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Opportunities for
Opportunities for green green marketing
marketing: young consumers
Kaman Lee
School of Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 573
Shatin, Hong Kong
Received January 2008
Revised April 2008
Abstract Accepted May 2008
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify important factors that affect Hong Kong
adolescent consumers’ green purchasing behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach – A total of 6,010 (2,975 males and 3,035 females) adolescents in
Hong Kong were recruited through multi-staged random sampling. They were surveyed on their green
purchasing behaviour, environmental attitude, environmental concern, perceived seriousness of
environmental problems, perceived environmental responsibility, perceived effectiveness of
environmental behaviour, social influence and concern for self-image in environmental protection.
Findings – Multiple regression analysis showed that social influence was the top predictor of
Hong Kong adolescents’ green purchasing behaviour, followed by environmental concern as the
second, concern for self-image in environmental protection as the third, and perceived environmental
responsibility as the fourth top predictor.
Research limitations/implications – A major limitation of this study lies in the self-reported
nature of the survey used. Future study should include some objective assessments (such as
observations or other-reported survey) of the subjects’ green purchasing behaviour.
Practical implications – This paper is a useful source of information for international green
marketers about what works and what does not in appealing to the young consumers in Hong Kong.
Originality/value – This paper serves as a pioneer study to identify important factors in affecting
young consumers’ green purchasing behaviour in the Hong Kong context. It offers practical guidelines
to international green marketers planning to target the Asian markets.
Keywords Hong Kong, Consumer behaviour, Green marketing, Adolescents, Individual psychology,
Social responsibility
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Since the 1980s, green marketing has gone through several stages. After a backlash in
the 1990s, green marketing made an upswing in the Western markets from 2000
onwards (Ottman et al., 2006). The force of “going-green” is now extending to the Asian
region, where environmental threats are alarming local governments and citizens.
Although, Hong Kong aspires to become an Asian city with worldwide importance, its
environmental quality lags far behind its Western counterparts. Like many Asian
cities, Hong Kong suffers from dangerously high levels of air pollution, poor water
quality, high levels of exposure to severe traffic noise, high levels of garbage disposal
and rapidly diminishing landfill space (Civic Exchange, 2007). Recently, the
government and citizens of Hong Kong have started to realise the seriousness of the Marketing Intelligence & Planning
Vol. 26 No. 6, 2008
environmental threats, and the hazardous economic and health problems which result pp. 573-586
(Chan, 2001). The society as a whole is more ready and willing than before to respond q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-4503
to appeals based on green issues. Emerging markets for environmental products, DOI 10.1108/02634500810902839
MIP services and technologies in Hong Kong mean promising opportunities for
26,6 international green marketing.
However, two overlooked areas in current environmental research have been observed.
First, Asian-based green marketing studies are relatively scant when compared to the
Western works. Secondly, among those scant Asian-based green marketing studies
(Chan, 2001; Yam-Tang and Chan, 1998), adolescent consumers, who constitute
574 a potentially large group of supporters in environmental protection, have rarely been
examined. This paper therefore attempts to fill the gap by examining the green buying
behaviours of Hong Kong adolescent consumers and factors which influence them.

Literature review
Evolution of green marketing
Charter and Polonsky (1999) state that green marketing is the marketing or promotion
of a product based on its environmental performance or an improvement thereof.
The decade of the late 1980s marked the first stage of green marketing, when the
concept of “green marketing” was newly introduced and discussed in industry (Peattie
and Crane, 2005). An anticipated emergence of a green tide galvanised many marketers
to engage in different forms of green marketing at the beginning of this first
stage (Vandermerwe and Oliff, 1990). Numerous marketers expected to generate
positive consumer response which would be translated into an increase in goodwill,
market shares or sales from their acts of green marketing.
However, notwithstanding reports that environmental problems constituted one of
the uppermost public concerns, market growth for green products disappointingly fell
short of marketers’ expectations (Wong et al., 1996). The dramatic growth in green
marketing excitements at the beginning of the 1990s has gradually subsided (Peattie
and Crane, 2005). Green marketing entered its second stage in the 1990s, when
marketers started to experience a backlash (Wong et al., 1996). Gradually, marketers
realised that consumer concern for the environment and a concomitant desire for green
products did not translate into purchasing behaviour (Schrum et al., 1995).
Among all the major hindrances, the main aspect contributing to the backlash against
green marketing was consumer cynicism about green products, green claims and the
companies’ intention as well as practices (Mendleson and Polonsky, 1995; Peattie and
Crane, 2005; Wong et al., 1996). Peattie and Crane (2005) have identified five marketing
practices which led to the failure of green marketing during this period. They are:
(1) Green spinning. Taking a reactive approach by using public relations to deny or
discredit the public’s criticisms against the company’s practices.
(2) Green selling. Taking an opportunistic approach by adding some green claims
to existing products with the intention to boost sales.
(3) Green harvesting. Becoming enthusiastic about the environment only when
greening could result in cost savings (e.g., in terms of energy and material input
inefficiencies, package reductions, etc.).
(4) Entrepreneur marketing. Developing innovative green products to market
without really understanding what the consumers actually want.
(5) Compliance marketing. Using simple compliance with implemented or expected
environmental legislation as an opportunity to promote the company’s green
credentials without taking initiatives to go beyond responding to regulations.
From the mid-1990s, consumers started to become more and more environmentally and Opportunities for
socially aware (Strong, 1996). Critical consumers began to emerge as a new force of green marketing
green consumerism during that period whereby they require social responsibility from
corporations (Gurău and Ranchhod, 2005). Green consumers are defined as those who:
[. . .] avoid products that are likely to endanger the health of the consumer or others; cause
significant damage to the environment during manufacture, use of disposal; consume a
disproportionate amount of energy; cause unnecessary waste; use materials derived from 575
threatened species or environments (Strong, 1996, p. 5).
Gradually, the rise of green consumerism has led to an even broadened consumption
concept called ethical consumerism (Uusitalo and Oksanen, 2004). According to
Uusitalo and Oksanen (2004), ethical consumerism refers to buyer behaviour that
reflects a concern with the problems that arise from unethical and unjust global trades,
such as child and low-paid labour, infringement of human rights, animal testing,
labour union suppressions, inequalities in trading relations with the Third World and
pollution of the environment (Strong, 1996). Both green consumerism and its
subsequent ethical consumerism are forms of symbolic consumption because
consumers consider not only individual but also social values, ideals and ideologies
(Uusitalo and Oksanen, 2004). Since, the emergence of the green consumerism and
ethical consumerism which arose in the mid-1990s, consumers have started to demand
a say in the production, processing and resourcing of the products.
Anticipating the continuous uprising forces of consumerism, scholars started to call
for “sustainability marketing” in the late-1990s (Charter and Polonsky, 1999).
Sustainability marketing refers to the building and maintaining of sustainable
relationships with customers, social environment and the natural environment (Charter
and Polonsky, 1999). In the face of the these challenges, green marketing entered a
“self-adjusting” mode, whereby only corporations with a true intention for long-term
sustainable business development continued to stay and improve on their products.
Since 2000, green marketing has evolved into a third stage. With the
implementation of more advanced technology, stricter state enforcement on
deceptive claims, government regulations and incentives as well as closer scrutiny
from various environmental organisations and the media, many green products have
greatly improved and regained consumer confidence in the 2000s (Gurău and
Ranchhod, 2005; Ottman, 2007). Together, with the continuous rise of growing global
concern about the environmental quality, green marketing has gradually picked up
momentum again. Some researchers postulate (Stafford, 2003) that green marketing is
now “making a comeback” (Ottman et al., 2006, p. 26).
Once again, there is renewed sensitivity towards the environment and towards
social consciousness. With “sustainable development” being pressed as the dominating
theme in twenty-first century commerce, two trends are predicted as inevitable in the
near future of green marketing.
First, the concept of an eco-friendly/going-green approach to doing business will be
pushed into the mainstream (Hanas, 2007). Second, corporations from developed
countries will initiate international green marketing in order to expand their market,
increase their sales and take advantage of the positive image of their green brands
established in their domestic markets (Gurău and Ranchhod, 2005; Johri and
Sahasakmontri, 1998; Pugh and Fletcher, 2002).
MIP International green marketing
26,6 Specifically, it is predicted that many international companies will aggressively initiate
green marketing strategies in the Asian markets for the following reasons:
.
the resource exploitation and pollution associated with the unprecedented
economic development in many Asian countries (such as China) have raised local
and global concerns about the quality of environment in Asia (Martinsons et al.,
576 1997);
.
citizens in Asian societies are increasingly becoming conscious of alarming
environmental problems (Johri and Sahasakmontri, 1998);
.
governmental policies and business strategies in many Asian countries are being
reshaped to give more consideration to long-term sustainable developments
including environment protection ( Johri and Sahasakmontri, 1998; Martinsons
et al., 1997); and
.
the fast-growing economies in Asia have led to a vigorous rise of
financially-empowered consumers across Asia willing to spend more than
previous generations (Li and Su, 2007; Tai and Tam, 1997; The Economist, 2006).

In view of the potentially prosperous green market in Asia, many Western firms are
preparing to capitalise on the predicted demand for a greener lifestyle among Asian
consumers in the near future.
Notwithstanding the growing interest in culture among marketing scholars,
surprisingly little research informs on how Asian consumers interpret and react to
green marketing. Certainly, green marketing is emerging in many Asian countries.
However, because little research has been conducted in an Asian culture, international
green marketers have expressed that the unavailability of market information in
foreign countries often becomes a major hindrance to the success of international
expansion of their green products (Gurău and Ranchhod, 2005).

The case of Hong Kong

Hong Kong has been estimated that its environmental damage might cause its winters
to vanish within 50 years (Civic Exchange, 2007). Recently, the city has started to
become alert to the possible environmental catastrophe it is bringing upon itself along
with the health and economic challenges which will follow. In a poll conducted in 2007,
as many as 80 per cent of Hong Kong residents expressed that they were dissatisfied
with the city’s environmental quality (Ruhlman, 2007).
The increasing concern about environmental quality in the society of Hong Kong
opens up emerging opportunities for green markets to international green marketers.
In addition, after the 1997 handover, Hong Kong has become the gateway for
international trade as well as technology and knowledge transfer into China.
Consumption power in southern China has been continuously rising and is heavily
influenced by Hong Kong (Tai and Tam, 1997). Thus, given the potentially prosperous
China markets in the future, Hong Kong could act as the stepping stone for nurturing
green business in Greater China for international green marketers.
Despite the unprecedented potential of the Hong Kong market for green products,
very little is known about consumers’ green-buying behaviours in this region. An even
more rarely-explored topic is young consumers’ green buying behaviours and factors
affecting them. Indeed, adolescents constitute a large citizen group with the potential Opportunities for
for constructing a powerful collective force in society for environmental protection. green marketing
Past studies found that young people are more ready than older generations to accept
new and innovative ideas (Ottman et al., 2006; Tai and Tam, 1997), and that supporters
of environmental protection tend to be younger in age (Martinsons et al., 1997;
Schwepker and Cornwell, 1991).
The purpose of this study is to identify effective factors in motivating Hong Kong 577
young people to engage in green purchasing behaviours. Schlegelmilch et al. (1996)
classified green products into general green products, recycled paper products,
products not tested on animals, environmentally friendly detergents,
organically-grown fruit and vegetables, ozone-friendly aerosols and energy-efficient
products. As an exploratory study, this paper focuses on purchasing behaviours for
general green products. To achieve this objective, 6,010 adolescent consumers were
surveyed on their green-purchasing behaviour. Western literature has provided
evidence that environmental behaviour is related to the following variables:
environmental attitude (Kaiser et al., 1999), environmental concern (Schultz et al.,
2004), perceived seriousness of environmental problems (Garcia-Mira et al., 2005),
perceived environmental responsibility (Manzo and Weinstein, 1987), perceived
effectiveness of environmental behaviour (Manzo and Weinstein, 1987), concern for
self-image in environmental protection (Lee, 2007), and peer influence (Ryan, 2001).
Chan (2001) has confirmed that Chinese adult consumers in Beijing and Guangzhou
display similar patterns to their Western counterparts regarding the relationship
between environmental variables (e.g. environmental attitude and evnvironmental
concern) and green purchasing behaviour. Using a sample of 6,010 adolescents, the
present study examines the following questions:
RQ1. What are the important factors which affect green purchasing behaviours in
adolescent consumers in Hong Kong?
RQ2. What are the weights of these factors?

Methodology
Subjects
A total of 6,010 (2,975 males and 3,035 females)[1] high-school students in Hong Kong
participated in the present study. The mean age was 14.35 years old with a standard
deviation of 3.13 years. Among the participants, 68.5 per cent (n ¼ 4,117) were aged
from 13 to 15; 31.1 per cent (n ¼ 1,869) from 16-18; and the remaining 0.4 per cent
(n ¼ 24) were unidentified.

Procedures
A list containing all high-schools in Hong Kong was first obtained from its education
department. About 202 schools were randomly selected from the list. A letter was sent
to the principal of each of the school with objectives and procedures of the present
study stated. A total of 48 schools agreed to participate. Students were
group-administered the surveys in one of their classes. The questionnaire took
approximately 15 min to complete.
MIP Measures
26,6 Likert-type scales used items were newly developed to fit in the context of Hong Kong.
Details of the measures are listed in Table I.

Findings
A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted by entering control
578 variables (age, sex, educational level, membership in environmental clubs) in Model 1
and the seven predictors in Model 2. With trivial differences, most of the demographic
variables are not significant predictors of green purchasing behaviour, with the
exception of female adolescents who are supportive purchasers of green products.
The model which captured the predictive power of the combination of the seven
predictors was significant, R 2 ¼ 0.46, F (11, 5894) ¼ 463.15, p , 0.001.
The predictability of the seven predictors on green purchasing behaviour was in the
following descending order: social influence, environmental concern, concern
for self-image, perceived environmental responsibility, perceived effectiveness
of environmental behaviour, environmental attitude and perceived seriousness of
environmental problems. Table II presents the results of the hierarchical multiple
regression, controlling for demographics.
In order to examine the incremental power of each predictor on green purchasing
behaviour, another hierarchical multiple regression was conducted. The order of entry
of the predictors was based on the size of their standardised regression coefficients
reported in Table II. Table III shows the incremental power of each predictor.

Discussion
Among the seven predictors, social influence was the most important predictor of
adolescents’ green purchasing behaviour. This finding further consolidates the
important roles of peers in youngsters’ development (Brown, 1990). Individuals’
significant peer network might suggest, cultivate, circulate and reinforce a “norm” of
environmental behaviour. Hence, to these youngsters, green purchasing behaviour
carries social meanings and functions. This echoes with Uusitalo and Oksanen’s (2004)
viewpoint that green consumption is a form of symbolic consumption. The finding also
suggests that interpersonal communication is an effective tool for affecting purchasing
behaviour. It points to the importance of buzz marketing in encouraging individuals to
recommend or testify green products to their friends in this consumer group.
The pressure to follow the behaviour of the social circle might be particularly strong
in the collectivistic Chinese culture, whereby individuals are expected to subordinate
their interests to conform to larger social norms (Hofstede, 1980). In fact, some studies
(Homer and Kahle, 1988; Li, 1997; Chan, 2001) have demonstrated the significant
influence of an individual’s collectivist orientation on his/her recycling behaviour,
propensity to search for green product information and actual green consumption in an
adult sample. This study may imply that the influence of collectivistic culture on
environmental behaviour may begin at the adolescence stage.
Environmental concern was found to be the second top predictor of green
purchasing behaviour. Here, environmental concern refers to the degree of emotional
involvement in environmental issues. It taps the individuals’ affective response
towards environmental protection. In contrast, environment attitude refers to the
individuals’ value judgment of environmental protection. In other words,
Measure M SD N
Opportunities for
green marketing
Social influence (a ¼ 0.81)
(1) How much do you learn about environmental products from your friends 4.44 1.66 6,010
(2) How much do you learn about environmental issues from your friends 3.34 1.69 6,010
(3) How much do you discuss with your friends about environmental products 2.76 1.44 6,010
(4) How much do you discuss with your friends about environmental issues 2.41 1.07 6,010 579
(5) How often do you buy environmental products with your friends 2.30 1.13 6,010
(6) How often do you share information regarding environmental products with 2.06 1.03 6,010
your friend
Environmental attitude (a ¼ 0.87)
(1) It is essential to promote green living in HK 5.67 1.40 6,010
(2) I strongly agree that more environmental protection works are needed in HK 5.47 1.44 6,010
(3) It is very important to raise environmental awareness among HK people 5.06 1.53 6,010
(4) Environmental protection works are simply a waste of money and resources 2.34 1.45 6,010
(5) Environmental protection issues are none of my business 2.18 1.37 6,010
(6) I think environmental protection is meaningless 1.97 1.32 6,010
(7) It is unwise for HK to spend a vast amount of money on promoting
environmental protection (Items 4-7 were reverse-coded) 1.81 1.25 6,010
Environmental concern (a ¼ 0.77)
(1) I am worried about the worsening of the quality of HK’s environment 5.10 1.47 6,010
(2) Hong Kong’s environment is my major concern 4.10 1.48 6,010
(3) I am emotionally involved in environmental protection issues in HK 3.96 1.45 6,010
(4) I often think about how the environmental quality in HK can be improved 3.04 0.88 6,010
Perceived seriousness of environmental problems (a ¼ 0.86)
(1) How serious do you think the environmental problems are? 5.80 1.27 6,010
(2) How urgently do you think HK’s environmental problems need to be dealt
with? 5.66 1.34 6,010
(3) I think HK’s environmental problems are worsening 5.65 1.32 6,010
(4) HK’s environmental problems are threatening our health 5.58 1.16 6,010
(5) HK’s environmental problems are threatening the reputation of HK 5.57 1.21 6,010
Perceived environmental responsibility (a ¼ 0.85)
(1) I should be responsible for protecting our environment 5.61 1.39 6,010
(2) Environmental protection starts with me 5.34 1.48 6,010
(3) How much responsibility do you think you have in protecting the
environment in HK? 4.78 1.21 6,010
(4) I have taken responsibility for environmental protection since I was young 4.61 1.62 6,010
(5) How willing are you to take up responsibility to protect the environment
in HK? 4.58 1.48 6,010
(6) Environmental protection is the responsibility of the HK government, not me 2.09 1.34 6,010
(7) Environmental protection is the responsibility of the environmental
organizaitons, not me (Items 6 and 7 were reverse-coded) 2.08 1.33 6,010
Perceived effectiveness of environmental behaviour (a ¼ 0.70)
(1) I think if I carry out some pro-environmental behaviours in my everyday life,
I would contribute a lot to our environment 5.06 1.44 6,010
(2) I think my participation in environmental protection would influence my
family and friends to participate too 4.12 1.50 6,010
(3) The environmental quality of HK will stay the same even if I engage in some
pro-environmental behaviours 3.49 1.60 6,010
(4) Even if I recycle and reuse things, the environmental quality of HK will remain
as it currently is (Items 3 and 4 were reverse-coded) 3.41 1.57 6,010 Table I.
(continued) Details of the measures
MIP Measure M SD N
26,6
Concern for self-image in environmental protection (a ¼ 0.71)
(1) Supporting environmental protection makes me more socially attractive 3.44 1.50 6,010
(2) Supporting environmental protection makes me special 3.20 1.39 6,010
(3) I will be perceived by others as “out-dated” if I do not support environmental
580 protection 2.79 1.49 6,010
Green purchasing behaviour (a ¼ 0.71)
(1) When I want to buy a product, I look at the ingredients label to see if it
contains things that are environmentally-damaging 3.28 1.09 6,010
(2) I prefer green products over non-green products when their product qualities
are similar 2.92 1.15 6,010
(3) I choose to buy products that are environmentally-friendly 2.23 0.96 6,010
Table I. (4) I buy green products even if they are more expensive than the non-green ones 2.20 0.91 6,010

Variable b T

Control variables (demographics)

Age 0.01 0.89
Sex 0.09 * 6.88
Educational level 20.01 2 0.69
Membership in environmental clubs 0.01 2 0.95
R2 0.01
Environmental predictors
1. Social influence 0.27 * 25.04
2. Environmental concern 0.26 * 19.70
3. Concern for self-image in environmental protection 0.17 * 14.03
4. Perceived environmental responsibility 0.14 * 11.74
5. Perceived effectiveness of environmental
behaviour 0.09 * 8.40
6. Environmental attitude 0.06 * 4.43
7. Perceived seriousness of environmental problems 20.05 * 2 4.29
Table II. F 463.15
Hierarchical multiple Dfs 11,5894
regression of seven R2 0.46 *
environmental predictors Adjusted R 2 0.46 *
on green purchasing N 5,905
behaviour (controlling for
demographics) Note: *p , 0.001

environmental attitude taps the individuals’ cognitive assessment of the value of

environmental protection.
The finding suggests that Hong Kong adolescents’ green purchasing behaviour is
more easily activated by emotional involvement than by rational assessment (as
reflected by the finding that environmental attitude ranked only as the second last
predictor). According to Peattie (2001, p. 194), there is a need to “return to rationality”
when targeting adult consumers in green marketing. This paper, however, presents a
rather contradictory direction in the adolescent sample to what Peattie (2001) has
 Opportunities for
Predictors R2 D R2 F of D R 2
green marketing
Step 1. Social influence 0.25 0.25 2,008.06 *
Step 2. Social influence 0.41 0.16 1,520.47 *
Environmental concern
Step 3. Social influence 0.44 0.03 314.31 *
Environmental concern 581
Concern for self-image
Step 4.: Social influence 0.46 0.02 195.40 *
Environmental concern
Concern for self-image
Perceived environmental responsibility
Step 5. Social influence 0.47 0.01 67.49 *
Environmental concern
Concern for self-image
Perceived environmental responsibility
Perceived effectiveness of environmental
behaviour
Step 6. Social influence 0.47 0.00 19.88 *
Environmental concern
Concern for self-image
Perceived environmental responsibility
Perceived effectiveness of environmental
behaviour
Environmental attitude
Step 7. Social influence 0.47 0.00 11.63 *
Environmental concern
Concern for self-image
Perceived environmental responsibility
Perceived effectiveness of environmental
behaviour Table III.
Environmental attitude Hierarchical regression
Perceived seriousness of environmental problems analyses of the seven
predictors on green
Note: *p , 0.001 purchasing behaviour

suggested: that adolescent consumers’ green purchasing behaviour is governed more

by emotions than by rationality.
Social psychologists and developmental psychologists have suggested that
adolescence is a stage particularly susceptible to emotional appeals (Shaffer, 1994).
Messerlian et al. (2005) have found that, in social marketing campaigns for gambling
prevention, an emotional appeal portraying the negative consequences associated with
a gambling problem is highly endorsed by their adolescent participants. Owens and
Nowell (2001) have also found that books with an emotional appeal are particularly
effective in facilitating the learning of content among adolescent students.
Concern for self-image in environmental protection was found to be the third top
predictor of green buying behaviour among Hong Kong adolescents. Adolescence is a
developmental period that is characterised by a strong:
.
struggle with a sense of identity;
.
need for approval and acceptance;
MIP .
focus on self; and
26,6 .
development of moral ideals (Shaffer, 1994).

The image of an environmentally-friendly person could thus project a good image of

oneself to others. This might be particularly motivating to adolescents, who are often
at the stage of identity-and-approval-seeking. Once again, this finding implies that
582 green purchasing behaviour carries symbolic functions among adolescents.
Perceived environmental responsibility were found to be the fourth predictor of
green purchasing behaviour, followed by perceived effectiveness of environmental
behaviour. This finding shows that it is necessary for adolescent consumers to realise
their individual responsibility in environmental protection. Also, the perception that
one’s action could make a difference is another important factor in influencing
adolescent consumers’ decision to buy green products or not. This finding echoes the
theory of efficacy expectation, whereby it predicts that people process, weigh and
integrate several different sources of information with regard to their abilities and the
outcomes of a behaviour, and then use this information to guide their behaviour and
efforts (Bandura, 1977).
Perceived seriousness of environmental problems was the least important factor in
affecting teenage consumers’ green purchasing decisions. In addition, it carried a
negative relationship with green purchasing behaviour. That is to say, the more
serious the environmental problems the subjects perceived, the less likely they were to
buy green products. It is possible that desensitisation (which refers to the attenuation
or elimination of cognitive, emotional, and ultimately, behavioural responses to a
stimulus) occurs in adolescent consumers after repeated exposures to message/pictures
about the serious damages of the environment (Rule and Ferguson, 1986). In fact,
desensitisation has been found to occur when adolescents are exposed to distressed,
negative or violent visuals (Funk et al., 2004). This result suggests that the common
approach of emphasising seriousness of our environmental problems does not work
effectively among adolescent consumers.

Conclusion and implications

The present study shows that the key to successful green marketing among
adolescents in Hong Kong lies in four factors:
(1) peer network (social influence);
(2) emotional appeal (environmental concern);
(3) image branding (concern for self-image in environmental protection); and
(4) behavioural efficacy (perceived effectiveness of environmental behaviour).

These findings display quite a different pattern from those observed in adult samples,
whereby green purchasing behaviours are more governed by rationality and cognition
(e.g. environmental knowledge, assessment of product attributes, environmental
information processing, etc.) (Peattie, 2001). This finding points to the importance of
market segmentation because what works best for a market segment may not
necessarily work the same for another group.
Overall, the study shows that adolescents in Hong Kong displayed a quite
promising market opportunity for green products. International green marketers are
advised to consider adolescents as one of their potential targeted markets for the Opportunities for
following reasons: green marketing
.
they have purchasing power;
.
they have influencing power on their parents’ and friends’ purchase decision;
.
they welcome new and innovative ideas; and
.
their anticipated life span is longer (Bakewell and Mitchell, 2003; Moschis and 583
Moore, 1979).

All these imply a potentially great marketing value-return in the long run. Applying
the results to practical marketing planning, international green marketers are advised
to consider the following points in future green marketing work. Firstly, green
marketing should use more buzz marketing to encourage adolescent consumers to talk
about environmental messages to their peers and recommend good environmental
products to their friends by word-of-mouth in the form of face-to-face or new media
communications. Secondly, environmental marketing messages to Hong Kong
adolescents should contain more emotional than rational appeal. Thirdly, it is very
important for green marketers to associate a trendy and “cool” image with green
products. They should aim at cultivating a “feel good” purchase experience among
these young consumers (Peattie, 2001). Lastly, since it was found that adolescents’
perception of environmental responsibility also affects their purchase decisions, green
marketing efforts in the future should also convey the message that “each of us is
responsible to save our earth”.

Note
1. The author made reference to Milton (1986) sample size formula for multiple regression
studies. According to Milton (1986), a minimum sample size of (5,401 þ k) (where k
represents the number of predictors) is needed if the following are intended: (1) The
study includes seven predictors in a model, (2) it is anticipated that the model can explain
40 per cent of the variance, (3) it is intended that significance tests for b-coefficients are set at
the 0.01 level, and (4) it is decided that any independent variable should contribute an
additional 1 per cent of explained variance to the model (if entered last). In other words, to
fulfil the above requirements, the study needed a minimum size of 5,408. The 6,010 sample
size recruited study met the minimum requirement. It exceeded the minimum requirement
by 10 per cent and was considered acceptable (Milton, 1986).

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Corresponding author
Kaman Lee can be contacted at: kamanleekm@cuhk.edu.hk

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