تبیین اثر عوامل روان‌شناختی مصرف‌کنندگان بر انواع رفتار خرید سبز: نقش تعدیل‌گر ویژگی‌های جمعیت‌شناختی

Aim and Introduction: As consumer awareness and concern about environmental issues grow and the need for environmentally friendly products intensifies, companies are increasingly adopting green marketing methods to capitalize on new market opportunities. Green marketing, as an effort to minimize or eliminate adverse environmental impacts, involves understanding the factors that influence consumers' green shopping intentions and behaviors, and empowering them to make informed decisions. Recently, numerous studies have attempted to explain the buying behavior of consumers of green products. Despite the valuable insights gained from these studies, some evidence suggests that a deeper understanding of this consumer behavior is still needed. For instance, while consumers' awareness of environmental issues and the harms of environmental degradation often lead to green purchasing behavior, some studies have found no significant relationship between these factors. However, examining the type of green purchase made by consumers may provide a more nuanced understanding of the factors that influence their purchase intentions and behavior. Building on the theory of planned behavior, the current study investigates the role of demographic and psychological characteristics in shaping consumers' green shopping behaviors, distinguishing among different types of green shopping behaviors (i.e. unconditional shopping, conditional shopping, and accidental shopping). By contributing to the development of theory of planned behavior, this research aims to provide companies with actionable insights to develop more targeted green marketing practices and increase the effectiveness of these practices.
Methodology: This applied research employs a descriptive - survey approach. A conceptual model, comprising four hypotheses, was developed based on a comprehensive review of the literature. To collect data, a 7-point Likert electronic questionnaire with 25 items was administered to Iranian consumers who had previously engaged in green purchasing. The statistical population of study was all Iranian consumers with experience in green purchasing, from which a random sample was drawn during the winter of 2023. The data collected from 380 consumers of green products were analyzed using variance-based structural equation modeling (SEM), a technique chosen for its robustness to sample size and data distribution, high predictive power, and suitability for theory development. SEM was deemed an appropriate method for testing the research hypotheses and examining the relationships between demographic information and consumer opinions.
Findings: The comprehensive evaluations validated the acceptable quality of both the measurement and structural models for the three types of green shopping behaviors: unconditional, conditional, and accidental. With the research data deemed reliable, the study proceeded to test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that perceived consumer effectiveness, willingness to be environmentally friendly and perceived behavioral control significantly influence unconditional green purchasing behavior. Additionally, willingness to be environmentally friendly has a significant, albeit weak, effect on both conditional and accidental purchase behaviors. Notably, demographic variables such as age, gender, and education do not exert a significant moderating effect on the relationships between the independent variables (perceived consumer effectiveness, willingness to be environmentally friendly, and perceived behavioral control) and the different types of green purchasing behaviors (unconditional, conditional, and accidental).
Discussion and Conclusion: The results of study suggest that despite environmental concerns, consumers may still not prioritize green purchases, if they perceive green goods are not on par with their non-green traditional counterparts in terms of features such as price, ease of use, durability and efficiency. Therefore, to promote green product consumption, it is essential to emphasize these features alongside environmental benefits. Highlighting these aspects can alleviate concerns among environmentally conscious consumers. Offering price discounts on green products can also help alleviate some of the concerns of consumers. Notably, if green and traditional products are perceived as similar, consumers are more likely to engage in random shopping behavior. Furthermore, the study recommends using psychological factors, rather than demographic characteristics, for market segmentation of green products. However, due to some methodological limitations, caution should be exercised when applying the suggestions of this study. First, this study used available probabilistic sampling; Second, the tool have been used for measuring the psychological characteristics of individuals is developed mainly in Western cultures; And third, despite the emphasis on confidentiality of answers, some people may be biased in answering questions for social desirability. This study examined the factors affecting unconditional, conditional and random green buying behavior in general. Future research could explore these behaviors separately for different product types. For example, research results may differ for a variety of health-related purchasing behaviors. In addition, geographical and cultural characteristics can also influence a variety of buying behaviors, highlighting the need for cross-cultural studies to better understand these differences. Developing culturally sensitive tools to measure psychological characteristics and purchasing intentions is also recommended. Finally, according to the literature of research, incorporating additional modifier variables into the conceptual framework, such as recycling intention and environmental awareness, could enhance the explanatory power of model.