Identifying and prioritizing obstacles to selling green products in promoting sustainable consumption patterns using the best-worst and fuzzy TODIM method

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 1. Assistant Professor, Dep. of Business Management, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Mazandaran, Iran.

2 2. PhD Student, Dep. of Business Management, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Mazandaran, Iran.

Abstract

Aim and introduction: With increasing concerns about climate change and environmental degradation, the need to reform traditional consumption patterns towards more responsible and environmentally friendly approaches has become increasingly apparent. As one of the main pillars of sustainable development, sustainable consumption patterns play a vital role in preserving the environment, reducing pollutants, and optimizing natural resources. In recent years, changing consumption patterns towards environmental sustainability has become a central topic in the sustainable development literature. Changing consumption patterns requires transformation in social institutions, technologies and lifestyles, which is a complex and time-consuming process. In this regard, policymakers and international organizations emphasize the promotion of sustainable consumption, because this pattern not only leads to reducing pressure on limited natural resources, but also paves the way for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. However, achieving this goal requires changing consumer behavior and developing the market for green products, which itself is accompanied by numerous challenges. Innovative green products have received attention in recent years as an effective solution to reduce negative environmental impacts. In this regard, designing effective sales strategies can greatly increase the adoption rate of green products. Green product sales management, as a connecting link between producers and consumers, plays a key role in promoting sustainable consumption. Strategic sales management can play a pivotal role in facilitating the transition to sustainable consumption.) According to studies, trained salespeople are able to significantly influence the intention to purchase green products by using persuasive techniques. This paper makes a major contribution to the literature on sustainable consumption reform by demonstrating the importance of identifying sales barriers for green products. In this study, we identified sales barriers for green products from previous literature and used the fuzzy Delphi method to screen these barriers. In the next step, the evaluation criteria for sales barriers are measured using the fuzzy best-worst method. In the next step, the most key barriers and challenges for sales barriers for green products will be ranked using the fuzzy TOPSIS method and based on the evaluation criteria. The proposed research framework based on the combination of the fuzzy multi-criteria method helps sales managers to identify the most important challenges and sales barriers for green products and to have better planning for the promotion and sale of these products.
Methodology: The method of this research is quantitative. In order to identify the barriers to the sale of green products in order to improve the sustainable consumption pattern and also the criteria for evaluating these barriers, the previous literature was first systematically reviewed. Then, the fuzzy Delphi method was used to screen the evaluation criteria and sales barriers. In the next step, the criteria for evaluating the sales barriers of green products were weighted using the fuzzy best-worst method, and then the screened barriers were prioritized using the fuzzy Todim method. The statistical population of the present study consists of eight specialists and managers of green product sales in the provinces of Mazandaran, Khorasan Razavi, and Tehran.
Finding: In a situation where the transition to a sustainable consumption pattern is recognized as a global necessity to combat environmental degradation and achieve sustainable development goals, green products are considered as key tools for this transformation. However, the deep gap between consumers' positive attitude and actual purchasing behavior indicates the existence of complex structural and operational barriers in the path of selling these products. These challenges clearly show that simply promoting environmental benefits is not enough and that accurate identification, evaluation, and ranking of sales barriers is an inevitable step for designing effective operational strategies and optimal resource allocation. Therefore, in this study, using a combination of multi-criteria decision-making methods, the barriers to selling green products were identified and ranked in order to improve the sustainable consumption pattern. The barriers and evaluation criteria were screened using the fuzzy Delphi method. Then, the evaluation criteria were weighted using the fuzzy best-worst method, and finally, the final ranking of the barriers was obtained using the fuzzy Todim method. In this study, the lack of trust of customers in green claims was the most important barrier to selling green products.
Discussion and conclusion: By identifying the basic barriers to the sale of green products in promoting sustainable consumption patterns based on current research, the results and suggestions were extracted and presented. As one of the key results, poor branding is an important barrier and an important challenge for selling green products that were identified and explained in this study. Green brands that cannot create a strong and identifiable identity will first challenge customers and ultimately finalize sales to customers. If a brand fails to introduce itself well and convey the benefits of its green products effectively to customers, they will probably fail to get their attention and trust. If a brand fails to create this emotional connection, customers may be less likely to buy its products. Also, poor branding can lead to non -distinction in the market. If there are several green brands that offer similar products, customers may be confused about selection and eventually turn to non -green brands that may be better in price or ease. According to each of the identified obstacles, the applicable suggestions were extracted and presented.

Keywords

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Commercial Strategies
Volume 21, Issue 21
August 2024
Pages 81-90

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