Switching mechanisms toward purchasing eco-friendlier products | |
| Author | Burhanudin |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.SM-16-10 |
| Subject(s) | Counterfactuals (Logic) Consumers |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Consumers are widely exposed to environmental problems. Capturing market opportunities can be achieved by understanding consumers’ willingness to switch to eco-friendlier products. This study aims to investigate the switching mechanisms toward purchasing eco-friendlier products by proposing a model involving post purchase evaluation concerning the purchase process, purchased product, and the happiness leading to switching intention toward purchasing products. An experiment was conducted to test the model using 276 participants. The study found post-purchase evaluation concerning the purchased product and happiness, but not concerning the purchase process, which leads to switching intention. Specifically, this study found that participants evaluate purchased products by following the principle of loss aversion through perceiving that eco-friendlier products can also deliver prior product benefits. Loss aversion influences switching intention through the regret experienced from failure to purchase an eco-friendlier product. This study further found that participants evaluate happiness by focusing illusion through the heightened perception that their lives are highly dependent on the environment, and therefore, that environmental conditions influence their happiness. Focusing illusion influences switching intention through environmental concern. Hence, consumers exhibit switching intention toward purchasing eco-friendlier products as a means for releasing the regret experience and as a concern over the environment. The findings imply that effective communication to customers on how companies’ products save the environment may encourage their customers to stay with the current companies’ products. Further, the findings also imply that such effective communication may attract new target customers by switching to their products to better save the environment. Because this study focuses on testing the model of an environmental issue concerning water contamination, future research could deal with other environmental issues, such as global warming. |
| Year | 2016 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Management |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Doctor of Philosophy in Management (Publication code = SM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Ferguson, David |
| Examination Committee(s) | Badir, Yuosre;Santoso, Djoen San; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Directorate General of Higher Education (DIKTI) STIE Perbanas Surabaya, Indonesia; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2016 |