The Impact of Consumption Values on Environmentally Friendly Product Purchase Decision

Purpose: This study investigated how the consumption value influences consumers’ purchasing decisions regarding environmentally friendly products. Based on the Consumption Value Theory, six dimensions of consumption value was defined: functional value-quality, functional value-price, emotional value, social value, conditional value, and epistemic value. In particular, the current study analyzed the differential impact of the environmentally friendly consumption value between two consumer groups - users and nonusers. By doing so, more effective marketing strategies can be applied to the target groups. Research design, data and methodology: The online survey was conducted through Macromill Embrain in Korea to collect data from users vs. nonusers of environmentally friendly products. There were 215 usable responses in the users sample and 225 responses in the nonusers sample. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed by using AMOS 18.0. Results: The results revealed that four dimensions of consumption value, i.e., functional value-price, emotional value, conditional value, and epistemic value, positively influenced the users, while functional value-price and epistemic value positively influenced purchase intention toward environmentally friendly products among the nonusers. Conclusions: These results have important implications for applying effective marketing strategies for target consumers. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.