In recent years, an increasing number of companies are planning and developing strategies to promote products with a positive environmental label (see ‘green’ products) with the aim of differentiating themselves in the market and attracting consumers with strong environmental concerns.
Problems such as the climate crisis and plastic pollution are driving the preference for green, sustainable, eco-, environmentally-friendly products that the consumer perceives to have mutually beneficial effects both for themselves and for the quality of the environment.
Within the framework of the implementation of the research project “Center for Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy”, a main target was the development of a methodological approach to examine the effect of perceived quality, value, price, innovation, potential risk, brand prestige, marketing messages and product labeling on consumer satisfaction and loyalty to bioeconomic products.
Using a sample of Greek consumers we have focused on three different products: (i) bio-economic wall paints/varnishes, (ii) bio-economic household surface cleaners and (iii) a bio-synthetic furniture/chair.
Dr Malesios analyzed through statistical modeling the hypothesized correlations between the various latent factors of the theoretical model and tested the latter through the use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), also known as path analysis. The theoretical model is tested for each of the three bio-products.
The analysis revealed important associations, with main results being that consumers’ perceived product value followed by perceived quality influenced the expected satisfaction of all three bioeconomy products. Furthermore, in all three sub-studies (‘green’) consumer satisfaction has a significant positive effect on consumer loyalty.
The study highlights the critical importance of factors that shape consumer satisfaction and drive consumer loyalty (in terms of repeat product purchase). The findings contribute by offering data on the acceptance-use of bio-economic products in Greece. The results of the SEM modeling offer new results to the specific field by adding additional information to the existing body of knowledge of (green) consumer behavior regarding possible structural links that describe the consumption of bio-based products.
