Factors Behind Dissuasion to Green Products Among Young Consumers: A Qualitative Study

Authors

Anitha Acharya Dr., Marketing and Strategy Department, ICFAI Business School (IBS), Hyderabad, The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE) (Deemed to be university u/s 3 of the UGC Act 1956) Hyderabad-IndiaFollow

Abstract

The current estimated market share for green consumption is less than five percent worldwide, therefore it is very important to understand the factors that stimulate non green consumption among young consumers since this can promote environmental thinking at an early age and also to increase the demand for green products. In these circumstances, emerging countries like India have contributed very less to the consumption of green products and environmental effects. India is among the fastest growing economies in the world. With the increase in population as well as in disposable income, India is expected to see a growth in green consumption. However, that does not seem to be the case. Although, consumption of products is widely prevalent in India and has been growing steadily over the years, the same is not seen with regards to green products in particular. The present paper attempts to investigate the factors for less consumption of green products in the emerging market of India. 31 college students aged 21-25 years participated in the study. An unstructured interview technique was employed to find out the reasons for less consumption of green products among young Indian consumers. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Four main themes namely incomprehension, extortionate, limited product range and non-availability emerged out of the study. The implications of these results for policy makers are discussed at the end of the paper.

Keywords

Green Products, Thematic Analysis, Young Consumers

Author Bio(s)

Anitha is an Assistant Professor at IBS Hyderabad. Prior to her academic career, Anitha worked in banking and insurance sector for 12 years. Anitha’s work has been published in leading international journals such as International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, The Qualitative Report, and International Food Research Journal. Her research focuses primarily on marketing of services, brand personality, branding, and green products. Her expertise lies in the application of Structural Equation Modeling and Multivariate Techniques in addressing marketing research problems. Her research interests include brand personality, brand image, services marketing, and branding. Anitha has contributed book chapters on green marketing, green personality, and qualitative techniques with Apple Academic Press and IGI Global respectively. She has reviewed articles in Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Outsourcing, Journal of Youth Studies, Journal of Indian Business Research, Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing, The Case Journal, and Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: anitha_a_2000@yahoo.com.

Publication Date

12-24-2019

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3968

Recommended APA Citation

Acharya, A. (2019). Factors Behind Dissuasion to Green Products Among Young Consumers: A Qualitative Study. The Qualitative Report, 24(12), 3197-3214. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3968