Greening the retail banking industry: Evidence from German bank account consumers
基于1501名德国消费者的全国代表性样本，研究发现可持续金融自我效能感和支付溢价意愿是采用可持续银行账户的主要驱动力，而信任、金融素养和可持续价值观影响有限。
While investor behaviour in relation to sustainable finance products has recently received scholarly attention, consumer adoption of these products remains poorly understood. This study investigates the reasoning behind adopting sustainable bank accounts at the household level using a quantitative approach with a nationally representative sample of 1501 consumers in Germany. The most important determinant for adopting these accounts was sustainable finance self-efficacy – in other words, the perceived impact that the consumer can make by using the product. Other significant determinants include the consumers' willingness to pay a premium for the sustainability characteristic. Sustainable values, trust in bank in provider, and financial literacy are less relevant drivers of adoption. The study identified five distinct consumer clusters with different levels of adoption to generate more targeted industry and policy responses due to limited uptake. The results highlight the need for product providers and policymakers to raise awareness of the impact of private finances on sustainability in order to accelerate the adoption of sustainable banking products. • Sustainable self-efficacy and willingness to pay are the primary determinants influencing adoption of sustainable current accounts. • Contrary to prior research, this study found that trust in the bank, financial literacy, and sustainable values have a limited impact on adoption. • Two consumer segments, representing 53 % of the sample, could serve as early adopters. • Despite the high adoption intention shown by one-third of the sample, the actual adoption of sustainable current accounts remains low.