Article: Profiling green consumers through culture, beliefs and demographics: an Indian study Journal: International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management (IJICBM) 2019 Vol.19 No.2 pp.168 - 188 Abstract: Consumers today not only view companies as profit centres, but also as institutions that should be sensitive to social problems such as environmental degradation. As a result, organisations have started considering the environmental needs of consumers by focusing on 'sustainability as a business goal'. Green products may help companies to improve their bottom line and brand image. This paper forms green consumer segments on the basis of cultural values, psychographics, and demographics. Demographics include income, gender and education. Cultural values include collectivism and long-term orientation (LTO) from Hofstede and man-nature orientation (MNO) from a value orientation model by Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961). Psychographics are derived from theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The results indicate that there are four distinct segments. Two of these segments 'female green activists' and 'green outlook male activists' are identified as the groups that are more willing to buy green products. Finally, implications from the results are derived for practitioners and policy-makers to develop targeting strategies for these segments. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Profiling green consumers through culture, beliefs and demographics: an Indian study

Authors: Naman Sreen; Pradip H. Sadarangani; Bidyut Jyoti Gogoi

Addresses: Indian Institute of Management Shillong, Nongthymmai, Mayur Bhanj Complex, Pin: 793014, Meghalaya, India ' Indian Institute of Management Shillong, Nongthymmai, Mayur Bhanj Complex, Pin: 793014, Meghalaya, India ' Indian Institute of Management Shillong, Nongthymmai, Mayur Bhanj Complex, Pin: 793014, Meghalaya, India

Abstract: Consumers today not only view companies as profit centres, but also as institutions that should be sensitive to social problems such as environmental degradation. As a result, organisations have started considering the environmental needs of consumers by focusing on 'sustainability as a business goal'. Green products may help companies to improve their bottom line and brand image. This paper forms green consumer segments on the basis of cultural values, psychographics, and demographics. Demographics include income, gender and education. Cultural values include collectivism and long-term orientation (LTO) from Hofstede and man-nature orientation (MNO) from a value orientation model by Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961). Psychographics are derived from theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The results indicate that there are four distinct segments. Two of these segments 'female green activists' and 'green outlook male activists' are identified as the groups that are more willing to buy green products. Finally, implications from the results are derived for practitioners and policy-makers to develop targeting strategies for these segments.

Keywords: segmentation; long-term orientation; LTO; man-nature orientation; MNO; collectivism; theory of planned behaviour; TPB; demographics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICBM.2019.101732

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 2019 Vol.19 No.2, pp.168 - 188

Received: 28 Jul 2018
Accepted: 07 Dec 2018
Published online: 23 Aug 2019 *

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Title: Profiling green consumers through culture, beliefs and demographics: an Indian study

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