Modelling consumer perceptions of green products, purchasing behaviour and loyalty

Abstract

Green products have gained prominence on the market largely due to their perceived benefits of environmental sustainability. In view of the growth in influence of green products, the objectives of the study were to determine the impact of product quality on purchase intention for green products; to determine the impact of product quality on purchase intention of green products; to ascertain the influence of environmental concerns on purchase intention for green products; to establish the influence of situations affecting green product purchase on purchase intentions for green products; to establish the impact of preference for green products on purchase intention and to assess the impact of purchase intention on re-purchase intention of green products. To establish these facts the study adopted a quantitative methodology, which made use of a self-reporting questionnaire that was administered to consumer households in parts of Zimbabwe as the target population. The 497 responses received were accepted as the sample size of this study. Data collected was captured and analysed on SPSS (v22.0) and AMOS (v24.0) to yield descriptive and inferential statistics. Structural Equation Modelling was then used to provide estimates of the strength of all the hypothesised relationships. The key findings of the study were that green purchase intention was significantly and positively influenced by product quality, environmental concern, preference for green products, environmental responsibility and selection attributes, but not by situations affecting purchase behaviour. It was also found that purchase intention had a strong correlation with re-purchase intention. We thus propose that marketers need to formulate and implement green marketing strategies to improve consumer perceptions of green products. We also suggest that marketers should drop deceptive marketing practices that cause consumers to be skeptical about green products.