low PDs (Kaynak et al., 2013). Previous research has indicated that emotions influence attitudes and behavior differently depending on cultural values (Onwezen et al., 2014). According to their study, both anticipated pride and guilt have an effect on environmental behavior; however, the extent of this effect varies between individuals in individualistic and collectivist countries (Onwezen et al., 2014). Therefore, the present study suggests that even individuals with the same attitudes and specific emotions may still exhibit inconsistent pro-environmental behaviors in different power distance contexts, implying that power distance moderates the relationship between attitudes and specific emotions and pro-environmental behaviors. As a result, it is hypothesized that:

In sum, based on affective event theory, we developed a rigorous model. The conceptual model in Figure 2 includes cognitive elements, emotional elements, and contextual cultural influences that impact consumer behaviors.

NCA is a new method of necessary condition analysis (NCA) based on complex causality; it not only identifies the necessary conditions of the outcome variables but also calculates the effect size and bottlenecks of these conditions quantitatively. It is used to determine the size of the “necessary-but-not-sufficient-condition” effects between independent variables and dependent variables (Dul, 2016). As a complement to traditional adequacy analysis techniques, NCA quantifies the number of antecedent conditions required for achieving a particular level of outcome variables by analyzing the effect size and bottleneck of antecedent conditions (Dul et al., 2020).

First, to conduct the NCA, latent variable scores were obtained using the PLS-SEM procedure (Richter et al., 2020), and then the NCA package in R was employed to perform NCA analysis (Dul et al., 2018). As a starting point, an NCA consists of drawing a ceiling line through the upper-left observations of an x-y plot, and the scatter plots for all relevant relations are shown in Figure 6. Second, using a recommended random sample size of 10,000, we tested the statistical significance of the effect sizes (d) of the latent variable scores (Dul, 2016; Dul et al., 2020). Since the CE-FDH line is appropriate for survey data rated on a five-point Likert scale, we interpreted the NCA results using its parameters (Vis and Dul, 2018). The results in Figure 7 and Table 6 meaningfully (d ≥ 0.1) and significantly (p < 0.05) reveal that AT (d = 0.257, p < 0.001) and NO (d = 0.131, p < 0.001) are necessary conditions for the pro-environmental behaviors of consumers. Finally, the bottleneck technique was used to assist in specifying threshold levels for achieving a particular level of performance. As shown in Table 7, to achieve a low level of pro-environmental behavior (30%), AT (9.4%), CRP (0.2%) are necessary; to have a medium level of PEB (70%), AN (7.9%), AT (52.4%), CRP (6.5%), GU (6.6%), and NO (16.4%) are necessary. However, at a high level of pro-environmental behavior (100%), six necessary conditions should be present: AN at no less than 66.1%, AT at no less than 58.6%, CRP at no less than 58.9%, GU at no less than 62.4%, NO at no less than 67.3%, and PD at no more than 20.2%.

Overall, the majority of previous studies have examined the impact of rationality, affection, and culture separately on consumers’ pro-environmental behavior, while few have examined their combined effect. This study makes the following contributions.

First, drawing on affective event theory, this study constructs a comprehensive model that explores how external event shocks (COVID-19) affect consumers’ pro-environmental behavior. To our knowledge, this is one of the few studies that use affective event theory to investigate consumers’ pro-environmental behavior, expanding the perspective for understanding consumer behavior.

Second, an increasing number of scholars argue that cognitive and affective factors should be integrated into a unified rational and emotional theory of environmental behavior to better explain individuals’ pro-environmental behavior (Tian and Liu, 2022). Unfortunately, a limited number of studies have explored the interaction between emotional and cognitive factors. As a result, we intend to further investigate the interaction between rational and emotional factors in our study, as cognitive and emotional factors are mutually influential (Luo and Chea, 2018).

Third, the majority of previous studies focusing on the pro-environmental behavior of consumers used first-generation multivariate methods (such as multiple regression analysis) and second-generation multivariate methods [such as structural equation modeling (SEM)], which assume symmetrical relations between variables; these studies primarily explored the net effect of antecedent variables. However, using PLS-SEM and NCA, this study provides further insight into the mechanisms influencing pro-environmental behavior from the dual perspectives of adequacy and necessity.

Finally, whether consumers’ attitudes translate into actual behaviors depends on the specific context in which they live (Zhang et al., 2019; Sun et al., 2022). Most studies of people’s behavioral and psychological reactions to the outbreak of COVID-19 have been based in Western countries where individualism is prevalent, and relatively few studies have been conducted in countries where collectivism and power distance are high (Kwon and Park, 2022). Thus, this study explores the pro-environmental behaviors of consumers with different PDs during the COVID-19 pandemic in China and broadens the boundary conditions for understanding pro-environmental behaviors.

In this study, we extend the body of knowledge on pro-environmental behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the theoretical understanding of consumer behavior concerning environmental issues and to provide insight into how to develop ecological environments in a sustainable manner.

First, according to the PLS-SEM results, COVID-19 risk perception had a significant effect on pro-environmental behavior and specific emotions, which is consistent with previous studies. Consumers’ perception of COVID-19 risk creates a sense of crisis, which significantly influences people’s pro-environmental behavior (Maleksaeidi and Keshavarz, 2019; Kim et al., 2022). Due to COVID-19, people are now more environmentally conscious in their consumption, believing that if we do not care for the environment, pandemics and disasters will happen again in the future (Lucarelli et al., 2020). However, the conclusion in this study is different from that of Urban and Braun Kohlová (2022), who found that there was no impact of the COVID-19 crisis on environmental attitudes or green decisions. The possible reason for the inconsistency in research is that previous studies ignored the role of individual emotions. Alternatively, only when a certain emotion is evoked in the consumer will he or she actually engage in pro-environmental behavior. As mentioned earlier, among the factors influencing consumers’ pro-environmental behavior, emotional factors can play a more decisive role than cognitive factors in some cases. According to affective events theory, it is important to recognize that an individual’s behavior is not always dictated by his or her rational perceptions. External events in life can cause negative or positive emotional reactions, and these emotional reactions can have a significant impact on attitudes and behaviors.

Second, in terms of emotions, the PLS-SEM results revealed that nostalgia had a significant effect on attitude and pro-environmental behavior, which is consistent with previous studies. Wang et al. (2020) and Zhang et al. (2021) found that the emotion of nostalgia had a positive effect on consumers’ pro-environmental behaviors, such as sustainable recycling and product disposal. However, Wang and Chao (2019) found that green products are less preferred by consumers with a high feeling of nostalgia; consumers with a strong sense of nostalgia tend to dwell on the past, which inhibits their preference for green products, as green products are often associated with the future (Alzubaidi et al., 2021). This inconsistency in research occurs because nostalgia is a complex concept, and different types of nostalgia have different effects on consumer behavior (Srivastava et al., 2022). According to Boym (2008), there are two types of nostalgia: “restorative nostalgia” and “reflective nostalgia.” “Reflective nostalgia” refers to reflecting on the remembered past for the purpose of the present and is often associated with establishing continuity. This kind of nostalgia is a positive experience that provides individuals with the opportunity to reflect on the past, which enhances self-worth, self-esteem, and social connectedness and promotes pro-social behavior (Srivastava et al., 2022; Zhang and Tao, 2022). There may be a tendency for individuals to invoke nostalgia as a coping mechanism to deal with the social distance restrictions of COVID-19 and the resulting isolation and social disconnection. This may be done as a means to regain a sense of self-continuity and meaning (Xia et al., 2021). We believe that the nostalgia triggered by COVID-19 is a “reflective nostalgia,” which promotes pro-environmental behavior. Additionally, according to the NCA result, nostalgia (d = 0.131, p < 0.001) was a necessary condition for pro-environmental behavior.

In addition, the emotion of guilt was found to have a significant effect on pro-environmental behavior, which is consistent with previous studies. Increasingly, consumers are becoming aware that COVID-19 outbreaks are linked to unsustainable consumption patterns. When people realize they could have avoided it, they develop negative guilt (Rees et al., 2015), which may cause them to take responsibility for the environmental impact (Daryanto et al., 2022). An ingrained sense of personal responsibility and willingness to act morally compelled to mitigate COVID-19 triggered by guilt can also contribute to the promotion of actions that are environmentally responsible (Milfont et al., 2022b). Similarly, an awe of nature was found to have a positive and significant effect on attitude and pro-environmental behavior. An individual is more inclined to be generous (Yang and Hu, 2021), to engage in helping activities (Wu et al., 2022) and to devote more time to charitable activities when instilled with the feeling of awe (Piff et al., 2015). A previous study also found that awe significantly influences pro-environmental behavior as a manifestation of pro-social behavior (Ramus and Killmer, 2007).

Additionally, the moderating effects of PD were confirmed. PD was found to have a significant moderating effect between nostalgia and pro-environmental behavior, which echoes the inconsistency of findings from previous studies regarding nostalgia and pro-environmental behavior (Wang and Chao, 2019; Wang et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2021). This result confirms that the influence of consumers’ specific emotions on pro-environmental behavior varies across cultural contexts. As indicated in previous studies, the perception of climate change by individuals is often closely related to their personal values and worldviews; and cultural orientation can have a significant impact on their environmental attitudes and behaviors (Price et al., 2014). Due to the inequitable distribution of social power, consumers with high PDs take their ignorance of pro-environmental behaviors for granted and justify it with a vengeance. In contrast, individuals in low power distance cultures believe that pro-environmental behavior is one of their responsibilities and obligations and that pro-environmental behavior is dependent upon their participation. Previous research has shown that Chinese consumers have a strong reliance on the government for pro-environmental activities (Chan, 2000; Yang and Weber, 2019). This is inextricably linked to China’s Confucian culture. Consumers may feel that their individual efforts do not contribute to the improvement of such environmental issues in high power distance cultural contexts (Alzubaidi et al., 2021). However, even within the same cultural context, there are differences in the cultural perceptions of different consumers (Mi et al., 2020), which lead to different pro-environmental behaviors.

For managerial implications, this study indicates that consumers’ perceptions of COVID-19 risk are associated with a variety of environmental affective responses, which can influence individuals’ attitudes toward the environment and, in turn, their pro-environmental behavior. Consequently, governments and marketers should pay attention to cognitive and emotional factors and their interactions to promote pro-environmental behavior among consumers. In the context of COVID-19, fears and negative messages about ecological problems can be included in marketing to induce consumers’ perception of COVID-19 risks so that consumers consciously attribute the degradation of the ecological environment to human failure in properly handling the moral relationship between humans and nature. In turn, this generates eco-ethical reflections and realizes the relationship between their own abilities and obligations, triggering consumers’ feelings of empathy and guilt. Furthermore, public service announcements and green advertisements on social media may be infused with awe or nostalgia. Inducing transcendent emotions such as awe and nostalgia can increase public awareness of the detrimental consequences of environmentally harmful behavior and attribute responsibility to them, as well as change consumer attitudes toward environmental protection, thereby contributing to pro-environmental behavior.

In countries with higher power distances, consumers are often less enthusiastic about ecological issues, believing that such costly public goods with no short-term benefits should be handled by the government or large corporations. In light of the findings of this study, Chinese consumers should develop a sense of environmental responsibility. Individuals who display environmental responsibility are more likely to take action to mitigate environmental problems. It is a result of their awareness of environmental problems and their perception of the importance of protecting the environment. The government or marketers should appeal to consumers’ concern for the environment in a higher power distance cultural context so that they will be motivated to express an emotional response, which, in turn, enhances their sense of environmental responsibility and drives pro-environmental behavior.

First, the mechanism through which COVID-19 influences consumers’ pro-environmental behavior is relatively complex. The purpose of this study is to construct a theoretical model based on a cognitive-emotional-attitudinal-behavioral model and affective event theory to examine the psychological mechanisms underlying consumers’ pro-environmental behavior development. Future research can be conducted to comprehensively investigate the mechanism of COVID-19’s impact on consumers’ pro-environmental behavior by combining cognitive and emotional frameworks and different theoretical perspectives.

Second, this paper uses the questionnaire method, and the data are all from self-reports of the same subjects. Although the results of the data analysis indicate that CMB does not pose a significant threat, the rigor of the methodology could be further improved (Sharma et al., 2022a). It is possible for future research on consumer pro-environmental behavior to be supplemented by objective and subjective data to test the robustness of the findings.

To verify the model, this study concludes with a comprehensive application of SEM and a necessity analysis. Researchers may be able to further explore and expand the research model of consumers’ pro-environmental behavior by employing experimental methods and case studies in the future. Furthermore, the majority of research on consumer pro-environmental behavior is based on the analysis of correlations between influencing factors; COVID-19 is in the midst of a natural experiment (Severo et al., 2021b); therefore, future research can use causal inference methods to explore the mechanisms that influence consumers’ pro-environmental behavior.