Abstract
The marketing of electricity is an increasingly significant issue following the liberalization of electricity markets. Substantial emphasis has been placed on green electricity, but the concept is vague to many consumers. In this paper, the focus is on defining green electricity from a consumer perspective and using the understanding gained to provide input for public energy policy and to improve the marketing activities of energy companies. The paper draws on findings from a qualitative study of focus groups that gathered consumer insights from five European countries. The authors argue that although defining green electricity from a consumer perspective is a complex process, several constructs, including sustainability/corporate social responsibility, local production, visual impact and saving energy, are key. The definition is strongly affected by other constructs, including scepticism, marketing, price, and the fact it does not matter who provides it as electricity looks the same to the consumer.
Highlights
Research on consumers’ green electricity purchases has increased since countries first started to offer green electricity following the liberalization of markets in the 1990s
While some recent studies analyse viable options for companies selling green electricity and their efforts to appeal to energy consumers (Salmela and Varho, 2006; Paladino and Pandit, 2012), relatively few studies focus on the marketing function (Rowlands, Scott and Parker, 2003; Paladino and Pandit, 2012) or on understanding consumer behaviour and attitudes toward green electricity
Our cross-market view in analysis shows that green power markets have expanded in different ways, depending on location (Markard and Truffer, 2006) and consumer attitudes, which is why we extend our research to countries that hitherto have not been on the research radar
Summary
Research on consumers’ green electricity purchases has increased since countries first started to offer green electricity following the liberalization of markets in the 1990s. While some recent studies analyse viable options for companies selling green electricity and their efforts to appeal to energy consumers (Salmela and Varho, 2006; Paladino and Pandit, 2012), relatively few studies focus on the marketing function (Rowlands, Scott and Parker, 2003; Paladino and Pandit, 2012) or on understanding consumer behaviour and attitudes toward green electricity. Appreciating consumer attitudes toward the concept of green electricity is the key to understanding their purchase intentions and important to policymakers involved in triggering increased demand for green electricity. Bendixen and Abratt, 2007) and empirical findings demonstrate associations between customer perceptions of retailer sustainability practices and their attitudes toward corporate brand Many conceptual studies offer frameworks on the role of promotional green messages on marketing issues (Hoeffler and Keller, 2002; Brady, 2003; Godfrey, 2005; Jones, 2005; e.g. Bendixen and Abratt, 2007) and empirical findings demonstrate associations between customer perceptions of retailer sustainability practices and their attitudes toward corporate brand (Hartmann, Ibáñez and Sainz, 2005; e.g. Chen, 2008; Madrigal and Boush, 2008; Godfrey, Merrill and Hansen, 2009; Luo and Bhattacharya, 2009; Virtsonis and HarridgeMarch, 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
