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Minimizing the young consumers' attitude-behaviour gap in green purchasing

Erve, S.A. van 't (2013) Minimizing the young consumers' attitude-behaviour gap in green purchasing.

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Abstract:Aim: Although consumers seem to attach great importance to sustainability and even demand companies to produce their products in an environmental friendly way, consumers’ green purchasing behaviour lags far behind: an attitude-behaviour gap exists. In addition, young consumers are the ones that could and should make the difference in green purchasing behaviour in the future. The present study investigates how the attitude-behaviour gap among young consumers can be minimized. Methods: Two studies were conducted. By conduction focus group discussions (N=27), in study A is a deeper understanding of young consumers’ attitude-behaviour relation and possible explaining factors thereof has been gained. In study B, a questionnaire (N=267) is used as a method to test 17 factors on their influence on the attitude-behaviour relation, measured by three types of green attitudes and three measures of green purchasing behaviour. Results: Results show that an attitude-behaviour gap only exists between the attitude towards sustainability and green purchasing behaviour, but not when it concerns the attitude towards green products and the attitude towards purchasing green products. The factors which positively influence the attitude-behaviour relation are: consumer awareness, receiving health benefits, willingness to pay price premium, subjective norm, perceived consumer effectiveness, perceived motivation of the organization, availability of products, willingness to spend the shopping time on purchasing green products and receiving local community benefits. The perceived price of green products negatively influences the attitude-behaviour relation. Conclusion: The present study contributes to the understanding of the attitude-behaviour relation in young consumers’ green purchasing behaviour and shows that this relation is complex. However, the attitude-behaviour relation can be strengthened by communication efforts. Practical implications and future research suggestions are discussed.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:05 communication studies
Programme:Communication Studies MSc (60713)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/63094
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