Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Conference Track

Marketing Research/ Demographics/ Consumer Behavior

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

A sample of 205 university students provided input regarding an array of 32 issues germane to both green marketing and green consumption. A diverse array of behaviors and opinions were articulated. Respondents reported a high propensity to engage in recycling, donating used goods, and purchasing products with a longer life expectancy. They favored environmentally-friendly actions such as focusing on cleaner and more efficient energy alternatives. There was a strong belief that individuals can make a difference. A comparison of business and nonbusiness students documented significant differences on two of the 32 issues under investigation with nonbusiness students expressing greater concern for the purchase of used items as well as the belief that the misbehavior of corporations renders individual behavior ineffective. Gender produced dramatically different results with statistically significant differences between men and women documented for 17 of the 32 issues. Women were far more concerned and more likely to engage in environmentally-friendly behavior. An investigation focusing on the three age groups documented only four issues where there was a significant difference with the oldest segment the most concerned in each case. A proposed typology allowed respondents to place themselves in the category that they deemed to best fit themselves. Fully 66.2 percent of the respondents placed themselves in the middle category – eco-aware. Only 1.5 percent felt they were eco-destroyers, and a modest 3.4 percent declared themselves to be eco-warriors. Differences across the five segments were documented.

About the Authors

Sam Fullerton is a Professor of Marketing at Eastern Michigan University and holds the position of Extraordinary Professor at the School of Business and Governance at North-west University in the Republic of South Africa. His PhD in Marketing is from Michigan State University. His research has appeared in numerous journals including Sport Marketing Quarterly, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Business Ethics, Health Marketing Quarterly, Australasian Marketing Journal, and Journal of Services Marketing. His conference papers have received awards at the Society for Marketing Advances and the Association of Marketing Theory and Practice. He has written several textbooks including Sports Marketing which was recently published in its third edition. He primarily teaches courses in sponsorship and sports marketing.

Tammy McCullough is a Professor of Marketing at Eastern Michigan University. Her PhD in Marketing was awarded by the University of Washington. She is an avid endurance athlete having completed the Boston Marathon twice and multiple Ironman Triathlons. Her research has appeared journals including the Journal of Applied Marketing Theory and Health Marketing Quarterly. Her research has been presented at numerous conferences including the Association for Marketing and Health Care Research and the Association of Marketing Theory and Practice. Her teaching focus has been on principles, personal selling, and marketing strategy

Lewis Hershey was awarded his PhD by Louisiana State University. He is currently the Head of the Department of Marketing and a Professor of Marketing at Eastern Michigan University. As an academician, Dr. Hershey has published in scholarly journals in such fields as financial planning, marketing theory, management theory, leadership, marketing education, information-processing and communications theory. Prior to coming to Michigan, he taught at major universities in North Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri and Georgia. He is a former financial planner and business owner.

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Digital Commons@Georgia Southern License

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