Predicting Purchase Intentions for an Environmentally Sensitive Product
Alwitt, L. F., & Pitts, R. E. (1996). Predicting purchase intentions for an environmentally sensitive product.. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 5, 1, 49-64.
Expressions of positive attitudes toward the environment are only weakly related to the consumption of alternatives to products that are environmentally (EVY) unfriendly. Yet, socially concerned marketers and public policy makers still appeal to general environmental concern (GEC) when trying to demarket EVY sensitive products or market more friendly alternatives. This article proposes that GEC has an indirect effect on purchase intentions for EVY related products and the relation is mediated by product-specific attitudes about consequences of using the EVY related product as well as the product's environmental attributes. The model was tested with 210 women (aged 18-40 yrs) who used disposable diapers (an EVY unfriendly product). Results support the proposition that GEC has only an indirect effect on purchase intentions for disposable diapers. Implications for marketers and public policy makers are discussed.
