The Pro-environmental Consumption

Marketers must accommodate the requirements of customers from various socioeconomic classes and cultural backgrounds as the globe becomes more globalized. Organizations can now access marketplaces all around the world thanks to globalization, which is a feature of today’s world. Customers on the global market are distinguished by various cultural values and social backgrounds. Marketing professionals must comprehend the behaviors of the various consumer categories in order to meet their needs. How consumers act has become more crucial as the marketing function has grown in importance inside businesses operating in today’s business environment. Cultural values and social class determine to a great extent the pro-environmental behaviours of consumers. People from different cultures and social classes behave differently in their consideration of the environment when purchasing products and services. This paper uses consumer behaviour theories to explore the influence of culture and social class on pro-environmental consumption.

Cultural Values

Cultural values form a fundamental determinant of a person’s behaviour. Culture and subculture determine to a large extent the purchase behaviour of consumers. It is thus critical that marketers understand the factors underlying the cultures of different segments targeted by the organisation. According to Isaacs (2015), consumers are increasingly considering eco-friendly products when making purchase decisions. The author also notes that the profitability of environmentally friendly products is achieved due to brand loyalty. There is thus an increased concern among consumers about the environment. This is the reason many organisations are engaging in socially-responsible activities to maintain and build their reputations in the eyes of the consumer.

As the behaviour of consumers shifts towards more environmentally friendly activities, it is essential for marketers to understand how cultural values come in. The theories of consumer behaviour can help marketers understand how the aspect of culture relates to pro-environmental consumption. The nations around the world each have different cultures. The way people relate to nature and other people is different from one cultural setting to another. According to Sarigöllü (2009), significant differences exist between collectivist and individualistic cultures, externally and internally controlled cultures, future and past oriented cultures, and materialistic and post-materialist cultures in regards to attitudes towards the environment. Therefore, with differing environmental attitudes and values, marketers have to develop strategies that apply to them individually. The sections below examine how cultural values influence the pro-environmental purchase behaviour.

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions can be used to explain how culture influence environmentally friendly behaviour among consumers. One of the four orientations by Hofstede is individualism versus collectivism. In individualistic cultures, the personal goals of consumers have a higher priority over group goals. On the other hand, in collectivist cultures, group goals are considered to be more important than individual ones (Hofstede, 1980). Therefore, in collectivist cultures, there are aspects of affiliation and status which drive the consumer behaviour of members. In such cultures, there is an emphasis on family, security, group harmony, cooperation, and interdependence (Kim and Choi, 2005). From these attributes, it is deducible that in collectivistic cultures, environmentally friendly attitudes are easily developed. This is because members of such cultures show cooperative behaviours and the goals of the group take priority over individual ones. According to Samarasinghe (2012), in cultures where people are collectivistic, there is a high concern about environmental matters. Therefore, this prompts them to engage in pro-environmental purchase behaviour. As seen, the diversity of cultures means that different behaviours are exhibited by customers towards products. When marketers differentiate the types of cultures of consumers, they are able to determine whether they have high concern for the environment or not.

Personal Pro-environmental Behaviour

Another theory that can be used to explain how culture influences the pro-environmental purchase behaviour of customers is Theory of Planned Behaviour. According to Armitage & Conner (2001), when one evaluates the behavioural consequences, the process of making decisions is influenced. Therefore, a person’s pro-environmental behaviour can be considered to be self-interest acting that is triggered by the perception of attitudes and norms. The behaviour exhibited by a person because of the behavioural consequences examined include recycling, purchasing an environmentally friendly product, and the choice of transport mode. As seen, Theory of Planned Behaviour offers a different view regarding the influence of culture on the purchase behaviour of customers in regards to environmental consciousness. The knowledge and awareness about the problems in the environment trigger guilt and perceived norms in an individual, and as a result, the person does an action in order to save the environment. The action, in this case, is the consumption of environmentally friendly products. From the Theory of Planned Behaviour, when an individual evaluates the behavioural consequences, his or her decision-making is affected. Therefore, for such customer to be satisfied, business organisations need to offer him or her environmentally friendly products or services. Such customers derive value from eco-friendly products, and it is the role of the marketer to ensure such need is satisfied through offering of suitable product. This can go a long way in building customer loyalty.

Environmental Attitudes and Beliefs

Consumers from diverse cultures have different beliefs towards the environment. There are thus different environmental behaviour and attitudes in different contexts of culture. The levels of importance placed on the environment are different across cultures. In cultures where there is widespread awareness about the environment, consumes are likely to prefer environmentally friendly products. In such cultures, since the consumers care about the environment, companies are likely to follow suit and engage in environmentally friendly activities to stay close and relevant to the needs of the customer. Therefore, businesses in such cultures offer environmentally friendly products and services to the consumers. In addition, they engage in sustainable activities that are considered by the consumer to protect the environment. Businesses do this in order to boost their image in the eyes of consumers.

Education

Another aspect of culture that influences pro-environmental consumption is education. The levels of education or literacy differ across the many cultures that an organisation might be targeting. Understanding how the level of literacy in a culture influences the pro-environmental behaviour is critical. There is a higher level of literacy in western cultures than in other cultures around the world. Therefore, marketers have to approach other cultures differently from the way they do with western cultures.

According to Meyer (2015), education increases the pro-environmental behaviour among consumers. Therefore, in cultures where there are high education levels, consumers are likely to be more conscious about the environment. This means that they are more likely to purchase environmentally friendly products than people from cultures with low education levels. It is clear that education helps people understand the problems facing the environment, and thus they become willing to protect it through consumption of eco-friendly products and services. This information can be of great help to marketers since it can help them emphasise on environmentally friendly aspect in their promotions in cultures with high education levels. On the other, promotions in lowly-educated cultures can focus on other elements of products or services.

Other aspects of culture that influence the pro-environmental purchase behaviour of consumers are gender and age. They are also the aspects that marketers need to consider when making promotion decisions. According to Bronfman et al. (2015), in regards to gender, there is a greater concern for the environment among women than in men. Therefore, women engage more in activities such as recycling and purchase of organic products. In regards to age, young adults have more interest in environmental matters compared to other members of the population (Bronfman et al., 2015). As seen, culture plays a big role in influencing pro-environmental consumption. Cultural values are broad, and it is the role of the marketer to carry out an in-depth analysis of how the culture of the target market integrates with the environment.

Social Class

Social class also influence the how consumers behave with respect to the environment. Research studies have indicated that members of the middle and upper classes are the ones that show the greatest concern for the environment. Also, countries citizens of higher income countries tend to be more concerned about environmental matters compared to countries with low incomes. Social class, thus, influences how environmentally friendly products are purchased among consumers. It is important for marketers to understand this in order to know where to direct their efforts.

One factor that characterises environmentally friendly products and services is the price. Their prices are relatively high. Given that the members of the upper class like showing their ability to own expensive products, it is likely that they consume more environmentally friendly goods and services. The sections bellow looks at the different social classes and their behaviours towards environmentally friendly products and services.

As noted, the wealthier members of the society are more concerned with environmental matters than those belong to lower social classes. In addition, as described earlier, education plays a role in determining the pro-environmental behaviour of persons. Therefore, the middle-class and upper-class members of the society have higher education levels. This to some extent describes their high concern for the environment. In addition, they desire the best quality of services and products. With high income and education levels, they can easily purchase environmentally friendly products and services.

On the other hand, the factors characterising the working class make it hard for them to concentrate on being concerned about the environment. First, the members of the working class have low income and are thus being environmentally friendly cannot be high up on their priority list. Their income levels cannot allow them to access environmentally friendly products that are relatively expensive that normal ones. In addition, given that members of this class have lower education level, it is unlikely that they are aware of environmental problems.

Research by Franzen (2003) sought to examine the concern for the environment among the citizens of 26 countries. The findings of the research showed a greater concern for the environment among the nationals of wealthier nations than those belonging to poorer countries. The author concluded that protection of the environment is strongly correlated with wealth. The main reason for this disparity between poor and wealthy nation could be because there exist a higher preference to environmental protection in rich countries than in poor ones. An explanation offered by Franzen (2003) is that as revenues increase in wealthy nations, demand and need for a good environment also arises. With increased economic assets, the allocation of resources to improve the environment becomes easier. An alternative explanation is offered by Inglehart (2007) who points out that when welfare and wealth increase, a change of values from materialist to post-materialist occurs. According to the author, when members of a nation no longer need to devote a big portion of their time on meeting their basic needs, attention shifts away from material values. People become more concerned with values that add to their well-being and self-development rather than striving for more income. While the explanation by Franzen (2003) means people can be materialistic and at the same time care for the environment, Inglehart (2007) talks more about change in values.

There are studies, however, that show low income does not necessarily mean less concern for environmental matters. Power and Elster (2005) carried out research on low-income areas in the UK to determine their awareness of environmental matters. Most participants of the research were strongly aware of the environmental problems both locally and globally. In regards to global concern, the participants were aware that species loss, pollution, and global warming were serious environmental challenges. However, they considered the local environmental issues such as lack of green space and litter as more important than the global challenges. The participants also understood and explained how the global environmental challenge could impact their lives. Despite understanding the consequences, lack of options and facilities were the barriers that prevented them from addressing the problems (Power and Elster, 2005). It is deducible that having low incomes does not necessarily mean little or no concern for the environment. In countries like the UK that has high literacy levels, there is a higher awareness about environmental problems than in lower literacy level countries. However, in countries with low literacy levels, it is likely that people that come from low-income areas will be less informed about the environmental challenge, particularly global ones.

The high literacy levels in wealthy countries also mean that citizens understand environmental challenges in the global context as shown above. On the other hand, citizens of poor countries are more concerned with environmental problems in their local area. It is also unlikely that wealthy people face environmental challenges in their local communities. Therefore, their concern for the environment can only be viewed in the global context. The above analysis has shown there are various facets of social class that influences pro-environmental consumption.

Conclusion

As the world becomes more globalised, marketers are faced with increased challenges as a result of the many cultures they face. Given that sustainability has become an essential part of today’s organisations, marketers have to understand the pro-environmental consumption patterns and behaviours of customers. Two major aspects that determine the pro-environmental purchase behaviour of consumers are cultural values and social class. Through consumer behaviour theories, a marketer can understand how social class and cultural values influence pro-environmental consumption.

From Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions, the individualism versus collectivism orientation describes that different cultures can have different behaviours in regards to the environment. People in individualistic cultures are less concerned about the environment since they focus more on personal goals. On the other hand, people in collectivistic cultures care about the environment because they prioritise group goals over personal ones. Other aspects of culture that influence pro-environmental consumption include education, personal pro-environmental behaviour, gender, and age. This paper has also established that members of the middle and upper classes are more concerned with the environment than those in the working class. Finally, citizens of wealthier countries are more concerned about the environment than citizens of poorer nations. Marketers, therefore, have to understand these important aspects that characterise pro-environmental consumption.

References

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