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Green segmentation and environmental certification: insights from forest products
Author(s) -
Thompson Derek W.,
Anderson Roy C.,
Hansen Eric N.,
Kahle Lynn R.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
business strategy and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.123
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1099-0836
pISSN - 0964-4733
DOI - 10.1002/bse.647
Subject(s) - psychographic , certification , green marketing , marketing , business , product (mathematics) , context (archaeology) , environmentally friendly , certified wood , order (exchange) , appeal , value (mathematics) , consumer behaviour , market segmentation , advertising , economics , paleontology , ecology , geometry , mathematics , management , finance , machine learning , political science , computer science , law , biology
Firms engage in environmental marketing in order to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers . Within the context of the forest product industry, this research uses data from two studies to empirically test whether a relationship exists between demographic/psychographic characteristics and reported environmentally conscious intentions. In both studies, the results indicate that the environmental marketing of certified/ecolabeled forest products appeals to a segment of environmentally conscious consumers. This appeal occurs for both a value‐added product (furniture) and a non‐value‐added product (plywood). Thus, there is support for the argument that environmental marketing to environmentally conscious consumers can result in ‘green segmentation’. Key findings from this study suggest that those consumers reporting the strongest preferences for environmentally certified forest products were more willing to pay a premium for certified products, more likely to display environmentally conscious behavior and more likely to perceive that green consumer purchases effectively benefit the environment. These characteristics were most common among females and those familiar with the concept of environmental certification. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and EPR Environment.