Green consumer behaviour: an experimental analysis of willingness to pay for remanufactured products

Products' end‐of‐life management has recently become a critical business issue. One of the possible end‐of‐life strategies is remanufacturing, which can provide competitive advantages through material and energy savings. Beyond industrial organization challenges, there is a question about the interest of developing a green marketing strategy for remanufactured products. Indeed, remanufactured products can be considered as green products since their industrial process has environmental benefits. Our paper asks whether consumers are willing to pay for remanufactured products, especially when they are informed that these products are ‘green’. We use experimental auctions to elicit consumers' WTP for specific characteristics of remanufactured products. Our study indicates that consumers tend to value the remanufactured product less than the conventional one unless they are informed about their respective environmental impacts. We find no evidence that consumers are willing to pay a premium for the green (i.e. remanufactured) product. However, providing environmental information to consumers has an effect on their WTP for the conventional product: they generally decrease significantly their WTP for the conventional (and thus most polluting) product. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

What's in it for the customers? Successfully marketing green clothes

Most green marketing literature is strongly based on the assumption that a consumer's environmental awareness is a pre‐condition for green purchasing. While following such a ‘behaviouristic’ green marketing both scholars and companies seem to have neglected that green products are bought only if customers perceive the products as superior to competitors’ offerings. This paper argues that economic theory can give additional valuable input to green marketing. A first important step for marketing according to the economic approach is to identify how consumers perceive the products' cost and benefits. In this paper, cost and benefits are differentiated into different categories, which may help companies in finding their products' value added. In a second phase, companies can focus on stressing product advantages rather than on overcoming barriers. Using the example of green clothes this contribution shows what such a marketing strategy can look like. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

What drives organic food consumption in Lebanon?

To increase the sparse knowledge about what drives organic food consumers in developing markets, Lebanese consumers' reasons and motives for buying organic food are studied in the framework of means‐end chain theory. A sample of N = 180 Lebanese consumers was interviewed in several retail outlets using a hard laddering questionnaire. The data were subjected to frequency analysis, cluster analysis, and structural equation modelling. Hierarchal value maps constructed from the laddering interviews revealed that “quality of life,” “pleasure,” and “peace of mind” are the main values driving organic food consumption in Lebanon. Frequent organic consumers displayed higher concern for their family's health and for the environment, whereas occasional organic consumers cared more about their own pleasure and were more likely to perceive organic food as a traditional and nostalgic product. Structural equation modelling revealed that “care for nature” and “care for children's health” significantly affect consumers' (self‐reported) purchasing behaviour. The found means‐end chains are a useful basis for marketing campaigns for organic food products in the Lebanese market. One focus of marketing campaigns should be raising consumers' awareness on the environmental benefits of organic production and the fact that it does not allow the use of harmful chemical products.     

Competing Environmental Labels

We study markets in which consumers prefer green products but cannot determine the environmental quality of any given firm's product on their own. A nongovernmental organization (NGO) can establish a voluntary standard and label products that comply with it. Alternatively, industry can create its own standard and label. We compare the stringency of these two types of labels, and study their strategic interaction when they coexist. We find that even with error‐free labels, environmental benefits may be smaller with two labels than with the NGO label alone, and we characterize when label competition is more likely to be environmentally beneficial.     

Green marketing,public policy and managerial strategies

Green marketing subsumes greening products as well as greening firms. In addition to manipulating the 4Ps (product, price, place and promotion) of the traditional marketing mix, it requires a careful understanding of public policy processes. This paper focuses primarily on promoting products by employing claims about their environmental attributes or about firms that manufacture and/or sell them. Secondarily, it focuses on product and pricing issues. Drawing on multiple literatures, it examines issues such as what needs to be greened (products, systems or processes), why consumers purchase/do not purchase green products and how firms should think about information disclosure strategies on environmental claims. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Uncovering the Value of Green Advertising for Environmental Management Practices

This paper extends previous environmental management research by building and empirically testing a model of the contingency effects of green advertising on the relationships between environmental management practices in terms of environmentally conscious manufacturing and product stewardship, environmental reputation and financial performance. We examine the value of green advertising in sharing and publicizing information about organizational achievements in environmental preservation in a business‐to business context with the Taiwanese electronics manufacturing industry. The theoretical propositions are largely confirmed by structural path analyses of survey responses collected from 122 Taiwanese electronics manufacturers. Green advertising delivers financial benefits only for those manufacturers that do not have an established environmental reputation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Corporate environmental strategies as tools to influence regulation

Corporate environmental initiatives have been attributed to a variety of different motives, including cost‐cutting, marketing to ‘green’ consumers willing to pay extra for environmentally friendly products, and shaping future government regulation (including the possible preemption of regulation). Understanding what really motivates corporate environmentalism is important for policymakers, since the effectiveness of government environmental policies depends in large part on how corporations will respond to them. We focus on the welfare implications of two alternative strategies firms may use to shape government regulations: (i) attempting to preempt future legislation altogether or (ii) failing this, to soften the impact of new laws by inducing regulators to set relatively weak standards. We show that while the first sounds threatening to social welfare, it produces political cost savings that outweigh any weakening of environmental performance. The second motivation, however, raises corporate profits, but not by enough to outweigh the resulting loss of environmental quality. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Turning corporate environmental ethics into firm performance: The role of green marketing programs

In this study, we develop a better understanding of the mechanisms by which corporate environmental ethics influences performance through the adoption of substantive actions. The empirical results of a moderated mediating analysis show that firms with higher environmental ethics are more likely to implement green marketing programs, consisting of the green production, pricing, distribution, and promotion programs and then improve firm performance. It is also observed that closure mechanism negatively moderates the mediation effect of green marketing programs because it leads to low trust and unwillingness to internal cooperation. These findings indicate that the value of corporate environmental ethics could not be determined in a vacuum, both strategy and people do matter when pursuing environmentally driven performance.     

Price sensitivity,government green interventions,and green product availability triggers intention toward buying green products

In the 21st century, environmental problems are wreaking havoc, and sustainability is now of primary importance. Several external factors like population growth, industrialization, development, and overexploitation of natural resources play a crucial role in environmental degradation. Thus, the present study endeavors to explore the impact of price sensitivity, governments green interventions and green product availability on green buying intention through the lenses of the theory of planned behavior and the theory of consumption values. It also intends to examine the moderating effect of demographic factors on green buying intention. A cross-sectional study was carried out. Responses were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire-based survey. The final data set of 708 respondents were subjected to structural equation modeling for hypothesis testing. Price sensitivity, government green interventions, and green product availability show negative and significant interaction effects. Perceived behavioral control shows a relatively more substantial impact on green buying intention. Indian consumers from the age group of 41–50 years relatively have higher intention toward green buying. Overall, gender does not reveal any different approaches to environmentally friendly products. Green marketers must focus on communicating the availability of green products to reduce perceived difficulty.     

Environmental NGO–business collaboration and strategic bridging: a case analysis of the Greenpeace–Foron Alliance

Environmental NGO–business collaborative partnerships, commonly called green alliances, are encouraging corporate enviropreneurship, entrepreneurial innovations that address environmental problems and result in operational efficiencies, new technologies and marketable ‘green’ products. Aside from offering environmental, scientific and legal expertise, environmental NGOs can provide linkages to other societal stakeholders, referred to as strategic bridges, to support enviropreneurial initiatives. This article focuses on the linkage capabilities of environmental NGOs by developing an extended strategic bridging framework that articulates necessary process contingencies and engagement strategies for building effective bridges with environmental stakeholders. Propositions are advanced and tested in an analysis of the alliance between Greenpeace and Foron Household Appliances in Germany during 1992–93 for the marketing of an environmentally responsible refrigerator. Stakeholder characteristics and partnership outcomes reveal managerial implications and conceptual extensions of strategic bridging in green alliances, and future research directions are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Understanding sustainable consumption in an emerging country: The antecedents and consequences of the ecologically conscious consumer behavior model

For past few decades, consumers have lately started to adapt sustainable consumption in emerging countries. The increasing importance of sustainable consumption led the researchers to analyze green purchase and ecological behaviors. The aim of this study was to examine the antecedents of ecologically conscious consumer behavior model and show the relationships among ecologically conscious consumer behavior, green purchase conspicuous behavior, and green purchase intention based on the theory of planned behavior in an emerging country. Data were collected from 650 consumers in Turkey, one of the emerging countries, by using face‐to‐face survey technique and analyzed by factor analyses and structural equation modelling. In findings, environmental concern, altruism, and perceived consumer effectiveness were found as the antecedents of the model, and there were significant effects of ecologically conscious consumer behaviors on green purchase conspicuous behaviors and green purchase intentions.     

Answering key questions on green consumption: A qualitative study among Indian youth

The main objectives of this study are to (a) comprehend the definition of green consumption, (b) identify the products that are considered green by consumers, (c) understand the reasons behind green product consumption, and (d) decipher the possible implications of consuming green. To achieve these objectives, information‐rich young consumers were depth interviewed. Subsequently, thematic maps were developed using thematic analysis technique. In that, three major themes emerged as (a) personal factors, (b) social factors, and (c) environmental factors. These findings have implications primarily for scholars as this paper advances prior literature on the theory of planned behavior by looking at green consumption through the lens of young Indians. Also, it has implications for marketers as they may formulate strategies to market their green products on the basis of the factors identified in the paper.     

Consumers' processing of mindful commercial car sharing

Commercial car sharing offers a form of market‐mediated, access‐based consumption with a markedly lower impact on the natural environment than that of car ownership. Consumers adopting such alternative transportation modes are manifesting a marketplace behavior that can be said to be mindful because of the innovative and sustainable nature of car sharing. This study employs behavioral reasoning theory to examine how consumers' value orientations, as well as reasons for and against car sharing, might be used in consumers' processing of mindful commercial car‐sharing adoption. Findings suggest that subjective norms (thoughts of important others for consumers, such as co‐workers) serve an important mediating role for both consumers' value orientations and reasons for car sharing in their relationship with car‐sharing behavior. These results provide marketing researchers important knowledge about green consumption and suggest that practitioners would do well to emphasize the social dimension when marketing environmentally oriented services, such as car sharing.     

Golden goose or wild goose? The hunt for the green consumer

The green consumer has been the central character in the development of green marketing, as businesses attempt to understand and respond to external pressures to improve their environmental performance. Marketing practitioners and academics are attempting to identify and understand green consumers and their needs, and to develop market offerings that meet these needs. So far there is little consensus about the identity and nature of green consumers, except that they have been something of a disappointment to the marketers who have pursued them. These difficulties perhaps reflect the folly of trying to understand green consumption and green marketing by viewing it as simply a variation on conventional marketing. This article proposes some different ways of looking at green consumption and green marketing, which have the potential to prevent the hunt for the green consumer from deteriorating into a wild goose chase. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Consumers and green electricity: profiling potential purchasers

Globally, consumers are beginning to be able to choose their electricity supplier. Increasing concerns about the environment are prompting some of them to consider ‘green’ electricity—that is, electricity that has been generated by more environmentally sustainable means (for example, solar power or wind power). This article profiles the potential purchaser of green electricity. Drawing upon the literature on green product purchasers more generally, three sets of hypotheses are presented—more specifically, it is proposed that those who would pay increasingly higher premiums for green electricity are more likely to possess particular demographic characteristics, attitudinal characteristics and socialization characteristics. Responses from a survey distributed in a major Canadian metropolitan area are then examined. Attitudinal characteristics—specifically ecological concern, liberalism and altruism—best identify the potential purchasers of green electricity. Suggestions for managers and marketers are made following these findings. Directions for future research are also presented. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.     

The impact of environmental information on professional purchasers' choice of products

Professional food purchasers are an important group of people since they influence what alternatives of a food product consumers will have the possibility to choose between. The aim of the present study was to investigate the inclination among professional purchasers to choose food products associated with more benign environmental consequences. Information about product price, total use of energy, emission of greenhouse gases and use of pesticides associated with production and consumption of one kilogram of minced beef and fresh apples was varied systematically in order to study the relative influence on product preference. Product price was found to influence product preference more than any of the three environmentally related factors. Introduction of a labeling system that indicated whether the environmental impacts associated with a food product during its life cycle were ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than an average product partly increased the effect of environmental information. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The effect of human image in B2C website design: an eye-tracking study

On B2C shopping websites, effective visual designs can bring about consumers’ positive emotional experience. From this perspective, this article developed a research model to explore the impact of human image as a visual element on consumers’ online shopping emotions and subsequent attitudes towards websites. This study conducted an eye-tracking experiment to collect both eye movement data and questionnaire data to test the research model. Questionnaire data analysis showed that product pictures combined with human image induced positive emotions among participants, thus promoting their attitudes towards online shopping websites. Specifically, product pictures with human image first produced higher levels of image appeal and perceived social presence, thus stimulating higher levels of enjoyment and subsequent positive attitudes towards the websites. Moreover, a moderating effect of product type was demonstrated on the relationship between the presence of human image and the level of image appeal. Specifically, human image significantly increased the level of image appeal when integrated in entertainment product pictures while this relationship was not significant in terms of utilitarian products. Eye-tracking data analysis further supported these results and provided plausible explanations. The presence of human image significantly increased the pupil size of participants regardless of product types. For entertainment products, participants paid more attention to product pictures integrated with human image whereas for utilitarian products more attention was paid to functional information of products than to product pictures no matter whether or not integrated with human image.     

On the corporate use of green bonds

When do wholesalers issue green bonds to finance their socially responsible activities instead of charging a premium for the products they produce? We show that in less competitive retail markets when retailers can “skim” more of the premium that end consumers pay for socially responsible products, green bonds provide additional funds to help cover the cost of a wholesaler's socially responsible activities. Similar incentives arise if the wholesaler's input is a small component of the end consumers’ product, or if it is difficult for end consumers to identify the wholesaler's socially responsible activities.     

Toward Sustainable Livelihoods: Investigating the Drivers of Purchase Behavior for Green Products

Green consumption involves comprehensive concerns that address the broad scope of sustainability, ecosystem balance, profit‐generation and people. Identifying the factors that influence consumers' purchase behavior enables manufacturers to understand consumers' decision‐making processes and can help them develop more environmentally beneficial products. However, scholars have recently found that a gap exists between environmental concern and consumers' actual purchase behavior. The purpose of this paper is to use cognitive behavior theory to investigate the drivers of green consumption behavior and the missing link in the concern–behavior gap. After collecting 375 valid questionnaires, this study validated the proposed conceptual model using structural equation modeling. The revised model indicates that environmental involvement, informational utility, green advertising skepticism and green trust are antecedent variables of consumer attitudes toward green products. Additionally, this study also provides a possible explanation of and remedies for the concern–behavior gap. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment