Generation Z and Sustainable Consumerism: Environmental Values and Purchasing Decisions

Abstract

Introduction

Sustainable consumerism is a complex process, resulting from personal and broader factors [1]. Researching sustainable consumption is a growing issue in the research world, as its complexity connects everyday behaviour with moral responsibility in the relationship between humans and nature [2].

This thesis aims to research sustainable consumer decisions of Generation Z. This is a topic that has not been addressed in literature and is important as generation Z begin to enter into the consumer role. In recent literature, Generation Z is described as more environmentally aware than previous generations. The main objective of this research will be to examine the influence of environmental values ​​on the consumer decisions of Generation Z and to determine which factors significantly influence the choice of sustainable products, such as clothing, footwear and produce. The research will also focus on factors that prevent the selection of sustainable products.  Therefore, our main interest is to determine the factors that influence consumer decisions when choosing sustainable products.

Our three main hypotheses are: (1) generation Z makes consumer decisions in line with their environmental values, (2) participants who score higher on the NEP scale make more sustainable decisions, and (3) the affordability of a sustainable product disfavours the choice of a conventional product.

Methods

The research will consist of a two-part questionnaire. The first part will be based on the NEP scale (“New Ecological Paradigm Scale”), which measures the environmental awareness of the participants. This is a standardised scale used to assess an individual’s environmental stance [3]. The second part will focus on the participants’ actual consumer decisions between a sustainable and conventional product in a typical DCE ("Discrete Choice Experiment"). After each choice, the participant will describe why they chose a product.

The data will be processed using RStudio, where we will perform descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and t-test to measure the influence of environmental values ​​on purchasing decisions.

Expected Results

The expected results are that the environmental values ​​of Generation Z will influence their purchasing decisions, but there are other factors such as price and demographic characteristics that can make it impossible to choose a sustainable product. We expect that pricing will be the main contributing factor in the participants not choosing sustainable products.

Limitations

A limitation of the research is that it involves a choice between only two hypothetical products. In reality, consumer decisions are made between a larger number of alternative options with many more variables.

Conclusions

With this study, we aim to make the first step into researching generation Z and their consumer behaviour. In conclusion, we expect to gain knowledge in consumer behaviour of generation Z as they are becoming a more important consumer.

References

[1] T. L. Milfont and E. Markowitz, „Sustainable consumer behavior: a multilevel perspective,“ Current Opinion in Psychology, 10, pp. 112–117, Aug. 2016. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.12.016.

[2] E. Kostadinova, „Sustainable Consumer Behavior: Literature Overview,“ Economic Alternatives, 2, pp. 224–234, 2016.

[3] M. Anderson, „New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale,“ in The Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability, pp. 260–262, 2012.