SEGMENTING GENERATION Y CONSUMERS BASED ON GREEN PURCHASE INTENTION

Abstract

Purpose- This paper aims to discover Generation Y consumer segments with different green purchase intentions that are determined by

environmental knowledge, environmental concern, environmental attitude and price sensitivity.

Methodology- A total of 260 Generation Y consumers were contacted through online questionnaires using convenience sampling. Factor

analysis and K-means clustering analysis were applied to investigate the segments.

Findings- Five variables (environmental knowledge, environmental concern, environmental attitude, price sensitivity and green purchase

intention) emerged from factor analysis were used for segmenting consumers into three clusters, namely as True Greens, Moderately

Greens and Non-Greens. True Greens give high importance to environmental protection and they are willing to pay extra for green

products. Moderately Greens are sensitive to environmental issues but their price sensitivity affects their green purchase intention

negatively. Non-Greens are insensitive to environmental efforts and they do not care about buying green products.

Conclusion- The results are not only useful for marketers of green products to understand different consumer segments that show

significant variations in their green purchase intention, and approach them accordingly but also for academics working on consumer

behavior.

Keywords

• Cluster analysis,generation Y,green consumers,green marketing,green purchase intention,segmentation

References

1. Alibeli, M., Johnson, C. (2009). Environmental concern: a cross national analysis. Journal of International and cross-cultural studies, 3(1), 1-10.
2. Apaydin, F., Szczepaniak, M. (2017). Analyzing the profile and purchase intentions of green consumers in Poland. Ekonomika, 96(1), 93-112.
3. Aman, A. H. L., Harun, A., Hussein, Z. (2012). The influence of environmental knowledge and concern on green purchase intention the role of attitude as a mediating variable. British Journal of Art and Social Sciences, 7(2), 145-167.
4. Anderson, R. C., Hansen, E. N. (2004). The impact of environmental certification on preferences for wood furniture: a conjoint analysis approach. Forest Product Journal, 54(3), 42-50.
5. Balderjahn, I. (1988). Personality variables and environmental attitudes as predictors of ecologically responsible consumption patterns. Journal of Business Research, 17(1), 51-56.
6. Chen, L. Y. (2013). A study of green purchase intention comparing with collectivistic (Chinese) and individualistic (American) consumers in Shanghai, China. Information Management and Business Review, 5(7), 342-346.
7. D’Souza, C., Taghian, M., Lamb, P., Peretiatkos, R. (2006). Green products and corporate strategy: an empirical investigation. Society and Business Review,1(2), 144-157 .
8. Grant, J. (2008). Viewpoint green marketing. Strategic Direction, 24(6), 25-27.

9. Han, H., Hsu, L. T., Lee, J. S. (2009). Empirical investigation of the roles of attitudes towards green behaviors, overall image, gender, and age in hotel customers' eco-friendly decision-making process. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28, 519-528.
10. Hanas, J. (2007). A world gone green, AdAge. http://adage.com/article/special-report-ecomarketing/a-world-green/117113/.
11. He, A., Cai, T., Deng, T., Li, X. (2015). Factors affecting non‐green consumer behaviour: an exploratory study among Chinese consumers. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 40(3), 345-356.
12. Jain, S. K., Kaur, G. (2004). Green marketing: an Indian perspective. Decision, 31(2), 18-31.
13. Kaiser, H. F. (1970). A second-generation little jiffy. Psychometrika, 35(4), 401-415.
14. Kalafatis, S. P., Pollard, M., East, R., Tsogas, M. H. (1999). Green marketing and Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour: A cross-market examination. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 16(5), 441-460.
15. Newton, J., Tsarenko, Y., Ferraro, C., Sands, S. (2015). Environmental concern and environmental purchase intentions: the mediating role of learning strategy. Journal of Business Research, 68(9), 1974-1981.
16. Paço, A., Raposo, M., Filho, W. (2009). Identifying green consumers: a segmentation study. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 17(1), 17-25.
17. Peattie, K. (1992). Green marketing. United Kingdom: Pitman Publishing.
18. Pride, W. M., Ferrell, O. C. (2008). Marketing. Fourteenth edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
19. Ramayah, T., Chow Lee, J., Mohamad, O. (2010). Green product purchase intention: some insights from a developing country. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 54(12), 1419-1427.
20. Rashid, N. R. (2009). Awareness of eco-label in Malaysia’s green marketing initiative. International Journal of Business and Management, 4(8), 132-141.
21. Sekaran, U. (2000). Research business methods: a skill building approach. Third Edition. United States of America: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
22. Sekaran, U., Bougie, R. (2010). Research method for business: a skill building approach. Fifth Edition. United Kingdom: John Willey and Sons Inc.
23. Wagner, S. (2002). Understanding green consumer behavior: a qualitative cognitive approach. United Kingdom: Routledge Press.