AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON TURKISH CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDE AND PURCHASE INTENTION TOWARDS GREEN PRODUCTS

Green marketing has become a fast-developing research field in recent years, even though the term “green product” is still new for consumers in developing and socially-constructed economies like Turkey. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of collective self-esteem and social influence on the green product purchase intention of Turkish consumers while delineating other factors that may play a role within this relationship. According to the results of the study which were gathered from 370 consumers, the effects of collective self-esteem, social influence and attitudes towards green products significantly influence green product purchase intention. It can be seen from the results that collective self-esteem and social influence positively affect consumers’ green product purchase intention and the relationship between collective self-esteem and social influence on green product purchase intention is partially mediated by attitude toward green products. In addition, generational cohort differences play a significant role. While the impact of social influence on green product purchase intention is stronger for Gen X’ers, there was no generational difference on influence of collective self-esteem on purchase intention. Findings and implications are discussed.