Consumer Behaviour Project Submission 2

Group 8
(Kush Ghai PGP32052, Nitika Bhandari -PGP32066 , Shikhar Kohli PGP32117,
Meenakshi Khemani PGP32221, Honi Joshi PGP32226)

Environmental Concern
Environmental concern refers to a general attitude or value orientation toward protecting
the environment (Ajzen, 1989; Minton & Rose, 1997; Takala, 1991). According to Schwartz
(1977), concerns about specific environmental issues come from an awareness of the
harmful consequences of environmental problems from the perspective of a certain value
orientation (Schultz, 2001), which may be tied to self-interest, anthropocentric altruism, or
ecocentrism (Stern, 1992). That is, attitudes toward the environment are based on the
relative importance that people place on self, other people, or the biosphere (Schultz, 2001;
Stern & Dietz, 1994)

A considerable amount of research has been done on environmental concern. For example,
Jones and Dunlap (1992) and Van Liere and Dunlap (1980) have examined the relationship
between environmental concern and demographic factors such as age, income, and
education, and Fransson and Garling (1999) and Schultz (2001) have investigated the
structure and measurement of environmental concern. Importantly, previous studies
indicate that environmental concern is a determinant of eco-friendly behaviors such as
recycling and choosing products based on environmentally friendly attributes (Ellen, Wiener,
& Cobb-Walgren, 1991; Minton & Rose, 1997; Ohtomo & Hirose, 2007; Schwepker &
Cornwell, 1991). Many consumers are so committed to the environment that they are willing
to participate in environmental activities and pay a premium for environmental products
(Kangun & Polonsky, 1995; Ottman, 1995; Polonsky, Calson, & Kangun, 1997)

Environmental Awareness
Environmental awareness refers to the individuals perception of the impact of human

behavior on the environment (Kollmuss and Agyeman 2002). Some researchers have found

a positive association between the individuals degree of awareness of environmental problems

and the environmental behavior of the adults and children in their samples (e.g., Barr 2003;

Grob 1995; Strong 1998) Thus, an individuals awareness of environmental problems might

act as a first step, giving rise to various forms of environmentally sensitive behavior including

green purchase behavior. One type of environmentally conscious behavior is environmental

consumerism (green buying) purchasing and consuming products that are benign towards the environment

Some examples could be reusable or recyclable packaging products, energy efficient light bulbs and so on.
Environmental Awareness & Purchase Behavior

General favourable environmental viewpoints may not necessarily translate into purchase behavior.

Studies have shown that the most important factors influencing or shaping up a consumers pro

environment behaviour is the consumers belief system. Consumers with pro environmental beliefs

are more likely to buy products because of their environmental claims, consider safety to the environment

when making the purchase decision. In the context of green purchasing, emotional involvement has

been found to be a major determinant of a decision to buy organic food (Grunert 1993).

Specifically, studies in the environmental research field focused on examining how individuals

environment related perception, cognition, and emotion are associated with environmental

behavior (Kollmuss and Agyeman 2002). The green purchase behavior of adolescents is

conceptualized as a criterion that might be facilitated by two types of factors: individual (local

environmental awareness, local environmental involvement, and concrete environmental

knowledge) and contextual factors (media exposure to environmental messages, parental

influence, and peer influence).

Arbuthnott (2009) argues that even change of attitudes and values is insufficient in altering

behaviour (although this change is necessary for action). In addition to attitudes, several f

actors influence behaviour: socio-cultural factors like social norms (Ajzen, 1985; Widegren, 1998),

group identity (Bonaiuto Breakwell Cano 1996), and interpersonal relationships (JAEGER,

C. Drrenberger Kastenholz Truffer 1993); contextual support (Stern, 2000; Arbuthnott, 2009);

habitual behaviour (Kollmuss, A. and Agyeman, 2002; Arbuthnott, 2009). The impact of

situational factors like economic constraints, social pressure, opportunity to select between

various actions, established old traditions, the sacrifice required by the behaviour, lack of

infrastructure (Hines Hungerford Tomera, 1986) are also significant: Fliegenschnee and
Schelakowsky (1998) claim that 80% of motives influencing environmental awareness or the

opposite can be traced back to situational or other internal factors

Western-based studies have shown that an individuals environmental perception, cognition, and

emotion are positively associated with environmental behavior (Barr 2003;K. K. W. Chan 1998; Schultz

et al. 2004). One of the aims of this study is to examine whether local environmental awareness,concrete

environmental knowledge, and local environmental involvement representing environmental

perception, cognition, and emotion respectively follow a similar pattern with respect to the green

purchase behavior Indian students as they do in samples used for Western studies

According to the consumer socialization theory (John 1999), which examines how children

become consumers at different developmental stages, the mass media (Moschis 1987; OGuinn

and Shrum 1997), parents (Moschis 1987; Shim 1996), and peers (Dotson and Hyatt 2000; Moschis 1987)

are the three primary socializing agents at the adolescent stage.

Indian Consumers

The differences between individualist and collectivist cultures is crucial for understanding

consumers (Maheswaran and Shavitt 2000) and how individuals perceive themselves with

reference to groups (Shkodriani and Gibbons 1995). Batra and colleagues (2000) suggest that

Indian consumers purchase and consumption behavior is significantly different from other

cultures, and national cultural values have an impact on prioritizing consumer needs (Askegaard

and Kjeldgaard 2002; Wiedmaa, Hennigs and Siebels 2007; Yau 1994). Sociocultural factors

(Shivani, Mukherjee, and Sharan 2006) and national culture (Jaishankar 1998) influence the

personality and behavior of Indian consumers

Decision-making styles of Adolescents

The purpose of the study Consumer decision-making styles of Indian adolescents by Arpita
Srivastava is to examine the various decision-making styles of adolescents in India with
respect to the shopping behaviors. Six decision-making styles on the price scale (Price
Consciousness, Brand Consciousness, Fashion Consciousness, Hedonistic Orientation,
Habitual Orientation, and Impulse Driven) have been tested. Five more styles have emerged
which are exclusive to Indian customers - Reference Group Orientation, Convenience
Seeking, Bargain Seeking, Socially Desirable, and Information Seeking. These styles once
identified can be used to influence the purchase decision and predict the chances of success
for a product. Rashmi Singh and J.K. Nayak aim to establish a link between teenager-peer
znteraction and family purchase decision-making process based on a study of 230 Indian
teenagers influence in the familys purchase decision making in the purchase of electronic
items. The results are captured in the paper Peer Interaction and Its Influence on Family
Purchase Decision: A Study among Indian Teenagers. As per the study, the peers act as
influencers. The teenagers have a major influence in the initiation and information search
stage but have relatively lower influence on the final decision. This means that products that
are intended to be used by parents must also be targeted to their children, specially the
teenagers. This can be extended to the ecofriendly products as well.

Consumption pattern of Indian Youth

The paper Uncovering retail shopping motives of Indian youth by Pavleen Kaur and
Raghbir Singh is based on research conducted on a sample of 115 students to understand the
consumption pattern and motives that drive young people to shop in departmental stores or
malls. The results show that youngsters shop not from a utilitarian perspective, but from a
hedonic perspective. The young customers also serve the role of information seeker. This
result can be used to understand the various dimensions of motivators for young Indians,
which will help to understand how a certain mix of factors (sensory stimulants, economic
criteria, etc.) can lead to a specific shopping behavior, in our case environmental friendly
shopping behavior. In the research dialogue The unconscious consumer: Effects of
environment on consumer behavior, the authors talk about factors that affect consumer
choice. This article takes the example of a shopping cart with 26 different products to explain
various external elements that eventually lead to the purchase decision. Taking the traditional
perspective first, the authors explain how consumer choice is rooted in cognitive psychology
and involvement (conscious information processing). Diving deeper into the decision-
making, the article talks about the perception behavior link and automatic goal perception
that not only influences the grocery shopping behavior but also has a wider application to
understand human behavior. This could help us understand how subtle changes in the external
environment can influence the purchase of more eco-friendly products unconsciously,
especially among young consumers.
Perceived Environment Friendliness

In the paper Effect of perceived brand environment-friendliness on Indian consumer attitude

and purchase intention: An integrated model, Plavini Punyatoya conducts a survey of 223
Indians to study the effect of perceived brand environment-friendliness on brand trust and
perceived brand value and the subsequent effect on consumers environment friendly brand
attitude and environment friendly brand purchase intention. The results show that brand trust
and perceived brand value have a positive impact on the perceived brand environment-
friendliness. This leads to a positive attitude towards the brand and a higher intention to
purchase the brand. These insights about environmental friendly brand evaluations can help
marketers to develop a more focused strategy to influence the Indian consumers behaviors.
The study Does green fashion retailing make consumer more eco-friendly? uses the
persuasion theory to establish a positive relation between eco-friendly retailing activities and
green consciousness and behavior of consumers. It is revealed that the more favorable are the
consumers perception of private brands environment friendly products and campaign
activities, more green are their choices. This relation becomes stronger in the low marketing
communication involvement group. It focuses more on how to use the retail mix, which
directly affects consumers eco-friendly consciousness, rather than environmental policies
such as carbon dioxide emissions and waste disposal. It also emphasizes that the role of
retailers is not merely that of sellers, but a social role of a gatekeeper. The explorative study
of Green purchasing behavior of young Indian consumers by S.M. Fatah Uddin and
Mohammed Naved Khan explores the psychological factors that affect the green purchasing
behavior of young Indian consumers. This study outlines five underlying factors that
influence the consumer behavior. The factors are environmental attitude, environmental
consciousness, green purchasing behavior, environmental involvement and perceived
effectiveness of environmental behavior. Socializing agents can be used to promote
environmental consciousness in school and college students as they seek to occupy an
enhanced level of awareness about consumerism when with peers or family. In the paper
Components of Ecological behavior and consumer attitude towards sustainable green
environment, Sankhajit Dutta focuses on the environmental attitudes of citizens of Kolkata
and uses it to describe the Direct Effect Model as an advanced marketing tool to analyze
consumer behavior. The behavior of people with a high degree of affect about the
environment is tested with respect to three parameters stronger environmental attitude,
stronger ecological behavior and stronger ecological reaction.

The paper, Consumer Behaviour and Lifestyle patterns of Hungarian Students with regard to
Environmental Awareness by Szernyi. Zsuzsanna Marjain, gnes. Zska, Anna. Szchy;
Society and Economy; April 2011 outlines the lifestyle pattern and consumer behavior of
Hungarian university and college students. Through surveys, results are extracted and used
to segment consumers into student clusters based on their consumer behavior,
environmental activism and pro-environmental everyday habits.
Two extreme clusters have been identified the environmental activists and the indifferent
group.
A third cluster, a group that considers product features, energy consumption and the
behavior of producers is also identified.
The paper can help us understand how students belonging to different clusters make
purchase decisions. For example, the activists generally tend to exhibit positive results on
environmental awareness during consumption whereas the indifferent group consistently
does nothing for the sake of protecting the environment.
(Environmental activists, indifferent groups)

The paper, Product Positioning And Consumer Attitude Towards Eco-Friendly Labeling and
Advertisement: An Analytical Study by Purohit. H.C.,Journal of Management Research seeks
to understand the impact of green labelling and advertisements on the buying behavior of
consumers. The objectives of the study are :
To study the attitude of university students towards the advertisements of green
products
To analyze the role of advertisement in the buying behavior of individuals
To study the perceived environmental behavior in the form of eco-friendly product
positioning and labelling
A positive attitude towards print as well as television advertisement of green products is
reported and this can be very helpful in the prediction of consumer buying intention of
green products. Also, this can help understand how eco-friendly product positioning and
labelling can be helpful in buying behavior of the consumers.
(green labelling, green advertising, eco-friendly product positioning)

The purpose of the paper, Predictors of young consumer's green purchase behaviour by
Joshi. Yatish,Rahman. Zillur is to determine the factors that predict green purchase behavior
of young educated consumers in Delhi.
The findings of the study are based on a survey conducted on 1502 young educated
consumers and indicate that the purchase behavior of these consumers is in the following
descending order: social influence, attitude towards green purchase, perceived
environmental knowledge, recycling participation, ecolabelling and exposure to
environmental messages through the media.
The paper can help in predicting the key factors that influence young educated consumers in
their decision making regarding green purchases. This can help understand how managers
design marketing strategies to encourage green purchase behavior among such consumers.
(social influence, attitude towards green purchase, perceived environmental knowledge,
recycling participation, ecolabelling and exposure to environmental messages through the
media.)

The study, Redesigning the marketing mix for eco-friendly product consumption among
non-purchasers in India by Chockalingam. Senthil Nathan, Joshua. Densingh; Management &
Marketing aims to customize the marketing mix for non purchasers of eco-friendly products
using their perspectives on the introduction of eco-friendly variants of regular products that
they already use. The research reveals the product, price and promotion components that
will attract non-purchasers of eco-friendly products to purchase them and thus facilitating
green marketing mix adaptation.
The consumer expectations regarding the mix are as follows:
 Product : Product should be eco-friendly, should protect the environment and save
water
Price : Non purchasers will buy if the product is priced a little higher than the regular
counterparts
Promotion : The products should be promoted through brand ambassadors like
sports stars or eminent leaders.
The study helps us understand the marketing mix required to convince users of regular
products to switch to green products.
(marketing mix : product, price, promotion)

The study, The Public Health Implications of Consumers' Environmental Concern and Their
Willingness to Pay for an Eco-Friendly Product by Royne. Marla B., Levy. Marian, Martinez.
Jennifer;The Journal of Consumer Affairs is aimed at determining the willingness of
individuals to pay more for an environmental friendly product. The study covers different
demographics and the findings reveal different behavior with respect to the willingness to
pay among various demographics.
The study also outlines that green products are more costly to manufacture and hence are
priced higher than the regular variants.
Individuals that rate concern for waste as highly important are specifically more willing to
pay higher for green products.
This can help us understand how different people are willing to pay differently for green
products and how strategies can be used to educate these groups to encourage them to
switch to eco-friendly variants of these products.
(demographics : age, gender, income)

The research, Consumer Awareness and Perception Towards Green Products: A Study of
Youngsters in India Kumar by Sanjeev, Garg. Radha, Makkar. Anita studies the perception of
youngsters in India towards green products. 71% respondents in the study perceive green
products to be eco friendly while the remaining take it as energy saving products.
The majority are also ready to pay 11-20% higher than the prices they pay for non-green
products thus signaling not only young consumers environmental concerns but also their
positive and high intentions of buying green products.
The studys main insight is that though consumers are environmentally concerned and ready
to pay higher prices, they are not completely aware as to what constitutes environmentally
friendly products. The awareness seems to be superficial and over claimed.
The study can be used to understand the steps needed to educate the consumers regarding
what constitutes green products.

The research, Generativity and self-enhancement values in eco-friendly behavioral

intentions and environmentally responsible consumption behavior by Urien. Bertrand,
Kilbourne. William; Psychology and Marketing studies the relationship between
environmentally responsible consumption behavior and antecedent variables like
generativity and self-enhancement values. Generativity refers to individuals beliefs that
their current behavior has an impact on future generations whereas self-enhancement refers
to values related to wealth, power and influence.
The results confirm the hypothesis that those individuals that are high on generativity are
more conscious towards the environment than those who score lower. But, this is only true
when the self enhancement level is high. For low self enhancement level individuals, the
generativity levels do not make much of a difference to their environmental friendly
behavior.
(generativity, self-enhancement)

The study, Customer Perception of Green Advertising in The Context of Eco-Friendly FMCGs
by Hassan. Rumman, Valenzuela. Fredy; Contemporary Management Research investigates
whether customers purchase intentions are influenced by green advertisements. Three
themes, namely exposure, trust and influence came out with the study using the research
questions.
About 20% respondents had not been exposed to green advertisements. Only 15%
respondents had trust in the advertisements they saw. A large proportion, 44% had no trust
at all in any kind of green advertising. They felt it was nothing more than a marketing ploy to
make consumers feel guilty and buy greener products at higher prices.
Regarding influence, 30% respondents were influenced by the green advertisements and
were aware of environmental issues and believed that their actions had an impact on the
environment. As opposed to this, 25% felt they were not influenced by such advertisements.
This study can help us understand the impact of green advertising and how to make the
promotion of green products more effective.

In 2012 Kane et al find that the emergence of Facebook as a dominant part of consumer
lifestyle has led to it becoming a platform where people share their experiences not just with
one another but with different products too. This setup creates the premises for social
media users to publicly share their previous experience with eco products/services or to
disseminate and exchange with their friends recommendations, as our study indicates them
both as essential drivers in eco products buying decisions. Although used in the real life by
almost half of respondents (as revealed by this research), eco brands are not yet enjoying
much consideration on social media. They found that the consumers ecological behavior is
sensitive to the promotion of activities and products which are environmentally friendly.

Gyaneshwar (2015) establishes the importance of eco-labelling and the fact that there is a
strong positive relationship between the product awareness and the preference for green
products. The green products segment provides an attractive alternative to price-sensitive
marketing of low involvement products. But the key step in the adoption of the product is
the amount of emphasis that is placed on its green aspect through the branding stage of the
launch. If a consumer is able to immediately connect the product to its environmental
benefit, the purchase likelihood increases.
Gurtner (2015) discusses the importance of innovation in trying to find ecologically friendly
answers to common consumer problems. The key aspect is to be able to highlight the joy of
consumption in trying to push consumers towards price agnostic purchase patterns. The
branding of the product however cannot lose sight of the ecological importance of its
consumption. The message that consumption of the product will lead to strong
environmental benefit has to be driven home in the customers mind. If an only if the
consumer believes that the product would have a specific and significant environmental
impact, only then will he be convinced to purchase.

Jain (2004) reinforces that consumers in the new millennium have understood and
recognized the dangers of the environmental issues that humanity faces today. This
recognition therefore does help formulate an impact on their purchase decision. The paper
says that the consumers report a high level of environmental concern. In India, however, due
to the urgency of other social problems such as poverty and inequality; environmentalism
ranks much lower in the customer conscience. The paper shows promise in segmentation
and targeting of urban Indians into different categories of green consumers, pending further
research.

Sonnenberg (2014) talks about the moral obligation that certain people feel that compels
them to opt for Green products especially in the electronic appliances segment as e-waste is
known for the notorious amount of pollution it generates. Based in South Africa, which is a
green country, the paper isolates the impact of foreign consumers, namely the West, which
instills a sense of obligation to purchase and use green products despite no such
phenomenon on the rise in the domestic society. The consumers favour the implementation
and use of green energy driven products. But in South Africa, the affordability of replacing
older appliances may represent a significant constraint for lower-income households. In
addition, an energy-efficient, eco-friendly appliance still requires effective utilization to
realize the long-term economic and financial benefits of green technology, which is currently
absent from the system making both demand and supply constrained.

Gocer(2016), explores different factors influencing young consumers approaches to eco-

labeled products in an emerging country, Turkey. Relevant measures were adapted from the
previous literature to assess key constructs on environment and eco-label perceptions. An
exploratory factor analysis was employed for identifying the key dimensions, and then
structural equation modeling was conducted for testing the research hypotheses. The results
show that eco-label purchase behavior tendency is triggered through increased EC, which
can be better achieved by increasing levels of environmental knowledge. This means that
companies trying to foster green purchasing behavior in an emerging country like Turkey
through marketing activities cannot achieve long-term success unless they raise consumer
knowledge and concern on environmental issues

Ghada(2014), aimed to inform consumers about green marketing, evaluating their

environmental awareness, identifying factors affecting when making a purchase decision,
and eliciting useful recommendations and proposals. Students of King AbdulAziz University
at Jeddah were considered to determine if they considered green marketing when they
made purchases. Statistical tests showed that there was correlation between gender and
level of study of consumer and green marketing awareness. It also showed that there was no
correlation between age and income and green marketing awareness. The respondents had
positive trend towards buying green products,the pollution of the environment and
rationalization of consumption. This implies businesses can use green marketing to promote
their products. It also implies a bright future for green marketing if there were efforts to
increase awareness.
Muralidharan(2016) studied millennials, an understudied segment of the sustainable
market, are enthusiastic about adopting greener lifestyles but fail to translate pro-
environmental attitudes to actual behavior, thus understanding factors that motivate their
actual purchase of green products is imperative. Using the consumer socialization
framework, the researchers studied the impacts of social structural variables (i.e. age,
gender, education and family structure), socialization agents (i.e. family, peers and mass
media) and environmental concern on the buying behaviors of millennials from India and
China. Peer communication predominantly influenced green buying behavior of millennials
from India, while family communication was most important to Chinese millennials.
Environmental concern, an attitudinal outcome, directly impacted behavior and also
mediated the relationship between significant socialization agents and buying behavior in
both countries.

Dubey & Malik (2014) found significant correlation between the attitude of people towards
green marketing and organic consumption and their age, with no definite correlation with
gender. Specifically, their study highlights that students, generalized then to the youth at
large, are more inclined to purchase green products and this can be attributed to the fact
that they are better educated and are more aware of the implications of ecological impact of
their daily consumption than their older counterparts. The study can be critiqued on the
basis of the limited scope and sample set it had, but the same shows promise for further
reproduction.

Predating this, Straughan and Roberts (1999) came up with an extensive study to test and
identify the characteristics of the Millennial Green Consumer. This study has resulted in a
characterization of green consumers as young, educated, urban, middle- to high-income,
and most likely female. However, a review of this research shows that these results are
somewhat equivocal. Older studies have outlined possible psychographic traits that describe
green consumers. Among those traits used to describe these consumers are liberal,
altruistic, environmentally concerned, and possessing a belief that individuals can make a
difference in the fight against environmental deterioration.

Lessem (2012) published an extensive empirical study testing various variables for
significance of impact on green purchasing behavior. His thesis discusses the impact of
public information and the signals that it sends. He hypothesized that people were
motivated to consume green products when it sent out signals and made it public
knowledge that they were environmentally conscious. This suggests the influence of
trendiness on such themes and that consumption may not be borne out of singular
consciousness towards the environment.

Dempsey (1999) conducted studies specific to Indian consumers and found that cultural
beliefs are deep rooted in their purchase decisions. The dominant trend was the growing
independence of women and their consequent influence on the purchase decisions of the
household. This was the overarching social context of the study. The product under scrutiny
was green detergent. The dominant trend here was that there was a definite trade-off
between price and environmental benefits. Consumers will go for green purchases only if it
falls within the range of their predetermined price cap for a particular item, especially if it is
low involvement and used for common household uses.

More recently Pillai (2013) found out that the most significant influencers of the purchase
decision in a household setting were marital status and occupation. Occupation is an indirect
measure of education and therefore awareness. But the emergence of marital status as a
significant influencer points to the fact that couples make purchase decisions jointly and in
double income households, marriage brings about significant income augmentation. The
willingness of consumers to pay for green products increases directly with growing familial
income.

Mehmet (2014), also confirmed the findings about marital status influence. The relationship
between consumers' purchase behavior and environmental interests, environmental
concern, the level of environmental awareness were analyzed. As a result of the analysis,
significant relationships were found between demographic characteristics (age, sex, marital
status, education level) and purchasing behavior of environmentally friendly products.
According to data which surveyed, if consumers over the age of 35, married and having
children, higher level of education of consumers and were female, they were found to be
buying more environmentally friendly (eco-friendly) products as compared to groups with
characteristics otherwise.

Misra (2012) analysed the impact of environmental consciousness on fashion retail

purchases and the introduction of FDI in retail. The customer profile in growing economy like
India has undergone drastic changes. Customers belonging to premium and economy
segment are becoming more brand and environment conscious. Apparel retailing demands
good assortment and wide range of products with assurance of quality. Increased awareness
about adverse effects of human induced climate change is posing serious threat on
environment. As a result, the customers have started demanding branded products which
are eco-friendly and not harmful to body; especially next to skin and baby garments. The
economy segment traditionally believed to be, not brand, quality, and environment
conscious; has started demanding better quality branded product which is eco-friendly. Local
responsiveness is very essential for global brands to penetrate and succeed in a country like
India which is religiously, culturally, and psychologically different than western countries
from where most of the global brands are originated.

A related concept would be the perception of brand eco-friendliness. Punyatoya (1983) finds
that, when Indian consumers perceive a brand as environmentally friendly, it leads to
favourable attitude towards the brand and significantly positive purchase intention. This
highlights the impact of promotion and branding when it comes to identifying
environmentally friendly products.

HYPOTHESES

Hypothesis 1a: Descriptive norms will positively influence purchase intentions.

Hypothesis 1b: Injunctive norms will positively influence purchase intentions.

Hypothesis 2: Local environmental awareness would positively predict green purchase behavior

in Indian Students