Green Marketing Communication and Purchasing Behaviour
Green marketing has become one of the key developments in modern business, which is more applied in developed countries than lower and middle-income countries (Hasan et al., 2019; Kassaye, 2001). According to Stanton (1987, p.3) green marketing “seeks to bring the activities of firms into a new and more harmonious relation with the environment”. The concept of green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities and trends including the modification of products, production processes, packaging and labelling, as well as advertising strategies (Polonsky, 1994; Podvorica & Ukaj, 2019). According to Cherian & Jacob (2012), companies use green marketing to increase the awareness of customers and show them that the company seeks to contribute to solving environmental problems.
Companies have been communicating the environmentally friendly characteristics of their products, leading to the growth of a significant segment of well-informed green consumers who criticise producers about the type of communication delivered (Maniatis, 2015). Communication in green marketing aims to attract consumers' attention to the company's environmental initiatives and environmental responsibility and have positive impacts on consumer behaviour and encourage the purchase of green products (Chen et al., 2006). Communication of green activities deployed by organizations includes advertising, corporate public relations, and visual identifications, such as green labels (Balmer & Greyser, 2006).
Green labels, also known as environmental labels or eco-labels, are defined by the International Organization for Standardization as symbols printed on products or their packaging to advertise environmental quality or characteristics. These labels act as a guide for consumers to choose environmentally friendly products. It is often used by companies to differentiate their products, position them and communicate the environmentally friendly message (D’Souza, 2000). Companies have different ways to convey the environmental benefits of their products, namely through general or specific product claims on product labels, for instance, “eco-friendly”, “environmentally safe”, “recyclable”, “biodegradable” and “ozone-friendly” (Morris et al., 2005). These green messages have a key role in consumers` green purchase decisions. Chase and Smith (1992), found that purchase decisions were often influenced by environmental messages in advertising and product labelling. According to Rashid (2009), awareness of eco-label has a positive effect between the knowledge of a green product and consumers’ intention to purchase. However, other studies indicate that although the functions of labels are recognized by some consumers, this does not automatically lead them to green purchasing decisions (Leire & Thidell, 2005). As stressed by D´Souza (2004), little is understood about the effect of label information on a consumer’s intention and decision to purchase environmentally friendly products.
In addition to green labels, there is a growing trend among companies around the world to present environmental advertisements through the media. With the presentation of these green advertisements, companies show consumers that they are ecocentric and, at the same time, intend to influence the consumers` purchase behaviour, presenting them with products that do not harm the environment and directing consumers' attention to the positive consequences of green purchase behaviour (Rahbar & Wahid, 2011; Cherian & Jacob, 2012). According to Baldwin (1993), environmental advertisements help to form a consumer’s values and translate them into the purchase of green products. As stated by Chase and Smith (1992), environmental messages in advertisements and product labelling were found to “sometimes” influence the purchasing decisions of 70% of respondents. Analysing Turkish consumers, Boztepe (2016) found that promotion activities affected green purchasing behaviours.
Green marketing is aimed at all consumers, with the aim that they become increasingly green and value the attitude of companies as environmentally friendly, choosing to decide to buy their products.
Nowadays, there are several companies in Portugal that produce, sell and/or distribute these green products, developing marketing strategies to show consumers their concern for the environment. However, the influence of these actions on the behaviour of Portuguese consumers is not known.
Hence, it is proposed to verify the following research hypothesis:
H1: Consumers` attention to companies` green marketing communication influences their green purchasing behaviour.
Green Marketing Communication and Consumers` Characteristics
In this subsection, we review some scientific literature that explores the importance of consumers` characteristics, in particular gender, attitudes and education, in their attention to companies` green marketing communication.
Gender
In the past decades, several researchers have stressed the importance and need to consider gender when studying individuals` environmental behaviour, since it may influence important issues, namely attitudes, beliefs, concerns, opinions and behaviours (Eisler et al., 2003; Xiao & McCright, 2015). For instance, Zelezny et al. (2000) conducted an international survey covering 14 countries regarding gender differences in pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours and found a significant difference between genders, concluding that women present stronger pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours than men, in addition to higher levels of socialization and social responsibility.
Regarding specifically to green purchase behaviour, several authors stress the importance and the influence of the consumers` gender in their green purchasing decisions. For example, Ureña et al. (2008) compared Spanish men and women and observed that women are more prone to purchase green products. Lee (2009) explored gender differences in Hong Kong adolescent consumers' green purchasing behaviour and concluded that in a total of 6010 adolescents, females scored significantly higher in green purchasing behaviour than males. In a Croatian case-study, Radman (2005) also concluded that women purchase green products more often than men. Han et al. (2011) found that women showed higher intention to use a green hotel and pay premium prices for it. In Chekima et al. (2016), the authors concluded that Malaysian highly educated women showed higher green purchase intentions.
However, several authors found that men have a higher environmental knowledge about environmental issues than women and act accordingly (Diamantopoulos et al., 2003). In Ling-Yee (1997), the author also found that men in Hong Kong are more likely to search for information on green products and to purchase such products, particularly health food products. Considering that many studies conclude that there are gender differences regarding to behaviours, or more favourable intentions for purchasing green products, it is expected that there are gender differences regarding consumers` attention to companies' green marketing communication.
In this context, it is proposed to verify whether:
H2: Consumers` gender influences their attention to companies` green marketing communication.
Green Attitudes
The literature provides several definitions for environmental attitudes. Milfont & Duckitt (2010) refer to this concept as a psychological tendency expressed by evaluating the natural environment with some degree of favour or disfavour. In Gifford and Sussman (2012, p.65-66), green attitudes are defined as “concern for the environment or caring about environmental issues (sometimes referred to as pro-environmental attitudes)”. According to Ugulu et al. (2013), it is essential to study and act on possible negative environmental attitudes, since it is observed that individuals with negative attitudes towards the environment underestimate environmental problems and tend not to adopt environmentally friendly behaviours.
Regarding particularly to green purchase behaviour, several authors proposed to explore the relationship between individuals` attitudes, intentions and actual green purchase (e.g., Anvar & Venter, 2014; Arvola et al., 2008; Barr et al., 2005; Tan & Lau, 2011). Mainieri et al. (1997) underline that green purchase behaviour is significantly related to specific environmental attitudes, but not to the general environmental concern or attitude. Chan (2001), on the other hand, reports that consumers’ green purchase attitude is significantly related to their green purchase intention. Nevertheless, a considerable number of studies observed a weak correlation between the expressed positive attitude of consumers toward the particularly green purchase and their actual purchase behaviour, known as the attitude–behaviour gap (e.g., Tanner & Kast, 2003; Vermeir & Verbeke, 2008; Wheale & Hinton, 2007). Some theories justify this gap with the existence of contextual factors that strongly affect the attitude-behaviour relation (e.g., Guagnano et al., 1995; Olander & Thøgersen, 1995; Phipps et al., 2013).
In this context, the next research hypothesis is proposed:
H3: Consumers` green attitudes influence their attention to companies` green marketing communication.
Environmental Education
One of the most effective tools to raise individuals' awareness of the need to protect the environment is through environmental education: it helps people become aware of the consequences of their actions, provides information to help solve environmental problems, and develops the human capacity needed to solve and prevent environmental aggressions (Salequzzaman & Stocker, 2001). Environmental education involves the interchange of knowledge to build values, attitudes and skills that prepare individuals to collaboratively undertake positive environmental action (Ardoin et al., 2020). However, to be effective, education cannot be a unidirectional transfer of information; it must rather be a collective construction that includes the social reality and the traditional knowledge of local communities (Freire, 1996). Lozano (2006) found that individual’s environmental concerns and behaviour increase with higher education. According to Schlegelmilch et al. (1996), highly educated individuals seem to possess a higher level of environmental knowledge and are motivated to engage in environmentally responsible behaviours. In this context, it is expected that these individuals are more attentive to the companies` green marketing communication and so it is proposed the following research hypothesis:
H4: Consumers` education level influences their attention to companies` green marketing communication.