• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
• /
• v.42 no.8
• /
• pp.15-32
• /
• 2004

The purpose of this study is to develop an environmental education program for environmentally friendly consumer behaviors by analyzing factors influencing the attitude-behavior relationship, and examining consumer information needs about environmental problems. Environmental information demanded by consumers could be classified into five main areas; 'use and disposal of environmentally friendly resources', 'purchase of environmentally friendly goods', 'environmental problems and consumer sovereignty', 'environmental laws and regulations' and 'environmental values and consumer's civil consciousness'. Based on the study results, an environmental education program for consumers was developed which consisted of two main parts, basis and practice. The former aimed to strengthen consumer consciousness about environmental problems and the latter, to make regular environmentally friendly consumer behaviors. The two parts were correlated. Thus strengthening environment-related consumer consciousness by learning the part of basis could promote of environmentally friendly consumer behaviors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2014

This study was carried out to investigate the consumption behaviors of environmentally-friendly agricultural products, including satisfaction of purchases. Questionnaires completed consumers were statistically analyzed. Regarding purchase frequencies of environmentally-friendly agricultural and animal products, consumers consumed them 1 time per month. No significant differences in consumption by age, living area, family type, or BMI were found. Exactly 38.2% of consumers preferred to purchase items in the packing amount of 0.2-0.5 kg, whereas 39.7% of consumers preferred amounts from 0.5-1.0 kg. Significant differences in packing amount were found according to age (p<0.05) and family type (p<0.01). However, there were no significant differences according to living area or BMI group. Many consumers made decisions based on the outer packing label (69.6%). Significant differences by age and living area were not found, whereas there was significant difference according to family type (p<0.05). Consumers answered that they purchased products in a general supermarket (24.7%) and cooperative (24.2%). Significant differences were found by age and living area (p<0.01) but not by family type. Consumer satisfaction of purchases scored 3.39 out of 5 points. In conclusion, significant differences in consumer satisfaction were not found according to age, living area, family type, or BMI.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.17 no.10
• /
• pp.125-134
• /
• 2019

Purpose - Environment-friendly behaviors are diverse and can be motivated by different factors. For example, magnitude of factors affecting recycling behavior could be different from those affecting purchasing of environmentally-friendly products. In this study, the focus is on usage satisfaction of consumers who have purchased environmentally-friendly products. Research design, data, and methodology - For this purpose, data were collected from a total of 345 users of environmentally-friendly products, consisting of 177 users of electric vehicles and 168 users of environmentally-friendly detergents. The study analyzed the relationships among consumer's innovation propensity, consumer's environmental concern, and usage satisfaction. In addition, the moderating effect of the product's innovativeness was examined. Results - The result shows that there is a relationship between consumer's innovation propensity and consumer's environmental concern. In particular, it is shown that both consumer's innovation propensity and consumer's environmental concern have positive effects on usage satisfaction. Further, there was a moderating effect of the product's innovativeness. Namely, products rated higher in innovativeness showed a greater effect of consumer's innovation propensity on usage satisfaction. The degree of the product's innovativeness also affected the directional paths of the relationships. In the electric vehicle (i.e., high product innovativeness) case, consumer's innovation propensity had a direct effect on usage satisfaction, as well as an indirect effect through consumer's environmental concern. In the environmentally-friendly detergent (i.e., low product innovativeness) case, consumer's innovation propensity only had an indirect effect on usage satisfaction, through consumer's environmental concern. Conclusions - Theoretical contributions of this study are as follows. Foremost, this is the first study that suggests an existence of a relationship between consumer's innovation propensity and consumer's environmental concern. Second, this study showed the positive effect of consumer's innovation propensity on usage satisfaction of environmentally-friendly products. Third, this study expanded the scope of previous studies by showing the interaction between consumer's innovation propensity and consumer's environmental concern. Lastly, this study showed that the effect of these variables on usage satisfaction can differ by the degree of innovativeness of the environmentally-friendly product. The results of the study will have implications for marketers and policy makers in formulating marketing activities and policies.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.313-328
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study was to analyze the role of perceived market influence, which is an important psychological factor influencing consumer behavior in the market, and explain how consumer beliefs related to the market can affect sustainable consumer behavior. First, this study found that gaps in perceived market influence were statistically significant for age and job. Second, environmental concern, organic food consumption (vegetables and meats), and purchase behavior of organic foods were found to be significantly different by degree of perceived market influence of consumers. The mean values were found to be high for the group having strong perceived market influence. This tendency suggests an association between higher perceived market influence consumers and more environmentally friendly consumer behavior. Lastly, this study used Structural Equation Modeling to analyze the effect of perceived market influence as a moderating variable and mediating variable on the relationship between environmental concerns and consumer behavior toward organic foods. The results show a mediating effect on perceived market influence, but a moderating effect could not be found. This result implies that perceived market influence might indirectly affect consumer behavior when transferring environmental concerns to consumer behavior toward organic foods.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.677-689
• /
• 2011

The principal objective of this study was to evaluate the consumption behavior and perceptions of environmentally-friendly agricultural products (EAPs) according to the lifestyles of housewives in the Jeonbuk area, Korea. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 267 housewives. Frequency analysis, chi-square, one-way ANOVA, factor analysis, and cluster analysis were used to analyze the data. Three clusters were obtained from the cluster analysis of LOHAS and wellbeing-related lifestyle: Cluster 1 "LOHAS-pursuit group", Cluster 2 "wellbeing-progress group", Cluster 3 "Utility-pursuit group". Of the housewives who were of LOHAS-pursuit group, about 50% were over 40 years old and had a professional job with a high household income. They had a high level of understanding about EAPs and purchased the highest percentage of EAPs among the groups. The housewives who were of the wellbeing-progress group, over 83% were between the ages of 30 and 40. Their consumption behaviors were very similar with that of the LOHAS-pursuit group, but the household income was lower. Of the housewives who were of the utility-pursuit group, about 63% under 30 years old. Their household income and level of understanding about EAPs were the lowest among the groups. They less interest in EAPs in comparison with other groups. For housewives' to choose EAPs properly, information and consumer education on these products, according to their lifestyles is necessary.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.63-81
• /
• 2023

The purpose of this study was to utilize the Photovoice qualitative research method targeting university students. Through this method, we aimed to understand the perceptions of environmental issues, environmental barriers, and eco-friendly behaviors among university students. By employing the Photovoice methodology, we sought to share the perspectives of university students on eco-friendly behaviors, explore the motivations and manifestations of these behaviors, and reflect on their significance. The ultimate goal was to provide practical suggestions for fostering eco-friendly behaviors through an in-depth examination of the visual narratives and reflections of university students. Under the overarching theme of the environment, participants were given the opportunity to individually select and explore three specific sub-themes: 'My Concept of the Environment,' 'Environmental Barriers in My Life,' and 'My Eco-friendly Behaviors.' Participants engaged in the process of capturing photographs from their daily lives related to each theme, expressing their thoughts and perspectives through the selected images. Subsequently, they shared and discussed their insights, actively listening to the opinions of others in the group. The results of this study revealed several key findings. Firstly, participants assigned meaning to the photographs they selected by directly capturing aspects related to the environment, such as 'waste,' 'discomfort,' 'fine dust=environmental pollution,' and 'indifference.' Secondly, participants attributed meaning to the selected photographs related to environmental barriers, associating them with concepts like 'invisibility,' 'apathy,' 'social stigma,' 'inefficiency,' and 'compulsion.' Lastly, participants ascribed significance to photographs selected in the context of eco-friendly behaviors, with themes like 'recycling,' 'energy conservation,' 'reuse,' and 'reducing the use of disposable items.' Based on these research findings, the confirmation of the V-A-B (Values-Attitudes-Behavior) model was established. It was observed that consumers structure a hierarchical relationship between their personal values, attitudes, and behaviors. The study also identified clear impediments in consumers' daily lives hindering the practice of eco-friendly behaviors. In light of this, the research highlighted the need for strategies to address the discomfort or inconvenience associated with implementing environmentally friendly consumer behaviors. The implications of the study suggest that interventions or solutions are necessary to alleviate barriers and promote a more seamless integration of eco-friendly practices into consumers' daily routines.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.10
• /
• pp.197-205
• /
• 2021

This study aims to investigate factors influencing customer behavior towards nylon bags and single-use plastics. These factors are environmental protection awareness, health protection awareness, sense of responsibility, expectations, and green marketing. A quantitative method with the use of surveys is deployed to collect data of young people under 30, generating 1650 valid responses. The collected data is then analyzed with SPSS 22, using Cronbach's Alpha and Exploratory Factor Analysis to test the reliability of the model before validating the hypotheses by regression analysis. The study found that the majority of respondents are inclined to use plastic bags, despite their environmental awareness. The results also demonstrate that health consciousness, environmental concerns, self-driven responsibility for the sustainability of young people have a significant impact on their behaviors in using nylon bags and plastic products, whereas expectation and green marketing are confirmed not to be the factors. The study suggests that if green marketing is to gain higher influence, an increase in research and development to support other environmentally friendly packaging would be the right path. Finally, this research proposes some feasible recommendations for the government, which include imposing bolder and more targeted environmental policies on consumers and introducing educational campaigns to raise awareness about minimizing plastic consumption.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.281-300
• /
• 2023

Recently, the call for better accountability and social responsibility from corporations has been regularly voiced, both in the academic literature and in public discussions. This poses a challenge to the existing literature in understanding consumption behaviors to direct them toward sustainable development. This study investigates the purchase intention of Gen Z consumers in Vietnam with green packaging products. Data were collected from 914 respondents by online questionnaire and then analyzed using OLS. The results suggest the significant influence of customers' income and packaging in driving customers' intention to use environmentally-friendly products. Specifically, consumers in a higher income class participate more actively in green purchases. However, problems associated with inadequate packaging are also illustrated, resulting in the poor perception of green messages and poor practice of ecological actions. Besides, subjective norms and green trust are found to be adversely related to green consumer intention. In addition, gender disparity in green behavior is reported, where female consumers show a higher tendency to ecological consumption than their male counterparts. Other demographic factors are also included in the model as control variables, which are age, education, price, environmental literacy, environmental concern, and psychological awareness, but they do not have a significant impact on green purchase intention.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.67-81
• /
• 2018

Purpose - Recently the importance of green consumption and corporate social responsibility has been increasing, thereby enhancing the importance of green consumption space as well. The retail space, as a representative consumption space, is now consuming more energy by introducing bigger retail space, 24-hour operation, cutting-edge equipment, and manless checkout system. Especially for retailers, who are constantly interacting with consumers, not only the economic consideration but also the consumer experience via retail service and physical retail space is crucial for their success. Therefore, this study intends to understand the main factors of motivating consumer perception about green retail space. In addition, we further investigate the mediating and moderating variables to encourage revisit intention and green retail space image. Research design, data, and methodology - In order to test our hypotheses with two models, we conducted a survey using questionnaires. In model 1, 356 respondents were surveyed to determine whether consumers' green attitudes and behaviors enhance environmentally friendly perception on retail space properties. In model 2, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 69 consumers who have experience in green retail space. Questionnaire surveys were conducted with on-line panels in Korea and analyzed using regression model and Hayes' PROCESS macro. Results - We found that consumers with green attitude put more importance on the attributes of green retail space. Also, the utility of the green retail space was found to be significant in emotional and social benefits. And, the consumers, who perceived the importance of green retail space, show higher revisit intentions. The emotional and social utilities have significant positive effects on revisit intention through green retail space image. Conclusions - This study demonstrates that a green retail space can induce positive consumer utility, thereby increasing green retail space image and revisit intention. Thus, in order to increase the image and revisit, retailers should communicate green messages with consumers, enhance green attributes of retail space, and target green consumers. To do so, we suggest that various marketing efforts such as publicity and education are needed to appeal experiential green products and retail space to consumers.