Sustainability is becoming a top priority for consumers, businesses, and governments. Warm glow is the positive emotional satisfaction people have after motivating actions such as recycling or purchasing eco-friendly products. Past research shows there is still a significant gap between what people say they want in sustainable products and how they spend their money. Understanding why this occurs is critical to driving meaningful changes in consumer behavior and marketing messaging that can effectively improve sustainable purchasing decisions. However, studies show that emotional satisfaction can occasionally override real impact, people may feel fulfilled simply by voicing pro-sustainability ideas, even if they do not follow through financially. Social pressure also plays a role, as customers may outwardly favor sustainability in order to fit in but then hesitate when faced with actual expenses. This study investigates whether people's perceived (subjective) versus factual (objective) awareness of sustainability affects their purchasing decisions. We conducted a survey that assessed approximately 1,040 participants' knowledge on sustainability and measured their willingness to donate money using an incentive. Post survey, the participants were categorized into four groups based on their knowledge levels: (1) high in both subjective and objective knowledge, (2) high in subjective but low in objective knowledge, (3) low in subjective but high in objective knowledge, and 94) low in both subjective and objective knowledge. The results show that individuals who think they know a lot about sustainability (subjectively) are more likely to declare they love sustainable items, whilst those who actually know (objectively) are more likely to spend on them. These findings indicate that stated preferences do not necessarily translate into action, implying that narrowing the information gap and appealing to inner motivation, rather than societal pressure, could inspire more meaningful sustainability decisions. This study explains consumer behavior and provides recommendations for firms and policymakers attempting to close the gap between sustainability attitudes and real expenditures.
