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Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014 Collins Marfo Agyeman, 2014

CONSUMERS' BUYING BEHAVIOR TOWARDS

GREEN PRODUCTS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Collins Marfo Agyeman1*

Over the past few years, the demand for green products in Indian has been growing significantlydue to the increased interest in the environment. Consumers today are increasingly “thinkinggreen” and are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products. The increasing numbersof consumers who prefer and are willing to buy these products are subjected to the buyingprocess. Consumers have different buying behaviours and these behaviours are constantlychanging as a result of the availability of best alternatives to choose from. Products are chosenfor numerous reasons. Overall, the buying process is extremely fast-paced today. Hence, thepresent study is conducted to explore the extent of the impact of consumers’ buying behaviourtowards the marketing of green products in Kancheepuram District. The study investigates therelationship between variables that affect consumers’ buying behaviour for green products andidentifies the price levels consumers prefer to pay for green products in the district. An attempthas also been made to examine the factors that affect the green products’ buying behaviours ofthe consumers. Convenience sampling method was used to select 200 respondents living inthe district and who make purchases for the products. The primary data was collected from therespondents with the help of pre-tested structured opened and closed-ended questionnaires. Inpursuance of the study’s stated objectives, the formulated hypotheses were subjected toregression and chi-square analyzes. The findings of the study reveal that there is significantrelationship between the variables which affects consumers’ buying behaviour for green products.Similarly, the factors affecting the consumers’ buying behaviour have major implications onpurchasing decisions.Green marketers can therefore understand, identify and design marketingmix strategies to appeal to the preferences of the market segments for green products.

Keywords: Consumers' buying behavior, Green marketing, Environmentally friendly products,Green products

*Corresponding Author: Collins Marfo Agyeman � [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Due to the increased importance of green

marketing to market success, firms continue to

1 Faculty of Management, SRM University, Nelson Mandela Hostel (NRI Block) Room 1004, Kattankulathur, Kancheepuram District, 603203,

Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014

ISSN 2319-345X www.ijmrbs.com

Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2014

© 2014 IJMRBS. All Rights Reserved

launch various forms of green packaging

programs through the introduction of recyclable

and reusable packages. Green marketing is

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considered as one of the major trends in modern

businesses (Kassaye, 2001). Today,

environmental or green marketing, a strategic

marketing approach, is a recent focus in business

endeavours (Ottman, 1998). Consumers are

therefore, becoming more sensitive in their

environmental attitudes, preferences, and

purchases (Sarigöllü, 2009). The desire of

consumers to purchase eco-friendly products

and services is rising. Many are more aware of

environmental issues and consequently choose

products that do not damage the environment over

less environmentally friendly products, even if

they cost more. Firms today are faced with

consumers who are environmentally conscious

when making a purchase.

Environmentally preferable products are

sometimes more expensive to purchase than

other alternative products. Green consumers

have been shown to be willing to pay a higher

price for environmentally friendly products

(Laroche et al, 2001; Peattie, 2001), which is a

huge opportunity for companies as well as

governments looking to make eco-friendly policy

changes. Thus, the increasing number of

consumers who prefer and are willing to buy eco-

friendly products are creating opportunity for

businesses that are using “eco-friendly” or

“environmentally friendly” as a component of their

value proposition. Businesses that offer products

which are manufactured and designed with an

environmental marketing mix have a long term

competitive advantage. A better understanding of

consumers’ buying behavior will allow businesses

to acquire more market-applicable approach to

sustain in the competitive market.

Behavior has a strong influence in terms of

consumer purchases. They are the main triggers

in the consumer purchasing process and also

influence the perception of a product. This

complicated process enables businesses to

attract new consumers and adapt their products

or services according to their needs and wants

or change consumers’ behavior towards their

products or services. Consumers tend to reduce

their impact on the environment by their

purchasing decisions.

There are various factors that affect the

buying-decision process of consumers. A number

of Researchers have identified many factors as

influencing this process including; environmental

knowledge (Mostafa, 2006), perceived product

price and quality (D’Souza et al., 2007),

company’s environmental reputation (Schwepker

and Cornwell, 1991), environmental concerns

(Phau and Ong, 2007) and credibility of

environmental advertising (Thøgersen J, 2000).

It has become very essential to know the

factors that create the desire of consumers to

purchase a product. Hence, the present study

contributes to the field by investigating and

exploring the extent of the impact of consumers’

buying behavior towards the marketing of green

products.

LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Mostafa (2007), green purchase

behavior refers to the consumption of products

that are benevolent or beneficial to the

environment, recyclable or conservable and

sensitive or responsive to ecological concerns.

Clem (2008) reveals that going green reflects a

social consciousness around saving and

advancing the Earth’s natural resources,

preserving and protecting them for the sake of

civilization. Consumers are becoming more and

more aware of environmental issues and this has

increased the demand for ecological products. If

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consumers have a favourable attitude towardgreening environment, they are more inclined topurchase green products. The continuousawareness of environmental problems may inturn change consumers’ attitudes and purchaseintentions as well.

Consumer purchase intention has been animportant concept in marketing literature.Previous studies have exposed that consumerwith intention to buy products exhibit higher actualbuying rates than those customers whodemonstrate that they have no intention of buying(Brown, 2003). Blackwell et al. (2001) alsosupport this by indicating that purchase intentionsrepresent what consumers think they will buy.Furthermore, behavior towards a particular objectis approximated by an intention to perform thatbehavior (Malhotra and Mccort 2001). Thus,purchase intention positively affects the probabilityof a customer decision that he will buy greenproducts.

Environmental concerns play an important roleon consumers’ intention to purchase greenproducts. Thus, environmental concerns are notthe only factor for the consumers to purchaseenvironmentally friendly products. There are otherfactors that lead to the purchases.

Green consumers have been shown to bewilling to pay a higher price for environmentallyfriendly products (Laroche et al, 2001; Peattie,2001). A high price of green product is an indicatorof environmental performance, because lesspolluting products are more costly to produce(Mahenc, 2008). A study conducted by D’Souzaet al., (2006) contrary reported that generally,perception of green products is negativelyassociated with customer’s intention to purchasethem if they are of higher prices and low quality in

comparison to traditional products.

Green product’s quality is also a concerned

factor for most consumers. Green consumers

generally trust on these brand and are not ready

to compromise on quality. As there is an

expectation on the part of customers that all

products offered should be environmentally safe

without a need to sacrifice quality, businesses

must enhance green product quality as well as

focus on environmental benefits of a product, and

share these aspects with customers in order to

achieve the recognition in the market (D’Souza

et al, 2006). Hence, these reveal that traditional

product characteristics such as brand name, its

price and quality are still the most important ones

that consumers considered when making

purchasing decision (Gan et al, 2008).

Other studies have indicated that many

consumers are unwilling to forgo essential

product benefits during their purchase decision.

So therefore, green products must also perform

competitively not only according to environmental

aspects, but also on the basis of other important

product characteristics for instance convenience

or durability (Diamantopoulos et al, 2003).

Consumers’ choice for green products can be

heavily influenced by the packaging too.

Packaging attributes can persuade consumers

to purchase the product. According to Dantas et

al., (2004), packages and labels have only a few

seconds to make an impact on the consumer’s

mind; during that time, it must catch the

consumer’s eye, and convince the shopper that

it is the optimum option on the shelf (Rowan,

2000).

Based on the review of literature, the following

factors have been chosen for this study as factors

that affect consumers’ buying behaviors for green

products;

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• Price

• Environmental concerns

• Quality

• Brandname

• Convenience

• Durability

• Packaging

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The research objectives addressed in the present

study are;

• To investigate the relationship between the

variables that affect consumers’ buying

behaviors for green products.

• To examine the factors that affect consumers’

buying behaviors for green products.

• To identify the price levels consumers prefer

to pay for green productsin the district.

HYPOTHESIS FOR THE

STUDY

In exploring the relationship between consumers’

buying behavior and green products, the study

addressed the following hypotheses;

H0:Consumers’ buying behavior has no

relationship with purchase decisions of green

products.

H1:Consumers’ buying behavior has a

relationship with purchase decisions of green

products.

METHODOLOGY

The present study utilizes the exploratory

research methodology to explore the extent of the

impact and establish relationship between

consumers’ buying behavior towards the

marketing of green products in Kancheepuram

District. The population for this study was all

consumers of the market who make the

purchases of green products. Convenience

sampling method was adopted to select the total

sample size of 200 respondentsconsisting of 73

males and 127 females living in the district. Both

the primary and secondary data collection

methods were considered. However, primary

data was collected from the respondents with the

help of pre-tested structured opened and closed-

ended questionnaires. Primary data was

complemented with secondary data sources

such as publications on the topic from journals,

magazines, and internet. The responses of the

measurement were scored using a 5- point Likert

scale. The measurement items of the variables

were created based on the literature review.

Regression and chi-square analyzes were used

to establish the relationships that exist between

the hypotheses. Analyses of data and testing of

hypotheses were performed using SPSS version

17. The analyses have been in conformity with

the objectives and the hypotheses of the study.

The data collection period for the study was

undertaken from September 2013 to December

2013.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The Table 1 shows majority of the respondents

(63.5%) being Females and can be found in the

Age category of 42-49 years (32.0%). Further,

most of them (41.0%) are Degree (First /Masters/

PhD) holders in terms of Educational Qualification

and are Government Employees (27.5%). Lastly,

in terms of Monthly income, (38.0%) they earn

above Rs. 20,000 per Month, which is the highest

earning category.

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The Relationship Between VariablesAffecting Consumers’ Buying Behaviorsfor Green Products

The Regression coefficient ‘R’ = .973 or 97.3%

means that correlation between dependent

variable and independent variables is positive.

The coefficient of determination ‘R2’ = .946

indicating that 94.6% of variation in dependent

variable is explained by independent variables.

The F-test value of 482.509 is significant because

the significance level is = .000 which is less than

0.05. This also implies that the correlationbetween dependent variable and independentvariables is statistical significant and theregression model is valid.

As shown in the above stepwise regressionsummary table, it is clear that among all theseven factors affecting consumers’ buyingbehavior, they are positively related with thepurchase of green products. Hence, theresearcher rejects the null hypothesis andconcludes that there is sufficient evidence, at the

Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

Demographic Factors Labels n=200 %

1. Gender a. Male 73 36.5

b. Female 127 63.5

2. Age a. 18-25 years 22 11

b. 26-33 years 36 18

c. 34-41 years 51 25.5

d. 42-49 years 64 32

e. 50-57 years 19 9.5

f. 58 years and above 8 4

3. Educational Qualification a. None 8 4

b. Secondary 56 28

c. Diploma 54 27

d. Degree (First / Masters / PhD) 82 41

4. Occupation a. Student 33 16.5

b. Private Employee 62 31

c. Government Employee 55 27.5

d. Professional 50 25

5. Monthly Income a. Below Rs. 5,000 7 3.5

b. Rs. 5,000 - 9,000 19 9.5

c. Rs. 10,000 – 14,000 48 24

d. Rs. 15,000 – 19,000 50 25

e. Rs. 20,000 and above 76 38

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Table 2: Model Summary of Consumers’ Buying Behaviour Vs. Green Products

Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate

1.973a .946 .944 .25357

Note: a. Predictors: (Constant), Packaging, Environmental concerns, Brandname, Quality, Convenience, Durability, Price

ANOVAb

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 217.175 7 31.025 482.509 .000a

Residual 12.345 192 .064

Total 229.520 199

Note: a. Predictors: (Constant), Packaging, Environmental concerns, Brandname, Quality, Convenience, Durability, Price; b. Dependent

Variable: Purchase of Green Products

Coefficientsa

Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

Model

B Std. Error Beta t Sig.

1 (Constant) .137 .051 2.705 .007

Price .600 .042 .725 14.244 .000

Environmental concerns .320 .051 .313 6.218 .000

Quality -.048 .024 -.054 -2.007 .046

Brandname -.065 .023 -.063 -2.859 .005

Convenience .068 .021 .077 3.179 .002

Durability -.077 .025 -.086 -3.096 .002

Packaging .064 .018 .061 3.496 .001

Note: a. Dependent Variable: Purchase of Green Products

5% level of significance, that there is a strong

positive relationship between consumers’ buying

behavior and purchase of green products.

From the Table 3, the results of Chi-square

tests for all the hypotheses are in significant level.

The chi-square values are greater than 0.05

significant levels. Therefore, the null hypothesis

is rejected and alternative hypothesis is accepted

at 5% significant level. This shows a positive

association between consumers’ buying behavior

and purchase of green products.

Factors Affecting Consumers’ BuyingBehaviors for Green Products

From the review of literature, some major factors

affecting consumers’ buying behaviors for green

products were selected and respondents were

asked to indicate those factors which affect them

most. The following shows their responses:

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It can be seen from the Figure 1 and Table 4

that according to 36.5% of consumers, Price is

the major factor that affects their buying

behaviors. This is followed by Quality (17%),

Environmental concerns (16.5%), Packaging

(12.5%), Brandname (8%), Convenience (6%)

and lastly, Durability (3.5%). From the above, it is

found that when it comes to purchase of green

products, price, quality, and environmental

Table 3: Chi-square Test Results of Consumers’ Buying Behaviour Vs. Green Products

Research Hypotheses Chi-Square Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Results

Price 458.185a 16 .000 Supported

Environmental concerns 524.286a 16 .000 Supported

Quality 110.015a 16 .000 Supported

Brandname 81.707a 16 .000 Supported

Convenience 82.739a 16 .000 Supported

Durability 123.213a 16 .000 Supported

Packaging 57.258a 16 .000 Supported

Table 4: Consumers Buying Behaviors

Frequency Percent

Valid Price 73 36.5

Environmental concerns 33 16.5

Quality 34 17.0

Brandname 16 8.0

Convenience 12 6.0

Durability 7 3.5

Packaging 25 12.5

Total 200 100.0

Figure 1: Factors Effecting Consumers'Buying Behaviors for Green Products

Figure 2: The Price Consumers Preferto Pay Green Products

Table 5: Preferences of Consumersto Pay for Green Products

Frequency Percent

Valid Very Costly 8 4.0

Costly 21 10.5

Moderate 42 21.0

Cheap 64 32.0

Very Cheap 65 32.5

Total 200 100.0

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concerns are still the key factors influencing their

purchase decisions.

The Price Levels Consumers Prefer to Payfor Green Products

The respondents were asked to indicate their

preference for the price of green products for

which they are ready to pay for. The results are

represented below:

From the Figure 2 and the Table 5 above,

32.5% of the respondents hold that the prices of

green products should be very cheap and also

32% prefer cheap green products. Thus, they are

willing to pay more for those products which are

neither costly nor very costly.

CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

This study was conducted to investigate the

relationship between the variables that affect

consumers’ buying behaviors for green products,

to examine the factors that affect consumers’

buying behaviors for green products, to identify

the price levels consumers prefer to pay for green

products in the district and in summary, toexplore

the impact of consumers’ buying behavior towards

the marketing of green products in

Kancheepuram District. The collected data was

subjected to regression and chi-square analyzes.

The results suggest that a large number of

consumers in the selected areas value the

environment and have a typical buying behavior.

The consumers prefer green products and expect

to pay a lower price for them. Consumers are

willing to buy eco-friendly products, but not to pay

higher prices. This indicates green product

awareness among consumers. As consumers

are aware and concerned about the green

products, it creates an opportunity for developing

green marketing focusing on more consumers.

Overall, this study clearly identified a positive

relationship between the variables or factors

which affect consumers’ buying behavior for green

products.Consumers’ buying behavior acts as a

predictor and have a direct influence on the

decision process when purchasing a green

product. The results provide reasonable support

to all the hypothesized relationships.

It was also identified that while consumers

have positive behavior towards purchasing green

products, when it comes to actual purchase,

price, environmental concerns and quality are still

the key factors influencing their purchase

decisions.

After having undertaken this research, based

on the findings of the study, the following

recommendations are given;

The researcher noted that more in-depth

follow-up investigations would be necessary to

further advance understanding of the consumer.

Further research in this area needs to address

what influences consumers’ attitudes towards

green purchases as this would provide the true

decision-making criteria for manufacturers,

businesses and marketers.

Green marketers can therefore understand,

identify and design marketing mix strategies to

appeal to the preferences of the market segments

for green products at suitable price levels and

also consider environmental and quality aspects

in order to attract more consumers. Hence, green

products must perform competitively as there is

a scope for eco-friendly marketers to capture this

market for long term growth.

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Manufacturers who want to offer environmentally

friendly products to consumers may benefit from

the findings of this research as well. Consumers

want eco-friendly products from those

manufacturers which have positioned themselves

as eco-friendly manufacturers and it is important

that manufacturers aiming at developing new

eco-friendly products ensure that those products

perform competitively.

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