Abstract
In this modern age of digitalization, consumers have access to an ample amount of information regarding a product’s quality and benefits, which makes consumers more conscious of their consumption patterns and their impact on social and environmental development. Likewise, marketing strategies have also taken a dramatic leap forward and started focusing on social responsibility, ethics, and environmental protection. The notion of environmental sustainability has created a market niche over several decades and has captured the market of pro-environmental consumers. However, there are still many latent factors that are obstacles to shifting the behavior of consumers towards buying green products. The present study was conducted to recognize factors that affect the consumers’ behavior when purchasing eco-friendly products. They were collected from 1185 university students in Hungary. To analyze the data, multiple regression and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were used. The results showed that willingness to pay (WTP) and green purchase intention (GPI) are the chief factors that affect the green purchase behavior (GPB) of these students. Environmental knowledge (EK) also has an important and positive impact on the green purchase behavior (GPB) of consumers, although regarding demographic variables, no such influence was noted. To conclude, the study showed that there was no bias in terms of age, gender, or qualification in the behavior of young students, as they have sufficient knowledge of environmental problems and are very willing to pay for environmentally friendly products. This study will create self-awareness among young consumers about their environmentally friendly purchasing behavior. This research will further benefit policymakers and marketers of the EU and Hungary to enhance their marketing strategies to promote their green products and their benefits. Future research can be developed on this theoretical framework and will help academicians to further reduce the research gap by using different constructs and methodologies.
Highlights
The issues related to overpopulation, increasing demands, increased production and manufacturing, global warming, and environmental degradation are well known
Our study revealed that the impact of Environmental knowledge (EK) on green purchase behavior (GPB) is significant, which indicates that consciousness or knowledge of environmental issues directly influences the purchase behavior of a consumer
This study suggests that the attitude towards green products (ATGP) can be influenced by the concern about and knowledge of environmental problems, but it will not directly motivate the consumer to buy green products
Summary
The issues related to overpopulation, increasing demands, increased production and manufacturing, global warming, and environmental degradation are well known. The increases in manufacturing activities and production processes are polluting the global environment These business activities are creating many environmental problems, such as deforestation, increased carbon dioxide level, greenhouse gases, polluting water bodies, damages to wildlife, etc. Such issues have created a need for more environmentally sustainable business practices. The increased emphasis on environmental problems can be regarded as a sign that environmental concern is emerging as a prospective concern for businesses and strategy makers [1] For this reason, the concept of sustainable development came into the light to protect the environment and all stakeholders. Meyer et al [4] and Meyer and Meyer [5] believe that a healthy environment is a key factor in a region’s enabling environment, which contributes positively to business development and economic growth
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