The Adidas “Futurecraft Loop” – A product innovation challenging the

attitude-behavior gap in sustainable footwear consumption

Philipp Bartle

Dissertation written under the supervision of Daniel Fernandes

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements for the MSc in Management with Specialization in Strategic Marketing, at the Universidade

Católica Portuguesa, 05.01.2021.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” (Albert Einstein)

I

Abstract Considering the positive impact it can have on the environment, sustainable fashion is yet to

fully reach consumers’ minds. Moreover, it is subject to the recently researched “attitude-

behavior gap” among consumers, representing a mismatch between purchase intention for

sustainable products and actual purchase behavior. This study took a look at German

consumers’ attitude-behavior gap, particularly examining their purchase drivers and barriers

concerning Adidas’ new sneaker innovation “Futurecraft Loop” (FL) launching in Spring 2021.

Specifically, the study aimed at revealing drivers and barriers to remedy the gap.

Therefore, interviews (N=14) and a survey (N=109) with German consumers were conducted.

Thereby, this work found six main results: Although the attitude-behavior gap among German

consumers could be verified, they stated to be open for circular fashion models and do not

refuse to adopt sustainable consumption behaviors. Furthermore, this work revealed that the

decision to buy a sustainable innovation like the FL is more emotional than rational. In this

light, the study found out that the sneaker’s inherent innovative character using one material

only and being able to be fully recycled into a new sneaker can serve as a potential remedy to

the attitude-behavior gap. On the other hand, German consumers perceive Adidas to be

engaging in “greenwashing” its image, which represents a barrier.

Finally, the study suggests that Adidas should highlight the FL’s innovative character in its

German launch campaign, while also taking steps to become more transparent in its actions

towards sustainability to win back lost trust from the customer side.

Keywords: Sustainable fashion, innovation, Adidas, attitude-behavior gap, Futurecraft Loop Dissertation Title: The Adidas “Futurecraft Loop” – A product innovation challenging the

attitude-behavior gap in sustainable footwear consumption

Author: Philipp Bartle

II

Abstrato

Tendo em conta o impacto positivo que pode ter no ambiente, a moda sustentável ainda não

chegou totalmente à mente dos consumidores. Além disso, está sujeita ao recentemente

investigado "fosso atitude-comportamento" entre os consumidores, representando um

desajuste entre a intenção de compra de produtos sustentáveis e o comportamento de compra

real. Este estudo analisou a lacuna de atitude-comportamento dos consumidores alemães,

examinando particularmente os seus motores de compra e as barreiras relativas à nova

inovação de sapatilhas Adidas "Futurecraft Loop" (FL) lançada na Primavera de 2021.

Especificamente, o estudo visava revelar os condutores e as barreiras para remediar a lacuna.

Por conseguinte, foram realizadas entrevistas (N=14) e um inquérito (N=109) com

consumidores alemães.

Assim, este trabalho encontrou seis resultados principais: Embora a diferença de atitude-

comportamento entre os consumidores alemães pudesse ser verificada, estes afirmaram estar

abertos a modelos de moda circulares e não se recusam a adoptar comportamentos de

consumo sustentáveis. Além disso, este trabalho revelou que a decisão de comprar uma

inovação sustentável como a FL é mais emocional do que racional. A esta luz, o estudo

descobriu que o carácter inovador inerente ao ténis, utilizando apenas um material e podendo

ser totalmente reciclado num novo ténis, pode servir como um remédio potencial para a

lacuna de atitude-comportamento. Por outro lado, os consumidores alemães percebem que a

Adidas está empenhada na "lavagem verde" da sua imagem, o que representa uma barreira.

Finalmente, o estudo sugere que a Adidas deve destacar o carácter inovador da FL na sua

campanha de lançamento alemã, ao mesmo tempo que toma medidas para se tornar mais

transparente nas suas acções rumo à sustentabilidade, a fim de recuperar a confiança perdida

do lado do cliente.

Palavras-chave: moda sustentável, inovação, Adidas, lacuna de atitude-comportamento,

Futurecraft Loop

Título da Dissertação: A Adidas "Futurecraft Loop" - Uma inovação de produto que desafia

a lacuna de atitude-comportamento no consumo sustentável de calçado

Autor: Philipp Bartle

III

Table of Contents

Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... I

Abstrato .................................................................................................................................................. II

Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................ III

List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... IV

List of Figures ....................................................................................................................................... IV

List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................ IV

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Problem statement ................................................................................................................................. 1

1.2 Research questions ................................................................................................................................ 2

1.3 Research structure ................................................................................................................................. 2

2. Literature review ........................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 The transition from the linear model of production to a circular economy ........................................... 3

2.2 Adidas and the athletic footwear industry ............................................................................................. 4

2.3 The Adidas Futurecraft – changing perceptions .................................................................................... 5

2.4 Consumer behavior in the footwear market .......................................................................................... 6

2.5 Sustainable consumer behavior and attitude-behavior gap ................................................................... 7

2.6 Drivers of sustainable consumer behavior ............................................................................................. 8

2.7 Barriers to sustainable consumer behavior .......................................................................................... 10

3. Conceptual model ........................................................................................................................ 12

4. Methodology and data collection ............................................................................................... 12 4.1 Research approach ............................................................................................................................... 13

4.2 Interviews ............................................................................................................................................ 13 4.2.1 Sample and data collection ...................................................................................................................... 13 4.2.2 Interview results ...................................................................................................................................... 14

4.3 Revision of hypotheses ........................................................................................................................ 16

4.4 Revision of conceptual model ............................................................................................................. 19

4.5 Survey .................................................................................................................................................. 19 4.5.1 Design ..................................................................................................................................................... 19 4.5.2 Measures ................................................................................................................................................. 20 4.5.3 Pre-test ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 4.5.4 Procedure ................................................................................................................................................. 21 4.5.5 Sample ..................................................................................................................................................... 22 4.5.6 Descriptive results ................................................................................................................................... 22 4.5.7 Statistical analysis and hypotheses testing .............................................................................................. 24 4.5.8 Explorative results ................................................................................................................................... 28 4.5.9 Summary of hypotheses .......................................................................................................................... 29

5. General discussion ....................................................................................................................... 30

6. Limitations ................................................................................................................................... 33

7. Future research and implications .............................................................................................. 34 7.1 Future research .................................................................................................................................... 34

7.2 Implications for Adidas ....................................................................................................................... 35

IV

8. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 36

References ............................................................................................................................................. 38

Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 45

List of Abbreviations

β Standardized regression coefficient

BLR Binary Logistic Regression

Cα Cronbach’s alpha

CB Cognitive behavior

e.g. Exempli gratia

et al. Et alii

etc. Et cetera

FL Futurecraft Loop

M Arithmetic mean

N Number of subjects

NI Normalized importance

p. Page

ρ p-value

Q Question

R Result

RQ Research question

SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

List of Figures

Figure 1: Linear model of fast fashion ……………………………………………………….. 3

Figure 2: The Adidas Futurecraft Loop ……………………………………………………… 5

Figure 3: Conceptual model of drivers and barriers before interviews ……...……………….12

Figure 4: Final conceptual model of drivers and barriers after interviews …………………..19

List of Tables

Table 1: Summary of drivers' hypotheses ................................................................................ 29

Table 2: Summary of barriers' hypotheses ............................................................................... 30

1

1. Introduction

The global trend of sustainability and green products has recently reached the fashion industry,

particularly the footwear market. As the whole fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global

greenhouse gas emissions – more than the flight and maritime industry combined - big

companies like Adidas have realized a need to change their business model (World Bank, 2019).

However, as the introducing quote by Albert Einstein (Albert Einstein Quotes, n.d.) implies,

such a change will not be successful if the fashion industry does not reinvent the way it produces

garments. Thus, a shift from the current linear model of “make-use-dispose” to a circular way

of producing and selling products is underway to reduce the industry’s ecological footprint and

head towards a greener, more sustainable future (Ki, Chong and Ha‐Brookshire, 2020).

In this context, Adidas is about to launch a new sneaker called “Futurecraft Loop” (FL) to

induce such a shift (Verbeck and Sahanga, 2019). Adidas aims to use one material only that can

be fully recycled and implemented in a new FL shoe. It seems, Adidas is ready for a shift

towards a greener future. For that matter, the main question appearing is, if consumers are

equally ready.

1.1 Problem statement

The problem this study is supposed to examine is familiar to the majority of today’s society.

Environmental damages all over the world are on the rise, and climate change is underway. An

approach to do one’s bit is to live and consume more sustainably which also implies the

environmentally-friendly consumption of clothing and footwear. A sustainable consumption of

sneakers is especially highly needed, as they belong to a product category with a short product

life cycle due to wear and tear (Triola, 2020). Therefore, Adidas has started to tackle

environmental problems and will launch a sustainable sneaker called “Futurecraft Loop”.

Having run through an alpha test phase in 2019 and 2020, this innovational shoe will launch

this year to be the first sneaker that is entirely “made to be remade” (Newcomb, 2019).

However, research shows that although people are willing to consume more sustainably, they

fail to do so (Park and Lin, 2020). Hence, there must be barriers that hinder people from

engaging in green consumption while outweighing the drivers.

Consequently, there is an attitude-behavior gap among consumers. The problem is: how can

this attitude-behavior gap be overcome, and what kinds of remedies can help in achieving that?

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If the FL project shall work, Adidas must understand what drives consumers to buy the eco-

friendly shoe. Likewise, barriers preventing consumers from purchasing the product must be

identified and reduced. This study is supposed to examine the drivers and barriers of German

consumers regarding purchasing Adidas’ new sustainable product innovation.

Ultimately, this study aims to derive implications for Adidas about how to minimize the

attitude-behavior gap among its German customers. Also, this work shall yield

recommendations for Adidas in terms of an appropriate marketing strategy and customer

approach concerning the FL’s launch.

1.2 Research questions

Building upon the problem statement, the overall research questions read as follows:

RQ1: Which factors can remedy the attitude-behavior gap and drive German consumers to

buy the Futurecraft Loop?

RQ2: Which factors should Adidas highlight in its marketing campaign for the Futurecraft

Loop to increase consumer purchase intention in Germany?

1.3 Research structure

This work is structured as follows: First of all, a literature review shall introduce the fashion

market and show why a transition from linear production to a circular economy is obligatory.

Afterward, a brief description of the athletic footwear industry underlined by numbers will be

given. The findings will then lay the foundation for the presentation of the FL. After looking at

the industry side, the focus will be directed towards the customer – the center of this study. At

this point, consumer trends in the footwear market, as well as drivers and barriers for green

consumer behavior, shall be scrutinized.

Afterward, the developed hypotheses will be tested and revised in the methodological part of

this work, which will consist of a qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (survey) part.

Finally, the collected data will be analyzed and discussed to conclude this work with an

implicational part about what Adidas needs to do if it wants to succeed with the FL.

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2. Literature review

2.1 The transition from the linear model of production to a circular economy

Whether they are worn as a practical means to keep oneself warm or to express one’s

individuality, garments and shoes are a vital part of people’s everyday lives. The entire industry

is estimated to be worth 1.3 trillion US dollars and has almost doubled in size in the last 15

years (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). This massive growth can be explained by a concept

called “fast fashion”, where fashion companies introduce new trends and collections throughout

a year at small prices (Thomas, 2019).

Vast amounts of garments, including shoes, for which tons of nonrenewable resources are

exploited, are being pumped into the market. However, the problem is that these products are

thrown away to landfills after a short period – too short to be recycled appropriately.

Numbers and figures underline the problems: In the past 15 years, the average number of times

a garment was worn before

being disposed of decreased

by 37% (Ellen MacArthur

Foundation, 2017), which

results in 460 billion USD

of value thrown away by

customers, although still

good enough to use.

Ultimately, less than 1% of the material used in garments is recycled and processed into new

footwear.

Therefore, a shift to a new fashion paradigm is underway. A transition from the linear model to

a circular one has recently gained much attention, and importance for big companies as it seems

to be the most potent move towards sustainability in the latest history (Moving Towards a

Circular Fashion Economy - MOTIF, n.d.). The circular model is defined as

“an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design, uses and reuses natural capital as efficiently as possible, and finds value throughout products’ life cycles”. (Koszewska, 2018, p.337)

Moreover, the idea of a circular economy is highly influenced by the principles of reducing,

reusing, and recycling, which should be implemented within the entire cycle of production,

consumption, and return of resources (Vadakkepatt et al., 2020).

Figure 1: Linear model of fast fashion Source: Moving Towards a Circular Fashion Economy - MOTIF, n.d.

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It is expected that a switch from the linear model to the circular economy would not only

drastically lower the negative impact on the environment but also ensure savings of billions of

dollars (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2014).

However, a transition to circular activities goes hand in hand with massive changes along firms’

value chain. On the one hand, they need to “design out waste” in the production, meaning that

they get rid of unnecessary fabrics in their products to produce higher quality garments

(Wastling et al., 2018). On the other hand, firms have to draw on new business models to

support the shift from viewing products as disposable items to perceiving them as durable

products that can be used for a long time without fearing they might lose their quality (Ellen

MacArthur Foundation, 2017). Nevertheless, these new types of sales and service models also

have to be in line with customer needs and desires. It is widely understood that both buying and

wearing clothes are essential to customers in terms of self-fulfillment and self-expression

(Nagasawa et al., 1991).

To serve customers’ needs while also doing good for the environment, the athletic footwear

industry is more and more heading towards sustainable products and a circular economy. Thus,

a brief look into the whole market shall be taken.

2.2 Adidas and the athletic footwear industry

The footwear market is an exponentially growing market within the sportswear industry. With

worldwide revenues of $180.96 billion in 2019, the market is dominated by the big players Nike

($34.88 billion), Adidas ($23.64 billion), VF Corp. ($13.29$), Puma ($5.08 billion), and Under

Armour ($4.86 billion) (Statista, Umsatz Führende Sportartikelhersteller Weltweit 2019, 2020).

As the competition in the market is high and other footwear companies are set to enter it, the

industry’s emerging key success factors are sustainability, innovations, and a right brand image

(Baier et al., 2020).

In Germany – the market this study focuses on – Adidas’ revenues from sneakers are expected

to grow by more than factor two from $1,456.8m (2012) to $3,278m (2022). Hence, it can be

seen that the local market is far from being saturated (Statista, Footwear - Germany, 2020).

To gain more market share and push its sustainable activities forward, Adidas uses circular

business models resulting in the company’s brand-new innovation: the Futurecraft Loop.

5

2.3 The Adidas Futurecraft – changing perceptions

Futurecraft Loop – a term that implies the mission Adidas is pursuing with its innovation. The

project is about a journey to develop fully circular products that are supposed to disrupt the

whole industry and lead it towards a sustainable future. In short, Futurecraft is about “to do

things that have not been done before” (Adidas news site, Futurecraft, 2020).

To begin this journey, Adidas rolled out a

sustainability strategy in 2015, stating that it

will primarily focus on reducing plastic

waste in the oceans (Adidas news site, 2020).

As a result, the company produced 11 million

pairs of shoes containing recycled plastic in

2019 and commits itself to use recycled

polyester in every product by 2024

(Parley, n.d.).

The concept underlying the Futurecraft project, and the focus on sustainability, questions the

system of “throwing away”. As Adidas sees it, people throw products away –

“except there is no away”, but “landfills and incinerators and ultimately an atmosphere choked with excess carbon (…)” (Adidas news site, 2020).

Therefore, Adidas’ wants consumers to wear their shoes over and over again.

Hence, the company introduced the project of the FL shoe in 2019 – a shoe that stands for

Adidas’ willingness to act responsibly, because the shoe is “proof that we can build high-

performance running shoes that you do not have to throw away” (Adidas news site, 2020).

Instead, the shoe is supposed to be given back to Adidas to ensure a closed-loop and circular

manufacturing model, in which the raw materials are reused all over again. Normally, sneakers

have many different layers of different fabrics that are glued together to give the shoe stability.

However, breaking these layers in individual pieces to recycle them is a difficult process. This

is why the FL is entirely made of one material type and no glue (Adidas Group website, 2019).

Every single component is fully recyclable and reusable Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU)

that is processed in a specific way to fulfill the purpose it has in the respective part of the shoe

(Adidas Group website, 2019). After being given back to Adidas, the shoes are washed, grinded

into pieces, and melted into the basic material that can be used for new shoes. The optimal

recycling process would yield zero waste and a pair of sneakers that is 100% remade.

Figure 2: The Adidas Futurecraft Loop Source: Sempelmann, 2019

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After running a “Gen 1” phase in April 2019 in which Adidas gave the first generation of Loop

sneakers to 200 testers worldwide, the company is now running a beta phase before the

commercial launch in spring 2021 (Verbeck and Sahanga, 2019). It is expected that the sneaker

will be launched in two designs only and offered in a limited number.

Although most of the reactions were positive, Adidas recognized some obstacles within its take-

back program. Unfortunately, some people did not give back their shoes or were slow in doing

so. As the recycling of the shoes heavily relies on the return of the product, every piece of

material counts. Hence, Adidas encountered a whole new challenge regarding the introduction

of a circular product:

“Are people really willing to let go of a cultural norm when it comes to product purchase and behavior?” (Verbeck and Sahanga, 2019)

Translating the circular mindset to consumers is a big challenge as it implicates, they have to

change their behavior radically.

Thus, understanding consumer behavior is vital to the success of the FL. The next section will

yield insights into current consumer behavior trends and drivers and barriers to green consumer

behavior.

2.4 Consumer behavior in the footwear market

The field of consumer behavior studies why consumers choose certain products over others and

how they come to their specific selection. It is widely known that a consumer is highly

influenced by several factors when it comes to a product purchase. First of all, consumers want

their needs and desires to be fulfilled by their purchase, which implies specific individual

variables like “motivations”, “attitudes”, and “necessities” (Miranda, 2008). Furthermore, there

are sociological, as well as psychological variables influencing consumer behavior. Here,

researchers look at the social class consumers belong to, how much they value a sense of family

and the extent to which their identity is culture-driven (Levy and Rook, 1999).

Especially in fashion and footwear consumption, these individual characteristics come into

play: The primary driver for brands and consumers in the current sneaker industry is exclusivity

(Bagley, 2019). Sneakers are a way to express one’s identity (Maddeaux, 2018). Whether

people want to feel secure and accepted or attract attention – clothing is always a suitable way

to show their values and self-image (Cantista et al., 2007). That is why consumers buying

sneakers look for authenticity in their products (Bagley, 2019). To achieve this, some buyers

are even willing to pay prices up to $2,000 for a scarce pair of sneakers (Business Insider, 2019).

7

Hence, high prices do not seem to scare away consumers – they are rather attracted to take part

in this upward spiral.

However, whereas many sneaker buyers prioritize style over environmental concerns

(Brayshaw, 2019), many others direct their sneaker consumption at eco-friendly and ethically

correct produced sneakers, giving rise to “the sustainable sneaker”. Thus, consumers start

buying shoes that do not only do more for themselves but also more for the world.

2.5 Sustainable consumer behavior and attitude-behavior gap

The trend underlying this attitude is called “sustainable consumer behavior”. Here, consumers

actively change their consumer habits towards greener alternatives and select, buy, and use

products from companies that have devoted themselves to a sustainable and eco-friendly

business model (Morais et al., 2011). “Green consumers” are environmentally well-informed

and willing to adopt eco-friendly behaviors because they perceive themselves as an essential

part of environmental protection (Boztepe, 2016).

However, the transition from unsustainable consumer behavior to a sustainable one does not

show up from out of anywhere. White et al. (2019) have developed the “SHIFT Framework”,

which explains certain factors serving as a basis for a sustainable way of consumption. The

acronym is set up by “Social Influence”, “Habit Formation”, “Individual Self”, “Feelings and

Cognition”, and “Tangibility”. First, consumers engage in sustainable consumption because

they are “impacted by the presence, behaviors, and expectations of others” (White et al., 2019).

Second, sustainable consumption is built through habit formation. The process underlying the

acquisition of new sneakers – shopping – is strongly habitual and, therefore, changing the

routinized patterns of the mentioned acquisition requires the formation of new habits. Third,

the individual self plays an important role, as consumers desire to sustain a positive self-view,

which they can achieve through eco-friendly consumption (Dunning, 2007).

Feelings and cognition relate to the drivers of sustainable consumer behavior introduced later

in this work. In short: if people do not engage emotionally or cognitively with the process of

sustainable consumption, they will not adhere to it (White et al., 2019). Last but not least,

tangibility is an important factor in the switch to sustainable consumption. As the consequences

of one’s pro-environmental behavior are challenging to measure and track (Carrete et al., 2012),

many consumers refrain from sustainable consumption because they cannot grasp the impact

their decisions may have. Hence, as soon as the outcome of pro-environmental behavior is

“tangible”, consumers are willing to engage in it.

8

However, consumers’ intended favorable attitudes regarding sustainable consumption do not

necessarily translate into pro-environmental behaviors (White et al., 2019).

The resulting attitude-behavior gap is one of the biggest challenges for marketers and

companies willing to foster sustainable consumption (Johnstone & Tan, 2015).

Approximately 40% of consumers are open to the idea of purchasing eco-friendly products, but

only 4% engage in doing so (Makower, 2006). On the other hand, 66% of consumers (even

73% of millennials) worldwide state they would pay a premium for sustainable options

(Nielsen.com, 2015). Hence, although consumers seem to be aware of their environmental

impact, they often fail to put their eco-consciousness into practice and, ultimately, miss out on

sustainable behavior (Auger & Devinney, 2007).

To understand this attitude-behavior gap, a specific look into the drivers and barriers of

sustainable consumption must be taken.

2.6 Drivers of sustainable consumer behavior

The literature splits drivers of sustainable consumer behavior up into four different areas:

environmental involvement, informational utility, green trust, and cognitive behavior (Wei et

al. 2017). All of these four areas will be explained in the further course of this study to derive

hypotheses regarding consumer purchase intention for the FL in Germany.

First, eco-minded consumers feel a high degree of involvement towards environmental issues

and, therefore, commit themselves to make the world a better place and solving environmental

problems (do Paco & Reis, 2012). This high environmental involvement induces information

they receive about a sustainable product is sufficient to make a rational purchase decision. In

short, they know how to evaluate environmental data because they are cognitively involved.

Whether it be social factors like poor working conditions in third-world countries where the

majority of fashion firms produce, or ecological factors like overfilled landfills (Bianchi &

Birtwistle, 2010) – consumers are increasingly aware of the (negative) impact their decisions

have on the environment and, thus, educate and inform themselves. The second driver,

informational utility, is related to environmental involvement. It encompasses the extent to

which information from advertising (e.g., social media, TV, newspapers) and green labels on

products influence consumers and guide them towards eco-friendly purchase decisions

(Knobloch-Westerwick & Kleinman, 2012). Here, a consumer’s perception of the relevance of

an information and their engagement in sustainable consumer behavior are positively

correlated. Hence, the more sound and honest are the arguments of a green ad, the better a

9

consumer’s evaluation of a product. Thus, concerning the launch of the FL, H1 can be

formulated as follows:

H1: Providing consumers with relevant, understandable and, honest information about

the FL will increase consumer purchase intention.

“Green trust” can also be named a driver for green consumer behavior as it is a cornerstone in

the long-term loyalty of a customer with a (green) brand (Kang & Hur, 2012). After several

purchases from a brand, a consumer starts to develop certain beliefs and expectations about the

brand’s trustworthiness and environmental credibility.

Thus, if a consumer trusts a company, it will positively affect his or her green product purchase

intentions (Chen, 2010). Accordingly,

H2: Strengthening its green image will help Adidas increase consumer purchase

intention for the FL.

In respect of green trust, another driver called “social capital” must be named (Kim & Kang,

2018). It refers to a sense of community among green purchasers, as they share opinions and

beliefs which can reinforce each other’s intention to purchase sustainable products. Here, social

desirability is a key term. By purchasing green products and, thus, acting as a role model,

consumers may want to impress others or, at least, make a good impression (White et al.,2019).

Thus, the following hypotheses can be derived:

H3a: Getting the chance to act like a role model and influence other consumers’

purchase intention positively by buying the FL will increase consumer purchase

intention for the FL.

H3b: The mere fact that the FL offers the chance to make a personal statement on

sustainability will increase consumer purchase intention.

Cognitive behavior (CB) is a driver of sustainable consumer behavior. Theories revolving

around CB investigate how consumers’ beliefs translate into attitudes toward a particular

behavior and then result in the behavior’s implementation (Ozaki, 2010). Thus, CB suggests a

direct causal relation between values, beliefs and attitudes, and behavior. Accordingly, if

consumers hold strong beliefs about their positive environmental impact, they will engage in

10

pro-environmental attitudes, which lead to green purchase intentions (Chen, 2010). Following

the mentioned narrative of CB, consumers’ green purchase intention will result in green

purchase behavior – which former studies have proven to be true (Beckford et al., 2010).

Formally,

H4: By engaging with consumers’ pro-environmental values, beliefs, and attitudes,

Adidas will increase consumer purchase intention for the FL.

Last but not least, take-back programs can also function as a driver of sustainable consumer

behavior. Currently, “consumers associate recycling with considerable mental and physical

efforts” (Forlin & Scholz, 2020, p.2). However, take-back programs can also encourage

consumers to engage in recycling and learn about recycling programs (Smith, 2015). Some

consumers will likely adopt this type of recycling as it presents a convenient form to dispose of

used garments. This leads to the following hypothesis:

H5: Adidas encouraging consumers to bring back the FL will result in less hassles

concerning the recycling of it and, thus, increase consumer purchase intention for it.

2.7 Barriers to sustainable consumer behavior

Reasons for the aforementioned attitude-behavior gap can be internal, and external barriers that

hinder consumers from behaving sustainably. Internal barriers are caused by an individual’s

attitudes and values, beliefs, and knowledge, whereas external barriers are outside of a

consumer’s field of action. The latter are formed by external factors like e.g., social institutions,

economic forces, or physical structures (Baier et al., 2020).

Examples of internal barriers are lacks of (green) knowledge and environmental concerns in

consumers’ attitudes. As there are tremendous amounts of sustainability information,

consumers might feel overwhelmed by the complexity and extent of data. This is in line with

Hiller (2010), stating that consumers who are knowledgeable in sustainability-related concerns

are more likely to buy eco-friendly clothing and footwear. Hence, H6 reads as follows:

H6: Complex and incomprehensible information about the sustainability of the FL will

decrease consumer purchase intention.

11

Besides lacking knowledge, consumers might also view sustainable products as inferior

compared to “normal” products (Song & Ko, 2017). Thus:

H7: Consumers’ perception of sustainable products being inferior in terms of quality

compared to standard products will decrease consumer purchase intention for the FL.

Building upon the lack of knowledge, it can be said that consumers can also lack awareness of

and interest in environmental concerns (Juneman & Pane, 2013). Self-explanatory, this lack of

interest can result in a lack of purchase intention for sustainable products. Accordingly:

H8: A lack of interest in environmental concerns will result in a lack of interest in the

FL and, thus, lead to a decrease in consumer purchase intention for it.

Furthermore, sustainable consumption is related to high search costs in terms of time and effort

(Ellen, 1994). Customers need to search for clothing and footwear that is made sustainably, and

inform themselves how to dispose of the products in an environmentally-friendly way.

Therefore, the following hypothesis can be concluded:

H9a: If consumers have to invest extensive effort and time to find the FL, their purchase

intention will decrease.

H9b: Adidas obliging consumers to bring back the FL will decrease consumer purchase

intention for it.

External barriers, on the other hand, mostly stem from sustainable products themselves. First,

sustainable products are designed to be the alternative concept to fast fashion and, therefore,

their fashion cycles are longer while also having collections of smaller size. Hence, sustainable

products might fail to meet consumers’ demands regarding the frequency of new models and

the variation of new designs (Pookulangara & Shephard, 2013). Sustainable clothing and

footwear are often seen as not trendy and stylish enough (Harris et al., 2016) and are, thus,

neglected by consumers as it does not fit their aesthetic needs. Hence, H10:

H10: The FL, being a one-time offer in terms of design and collection, will fail to meet

consumers’ demands, leading to a decrease in consumer purchase intention.

12

Another barrier is the importance of a price-performance ratio for consumers. Many of them

value a product’s price and quality higher than ethical factors (Joergens, 2006). However,

sustainable products are unarguably pricier than unsustainable products, which restricts

consumers’ eco-friendly demand (Hustvedt, 2009) as they are simply unaffordable for them.

Therefore, the final hypothesis can be derived as:

H11: If the FL has a higher price than other sneakers, consumer purchase intention will

decrease.

3. Conceptual model

With reference to the preceding literature review, a conceptual model is proposed in Figure 1

to illustrate the different influential factors on the purchase intention for the FL.

Figure 3: Conceptual model of drivers and barriers before interviews Source: Own representation

4. Methodology and data collection So far, the first draft of the research hypotheses concerning consumer purchase intention for the

FL has been developed, which will be studied more closely in the following methodological

part of this work.

Purchase intention for sustainable products

Internal driversSocial factors

Values & beliefs

External drivers Brand image

Information

Recycling

Actual purchase of sustainable products

'attitude-behavior-gap’

Internal barriers

External barriers

Lack of interest

Time & effort

Information

Quality

Recycling

Limited collection

Price

H7

H6

H9

H8H3a+b

H1

H2

H5

New drivers as potential remedies

New barriers as potential obstacles

H4

H9b

H10

H11

- Driver - Barrier

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4.1 Research approach

The research approach of this work is two-folded. A qualitative part consisting of 14 conducted

interviews shall examine if the research-suggested attitude-behavior gap is present among

German consumers. The interviews are also supposed to reveal drivers and barriers to

sustainable consumption that were not identified in the literature review. Hence, the findings

shall lead to the modification of the formulated hypotheses and/or the creation of new

hypotheses. The final selection of hypotheses is then going to be tested in a survey among 109

German consumers to see if they are generalizable for the whole German market. Ultimately,

the identified and generalized drivers and barriers concerning the adoption of sustainable

consumer behavior are supposed to yield implications for Adidas concerning the launch of the

FL. The findings will help identify the right customer approach, and elaborate on what Adidas

should pay particular attention to in its marketing strategy.

4.2 Interviews For that matter, interviews with German consumers were conducted, to gain more insights

regarding their perceptions towards sustainable consumption, sustainable sneakers, and the FL.

4.2.1 Sample and data collection

As this work focuses on the introduction of the FL in Germany, the respondents taking part in

the interviews were all intentionally selected to be German. In total, 14 interviews were

conducted within two days (November 2nd, 2020 – November 3rd, 2020) to ensure answers free

from external influences by reports about sustainability-related issues in newspapers, TV, social

media, or the like. The age range of the participants spans from 16 to 35, with a mean age of

25.3 years, to receive varied perceptions of people who find themselves in different chapters of

their lives. The sample was also selected to fit Adidas’ target consumers in terms of age and

social class (Bhasin, 2017). Furthermore, to ensure gender-equitable results, both men and

women are evenly represented among the sample, with seven respondents of each gender.

To collect as many different opinions and perceptions of interviewees as possible, semi-

structured interviews were chosen to be the tool for the qualitative part of this work. Due to the

current COVID-19 pandemic, the interviews could not be conducted in person. Instead, the

interviews took place in online video sessions. Before conducting the interviews, the

respondents were pre-screened in terms of their sustainable mindedness. In short, they were

14

divided into two groups: “Group 1” consisting of 8 respondents was selected to have pro-

environmental attitudes, whereas “Group 2” consisting of 6 respondents was pre-screened to be

against sustainable consumption. The underlying reasoning for this separation of groups is that

the attitude-behavior gap can best be studied among consumers who already show pro-

environmental attitudes and claim to buy sustainable products. Also, interviewing consumers

who are against sustainable consumption might lead to new findings and the development of

new hypotheses that could be tested in the quantitative part following this section.

4.2.2 Interview results

When being asked about their attitudes towards sustainability in general, both groups’ answers

differed substantially. Whereas Group 1 respondents stated that they engage in pro-

environmental behavior because they do not want to play a worsening role in climate change1,

Group 2 respondents explained their lack of engagement in sustainable consumption with their

reluctance to sacrifice their standard of living2. Asking Group 1 respondents to open up about

their actual consumption of sustainable products yielded an interesting insight: Six out of eight

interviewees stated they could engage more in sustainable consumption than they currently do.

Therefore, the literature-suggested presence of an attitude-behavior gap can be accepted.

A point both groups had in common was their openness towards sustainable fashion. Although

the majority of Group 1 stated to associate a sustainable lifestyle rather with recycling plastic

and glass bottles, flying less, and watching their groceries’ consumption than with sustainable

clothes, they still found the idea of wearing circular clothes interesting. Nevertheless, it

appeared for both groups that sustainable fashion – not to speak of sustainable footwear – only

plays a minor role in pro-environmental consumption, which might induce consumers need to

be made aware of sustainable fashion more thoroughly.

Furthermore, whereas half of Group 1 stated they want to act like a role model and persuade

friends to also buy sustainable products, the other half said they rather consume sustainably for

themselves and their family. Thus, to have a social influence on others does not seem to play a

significant role in consumers’ motivation to engage in sustainable consumption.

On the other hand, every Group 1 and 2 respondent stated to be interested in bringing back

worn shoes to the respective store. Furthermore, they even stated that being offered the

possibility to return their shoes would positively impact their purchase decision, as it presents

1 The interview results of group 1 can be found in Appendix I. 2 The interview results of group 2 can be found in Appendix I.

15

an easy alternative to recycle shoes. In contrast to Group 1 interviewees, some of the Group 2

respondents answered that they would like to be incentivized to bring back their shoes – whether

in terms of a discount or something else.

Regarding product information, both groups’ respondents agreed that they value understandable

and honest information about sustainable products as very important, which is remarkable in

light of Group 2’s non-sustainability mindedness. However, this is in line with Group 2 stating

that their lack of information concerning sustainability-related issues is the cause for their lack

of pro-environmental attitudes.

The majority of Group 1 respondents perceives advertisements about sustainable products as

being highly influential in their purchase decision. In line with this, Group 1 interviewees stated

to prefer buying from brands that stand for sustainable products, no matter if they value brands

in general as important or not.

When asked specifically about sneakers, Group 1 respondents stated that factors such as

“design”, “quality”, and “price” are the most important attributes. Most of them also said that

the sustainability of a product is also an important sales argument. A few respondents stated

that they would sacrifice a certain degree of quality if the sneaker is sustainable, which is the

complete opposite of Group 2’s opinion: They stated not to be willing to pay a premium for

sustainable sneakers, or even to sacrifice some degree of quality for the sake of having a

sustainably produced shoe. Moreover, whereas two Group 2 respondents stated they perceive

sustainable products to be of less quality than ordinary products, the remaining four respondents

did not have an opinion on that due to a lack of information and experience with sustainable

products.

Furthermore, the majority of both groups stated they do not expect sneaker brands to release

more than one collection per year. Hence, the insights gained here could be valuable for Adidas,

as the FL will initially be launched as a one-time offer with a limited number of editions.

When asked explicitly about the FL, the reactions of both groups were, without exception,

positive. Group 1 respondents stated that they perceive the shoe to be “stylish, of good quality,

robust, comfortable, and sporty”. What they particularly liked about the shoe was its circular

material use and the take-back program. Group 2 perceptions went in the same direction: Here,

most respondents named the product’s circularity and its innovativeness as factors that would

drive them to buy the product. Hence, the interviews yielded different drivers than the ones

identified in the literature review, which can be traced back to the fact that the FL represents

one of the first circular product innovations.

16

In terms of barriers that would prevent interviewees from purchasing the FL, Group 2

respondents named their lack of information about sustainable sneakers in general and about

the FL in particular to negatively influence their purchase intention. Another major barrier

group 2 respondents shared is their fear of firms “greenwashing” their image. “Greenwashing”

means that a company claims to be environmentally-friendly, although actually taking actions

considered harmful to the environment (Gleim et al., 2013).

The most prominent barrier for group 1 respondents that might hinder them from buying the

FL was the price and is, therefore, not newly discovered.

Hence, the overarching driver of both groups was the FL’s innovative character in terms of its

circular use of material and the take-back program, while a lack of information,

“greenwashing”, and price could be identified as barriers.

4.3 Revision of hypotheses

In the light of the analyzed interviews, it makes sense to revise the hypotheses created in chapter

2.6 and 2.7 and implement the discovered new drivers and barriers before testing them

quantitatively in the survey. First, as most respondents stated, they perceive information about

sustainable products in advertisements as necessary, H1 will be modified as follows:

H1’: Providing consumers with relevant, understandable and honest information about

the FL through advertisements will increase consumer purchase intention for it.

Second, most Group 1 respondents shared they perceive brands in general, but mainly green

brands as important in their purchase decision. Also, a high self-identification with the brand is

favorable. Therefore, H2 and H4 will be combined and modified accordingly:

H2’: Adjusting its green image to consumers’ pro-environmental values, beliefs, and

attitudes will help Adidas to increase consumer purchase intention for the FL.

Moreover, as buying sustainable products to act as a role model does not seem to play a

significant role among consumers, both H3a and H3b will be disregarded and not tested in the

survey. The circular use of materials in the FL’ life cycle could be identified as a new driver to

purchase the sneaker. Hence, the respective hypothesis reads as follows:

17

H4: Stressing the fact that the FL will build upon a fully circular use of materials

will increase consumer purchase intention.

Finally, the inherent take-back program securing the circular use of materials was identified as

a potential driver of purchasing the FL among both Group 1 and 2 respondents. Thus, H5 will

be kept and complemented with two additional hypotheses:

H5a: The mere fact that Adidas offers a take-back program for the FL will increase

consumer purchase intention.

H5b: Incentivizing consumers with vouchers or discounts will increase their

willingness to return the FL and, thus, increase their purchase intention.

H5c: Adidas encouraging consumers to bring back the FL will result in less hassle

concerning the recycling of it and, thus, increase consumer purchase intention.

Another new driver that was found out during the interviews was the innovativeness of the FL.

Consumers seem to find it very appealing if a (sustainable) product represents an unprecedented

innovation. Therefore, this new driver is incorporated in the following hypothesis:

H12: The mere fact that the FL represents an unprecedented (sustainable) innovation

will increase consumer purchase intention.

Among the barriers, H6 will be kept and serve as the opposite of H1’:

H6: Complex and incomprehensible information about the sustainability of the FL will

decrease consumer purchase intention.

As both Group 1 and group 2 respondents do not perceive sustainable products to be of inferior

quality, H7 can be seen as redundant and will, therefore, be rejected. Because group 2

respondents admitted that their lack of interest in environmental concerns, as well as search

costs in terms of time and effort, decrease their purchase intention for sustainable products, both

hypotheses H8 and H9a&b could be identified as present barriers. They are, thus, kept for the

survey:

18

H8: A lack of interest in environmental concerns will result in a lack of interest in the

FL and, thus, lead to a decrease in consumer purchase intention for it.

H9a: If consumers have to invest extensive effort and time to find the FL their purchase

intention will decrease.

H9b: Adidas obliging consumers to bring back the FL will decrease consumer purchase

intention for it.

However, H10 will be disregarded in the survey as assuming the FL’s limited offer regarding

design and collections would decrease consumer purchase intention for was proved to be

incorrect. H11, on the other hand, will be modified according to the newly discovered price

sensitivity of consumers and reads as follows:

H11’: If the FL has a higher price compared to other sneakers, the purchase intention

of price-sensitive consumers will decrease.

The lack of education about sustainable fashion was named a huge barrier preventing Group 2

respondents from purchasing sustainable products. Hence, the respective hypothesis:

H13: A lack of education about the concept of sustainable fashion will decrease

consumer purchase intention for the FL.

Another barrier that could be discovered among the interviews was the concept of companies

“greenwashing” their brand image, thus, trying to trick consumers. The final hypothesis is thus:

H14: Consumers’ perception of Adidas greenwashing its brand image will decrease

their purchase intention for the FL.

19

4.4 Revision of conceptual model In light of the revised hypotheses, the final conceptual model can be seen in Figure 2. The new

drivers and barriers were implemented in the model and will now be tested statistically in the

conducted survey.

Figure 4: Final conceptual model of drivers and barriers after interviews Source: Own representation

4.5 Survey

To get generalizable insights into consumers’ drivers and barriers towards sustainable sneakers

in general, and the FL in particular, a survey was sent out. The following chapter describes the

design, procedure, and sample before stating the findings. Concludingly, a summary of the

study and the verification or falsification of the respective hypotheses shall round up this

chapter.

4.5.1 Design

The survey consisted of a total of 37 questions aimed to fathom out consumers’ perceptions in

a filter-wise manner from general perceptions to detailed opinions3. In this respect, after being

3 The detailed questionnaire can be found in Appendix II.

Purchase intention for sustainable products

Internal drivers

Values & beliefs

External drivers

Green brand image

Information

Circularity

Actual purchase of sustainable products

'attitude-behavior-gap’

Internal barriers

External barriers

Lack of interest

Time & effort

Information

Recycling

Price

H6

H8

H1

H2’

H4 H9b

H11’

H5a+b+c

New drivers

Take-back program

Innovativeness

New barriers

H9a

H12

Lack of education

Greenwashing

H13

H14

- Driver - Barrier

20

introduced to the topic by a short paragraph, participants were confronted with the first block

of filter questions: First, participants were asked to state whether they are from Germany, buy

sneakers, and consider themselves sustainability-minded.

The next two blocks were built upon the screening question of whether participants buy

sustainable products to examine the drivers and barriers behind sustainable consumption.

Ending the first section of the survey about sustainable consumption, participants who shared

they buy sustainable products were asked if they feel like they could engage more in sustainable

consumption, thus confirming the attitude-behavior gap. The second part of the survey was

targeted at scrutinizing participants’ perceptions regarding the following actions concerned

with and attributes of sustainable products: information search, price, innovativeness,

circularity, and brand. Here, the main goal was to find out what matters to consumers regarding

the purchase of a sustainable product in general.

Furthermore, participants were asked about their perception of the brand “Adidas”. Also,

participants had to state whether they perceive Adidas to be engaging in “greenwashing”.

Participants approving of this question had to state their specific reason for this accusation in

an open question, and if it is a factor hindering them from buying Adidas products.

The next section of the survey was designed for diving into the topics “sustainable sneaker

consumption” and “sneaker recycling”. Participants were asked to state if they own sustainable

sneakers, and how they dispose of them. Here, the goal was to grasp the participants’ general

attitudes towards recycling shoes and take-back programs.

In the last section, participants were presented a picture and brief description of the FL, the

circular concept behind the sneaker. The description was written with prudence and caution,

not to bias participants in any way and ensure impartial responses. Afterward, participants had

to state whether they are interested in purchasing the FL to make sure the hypotheses mentioned

above could be answered conscientiously. The last three questions of this block asked

specifically about drivers and barriers concerning the FL’s purchase, thus, concluding the

central part of the survey.

To categorize participants into groups regarding their gender, age, occupation, and income,

demographic questions were posed at the end of the survey.

4.5.2 Measures

The author decided to rely on a mixture of categorical (“Yes” or “No”) and metric questions

for a simplified statistical analysis in the later course of this work. For metric questions,

21

participants were asked to share their opinion regarding specific statements on a 5-Point Likert

Scale from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”.

The 5-Point Likert Scale is a well-established “psychometric response scale” (Preedy and

Watson, 2010) and, thus, fitting the purpose of this study. Furthermore, Cronbach’s alpha (Cα)

was used for scales with several items to measure their internal consistency and reliability.

Cα also allows to put different items together and create new variables needed for further

analyses.

4.5.3 Pre-test

Before sending out the survey, the think-aloud interviewing technique (Collins, 2003) was used

as a pre-test. Five fellow CLSBE students were asked to complete the survey and “think-aloud”

as they answered the questions. The author incorporated their feedback before publishing the

survey.

4.5.4 Procedure

To gain enough range and ensure a smooth conducting of the survey, the author decided to use

the software Qualtrics to send it out. Qualtrics allows participants to complete the survey on

the mobile device of their choice and, thus, does not restrict them to any specific device.

Furthermore, Qualtrics buffers a commenced survey, which allows participants to continue the

survey from where they stopped. Thus, participants are not forced to finish the survey in one

go.

The survey was published on November 19th, 2020, and closed on November 23rd, 2020. To

ensure a good reach among German consumers, a link to the survey was posted in several

student groups on Facebook and Whatsapp. In total, 141 participants could be reached during

the four days. However, 15 respondents did not complete the full survey and were removed

from the sample. The same applies to 17 respondents stating not to be German. Hence, the

overall sample consisted of 109 people.

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4.5.5 Sample

The sample consisted of 54% (N=59) male and 46% (N=50) female participants4. Respondents’

age ranged from “under 18” (6.4%), over 33.9% stating to be 18-24 years old, and 47.7% being

between 25 and 35 years old, to 11.9% stating to be over 35 years old. Hence, it can be said that

the sample is diverse in terms of their age, which supports the generalizability of the findings

following this chapter. The same holds for participants’ occupation: 62.4% of the sample stated

to be either regular students (50.5%) or working students (11.9%). Furthermore, 33.9% stated

to be employed, whereas 3.7% ticked the option “Other”. The majority of the survey being

students can also be seen in the question “income”. While 22% answered to have a monthly

income between 0€ and 500€, 33% of all respondents make a living of 500€ to 1000€ a month.

The minority of 45% splits up into a monthly income of 1000€-1500€ (15.6%), and 29.4%

earning above 1500€.

4.5.6 Descriptive results

Before testing the formulated hypotheses, a look shall be taken at the general opinions of

participants5. First of all, 96.3% of all participants buy sneakers, which shows the importance

of sneakers as an essential garment in consumers’ wardrobe. Second, it is noteworthy that out

of all respondents, 82 (75,2%; M=3.88) stated they at least “somewhat agree” to the statement

of being sustainability-minded. This is in line with 88.1% of all participants stating that they

buy sustainable products.

The most pressing driver for purchasing sustainable products is the will to save the environment

(78%). When looking at how the 88.1% (N=96) who buy sustainable products rank different

sustainable actions from 1 (most important) to 4 (least important), it can be seen that

“sustainable fashion consumption” takes the least important place with a mean of 3.24. Hence,

sustainable fashion is obviously yet to fully reach consumers’ attention.

As a concluding question concerning sustainable consumption, participants who buy

sustainable products were asked if they could engage more in sustainable consumption. An

astonishing 85.5% answered this question with at least “somewhat agree” underlined by an

overall mean of 4.16. Hence, the presence of the attitude-behavior gap could be confirmed.

4 The descriptive statistics sample can be found in Appendix III. 5 The descriptive results can be found in Appendix IV.

23

Furthermore, the 13 respondents who do not buy sustainable products were asked to state what

hinders them from doing so. Of these 13 respondents, an astonishing number of 8 (61.5%) stated

that they feel uneducated about sustainable products and would engage more in sustainable

consumption if they were educated more appropriately.

Surprisingly, only a slightly-above-majority number of 59 (54.1%) respondents stated they

search for product information before the purchase. This can be seen as contradictory to the

mentioned lack of education. Although it is not that important for consumers to receive

information about sustainable products through advertisements (M=3.35), all other factors

regarding information and its inherent search seem important. The information should be easy

to find (M=4.5), not time-consuming (M=4.42), and user-friendly (M=4.38).

Furthermore, participants were asked to state how important the price of a sustainable product

is for their purchase decision. With a mean of 3.97, the price of a sustainable product seems to

play an important role for consumers.

Regarding the innovativeness of a sustainable product, a tremendous number of 104 participants

(92.7%) stated that they are at least “somewhat interested” in sustainable innovations (M=4.49).

Moreover, 79.9% stated that a sustainable products’ innovativeness would drive them to buy it

(M=4.08).

The same applies to the circular character of a sustainable product: While 91.7% of all the

participants answered they are interested in circular products (M=4.54), even 80.7% of them

would buy a circular product because of its circularity (M=4.06).

With a mean of 3.51, the importance of “brand” in a purchase decision is not that high.

However, 74.3% of all respondents find a brand’s green image to be at least “somewhat

important” (M=3.94), with 84.4% thinking a match between one’s values and brand values is

at least “somewhat important“ (M=4.25).

Concerning Adidas, a moderate number of participants perceive the brand to be “innovative”

(35.8%) and “trustworthy” (30.3%). Surprisingly, the attribute “sustainable” seems to be the

least fitting in participants’ eyes (9.2%). Another interesting fact in this respect is that out of 96

participants who did not think of Adidas as a sustainable brand, 68 (70.8%) stated they would

be more willing to purchase from the brand if it ranked better on the attribute “sustainability”.

In line with this stands a considerable number of 45 participants (42.5%) who think Adidas

engages in greenwashing. Furthermore, a third of this sub-sample (N=15) states that their

perception of Adidas engaging in greenwashing poses a barrier that prevents them from buying

the brand’s products.

24

Another interesting finding is that 73.4% (N=80) of all participants do not own sustainable

sneakers, which means that the market is yet to be fully claimed by a big player like Adidas. In

the light of sneaker recycling, respondents seem to be interested in take-back programs (80%;

M=4.14), as well as in being offered a discount (84.4%; M=4.42). The overarching majority of

92.6% think that a take-back program is a convenient way to recycle sneakers (92.6%; M=4.53).

When being presented an image and description of the FL, 68.8% of all participants stated to

be interested in purchasing it. According to participants’ perception, the most fitting attributes

of the shoe are “innovative” (M=4.36), “sustainable” (M=4.32), and “interesting” (M=4.06).

Moreover, participants named “circularity” (57.8%), “design” (55%), “quality” (54.1%), and

“take-back program” (54.1%) as the most critical aspects that would drive them to buy the shoe.

The majority of participants who perceived the FL as “innovative”, chose the FL’s circular

character as the most innovating factor (42.2%).

Last but not least, participants had to state which factors would hinder them from buying the

FL. The most important barriers besides “design” (51.4%) were “lack of information about the

FL” (26.6%) and “lack of trust in Adidas” (22%).

In the following chapter of this study, a statistical analysis shall provide insight into how the

above mentioned drivers and barriers influence consumers’ purchase intention, thus, leading to

accepting or rejecting H1-14.

4.5.7 Statistical analysis and hypotheses testing

The following chapter presents the findings of the study. All statistics were analyzed using IBM

SPSS Statistic Version 1.0.0.1508 (64-Bit-Version). First of all, it must be mentioned that in

order to ensure a sound analysis, the hypothesis testing will be backed up by conducted cross-

tab analyses as well as BLRs6.

Beginning with the drivers’ hypotheses, it could be shown in the previous section that

information itself does not play a crucial role in consumer purchase decisions for sustainable

products. Although participants valued it as highly important that information about a

sustainable product is user-friendly, easy to find, and not time-consuming (see section 4.5.6), a

BLR with all three factors7 did not show a statistically significant effect on the purchase

6 The statistical analysis results can be found in Appendix V. 7 Q13 b, c & d from the survey.

25

intention for the FL8. Also, a Hosmer and Lemeshow Test was conducted and showed a poor

fit of the regression model represented by a non-significant ρ of 0.476.

Moreover, to see if all three factors could be combined to one overall factor called

“information”, a factor analysis was run. As the factors are all evaluated on a 5-Point Likert

Scale, a “KMO and Bartlett’s Test” (= .641) was conducted, and Cα was measured (= .777),

both fulfilling the relevant criteria9. However, in a second BLR, the newly created variable

“information” did also not have a statistically significant effect on purchase intention (ρ =

0.176).

Thus, H1’ did not find sufficient support and must, therefore, be rejected.

As a counterpart to H1’, H6 looks at information from a barrier point of view. In the mentioned

conducted regression, it can be seen that the variable “information” has a negative effect (b = -

.549) on purchase intention, meaning that the more time-consuming and non-user-friendly

information about the FL is, the less consumers are interested in purchasing the shoe - which

would support H6. However, due to the non-significance of ρ, H6 cannot be backed up with

enough statistical relevance and must, therefore, also be rejected.

As a matter of fact, H9a cannot be accepted, either. Although participants confirmed that it has

a positive influence on their purchase decision for a sustainable product, if they do not have to

invest much time to find it, the mentioned statistical analysis (ρ = 0.176) could not find enough

significant evidence to approve of H9a. Thus, H9a can be rejected.

Concerning H2’, the descriptive analysis confirmed that the majority of participants perceive

the green image of a brand as important and think that a value match between brand and

consumer enhances the purchase probability. A cross-tab analysis shows that out of 48 people

who perceived the FL’s green image as a driver to buy the shoe, 39 answered to have real

purchase intentions for it. The Pearson Chi-Square asymptotic significance supports this finding

with a value of 0.013. Another supporting fact stems from a BLR that examined all drivers’ and

barriers’10 effect on purchase intention for the FL. After all interfering variables were removed,

the regression showed a statistical significance for three drivers and two barriers. One of them

was “green image” with a ρ of 0.046. As the regression’s classification table exhibits an overall

75.2% of correct predicted cases, the results can be seen as acceptable and noteworthy.

Hence, H2’ finds sufficient statistical support and can be accepted.

8 All test statistics were conducted with a 5% significance level. A ρ of less than 5% is considered significant. 9 The KMO and Bartlett’s Test should have a value > 0.50 (IBM Knowledge Center, n.d.). Cα can be seen as acceptable if its value is > 0.7. 10 Q28 a-g and Q30 a-g from the survey.

26

Concerning the circular use of materials within the FL‘s product life cycle, the descriptive

analysis showed that participants are enthusiastic about this new concept of reprocessing used

garments. A cross-tab analysis supports this finding: of 63 participants who stated the FL’s

circular character would drive them to buy it, 50 participants confirmed to have purchase

intentions for the sneaker. The Chi Square-Test underlines this with a significance level of

0.005. Furthermore, the BLR mentioned above (see footnote 10) yielded a statistically

significant effect for “circularity” on consumer purchase intention for the FL (p = 0.013).

Thus, H4 is backed up by a cross-tab analysis, and a regression and can, therefore, be accepted.

The take-back concept found great support among participants, which could be shown in 4.5.6.

In line with this, a cross-tab analysis showed that the take-back program inherent in the FL

project has a statistically significant effect on consumer purchase intention for the shoe. Out of

59 participants who perceived the take-back offer as a driver towards the purchase of the FL,

47 stated to have real purchase intentions for the sneaker. The Chi-Square Test supports this

finding with a significant ρ of 0.008. Thus, the mere fact that Adidas offers a take-back system

increases consumer purchase intention for the FL and H5a can be accepted.

As a result, H9b – representing the counter-hypothesis to H5a – must be rejected, as the take-

back program does obviously not prevent consumers from showing purchase intention for the

FL.

However, both H5b and H5c found little statistical evidence: A new variable called “take-back”

was created11 for all variables measuring consumer interest in all aspects related to take-back

programs12. Nevertheless, a BLR measuring the effect of “take-back” on consumer purchase

intention for the FL yielded a non-statistically significant ρ of 0.202. Hence, being offered a

discount on their next purchase and the possibility of less hassle in recycling sneakers might be

viewed positively by participants but do not have a statistically significant effect on consumer

purchase intention. Therefore, H5b and H5c must be rejected.

The last driver identified in the interviews to have a potential positive influence on consumer

purchase intention for the FL is “innovativeness”. Indeed, both cross-tab analysis13 and BLR14

(see footnote 10) show a statistically significant effect of innovativeness on purchase intention.

Concludingly, it can be said that the innovative character of the FL serves as a driving factor to

increase consumer purchase intention for it. Hence, H12 can be accepted.

11 KMO and Bartletts‘ Test = 0.6 ; Cα = 0.599. 12 Q25 b-d from the survey. 13 Chi-Square Test yields a significance of 0.004. 14 BLR significance level = 0.047.

27

Concerning barriers that might hinder consumers from purchasing the FL, research suggested

that a lack of interest in sustainable products from the consumer-side poses an obstacle for

companies. However, this does not apply to participants taking part in the survey: Cross-tab

analysis yields a non-significant Pearson Chi-Square ρ of 0.935. Hence, a lack of interest in

sustainable products does not influence consumer purchase intention for the FL at all.

Accordingly, H8 must be rejected.

As it was discovered in the interviews that consumers tend to be price-sensitive when it comes

to sustainable products, participants in the survey were asked questions testing their price

sensitivity. Indeed, most participants turned out to focus mainly on the price of a sustainable

product, as could be shown in the descriptive analysis. However, a BLR including participants

who perceived the FL as expensive15 and participants interested in purchasing the sneaker16,

showed no significant effect with a ρ of 0.494. Thus, it can be said that consumers’ price

sensitivity does not have a significant impact on their purchase intention for the FL, leading to

the rejection of H11’.

Another hypothesis that failed to find sufficient statistical support was H13. As a lack of

education goes along with a lack of information, participants were asked if a lack of information

about the FL would hinder them from buying the shoe. A cross-tab analysis showed that out of

29 participants who confirmed the lack of education as a present barrier, 21 would still buy the

shoe. This result is supported by the Pearson Chi-Square asymptotic significance of 0.625,

being far away from a statistically significant range. Thus, it can be stated that a lack of

education does not significantly impact consumer purchase intention for the FL, and, therefore,

H13 must be rejected. Furthermore, the finding is in line with descriptive results showing that

information about sustainable products plays a subordinate role in consumers’ purchase

decision. Nevertheless, this finding is contradictory to the interviews, where both Group 1 and

2 highlighted the importance of information.

Finally, the interviews unveiled “greenwashing” as a considerable barrier preventing consumers

from engaging in the purchase of sustainable products. Looking at the descriptive analysis, this

“assumption” can be confirmed: 42.5% of all participants believe Adidas engages in

greenwashing its image17.To test if this accusation influences consumer purchase intention, a

cross-tab analysis with the independent variable “lack of trust in Adidas” and the dependent

variable “purchase intention for the FL” was conducted. The tables show that out of 24

15 Q26 from the survey. 16 Q27 form the survey. 17 See descriptive results in Appendix IV.

28

participants who lack trust in Adidas, a considerable number of 11 participants do not want to

purchase the FL. Furthermore, the finding is backed up by a Chi-Square Test revealing an

asymptotic significance of 0.080. As H14 is a directional hypothesis, ρ can be divided by two,

thus, leading to a statistically significant value of 0.04. The BLR (see footnote 10) supports the

discovered significance by a significance level of 0.0345 (0.69 divided by 2). The b-coefficient

of -1.098 serves as an additional explanation for the negative relationship between “lack of trust

in Adidas” and “purchase intention for the FL”. For all the mentioned reasons, H14 found

sufficient statistical evidence and can, therefore, be accepted.

4.5.8 Explorative results

In addition to the statistical tests, the author also looked at drivers and barriers from an artificial

intelligence point of view. As the BLR above (see footnote 10) had an overall prediction score

of 75.2%18 there was potential to find a model with a better fit. Hence, a “neural network

analysis” was conducted to search for non-linear relationships between drivers, barriers, and

the purchase intention for the FL19. For the neural network, a “feedforward” architecture was

chosen. The input layer included all predicting variables20 whereas the hidden layer following

the input layer contained unobservable units (here: 7). The hidden layer can be described as

some function of the predictors. Lastly, the output layer contained the dependent variable

“purchase intention for the FL” (see footnote 16) as a response. To save some time, “mini-batch”

was chosen to be the training method for the neural network. Furthermore, the system was

allowed a training-testing ratio of 7:3.

Indeed, the neural network had a better prediction score (85.7%) than the BLR (75.2%).

Moreover, the results show an overall trend that the previous chapter’s hypothesis testing was

done correctly. According to the neural network analysis, “take-back program” (NI = 75.4%),

“circularity” (NI = 70.8%), “innovativeness” (NI = 61.7%), and “green image” (NI = 51.2%)

are the drivers with the most significant influence on consumer purchase intention for the FL,

which is in line with the findings from the statistical analysis. Regarding the barriers, the neural

network shows considerable importance of “lack of trust in Adidas” (NI = 100%), supporting

the finding of the BLR. Furthermore, “lack of information” (NI = 32.5%), “lack of interest in

take-back” (NI = 35.3%), and “lack of interest in sustainable products” (NI = 48.9%) could be

18 See classification table of BLR with Q28 & Q30 as the covariates and Q27 as the dependent variable in Appendix V. 19 The neural network analysis results can be found in Appendix VI. 20 Variables from Q28 & Q30.

29

identified as insignificant factors regarding purchase intention for the FL, coherent to the

findings of the regression. However, the neural network identified “lack of interest in sneakers”

(NI = 72%) as a significant barrier, which will – in light of the findings in the statistical analysis

– be neglected for the purpose of the following discussion.

4.5.9 Summary of hypotheses In light of the statistical analysis, the research hypotheses could be either accepted or rejected.

The following tables present an overview of all hypotheses:

Table 1: Summary of drivers' hypotheses Source: Own representation

30

Table 2: Summary of barriers' hypotheses Source: Own representation

5. General discussion

This work has focused on examining the drivers and barriers of consumers towards purchasing

the soon-to-be-launched sustainable product innovation FL by Adidas. Thereby, six main

results could be found, which will be discussed in the following course of this chapter.

First of all, this work confirmed the presence of the attitude-behavior gap suggested by research.

Hence, German consumers openly admit that they could engage more in sustainable

consumption than they currently do. Therefore:

R1: The attitude-behavior gap regarding sustainable athletic footwear consumption is

a present phenomenon among German consumers.

31

In line with this, this work showed that people still do not know very much about sustainable

fashion, so participants ranked it as the least important pro-environmental action in the survey.

However, it is not the case that consumers are not interested in sustainable consumption. As the

survey showed, most consumers buy sustainable products and care about their impact on the

environment. Also, the survey demonstrated that consumers are open to change their behavior,

as they showed great interest in bringing back their old sneakers to the store for the sake of

recycling. Thus, R2 reads as follows:

R2: German consumers are open to a circular way of consumption, especially

regarding sneakers.

In light of RQ1, there must be a factor to adjust the mismatch between actual interest in

sustainable products and missing out on a full switch to sustainable consumption. Thereby, the

analysis of drivers and barriers concerning the purchase of the Adidas FL presented great

insights. This study supports findings from the “SHIFT Framework” by White et al. (2019)

introduced in chapter 2.4. Thus, the switch to sustainable consumption seems to be a more

emotional than rational decision for consumers.

As shown in the survey, consumers do not put much importance on rational information

regarding sustainable products. Although some participants feel uneducated about sustainable

products, the vast majority is still interested in purchasing the FL even if they lack information

about it. Underlining this, on both the drivers and barriers side, the most important factors are

emotional: On the drivers’ side, the overarching factors were “green brand image”,

“circularity”, “take-back program”, and “innovativeness”, while “greenwashing” was the most

important factor on the barriers’ side. Thus:

R3: Emotional factors are more important than rational factors regarding consumer

purchase intentions for sustainable product innovations like the FL.

Hence, it can be seen that there are factors to remedy the attitude-behavior gap among

consumers. Three out of the four statistically significant drivers are directly related to the FL’s

innovativeness. Thus, this work showed that the sneaker’s inherent innovativeness – be it its

circular use of materials or the take-back system – has an attractive effect on consumers.

32

For instance, being offered a take-back program seems to positively affect consumers’ purchase

intention as it represents an act of honest and impactful recycling. As many interviewees stated

that they do not engage in recycling because they perceive their impact on the environment as

marginal, the take-back program stands for an alternative that allows them to experience

recycling on a whole new level. In line with this, the FL’s circular use of materials ensured by

the take-back program grasps consumers’ attention and supports their feeling of buying a

sustainable product. Thus, a sense of “doing good” not only for the environment but also for

oneself is enhanced, which is in line with the mentioned concept of the “Individual Self” (White

et al., 2019). Overall, the driver “innovativeness” positively affects consumers as it represents

something new and unknown. When they do not have to incur losses in quality, consumers

seem to be open and enthusiastic about new products such as the FL. The innovative character

of the sneaker is a promising factor for its commercial success. It can, therefore, be stated:

R4: The FL’s innovative character inherent in its circular use of material and take-

back program is the most significant driver for consumer purchase intention.

Last but not least, this work showed that consumers’ perception of a green brand has a positive

influence on their purchase intention. Again, emotional attachment is important for consumers

as the survey showed that they prefer to buy from brands that match their values. This, in turn,

relates to the concept of “Feelings and Cognition” suggested in White et al.’s framework (2019),

which finds expression in R5:

R5: The (green) brand image of a company is a deciding factor concerning consumer

purchase intention.

In general, the brand of a product seems to play a crucial role in purchasing a sustainable

product, as the mentioned emotional relationship can also turn out to be negative. In

particular for Adidas, the latter phenomenon seems to be true. This work showed that the

brand fights an image problem among (potential) German consumers. The first

impression gained from the interviews that Adidas might engage in greenwashing could

be confirmed in the survey. Thereby, Adidas, supposedly, greenwashing its image was

explored to be the most significant barrier among German consumers regarding the

purchase of the FL:

33

R6: Adidas, supposedly, “greenwashing” its image poses a significant barrier to

German consumers’ purchase intentions for the FL.

The neural network analysis underlined this by demonstrating that a lack of trust in Adidas is a

considerable perception of consumers towards the brand. This finding is even more remarkable,

considering that Germany is the home market of Adidas.

Hence, consumers’ mistrust in Adidas regarding the brand’s engagement in sustainability-

related topics poses a real barrier for them not to buy the products. If Adidas wants to succeed

with the FL project, the brand needs to take steps towards the customer, which will be analyzed

more in-depth in chapter 7.

In conclusion, this work identified significant drivers and barriers Adidas has to focus on in its

German marketing campaign. Thus – despite some minor limitations – RQ1 could be answered.

RQ1: Which factors can remedy the attitude-behavior gap and drive German consumers to

buy the Futurecraft Loop?

6. Limitations

Some limitations result from the sample of the survey itself. First of all, the majority of

respondents were between 20 and 30 years old. The selection of respondents resulted primarily

from a limited reach of the author regarding other age groups. Being a student himself, it was

much easier for the author to reach other students, leading to a distorted sample of relatively

well-educated respondents. For a more sound understanding of consumer perceptions, future

research should target an enhanced selection of respondents of different age classes and social

classes. Furthermore, this work’s restriction to the German market only makes its implications

less generalizable for Adidas launching the FL in other countries. Hence, future studies should

aim for a more diverse sample in terms of respondents’ origin.

Another set of limitations stems from the set-up of the survey. As the survey was sent out via

the online platform “Qualtrics”, its reach was restricted to people owning a mobile device.

Furthermore, such online surveys can sometimes be a bit cumbersome because respondents

might need to move a slider according to their perception. The impeded handling of sliders, for

instance, can result in false information in the end.

34

Thus, future research should rely on different kinds of survey methods (digital or analog) to

ensure user-friendly surveys.

Moreover, respondents were asked to state their perception about the FL’s price, although they

were not given any price information. The reason for this was to see if their perception of the

price would represent a barrier hindering them from buying the sneaker.

Concerning the statistical analysis, some limitations must be named, as well. First, the barrier

“design of the FL” was included in the binary logistic regression serving to test hypotheses,

although it was not part of the hypotheses’ final set. Nevertheless, the author decided to include

it in order to see if it would have an impact on consumer purchase intention. By including the

barrier in the regression analysis, the result is somehow biased. Another limitation about the

conducted regressions is that for all of them, the “Hosmer & Lemeshow Goodness of Fit Test”

was not statistically significant. Hence, the regressions did not entirely fit the model, which was

ignored for this study’s purpose and a consistent narrative. The latter limitation stems from a

tiny fault in the set-up of the question about the purchase intention for the FL – it would have

been better to measure purchase intention on a 5-Point Likert Scale (metric) rather than a

nominal scale (“Yes” or “No”) for the sake of a more precise statistical analysis.

7. Future research and implications As this work provided not only great insights into the drivers and barriers regarding the

purchase of the FL, but also which measures Adidas as a brand should undertake, implications

both for future research and Adidas will be described in the following course of this work.

7.1 Future research

In the literature review of this work, drivers of sustainable consumer behavior were found to

have their roots in “environmental involvement”, “informational utility”, “green trust”, and

“cognitive behavior” (Wei et al. 2017). Especially “green trust” was examined to positively

influence consumer purchase intention, as an ongoing positive relationship between a consumer

and a (green) brand enhances customer loyalty while also strengthening the brand’s image.

However, this work found out that “green trust” is hard to establish for a big brand like Adidas

and might turn out to be a barrier rather than a driver. Many consumers seem to be biased when

it comes to the environmental engagement of big players in the fashion industry – prejudice

outweighs trust. Thus, the author suggests that future research should explore the measures big

35

companies in the fashion industry have to undertake to erase distrust from the consumer side.

Thereby, psychological consumer studies could help to examine the causes of lousy brand

perceptions.

On the other hand, the FL’s innovativeness was found to be a significant driver of sustainable

consumption. This finding is in line with the results from a survey by an innovative research

firm called “Lab42”, from 2015. They conducted 1000 online interviews between April 5, 2015,

and April 9, 2015. According to the study, 84% of respondents answered,

“it is somewhat or very important [for them] that the company they buy from is innovative” (Customerthink.com, 2015).

Furthermore, Englis and Philipps (2013) looked at innovativeness from a consumer point-of-

view. They found out that consumers’ curiosity for new ideas – their innovativeness – can serve

as a mediator to the attitude-behavior gap.

Thus, it is highly likely that innovativeness works as a remedy to the gap when it is being

expressed by the consumer and also when it is an inherent characteristic of a sustainable

product. Hence, the role of innovativeness should be further explored as it could represent an

essential factor to drive consumers towards increased sustainable consumption.

Concluding from the above, this work serves as a motivation and starting point for future

research to deal more in-depth with drivers and barriers regarding the purchase of sustainable

product innovations.

7.2 Implications for Adidas

As touched upon in the discussion, this work brought several implications for Adidas to light.

Being a listed company, Adidas must act in its shareholders’ best interest (Eisenhardt, 1989).

Therefore, the main goal is to sustain high growth rates and earn profits. In order to fulfill both

goals, the company depends on consumers to buy their products. Inevitable for a sane

relationship with customers is a good brand image that drives customers to stay loyal to the

brand and continue to purchase from it. However, this study found out that Adidas faces much

distrust from the consumer side. Not a few participants in the survey stated to believe that

Adidas is engaging in greenwashing and is, thus, misleading consumers. A look at Adidas’

social media reveals that the company has already identified greenwashing as an obstacle and

tries to tackle the topic (Adidas, Instagram page, 2019). In this regard, the author suggests that

Adidas should make its sustainable activities more transparent to the public. The company has

already taken the first steps in this direction by frequently informing consumers about the

36

current status of projects like “FL” or “Parley”. However, Adidas can only win back lost trust

by proving people who accuse the brand of cheating on consumers wrong. The brand already

is on a mission to increase its production and sustainability transparency successively: Adidas

is among the highest ranked brands in the annually released fashion transparency index

(Fashion Transparency Index 2020, 2020). However, with a transparency score of 69% there is

still potential to become more transparent. Thereby, a broad (sustainable) image campaign

could help to not only restore lost trust in the brand but also reach out to consumers who feel

no connection to the brand yet.

In terms of the upcoming launch of the FL in Spring 2021, the author suggests a launch

campaign and customer approach based on this study’s findings for the German market.

According to this study, Adidas might be more successful if it highlights the shoe’s innovative

character in its marketing campaign for Germany. The sneaker, with its circular use of material

and take-back program, must be presented in an emotional way to catch consumers’ attention.

As this work found out, providing consumers with much information about the shoe’s

sustainability might be counterproductive. Instead, an image-driven campaign where the

sneaker’s innovativeness, and uniqueness can be understood at first glance, should be

promising. Thereby, launching the campaign on its social media channels and web appearance

might have a tremendous impact for Adidas because participants in the survey chose them to

be the most important information channels.

RQ2: Which factors should Adidas highlight in its marketing campaign for the Futurecraft

Loop to increase consumer purchase intention in Germany?

In conclusion, the implications for Adidas concerning the FL’s launch campaign could be

presented and, thus, RQ2 could be answered appropriately.

8. Conclusion

Sustainable fashion consumption – a pro-environmental action that is yet to reach consumers’

purchase decisions to an extent where it would have a considerable impact on planet earth’s

well-being. This study examined the drivers and barriers of German consumers regarding the

purchase of a sustainable product innovation, the Adidas Futurecraft Loop. With its inherent

take-back program and its circular use of materials, the sneaker is a prime example for

37

sustainable product innovations and, therefore, a perfect opportunity to examine what key

industry players should focus on if they want their sustainable garments to leap.

After the formulation of hypotheses based on an extensive literature research, interviews

(N=14) and a survey (N=109) were conducted to gain insights into the perceptions of German

consumers.

As a result of both qualitative and quantitative analyses, this work resulted in the revelation of

six main results. Briefly, it could be found that the research-suggested attitude-behavior gap is

present among German consumers (R1), although the latter are open to new ways of sustainable

or even circular consumption (R2). Furthermore, the study helped understand that the driving

factors behind sustainable consumption are rather emotional than rational (R3). It could also be

revealed that the FL’s innovative character can serve as a remedy to the examined attitude-

behavior gap (R4), thus, answering RQ1. However, the study also presented that German

consumers perception of a brand poses a deciding factor concerning their willingness to buy a

sustainable product innovation (R5). More concisely, consumers’ perception of Adidas

greenwashing its image was found as a significant barrier to their purchase intention (R6).

Therefore, this work proposed concrete implications for Adidas concerning the FL’s launch

campaign – thus, answering RQ2 – while also contributing to current literature regarding new

possibilities of research. Here, the impact of a product’s innovativeness on consumer purchase

intention for sustainable products offers a promising field of research with regard to remedies

to the attitude-behavior gap.

38

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Appendix

A I Interview results 46

A II Survey questionnaire 49

A III Descriptive statistics sample 54

A IV Descriptive results 55

A V Statistical analysis 63

A VI Neural network analysis 68

46

Appendix I – Interview results

Group 1 (sustainability-minded) ; N=8

Answers when being asked about…:

• … Reasons for pro-environmental behavior:

- Climate change

- Future generations

- Own health and well-being

• … Popular sustainable actions:

- Recycling

- Less flying

- Sustainable groceries shopping

• … Sustainable fashion:

- Interesting

- “Open for it”

- “Should educate myself more about it”

• … Important factors concerning sustainable products:

- Information about sustainable products is important

- The brand of a sustainable product plays an important role

- A take-back program would be an appealing way to recycle sustainable products

• … Important factors concerning sustainable sneakers:

- Design

- Price

- Quality

- Sustainability

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• … Perception of the FL:

- Stylish

- Good quality

- Robust

- Comfortable

- Sporty

• … Drivers regarding the purchase of the FL:

- Circular use of materials

- Take-back program

• … Barriers regarding the purchase of the FL:

- Price

Group 2 (non-sustainability minded) ; N=6

Answers when being asked about…:

• … Reasons against sustainable consumption:

- Preserving status quo

- No will to sacrifice standard of living

• … Sustainable fashion:

- “I did not know sustainable fashion was something that big.”

- “As long as it’s at least the same quality as current fashion products, I would buy it.”

- “I presume the price will be a lot higher than normal fashion products.”

• … Take-back programs:

- Curious

- “I would like to be incentivized to bring my old sneakers back.”

- “Receiving a discount on my next purchase would be an interesting option.”

48

• … Important factors concerning sustainable products:

- “If I had to buy a sustainable product, information about it would be key for me.”

- Quality

- Appropriate price

• … Perception of the FL:

- Stylish

- Sportive

• … Drivers regarding the purchase of the FL:

- Circularity (“I like the circular idea behind this sneaker which could be a factor for me

to buy it.”)

- Innovativeness (“I like that the FL is an unprecedented innovation that might

revolutionize the industry.”)

• … Barriers regarding the purchase of the FL:

- Lack of education about sustainable products

- Greenwashing from Adidas

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Appendix II – Survey questionnaire

Q1 – Do you live in Germany? ¨ Yes ¨ No Q2 – Do you buy sneakers? ¨ Yes ¨ No Q3 – How much do you agree with the statements below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

1) I buy sneakers to exercise.

2) I buy sneakers to look good.

3) I buy sneakers to follow fashion trends.

4) I buy sneakers to feel comfortable.

5) I buy sneakers, because they are affordable.

6) I buy sneakers, because of a specific brand.

Q4 – How much do you agree with the statement below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

1) I consider myself a sustainability-minded person.

Q5 – Do you buy sustainable products?

¨ Yes ¨ No Q6 – What motivates you to buy sustainable products? (You may select more than one option) ¨ I want to save the environment. ¨ I want to help people in need. ¨ I want to be seen as a role model. ¨ I want to have a clean conscience. ¨ I want to live healthy. ¨ Other: _____ Q7 – Please rank the following sustainable actions according to your personal opinion. (1 = most important ; 4 = least important) ¨ Recycling of waste ¨ Less flying ¨ Sustainable food consumption ¨ Sustainable clothes consumption Q8 – Why do you refrain from buying sustainable products? (You may select more than one option) ¨ I’m not interested in sustainability at all. ¨ I feel uneducated about sustainable products. ¨ I think sustainable products have poor quality. ¨ I think sustainable products are too expensive. ¨ I don’t believe sustainable products have the promised impact on the environment. ¨ Other: _____ Q9 – Would you engage more in sustainable consumption if you were educated about it properly? ¨ Yes ¨ No

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Q10 – How much do you agree with the statement below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

1) I feel like I could engage more in sustainable consumption. Q11 – Do you search for information about a sustainable product prior to your purchase? ¨ Yes ¨ No Q12 – Which kind of channel do you perceive as important to receive information about a sustainable product? (You may select more than one option) ¨ TV ¨ Internet ¨ Social media ¨ Friends & Family ¨ Producer ¨ Other: ____ Q13 – How much do you agree with the following statements about information regarding sustainable products? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

1) It is important for me to get information from advertisements.

2) It is important for me that the information is user-friendly and understandable.

3) It is important for me that the information is easy to find.

4) It is important for me that the information search is stress-free and not time-consuming.

Q14 – How much do you agree with the statements below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

1) The price of a sustainable product is important for my purchase decision.

2) I perceive sustainable products to be more expensive than ‘normal’ products.

3) If a sustainable product exceeds my price expectation by far, I will not buy it.

Q15 – How much do you agree with the statements below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

1) I am interest in sustainable innovations.

2) The innovativeness of a sustainable product would drive me to buy the product.

Q16 – A circular economy is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. How much do you agree with the following statements regarding circular products? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

1) I like the idea behind circular products.

2) The circular character of a product would drive me to buy it.

Q17 – How much do you agree with the statements below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

1) The brand of a sustainable product plays a role in my purchase decision.

2) If a brand stands for sustainable products, I am more likely to buy from it.

3) I a brand’s values match my own personal values, I am more likely to buy from it.

Q18 – Do you know the brand ‘Adidas’?

¨ Yes ¨ No

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Q19 – Which of the following attribute(s) describe(s) the brand Adidas best in your opinion? (You may select more than one option)

¨ Trustworthy ¨ High quality ¨ Sustainable ¨ Modern ¨ Innovative ¨ Other: ____ Q20 – Would you be more willing to buy from Adidas if it ranked better on the attribute ‘sustainability’? ¨ Yes ¨ No Q21 – Do you perceive Adidas to be a brand that claims to engage in sustainability without actually doing so? ¨ Yes ¨ No Q22a – Why do you believe Adidas is a brand that claims to engage in sustainability without actually doing so? Type your answer: ____________ Q22b – Does Adidas’ lack of engagement in sustainability hinder you from buying its products? ¨ Yes ¨ No Q23 – Do you own sustainable sneakers? ¨ Yes ¨ No Q24 – From which brand(s) do you own sustainable sneakers? (You may select more than one option) ¨ Adidas ¨ Nike ¨ Puma ¨ Asics ¨ Reebok ¨ Other: ____ Q25 – How much do you agree with the statements below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

1) I would like to get rid of old sneakers that I don’t want to wear anymore.

2) I would be interested in bringing back my old sneakers to the respective brand's store for the sake of recycling.

3) I would be interested in being offered a discount on my next purchase as a service in return for bringing back my old sneakers to the brand's store.

4) I think such a take-back program would be a convenient way to recycle old sneakers.

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Q26 – In Spring 2021, Adidas is going to launch the ‘Futurecraft Loop’ – a sneaker that consists of only one material that is 100% recyclable. It is expected to become the next disrupting innovation in the industry as the shoe is fully made to be remade. If a customer doesn’t want the shoe anymore, Adidas takes it back to recycle it into a new Futurecraft Loop. Hence, the sneaker is the first of its kind to ensure a circular use of materials. Currently, the shoe is being tested in its beta phase by chosen testimonials all around the globe, before launching commercially worldwide.

Please rate the sneaker on the following attributes according to your perception. (1 = not at all ; 5 = extremely)

1) High quality 2) Sustainable 3) Expensive 4) Interesting 5) Innovative

Q27 – Would you consider to buy the sneaker? ¨ Yes ¨ No Q28 – Which factors would drive you to buy this sneaker? (You may select more than one option) ¨ Innovativeness ¨ Circularity ¨ Take-back program ¨ Green image ¨ Design ¨ Quality ¨ Prestige ¨ Other: _____ Q29 – Which factor(s) do you perceive as innovative about the Futurecraft Loop? (You may select more than one option) ¨ Only one material is used in the shoe ¨ Circular use of material ¨ Take-back program Q30 – Which factors would hinder you from buying this sneaker? (You may select more than one option) ¨ Lack of interest in sneakers ¨ Lack of interest in sustainable products ¨ Lack of information about the sneaker ¨ Lack of interest in take-back program ¨ Lack of trust in Adidas ¨ Quality ¨ Design ¨ Other: _____

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Q31 – What is your gender? ¨ Male ¨ Female ¨ Other ¨ Prefer not to say Q32 – How old are you? ¨ under 18 ¨ 18 - 24 ¨ 25- 35 ¨ over 35 Q33 – What is your current occupation? ¨ Student ¨ Working student ¨ Employed ¨ Unemployed ¨ Other Q34 – How much money do you have available per month? ¨ 0 – 500€ ¨ 500 – 1000€ ¨ 1000 – 1500€ ¨ above 1500€

54

Appendix III – Descriptive statistics sample

1. Gender

2. Age

3. Occupation

4. Income available per month

55

Appendix IV – Descriptive results

Question 2 - Do you buy sneakers?

Question 3 - How much do you agree with the statement below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

Question 4 - How much do you agree with the statement below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

Question 5 - Do you buy sustainable products?

Question 6 - What motivates you to buy sustainable products? (You may select more than one option)

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Question 7 - Please rank the following sustainable actions according to your personal opinion. (1 = most important ; 4 = least important)

Question 8 - Why do you refrain from buying sustainable products? (You may select more than one option)

Question 9 - Would you engage more in sustainable consumption if you were educated about it properly?

Question 10 - How much do you agree with the statement below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

57

Question 11 - Do you search for information about a sustainable product prior to your purchase?

Question 12 - Which kind of channel do you perceive as important to receive information about a sustainable product? (You may select more than one option)

Question 13 - How much do you agree with the following statements about information regarding sustainable products? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

Question 14 - How much do you agree with the statements below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

58

Question 15 - How much do you agree with the statements below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

Question 16 - A circular economy is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. How much do you agree with the following statements regarding circular products? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

Question 17 - How much do you agree with the statements below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

59

Question 18 – Do you know the brand “Adidas”?

Question 19 - Which of the following attribute(s) describe(s) the brand Adidas best in your opinion? (You may select more than one option)

Question 20 - Would you be more willing to buy from Adidas if it ranked better on the attribute ‘sustainability’?

Question 21- Do you perceive Adidas to be a brand that claims to engage in sustainability without actually doing so?

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Question 22 b - Does Adidas’ lack of engagement in sustainability hinder you from buying its products?

Question 23 - Do you own sustainable sneakers?

Question 24 - From which brand(s) do you own sustainable sneakers?

Question 25 - How much do you agree with the statements below? (1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree)

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Question 26 - Please rate the sneaker on the following attributes according to your perception. (1 = not at all ; 5 = extremely)

Question 27 - Would you consider to buy the sneaker?

Question 28 - Which factors would drive you to buy this sneaker? (You may select more than one option)

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Question 29 - Which factor(s) do you perceive as innovative about the Futurecraft Loop? (You may select more than one option)

Question 30 - Which factors would hinder you from buying this sneaker? (You may select more than one option)

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Appendix V – Statistical analysis Hypotheses H1’, H6 & H9a:

• BLR with Q13 and Q27; information should be user-friendly, easy to find, and not time-consuming

• BLR Q13 (covariate) x Q27 (dependent variable)

• Q13 b, c and d combined to factor ‘information’

• BLR ‘information’(covariate) x Q 27 (dependent variable)

Hypothesis H2’:

• Crosstab Q28d x Q27

• BLR Q28 & Q30 (covariates) x Q27 (dependent variable)

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Hypothesis H4:

• Cross-tab Q28b x Q27

• BLR Q28 & Q30 (covariates) x Q27 (dependent variable)

65

Hypotheses H5a & H9b:

• Cross-tab Q28c x Q27

Hypotheses H5b & H5c:

• Q25 b, c and d combined to factor ‘take-back’

• BLR ‘take-back’ (covariate) x Q27 (dependent variable)

Hypothesis H12:

• Cross-tab Q28a x Q27

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• BLR Q28 & Q30 (covariates) x Q27 (dependent variable)

Hypothesis H8:

• Cross-tab Q30b x Q27

Hypothesis H11’:

• BLR Q26c (covariate) x Q27 (dependent variable)

Hypothesis H13:

• Cross-tab Q30c x Q27

67

Hypothesis H14:

• Cross-tab Q303 x Q27

• BLR Q28 & Q30 (covariates) x Q27 (dependent variable)

68

Appendix VI – Neural network analysis

• Case processing summary

• Network information

69

• Model summary and classification table

• Independent variable importance and normalized importance