Who Gets The Most Persuaded from Green Marketing?

Transcription

1 World Journal of Management Vol. 6. No. 2. September 2015 Issue. Pp Who Gets The Most Persuaded from Green Marketing? Kang, Dae Han 1 and Han, Eun Kyoung 2 Previous studies proved that there are similarities between regulatory focus and self-construal. The motivations of independent self-construal state are similar to promotion focus, while interdependent self-construal state shares motivations with prevention focus. In the present study, contrasting research findings on the relationship with pro-environmental marketing and receivers regulatory focus, and self-construal were uncovered. In the research findings on the relationship between pro-environment marketing and receivers regulatory focus, promotion-focused people were more affected by proenvironment messages, and were positive toward green consumerism. Meanwhile, in motivation of self-construal factor, interdependent self-construal people were more affected by pro-environment messages, and thus positive toward green consumerism. Although there was a difference between previous studies' interaction between regulatory focus and self-construal and the results of the present study regarding pro-environment messages and green consumerism, there is a shortage of research about the relationship between self-construal and regulatory focus. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between receiver s regulatory focus and selfconstrual as consumers characteristics, and to determine what characteristic have the most positive effect on acceptance of green consumerism messages. Online surveys were given to 275 South Korean participants using several scales to measure receivers regulatory focus, self-construal, and green consumerism. Participants were divided into 2 X 2 groups by self-construal (Independent / Interdependent) and regulatory focus (promotion / prevention) status. After division, two-way ANOVA was used to determine the relationships between the two independent variables (Self-construal, Regulatory focus) and a dependent variable (Green consumerism behavior). As a result, there was a main effect of self-construal; however, independent people were more positive toward green consumerism, in contrast to previous research. In addition, there were no main effects of regulatory focus or interaction effects between self-construal and regulatory focus on green consumerism behavior. The implications were discussed. Keywords: Green marketing, Pro-environmental message, Regulatory focus, Self-construal, Green consumerism. 1. Introduction As environment pollution problems become more important, consumers have started to consider the environment more when buying and consuming (Roberts, 1996). Consumers perceive a necessity for pro-environmental products, and have thus increased their consumption of green products (Schulhwerk, & Lefkoff-Hagius, 1995). Companies have also regarded this situation as a chance to meet consumer needs and interests in environmental products. To so achieve consumer satisfaction, companies have made 1 Mr. Kang, Dae Han (Lead author, Master s & Ph. D Joint Program), Department Journalism and Mass Communications, 25-2, Sungkyunkwan-Ro, Jongno-Gu, Seoul, Korea. gota98@gmail.com, Mobile: FAX: Dr. Han, Eun Kyoung (Corresponding author, Full-time Faculty), Department Journalism and Mass Communications, 25-2, Sungkyunkwan-Ro, Jongno-Gu, Seoul, Korea. bird24@skku.edu, Mobile: FAX:

2 many kinds of environmentally friendly products, which are gaining positive evaluations in the market (Kareklas, Carlson, & Muehing, 2012). Regarding the motivation of consumers green consumerism behavior, the previous research found that in the relationship between pro-environment marketing and receivers regulatory focus, promotion-focused people are more affected by pro-environment messages, and are thus more positive to green consumerism (Dahlstrand, U., & Biel, A., 1997; Grankvist, G., Dahlstrand, U., & Biel, A., 2004). In the research on the relationship between regulatory focus and self-construal, similarity was founded in the motivation factor. Promotion focus is similar to independent self, while prevention focus is similar to interdependent self (Lee, A. Y., Aaker, J. L., & Gardner, W. L., 2000; Aaker, J. L., & Lee, A. Y., 2001; Zhang, Y., & Mittal, V., 2007;). Based on these results, it can be predicted that independent people will be more positive toward green messages, because promotion-focused people are positive to green consumerism. However, in the interaction between regulatory focus and self-construal, other research findings on receivers and self-construal indicated that interdependent self-construal people are more affected by pro-environment messages, and as a result have positive attitudes toward green consumerism (Lee, I. H., Lee, E. J. & Yang, S. E., 2009). This result is in conflict with the existing research directions, which indicates that the previous theories on the relationship between promotion focus and independent self cannot be applied in a green marketing situation. Consequently, this situation cannot be explained by previous studies indicating interaction between Regulatory focus and self-construal in green consumerism, as there has been insufficient research about the relationship between consumers' regulatory focus and selfconstrual. For this reason, the present study focused on filling the gaps in the research on green consumerism, examining each different main effect and interaction effect between consumers regulatory focus and self-construal. First of all, the concept of regulatory focus and self-construal were defined, after which the researchers discussed several hypotheses and research questions in the literature review section. From a methodology point of view, this study researches the relationship between receiver s regulatory focus and self-construal, and green consumerism, by employing a survey for measurement of receivers regulatory focus, self-construal, and green consumerism. Two-way ANOVA analysis was then used to examine the relationships between the two independent variables (Self-construal X Regulatory focus), with green consumerism behavior as a dependent variable for measurement of green consumerism. As a statistical tool, SPSS 18.0 was used in all analyses. In conclusion, the independent people are more positive to green consumerism behavior then the interdependent people. There is interaction effect of self-construal and regulatory focus. Independent-prevention focused people are the most affected to green consumerism behavior. To these contrast results from previous research, implication is discussed as well. 63

3 2. Literature Review 2.1 Green Marketing and Green Consumerism In the consumer research related to environmental problems, Henion (1972) indicated that the green consumer consistently cares about and has affection for the environment within the parts of social value, attitude, consideration, and behavior when buying and using a particular product or service (Henion, 1972). Elsonhart (1990) defined green marketing as the marketing ideology of corporate activities, such as protecting the natural environment and raising the living quality of those who buy the corporation's products (Elsonhart, Tom, 1990). Peattie (1995) illustrated green marketing as a kind of marketing targeting desire of concern about the natural environment and the lives of all those who exist on earth. He explained the green marketing process as a way of consistently satisfying the consumer and society (Peattie, 1995). Generally, when a consumer is highly interested in the environment, he or she acts with eco-conscious consuming behavior. According to Weigel (1978), there is a high correlation between interest in the environment and proenvironmental behavior, so the scale of interest in the environment is highly involved with the attitudes and behaviors regarding the environmental problems of the future (Weigel, 1978). On the other hand, all of the above research is mainly concerned with pro-environmental consuming attitude, green consumer behavior, social responsibility and sustainability, or the causal relationship between these variables only. In addition, recent research to make successful environmental policy and marketing strategy also found involvement of demographic characteristics as new ties (Paco et al., 2009), but those ties were also considered simply as pro-environmental values, and green consumer attitude variables, such as green behavior, willingness to recycle, and eco awareness. There is a shortage of research about what motivations cause receivers to be positive towards green marketing messages. As communication process, the abovementioned studies were simply focused on what kind of message or strategy can be more appealing to consumers, from the standpoint of selling. Thus, there is a lack of information on the receivers' attributes, such as Who cares about the environment and gladly buys green products, and why? If such research can find the core motivations making people have positive attitudes towards green messages, it would be helpful to identify the target of green marketing more effectively. 2.2 Regulatory Focus and Self-Construal To figure out the core attributions of consumer response regarding green consumerism, the present research focused on social phycology. There are two concepts that can describe an audience s mind, including focused motivation, and social relationship style. The present study examined the relationship between those attributions of receivers and green message. The first is regulatory focus, and the second is self-construal. Regulatory focus was first presented by Higgins in In his article, he divided humans into two types, promotion focus and prevention focus, using concepts related to situations wherein people make their own motivations. The motivation of promotion-focused people is focused on obtaining promotions, achievements, goals, and profit, and they try to make their situation more promotionally. In contrast, the motivation of prevention-focused people is focused on maintaining safety, duty, and responsibility. Such people typically try to prevent risk and loss, in order to maintain their present situation (Higgins, 1997, 1998). 64

4 In the market, consumers tend to follow two different kinds of motivation. If a consumer wants to or does not want to make a situation, the consumer makes his or her own motivation, which becomes the standard for the whole process of choosing products (Mandel, 2003). Regulatory focus is considered an important variable that can affect advertisements and attitudes toward a product in consumer psychology. Florack and Scarabis (2006) reported a direct relationship between the contents and message of an advertisement and the promotion or prevention focus of consumers (Florack, A and Scarabis, M., 2006). Evans and Petty (2003) also indicated that consumers carry out elaboration processes more when receiving messages that are coincident to their regulatory focus (Evans, L. M., Petty, R. E., 2003). Another concept that can be used to describe the audience s mind is self-construal. Triandis (1989) explained the effect of culture on behavior, and suggested culture develops the concept of self to independent or interdependent (Triandis, H., 1989). The independent selfconstrual indicates that the self is a separated unitary and stable independent concept. Such individuals behave and act with reference to their own inner repertory, such as internal capabilities and inner consideration, and want to communicate with others directly by seeing individuals themselves. In addition, they tend to think their basic, moral, and even legal rights and feelings are more important than those of society. They respond to the social environment, but their responses are normally a strategy to decide the best way of expressing their own inner repertory. In contrast, interdependent self-construal indicates that the self is fluid and changeable. It stresses public characteristics, such as position, role, and relationships. Such individuals want to be part of a group, and prefer to communicate in an indirect way, as they view social relationships as being very important and feel they are perfect when they belong to a suitable group. Singelis (1994) and Triandis (1995) also argued that people come to follow independent or interdependent self-construal regardless of ethnic origin due to individual differences like individualism or collectivism (Singelis, 1994; Triandis, 1995). Recently, Lee and researchers tested the application of self-construal in green consumerism. They found that interdependent people have a more positive reaction to green messages, such as claims of green consumerism (Hardin, Leong, & Bhagwat 2004; Lee, I. H., Lee, E. J. & Yang, S. E., 2009). As the motivations of independent self-construal are individual success, achievement and reward, which are similar to promotion focus, it can be said that there are strong correlations between promotion focus and an independent self-construal state. In contrast, those who have interdependent self-construal are correlated to prevention focus (Lee, Aaker, and Gardener 2000). In addition, to interdependent people, the valuable motivations are duty, responsibility and devotion. To maintain the group s harmony, such people try to avoid failure, and focus on their own responsibility. Therefore, prevention focus and interdependent self-construal share their motivations (Aaker, Lee 2001; Higgins 1997). If the previous theories are applicable to green marketing situations, it is can be said that interdependent self-construal people tend to have a strong prevention focus, which will cause them to be strongly positive toward green consumerism. However, contrary to such predictions, prevention focus in the present study was less affected by green messages than promotion focus. 65

5 Gunne Grankvist, Ulf Dahlstrand and Anders Biel found that when pro-environmental effects are claimed, the promotional motivation role is the main factor for changing one s behavior. In later research, they found that promotion-focused individuals also carried worries about the environment, even more so than those with a prevention focus (Dahlstrand, U., & Biel, A., 1997; Grankvist, G., Dahlstrand, U., & Biel, A., 2004). Therefore, the two theories crash. If interdependent people are more positive toward green consumerism than independent people, then prevention-focused people should also have to be more positive toward green consumerism than promotion-focused people because of their similarity. Nevertheless, previous research on green consumerism and each independent variable indicated that independent (interdependent) people are less (more) positive toward green consumerism, and promotion- (prevention-) focused people are more (less) positive toward green consumerism. Therefore, the relationship between self-construal and regulatory focus does not apply to green consumerism. Despite the differences between previous studies on the relationship between regulatory focus and self-construal, and the result of present studies regarding pro-environment, there is a shortage of research testing the external validity of pro-environmental messages and receivers. Then, it can be asked what kind of regulatory focus are independent (interdependent) people actually closer to. In addition, it can be questioned which factor effects the response from green consumerism claims between self-construal versus regulatory focus, and who is persuaded the most by green marketing. Based on these theoretical backgrounds, the present research set up the following hypotheses. Hypothesis 1: People who have interdependent self-construal will be more positive toward green consumerism than people who have independent self-construal. Hypothesis 2: People who are promotion-focused will be more positive toward green consumerism than people who are prevention-focused. Research Question 1: Are there any interaction effects between the self-construal theory and the regulatory focus when the dependent variable is green consumerism? If there are, who displays the highest green consumerism behavior among the 4 groups (Independent- Promotion/Prevention, Interdependent-Promotion/Prevention)? 66

6 Figure 1: The model of hypotheses & research questions 3. Methodology 3.1 Participants and Experimental Design A total of 275 people were surveyed. The data were collected from online research in South Korea. About 70 participants were recruited in each of the following age groups: 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Of all participants, 50.2% were female, and the average age was The participants were asked to participate in a 2 (self-construal: Independent vs. Interdependent) X 2 (regulatory focus: promotion focus vs. prevention focus) factorial design survey. Table 1: General information about participants Characteristics Variables N % Gender Male % Female % 20s Age 30s 40s 50s Around 70 for each group 3.2 Procedure All participants completed the online experiment on their own time. They were invited via , and asked to follow a link that activated the website containing the experimental study. Participants were first asked to complete a questionnaire measuring their selfconstrual, regulatory focus, and green consumerism. They were instructed not to turn the page back to look at the ad again once they started to fill out the questionnaire. 67

7 3.3 Independent Variables Self-Construal The self-construal of the respondents was measured with the 14-item Independent/Interdependent scale constructed by Hardin, E. E., Leong, F. T., & Bhagwat, A. A. (2004). Items were scored on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = seldom/never to 7 = very often. For example, a sample item for the independent self-construal was I can use my ability fully when working with anyone, while interdependent self-construal included I think my destiny is related to the destiny of people around me. Based on the reliability coefficients of the original scales, several items were eliminated. Therefore, the present study decided to use a 4-item scale for independent only. Finally, the Cronbach s α was Regulatory Focus The regulatory focus of respondents was measured with the 18-item promotion/prevention scale constructed by Lockwood, Jordan, and Kunda (2002). This scale was used to measure chronic regulatory orientation, which was used as an independent variable in this study. The items were scored on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = seldom/never to 7 = very often. A sample item for promotion focus was I typically focus on the success I hope to achieve in the future, while prevention included I frequently think about how I can prevent failures in my life. Based on the reliability coefficients of the original scales, several items were eliminated. Therefore, the present study utilized a 4-item scale for the prevention focus only. Finally, the Cronbach s α was Dependent Variable Green Consumerism The green consumerism behavior of respondents was measured with the 11-item scale constructed by Lee, I. H., Lee, E. J. & Yang, S. E., (2009). Items were scored on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = seldom/never to 7 = very often. Based on the reliability coefficients of the original scales, several items were eliminated. Therefore, the present study decided to use a 5-item scale for the prevention focus only. Finally, the Cronbach s α was

8 Concept Self- Constru al Regulat ory Focus Green Consum erism Behavio r Table 2: Reliability and validity of all scales Factor Variable Extractio n 1-1 I can speak my opinion in front of others easily I m not uncomfortable when I get awards or praise alone I don t care when I meet someone older than me I can perform fully when I am with any one I am concerned sometimes that I can t fulfill my responsibilities.542 and duty. 2-2 I m worried that I will lose my target (for success) I imagine about when I experience bad things I think about how to avoid failing frequently I purchased replacement green products for biological reason I always try to purchase paper products made of recycled.765 paper. 3-3 I purchase reusable packaged products if I can I consciously make an effort to buy the least polluting products.746 when shopping. 3-5 When choosing products, I try to buy products that can be.750 reused. Cronbach s α By referring to the results of factor analysis, the extraction values of the concepts for each questionnaire were more than 0.5(>0.4). In addition, all Cronbach s α values were above 0.6 (>0.6), indicating that all questionnaires had acceptable reliability and validity. 69

9 4. Findings Sources Dependent Variable: Green consumerism behavior ** P< 0.05 Table 3: Results of ANOVA analysis Green consumerism behavior DF F P Self-Construal **.000 Regulatory Focus Self-Construal * Regulatory Focus **.047 Table 4: Mean details of interaction of ANOVA analysis Self-Construal Regulatory Focus MEAN SD N Independent Interdependent Prevention Promotion SUM Prevention Promotion SUM Prevention SUM Promotion SUM Dependent Variable: Green consumerism behavior a. Squared R =.094 (Modified Squared R =.084) The P value for regulatory focus was 0.977, so it was statistically not significant. To measure consumers regulatory focus, we used a scale that can measure chronic regulatory orientation. In the survey, no statistical differences were found between promotion and prevention focus in correlation with green consumerism. However, there were relationships between interdependent self-construal and promotion focus, and between independent selfconstrual and prevention focus. The results regarding the hypotheses of the present research are as follows. Hypothesis 1, People who have interdependent self-construal will be more positive toward green consumerism than people who have independent self-construal, is rejected. The independent people were found to be more positive toward green consumerism. Next, hypothesis 2, People who are promotion-focused will be more positive toward green consumerism than people who are prevention-focused," was also rejected. No correlation between regulatory focus and green consumerism was found. Although neither of the hypotheses were not supported, research question 1 Are there any interaction effects between the self-construal theory and regulatory focus? could be examined. 70

10 The independent people, who focus on prevention, were more highly persuaded by green marketing than the independent-promotional people, and the promotion-focused Interdependent people were more highly persuaded than the interdependent-prevention people. 5. Conclusion and Implications Previous research argued that interdependent consumers are more positive toward green consumerism than independent consumers (Hardin, Leong, & Bhagwat 2004; Lee, I. H., Lee, E. J. & Yang, S. E., 2009). In contrast, the present research found the independent consumers to be more positive toward green consumerism than the interdependent consumers. The mean of independent consumers green consumerism behavior was , which was higher than that of interdependent consumers (=3.9857). Although the main effect of regulatory focus was not statistically significant, by referring to the results of the interaction effect between self-construal and regulatory focus, it can be determined that independent-promotion focused consumers are more positive than independent-preventionand interdependent-prevention-focused consumers. In addition, the mean green consumerism behavior of the independent and prevention-focused consumers was , indicating that they were the most positive toward green consumerism. Based on these results the researchers argue that, To Independent people, green consumerism means concern for the environment linking directly to individuals. This is the reason why the independent-prevention type were more positive than the independentpromotion type. In addition, to interdependent people, the researchers argue that There is promotion motivation to green consumerism, but only to interdependent people. Because the interdependent care for groups and harmony with the environment, green consumerism can be considered as a promotion to them. This is why the interdependent-promotion type were more positive than the interdependent-prevention type. Then, the researchers argue that the similarity between self-construal and regulatory focus (Lee, A. Y., Aaker, J. L., & Gardner, W. L., 2000; Aaker, J. L., & Lee, A. Y., 2001; Zhang, Y., & Mittal, V., 2007;) is not applicable to the green message situation, at least in South Korea. Making a promotional message is still a good choice for green marketing plans. According to the results, it can be predicted that a promotion-focused green message can also appeal to interdependent people. Of course, it was also found that consumers who are independent and positive to green marketing are prevention-focused, meaning that prevention-focused messages can appeal to independent people, who can also be good customers for targeting of green marketing. This is useful for marketing planning practitioners, because they can extend their target customers through use of different types of green marketing messages, in contrast to the previous research that indicated only independent and promotion-focused customers can be efficiently targeted by green marketing. Furthermore, it may be better if they care about finding the characteristics of green products and services that suit different types of regulatory focus and self-construal when making messages. Endnotes Future research may use instant manipulation of regulatory focus, such as regulatory fit. There is a lack of research about interactions between self-construal and regulatory focus in different marketing conditions. 71

11 According to the results, the differences in interactions between self-construal and regulatory focus can be determined, because there are also differences of cultural background which need to be considered. In addition, we propose the probability for the development of interaction between regulatory focus and selfconstrual. Previous research argued that any promotion can appeal to independent people, because the motivations of promotion-focused and independent self are similar. In contrast, the present research determined that regarding promotional motivation, one or the other can appeal to interdependent people, such as green marketing or green consumerism. Future research should divide the different kinds of promotional motivation to determine which appeal to each self-construal (interdependent self and independent self) in order to develop a greater understanding of regulatory focus. References Aaker, JL, & Lee, AY 2001, I Seek Pleasures and We Avoid Pains: The role of selfregulatory goals in information processing and persuasion, Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 28, no. 1, pp Dahlstrand, U, & Biel, A 1997, Pro Environmental Habits: Propensity levels in behavioral change 1, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, vol. 27, no. 7, pp do Paço, AMF, Raposo, MLB, & Leal Filho, W 2009, Identifying The Green Consumer: A segmentation study, Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, vol. 17, no. 1, pp Elsonhart, Tom 1990, There's gold in that garbage, Business Marketing, pp Evans, LM, & Petty, RE 2003, Self-guide Framing and Persuasion: Responsibly increasing message processing to ideal levels, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 29, no. 3, pp Florack, A, & Scarabis, M 2006, How Advertising Claims Affect Brand Preferences and Category-brand Associations: The role of regulatory fit, Psychology and Marketing, vol. 23, no. 9, pp Grankvist, G, Dahlstrand, U, & Biel, A 2004, The Impact of Environmental Labelling on Consumer Preference: Negative vs. positive labels, Journal of Consumer Policy, vol. 27, no. 2, pp Hardin, EE, Leong, FT, & Bhagwat, AA 2004, Factor structure of the self-construal scale revisited implications for the multidimensionality of self-construal, Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology, vol. 35, no. 3, pp Henion, KE 1972, The effect of ecologically relevant information on detergent sales, Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 9, pp Henion, KE 1976, Ecological marketing, American Marketing Association, Chicago. Higgins, ET 1997, Beyond pleasure and pain, American Psychologist, vol. 52, no. 12, pp Higgins, ET 1998, Promotion and Prevention: regulatory focus as a motivational principle, Advances in Experimental Psychology, vol. 30, pp Kareklas, I, Carlson, JR, & Muehling, DD 2012, The role of regulatory focus and self-view in Green advertising message framing, Journal of Advertising, vol. 41, no. 4, pp Lee, AY, Aaker, JL, & Gardner, WL 2000, The Pleasures and Pains of Distinct Selfconstruals: The role of interdependence in regulatory focus, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 78, no. 6, pp Lee, IH, Lee, EJ & Yang, SE 2009, Self-construal levels and green consumerism, Korean Academic Society of Business Administration, 2009, pp

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