۱- Introduction

۲- Theoretical background

۳- Proposed model and paths

۴- Results and discussion

۵- Conclusion, contributions and implications

۶- Limitations and directions for future research

References

Abstract

Purpose – Nowadays, understanding green consumers has become very critical given its implications for marketers to understand and communicate green purchase patterns on the one hand, and to design and strategize both product offerings and customer services on the other hand. The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction effect of product attributes on the degree of environment concern, the intention of green purchase and a series of green purchase proposed patterns. This paper is built on the theory of planned behavior, and expands it by replacing subjective norms and perceived behavioral control with respectively environmental knowledge and perceived consumer effectiveness, and also by extending purchase behavior to three types of purchase patterns, namely, unconditional purchase, conditional purchase and accidental purchase.
Design/methodology/approach – The interaction effect is analyzed through ANOVA, whereas path analysis is used to understand path strengths of proposed model, which is assessed through standardized regression weights and significance through p-value. Findings – Overall, this study reveals the importance of product attributes in the decision-making process of green purchasers. Research limitations/implications – This study deals with environmental behavior in general, and further research with a focus on specific behaviors is needed in this field investigating the rise of green consumption.
Practical implications – Product attributes play a role in the decision making of consumers willing to buy green products, and both communication and promotion of green products should integrate product attributes accordingly.
Originality/value – Worldwide, consumers are buying more and more green products, and this study leads to a better understanding of the decision-making process of consumers’ green products.

Introduction

The transition from a linear economy toward a resource-efficient circular economy is currently underway (Domenech and Bahn-Walkowiak, 2019) and, over the years, there is an increasing formal commitment toward the circular economy with, for instance, the recent action plan toward the circular economy by the European Commission (2015). In the meantime, the rise of green consumption has garnered curiosity from academia over the years (Al Mamun et al., 2018; Chang and Chen, 2013; Chen and Chang, 2013; Chen et al., 2018; Codini et al., 2018; Justin et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2013; Molina-Azorin et al., 2009; Ritter et al., 2015; Romani et al., 2016; Song and Wang, 2018; Wang, 2017). Such a trend about increasing purchase of environmentally friendly products is supported by various reasons mentioned in the academic literature, including a consequence of improved environmental knowledge driven by consumers’ environmental concerns (Diamantopoulos et al., 2003; Walker, 2013), or the result of socially responsible decision-making processes coming from personal ethical orientations or a set of pro-environmental personal values and attitudes (Antil, 1984; Anderson and Cunningham, 1972; Webster, 1975). As indicated by Diamantopoulos et al. (2003), other reasons may explain the increase of green consumption, the attributes of green products for instance. Indeed, compared to non-green products, green products’ specific characteristics – including recyclability, durability, biodegradability, renewability, low emission, local production, energy efficiency – may lead to both green purchase intention and effective green purchase. Precisely, in this study, the arising question consists of understanding the extent to which consumers do purchase green products due to environmental concern or due to product attributes such as cost effectiveness due to energy efficiency. Furthermore, to build on existing literature dealing with green purchase behavior, this study aims at understanding the extent to which the degree of environmental concern turns into different purchase types, namely, unconditional purchase, conditional purchase or accidental purchase. Overall, in relation with the rising consumption of green products in India – specifically in appliances, white goods and hybrid cars – our study aims at examining green consumption in India through the lenses of customers’ environmental concerns vs other drivers for green purchases.