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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Research
Unusual climate changes, global warming, health concern, and environmental issues are the factors whic
h have led consumers to behave “green‟ in their purchasing decisions, Do Paco and Raposo, 2009; Barber, 2010; Okada and Mais,
2010. The terms “green” or “sustainable” often refer to products, services or
practices that allow for economic development while conserving for future generations, Matthew Speer, 2011.
Interest in green products has grown in recent years, as indicated by increased consumers demand, Chen, 2008 including in Malaysia. Generally, Malaysian
consumers are more willing than before to favour green concepts, Tan and Lau, 2010; Punitha and Azmawani Abd, 2011. Emerging markets for green products in
Malaysia means promising opportunities for green marketers. Importantly, Malaysia has been ranked ninth for consumer awareness on the impact of air pollution and
global warming. Based on The Nielsen Global Online Environmental and Sustainability Survey in 2011, nine out of ten Malaysians were aware of the impact
of the environmental issues, The Edge, 2011.
The purpose of this study, green consumers are described as the ones who take into consideration the environmental consequences of their consumption
patterns, and intend to modify their purchase and consumption behaviour for reducing the environmental impact. Purchase decisions of green consumers are found
to be the central theme in the present state of research on green consumer behaviour.
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The purchase decisions are described in forms of supporting green companies, purchasing green products Albayrak et al., 2013; Schlegelmilch et al., 1996,
adopting sustainable consumption practices Gadenne et al., 2011 and likely to spend more for green products Essoussi and Linton, 2010.
Industrial sector nowadays try to help and protect nature by producing product that are environmentally friendly. However, green products are more
expensive compare to the conventional product. Consumer will think wisely to buy product that will give benefit to them by comparing the prices. In addition, industrial
sector plays important role to do “green marketing” to attract customer perception and purchase intention to buy green product. However, studies to unveil the
relationship s between consumers’ perception of green products and green purchase
intention are still relatively less in Malaysia Elham Rahbar and Nabsiah Abdul, 2011.
1.2 Problem Statement
Kategori