Generation Z Young Consumers’ Sustainable Purchasing Behaviors and Intent to Purchase Recyclable Products: A Comprehensive Study in Turkey using SEM

Abstract

Although consumers generally hold a favorable attitude towards recycled products, the purchase of such products has not reached the desired level. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on the limited existing literature and identify the factors that influence consumers' purchasing behavior of recyclable products. Specifically, there is a paucity of research investigating the purchasing behavior of Generation Z consumers concerning sustainable consumption behaviors. Consequently, this study explores the factors that affect the recyclable product purchasing behavior of Generation Z consumers in Turkey. The study employs the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to evaluate the applicability of this model in explaining recyclable product purchasing behavior. Furthermore, the study extends the original framework of the TPB model to include a new factor, Receptivity to Green Advertising. The data were collected from 171 participants through a questionnaire method and analyzed using Smart PLS-SEM 4.0 and IBM SPSS 26 programs. The findings indicate that among all the structural elements of the TPB, attitude and perceived behavioral control significantly contributed to the recyclable product purchasing behavior of Generation Z consumers, while subjective norms did not significantly influence their behavior. Moreover, the study found that Receptivity to Green Advertising had a positive and significant impact on the recyclable product purchasing behavior of Generation Z consumers. Therefore, increasing Generation Z consumers' receptivity to green advertising could potentially enhance the market success of recyclable products by encouraging them to purchase more of these products.