Green Consumer Behaviour Sustainability
Business Strategy and the Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 15, 157–170 (2006) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/bse.524
Sustainability: Consumer Perceptions and Marketing Strategies
Seonaidh McDonald1* and Caroline J. Oates2 1 Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University, UK 2 Management School, University of Sheffield, UK
ABSTRACT Studies of green consumer behaviour, in particular purchasing and disposal, have largely focused on demographics and/or socio-demographics, with mixed and frequently contradictory results. To move the debate forward, we investigated a wide range of 40 sustainability activities with 78 consumers, who placed each activity on a matrix according to perceived effort and perceived difference to the environment. Patterns both across respondents and between certain pairs of activities were identified, and we suggest that this model increases our understanding of how consumers view sustainable activities. Marketers can use this information to consider marketing strategies that positively influence consumers’ perceptions of such activities. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Received 29 September 2004; revised 5 October 2005; accepted 19 October 2005 Keywords: green consomer; consumer perception; marketing; sustainable consumption
Introduction are again at the forefront of academic research and management thinking (Chan and Lau, 2004). Prakash (2002) suggests that the anticipated surge in green consumer behaviour, predicted for the 1980s and 1990s, never really occurred, and that the mass consumer market for green products has yet to develop. Overall, consumer response to green marketing efforts has fallen short of marketers’ expectations (Davis, 1993). However, recent emphasis on environmental concerns such as global warming, related aspects such as health scares, the pressure on organizations to account for their environmental performance, the labelling of
Sustainability: Consumer Perceptions and Marketing Strategies
Seonaidh McDonald1* and Caroline J. Oates2 1 Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University, UK 2 Management School, University of Sheffield, UK
ABSTRACT Studies of green consumer behaviour, in particular purchasing and disposal, have largely focused on demographics and/or socio-demographics, with mixed and frequently contradictory results. To move the debate forward, we investigated a wide range of 40 sustainability activities with 78 consumers, who placed each activity on a matrix according to perceived effort and perceived difference to the environment. Patterns both across respondents and between certain pairs of activities were identified, and we suggest that this model increases our understanding of how consumers view sustainable activities. Marketers can use this information to consider marketing strategies that positively influence consumers’ perceptions of such activities. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Received 29 September 2004; revised 5 October 2005; accepted 19 October 2005 Keywords: green consomer; consumer perception; marketing; sustainable consumption
Introduction are again at the forefront of academic research and management thinking (Chan and Lau, 2004). Prakash (2002) suggests that the anticipated surge in green consumer behaviour, predicted for the 1980s and 1990s, never really occurred, and that the mass consumer market for green products has yet to develop. Overall, consumer response to green marketing efforts has fallen short of marketers’ expectations (Davis, 1993). However, recent emphasis on environmental concerns such as global warming, related aspects such as health scares, the pressure on organizations to account for their environmental performance, the labelling of
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