Looking at the contradiction between the prevalence of self-quantification and unclear applicable boundaries, the objective of this study is to examine the internal mechanism of how self-quantification influences consumers’ participation and behavioral decision-making in green consumption activities. Based on the goal setting theory, a series of research hypotheses were proposed. Four experiments were designed and performed in different situations with different subjects. Through the analysis of variance and bootstrap testing, the experimental data were analyzed and processed. The results show that, under specific goals, consumers with low self-quantification participate more in promotional activities and less in defensive activities. In promotional green consumption activities, self-quantification enables consumers with (without) goal requirements to reduce (enhance) their participation performance, and choose high-intensity promotional activity categories less (more) with better (worse) participation experience. In defensive green consumption activities, self-quantification enables consumers with (without) goal limitations to enhance (reduce) participation performance and choose high-intensity defensive categories more (less) with better (worse) participation experience. The conclusions can provide enlightenment for enterprises to guide consumers to participate in green consumption activities.

The era of self-quantification in green consumption has dawned, encompassing everything from monitoring electricity usage to tracking carbon emissions. By leveraging technological tools to track self-related data pertaining to green behavioral activities, individuals develop self-knowledge and engage in reflection, which in turn influence their participation and even behavioral decisions regarding green activities. Nevertheless, sustainability in consumers’ green behavior is paramount, hinging not merely on participation outcomes but also on behavioral innovation within green activities. Distinct from prior research, this study delves into behavioral preferences transcending mere participation outcomes. It examines the influence of self-quantification on consumers’ green behavioral innovation from the lens of sustainability, elucidating the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions that govern self-quantification’s effect on the diversity and novelty of consumers’ green behaviors. Drawing on findings from multiple situational experiments, we demonstrate that, in contrast to non-self-quantification, a promotional (defensive) goal orientation tends to diminish (intensify) the innovation of consumers’ behavioral choices. Additionally, consumers’ cognitive flexibility acts as a mediator in the relationship between self-quantification and behavioral innovation, contingent upon their goal orientation. Furthermore, the level of goal concreteness in behavioral activities serves as a moderator, influencing the impact of self-quantification on consumers’ cognitive flexibility under different goal orientations. By investigating the mechanisms through which self-quantification shapes consumers’ green behavioral innovation under varying conditions, this study offers valuable insights for enterprises seeking to guide consumers toward innovative and sustainable green consumption practices.

Consumers are increasingly engaging in green consumption practices through the lens of self-quantification. Both the pursuit of positive green data outcomes at the individual level and the comparison and even competition among green data at the community level may lead to insincere green behaviors such as “performative green engagement” beyond the positive outcomes of tracking and measuring one’s green consumption. Compared to outcome-oriented studies exploring the impact of self-quantification on the outcomes of consumers’ green behaviors, this research focuses on the deeper sincerity of behaviors beyond outcomes, comprehensively analyzing the influence of self-quantification on the sincerity of consumers’ green behaviors and their sustained willingness for green consumption. The scenario-based experimental results confirmed that under low situational involvement, in promoting goal-oriented green consumption, self-quantification leads consumers to participate less in substantive environmental activities, with weaker internal motivation, lower sincerity, and weaker sustained willingness for green behaviors. In defensive goal-oriented green consumption, self-quantification encourages consumers to engage more in necessary energy-consuming activities, with stronger internal motivation, higher sincerity, and stronger sustained willingness for green behaviors. Under high situational involvement, consumers with mechanisms for self-quantification and those without exhibit similar levels of green behavior sincerity, with no significant difference in sustained willingness. The findings provide guidance for stakeholders in green consumption to more scientifically quantify the self, promoting proactive and sincere approaches to achieve the sustainable and healthy development of green consumption.

The digital transformation of everyday consumption has prompted platforms to quantify pro-environmental behavior through gamification, yet how such quantification affects the continuance of green consumption remains poorly understood. Existing research on the quantified self has concentrated on self-oriented domains such as health and efficiency, with little attention to its role in prosocial green consumption or to the difference between competitive and non-competitive quantification. Drawing on social identity theory, this study uses two scenario-based online experiments to examine how quantified self orientation shapes consumers’ intention to continue green consumption and the underlying mechanism. Experiment 1 (competitive vs. non-competitive quantified self, between-subjects) tests the main effect and the mediating role of symbolic behavioral motivation; Experiment 2 (2 × 2 between-subjects) introduces in-group versus out-group contexts as a moderator. The results show that, relative to non-competitive quantification, competitive quantification elicits stronger continuance intention and self-rated behavioral intensity; symbolic behavioral motivation partially mediates this effect; and group context moderates the relationship between symbolic motivation and green consumption, amplifying it in the in-group and attenuating it in the out-group. By extending the quantified self from self-oriented to prosocial settings, the study delineates an instrument–motivation–context pathway and informs the design of gamified, identity-based interventions for sustainable consumption.