Relationship Between Socio-Demographic Factors and Green Buying Behavior of Residents of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia

The Aim of the Study

This study is aimed at establishing the relationship that exists between socio-demographic factors and green buying behavior of residents of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. In particular, the study focused on the millennials aged between 22 and 37 years old, highlights how six socio-demographic factors: age, social status, gender, income, marital status, and education affect their attitude and behavior towards buying or using eco-friendly products.

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Research Questions

The millennials are the majority population in any country, and they are chief contributors to environmental issues and conservation practices (Burstein 2013, p. 2). According to Moreno, Carreon, and Moreno (2016, pp. 12-21), most millennials tend to consume ecologically-oriented products. Therefore, it is imperative to study how they perceive environmental conservation as well as their behavior towards green products. The research questions that aided in conducting this research include:

• Is there a relationship between green purchasing behavior of Jeddah Millennials and their gender?
• Does the age of Jeddah Millennials influence their behavior towards green products and behavior?
• Is there any link between the level of education of Jeddah residents and their behavior towards green purchasing?
• Is marital status influencing the green buying behavior of Jeddah millennials?
• Is there social status-green buying behavior link or relationship?
• Does income level of Jeddah millennials influence their green buying behavior?

Research Limitation

The study focuses on young consumers' purchasing behavior from a particular location, Jeddah. It is worthy to pinpoint that a person's background plays an integral role in influencing his or her behavior. Therefore, the results obtained for Jeddah Millennials may be different from other localities. Thus, only Jeddah natives will be selected to fill in questionnaires.

Definition of Terms

Green Products

These are eco-friendly products that help to eradicate environmental concerns as well as improving the health of consumers (Singh & Pandey 2012, p. 22). Examples of these products include organic tea, recycled products, green cars, and so on.

Eco-literacy

This term refers to the knowledge that a consumer has about eco-friendly products. Essentially, eco-literacy is an influential factor as far as a consumer's green buying behavior is concerned.

Green Consumerism

It means consumers' buying habits towards eco-friendly products. It is paramount to understand that the habit of purchasing green products differs among consumers due to socio-demographic factors like social status, age, and so on.

Millennials

They are also called generation Y or net generation. They are people born between 1979 and 2000 (Roberts, Newman, & Schwartzstein 2012, p. 274). These groups of people are addicted to the use of the internet, and they possess the technical skills required for accessing and using the internet. In most cases, millennials have in-depth knowledge about the current environmental issues and trends.

Research Background

The green movement traces its origin during the late 1980s in Great Britain in which consumers played a key role in the initiative by avoiding products from companies that they perceived to immensely contribute to environmental pollution and degradation (Wates & Knevitt 2013, pp. 1-13). Green marketing and consumption became more apparent in the 1990s as businesses began introducing green concepts and symbols in their products. Chan, He, and Wang (2012, pp. 557-562) observe that most countries have ever since adopted green consumerism and even formulated various policies meant to inspire shoppers to purchase eco-friendly services and products. The contemporary world still faces environmental problems such as pollution and climate change, which are detrimental to community health and wellness. The research focuses on establishing the effect that socio-demographic factors like marital status, social status, and income level among others have on their behavior towards green marketing and products. According to Alam, Almotairi, and Gaadar (2012, pp. 144-151), Saudi Arabia lacks a strong history in issues related to environmentalism and activities such as urbanization, agriculture, and overconsumption of the scarce natural resources have led to serious issues like desertification and deforestation.

Moreover, industrialization has led to the manufacture of foodstuffs and other substances that are not eco-friendly, thus contributing to environmental degradation and health-related issues. In this regard, Hashmi and Al-Habib (2013, pp. 140-157) note that there is an urgent need to sensitize Saudi Arabians on how they can help reduce environmental issues as well as averting health challenges. It is worthy to note that Saudi Arabians are in the initial phase of embracing green products as most of them are beginning to have in-depth knowledge about environmental concerns and issues (Alshuwaikhat, Adenle, & Saghir 2016, p. 750). Generally, more campaigns are being done to create awareness to consumers that their buying behavior can be a contributory factor to depletion and degradation of the scarce environmental, natural resources. Therefore, significant attention has been given to environmental sustainability. The most appropriate way to achieve this has been to encourage green buying behaviors among consumers in Saudi Arabia.

Many research studies indicate that most consumers are nowadays insisting on healthier and safer products by conducting research on manufacturing processes and product information for eco-friendly commodities. In their research, Rezai, Teng, Mohamed, and Shamsudin (2012, p. 4496) assert that contemporary consumers purchase goods that respond to their fundamental needs while minimizing environmental pollution and degradation that can jeopardize the future generation. It is imperative to note that sustainable consumption behavior demonstrates a novel lifestyle that is founded on simplicity. It is worthy to note that purchasing given product results in the emergence of opportunities to contribute to environmental sustainability either positively or otherwise. Each consumer purchase, therefore, has practical and moral ramifications on the environment. The demand for the eco-friendly or green product is contingent on consumers' active participation in matters related to environmental conservation. In fact, socio-demographic factors are chief determinants of how people accept and use green products (Kaufmann, Panni, & Orphanidou 2012, pp. 50-69).

In general, this research targets a specific locality within Saudi Arabia and attempts to establish the influence of demographic factors on their behavior. It is worthy to note that a particular locality has distinct factors that influence green consumer behavior differently from other localities.

Literature Review

Limited literature exists that discusses green buying behavior in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. However, many researchers have conducted empirical studies on green buying behavior in different countries. Studies reveal that green marketing is the key to positively influence consumer behavior towards green buying through reduction of costs, enhanced growth and profitability, and creation of better marketing and social opportunities.

For a young consumer, researchers have stipulated that two conceptual thoughts influence their green buying behavior. The first concept is known as direct consumer skills which elucidate that the skills that consumers have to affect their purchasing transactions and consumption behavior. The other concept, indirect consumer skills, elucidates that other stimuli such as attitude and knowledge influence the buying behavior of consumers (Domina, Lee, & MacGillivray 2012, pp. 613-620). Researchers further explain the intention to buy eco-friendly or green foodstuffs can be explained using a behavior model. It is worthy to note that a choice behavior is described as an incessant decision-making process encompassing the initial intention to purchase, accepted motivation, information, plan evaluation, characteristic, selection, and actual purchase. According to Mandel, Rucker, Levav, and Galinsky (2017, pp. 133-146), consumer behavior affects intention forming process and involves both affective and cognitive pathways. The choice behavior model is as explained below.

Cognitive Stage

This stage entails the collection of relevant information after a consumer has had the requisite motivation to purchase a given product. It entails conducting internal and external surveys that enable them to purchase relevant products. Cho et al. (2013, pp. 1052-1059) assert that collectivism model is paramount in exploring eco-friendly oriented products and the value associated with eco-behaviors. Thus, collectivism model is a good environmental protection indicator as it positively affects environmental attitudes. Collectivists believe that green products minimize environmental damage as the products decompose. It is significant to note that over the past decade, most shoppers have paid great attention to environmental issues and concerns such as ozone layer destruction, global warming, and so on. The environmental awareness has affected decisions of consumers in an appositive way towards the green purchase. Environmental awareness is instrumental in understanding how environmental effects impact the cognitive ability of consumers when buying green products.

Extrinsic Motivating Attributes

It is worthy to pinpoint that governments usually set regulations and policies that address continual development and consumption. In most cases, governments enhance public understanding that is tailored towards fostering consumer consciousness regarding the link between the environment and products. The media also plays a pivotal role in creating motivating attributes for consumers to purchase eco-friendly products. For instance, it can promote the use of green products through television advertisements. The media can also share detailed information regarding the importance of consuming green products. Other contributory factors towards green behavior of buyers include family, social media platforms, friends, and so on (Reiss 2012, pp. 152-156).

Affective Stage

Attitude is the main component of the choice behavior model's affective domain. This stage involves the evaluation of available options after the collection of detailed information regarding products. It is essential to understand that environmental attitude involves consumer assessment of environmental protection. Consumers can use product reuse or recycling information to accurately predict their purchase intentions (Oliver 2014, p. 433).

Behavior Intention

This is the last stage, and it involves understanding various variables that affect a consumer's attitude towards or against a given product. For green products, the principal factors that influence the behavior intention of consumers include environmental knowledge, concern, awareness, consciousness, and beliefs. These factors lure or influence a consumer into buying green products.

Green buying behavior

Karaca (2013, p. 99) believe that green consumption presents opportunities to consumers to better their lives. In addition, it acts as a moral obligation that is tailored towards realizing environmental and social responsibility. Shammot (2011, p. 30) also acknowledge that nowadays, governmental bodies put pressure on businesses and consumers to be environmentally responsible, a move that enables most businesses to create adequate awareness on green products for their vast consumers. Other factors that promote green buying behavior include increased competition from companies that sell environmental friendly foodstuf...