1Shaunak Roy is an Assistant Professor, Faculty of Management, Department of Commerce and Management Studies, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata, He can be reached at: shaunak@sxccal.edu
2Shivaji Banerjee is an Assistant Professor and Former Head, Faculty of Management, Department of Commerce, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), also a Visiting Faculty, Department of Commerce and Business Management, University of Calcutta; Kolkata, India; He can be reached at: drshivaji@sxccal.edu
In the wake of environmental awareness and consciousness, green brands are taking centre stage in India, particularly as they offer an alternative avenue to those brands that consume more energy and fail to conserve the depleting natural resources. Undoubtedly, such brands can provide a unique selling proposition to a product and play a significant role in improving corporate image. Surprisingly, although, adequate attention has not been given to address the issue as to why users of green products associate themselves with green brands in India. The present study examines the consumer perceptions and attitudes of respondents carefully selected from across various metropolitan cities in India towards several green brands, considered under the ambit of the study. Further, it also explores the impact of such personality dimensions on consumers’ purchase intentions towards brands, the extent to which it creates customer engagement, and builds customer loyalty in the long haul. A structured questionnaire was administered on a sample of 717 respondents from India to yield their responses to the research study’s premises. The present research tested all three hypotheses: the impact of green brand personality dimensions on consumer purchase intentions, active customer engagement and consumer loyalty. It was validated through path analysis conducted as a part of the structural equation modelling procedure. Thenceforth, it was inferred that all the dimensions of green brand personality have a significant bearing on consumer purchase intentions, active consumer engagement and brand loyalty. The study also provides insights to brand managers for practising sustainable businesses’ norms and ethical consumerism, contributing to fostering greater stability in the dynamic business milieu.
Green marketing, Green brands, Green brand personality, Customer purchase intention, Active customer engagement, Consumer loyalty
JEL Classification: M310
Aaker, D.A., & Biel, A.L. (2013). The brand personality component of brand goodwill: Some antecedents and consequences. In: Aaker DA and Biel AL (Eds.), Brand Equity & Advertising: Advertising’s Role in Building Strong Brands (pp. 93-106). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315799537-13
Aaker, J., & Fournier, S. (1995). A brand as a character, a partner and a person: Three perspectives on the question of brand personality. ACR North American Advances, 22, 391-395. https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/7775/volumes/v22/NA-22/full
Aaker, J.L. (1997). Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of marketing research, 34(3), 347-356. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151897
Adadan, E., & Savasci, F. (2012). An analysis of 16-17-year-old students’ understanding of solution chemistry concepts using a two-tier diagnostic instrument. International journal of science education, 34(4), 513-544. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 09500693.2011.636084
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211. https:// doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Akin, E. (2012). Literature review and discussion on customer loyalty and consciousness. European Journal of Economics, Finance and administrative sciences, 51(2), 203-225.
Al-shaaban, S., & Nguyen, T.B. (2014). Consumer attitude and purchase intention towards organic food a quantitative study of China [LinnÕus University]. Journal of consumer behaviour, 6(2C), 1-67. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:723474/ FULLTEXT01.pdf
Ashton, M.C. (2013). Personality traits and the inventories that measure them. In: Individual Differences and Personality, 2nd Edn, Chapter 2, pp. 27-55. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-416009-5.00002-5
Ashton, M.C., Perugini, M., De Vries, R.E., Boies, K., Lee, K., Szarota, P., Di Blas, L., & De Raad, B. (2004). A six-factor structure of personality-descriptive adjectives: Solutions from psycholexical studies in seven languages. Journal of personality and social psychology, 86(2), 356-366. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.2.356
Azoulay, A., & Kapferer, J.N. (2003). Do brand personality scales really measure brand personality? Journal of brand management, 11(2), 143-155. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.bm.2540162
Barbarossa, C., & Pelsmacker, P.D. (2016). Positive and negative antecedents of purchasing eco-friendly products: A comparison between green and non-green consumers. Journal of business ethics, 134(2), 229-247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014- 2425-z
Blanco, S.: Are electric cars really a female thing? Auto Blog. https://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/13/are-electric-cars-really-a-female-thing/ (2007, February 13)
Caprara, G.V., Barbaranelli, C., & Guido, G. (2001). Brand personality: How to make the metaphor fit? Journal of economic psychology, 22(3), 377-395. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4870(01)00039-3
Census of India, 2011: Provisional Population Totals: Urban Agglomerations and Cities., Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi.
Chen, H.S., Tsai, B.K., & Hsieh, C.M. (2017). Determinants of consumers’ purchasing intentions for the hydrogen-electric motorcycle. Sustainability (Switzerland), 9(8), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9081447
Chen, K., & Deng, T. (2016). Research on the green purchase intentions from the perspective of Product knowledge. Sustainability (Switzerland), 8(9), 943. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8090943
Chuah, S.H.W., El-Manstrly, D., Tseng, M.L., & Ramayah, T. (2020). Sustaining customer engagement behavior through corporate social responsibility: The roles of environmental concern and green trust. Journal of cleaner production, 262, 121348. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121348
Costa, P.T., & McCrae, R.R. (2010). Bridging the gap with the five-factor model. Personality Disorders: Theory, research, and treatment, 1(2), 127-130. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020264
Curvelo, I.C.G., Watanabe, E.A. de M., & Alfinito, S. (2019). Purchase intention of organic food under the influence of attributes, consumer trust and perceived value. Revista de gestão, 26(3), 198-211. https://doi.org/10.1108/rege-01-2018-0010
Dabija, D.C., Mariana BEJAN, B., & Grant, D.B. (2018). The impact of consumer green behaviour on green loyalty among retail formats: A Romanian case study. The czech academy of sciences journal homepage, 26(3), 173-185. https://doi.org/10.2478/ mgr-2018-0014
Dabija, D.C. (2018). Enhancing green loyalty towards apparel retail stores: A cross-generational analysis on an emerging market. Journal of open innovation: Technology, market, and complexity, 4(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40852-018-0090-7
de Oliveira Santini, F., Ladeira, W.J., Pinto, D.C., Herter, M.M., Sampaio, C.H., & Babin, B.J. (2020). Customer engagement in social media: a framework and meta-analysis. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 48(6), 1211-1228. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11747-020-00731-5
Dodds, W.B., Monroe, K.B., & Grewal, D. (1991). Effects of price, brand, and store information on buyers’ product evaluations. Journal of marketing research, 28(3), 307-319. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224379102800305
Dursun, I., Kabadayi, E.T., Koksal, C.G., & Tuger, A.T. (2016). Pro-environmental consumption: Is it really all about the environment? Journal of management, marketing and logistics-JMML, 3(2), 114-134. https://doi.org/10.17261/Pressacademia.2016219940
Ekhlassi, A., Nezhad, M.H., Far, S.A., & Rahmani, K. (2012). The relationship between brand personality and customer personality, gender and income: A case study of the cell phone market in Iran. Journal of targeting, measurement and analysis for marketing, 20(3-4), 158-171. https://doi.org/10.1057/jt.2012.12
Evarts, E.C. 2019: Why do men seem more invested in electric cars than women? Take our Twitter poll. https://www.greencarreports.com/ news/1123764_why-do-men-seem-more-invested-in-electric-cars-than-women-take-our-twitter-poll
Eysenck, H.J. 1991: Dimensions of Personality. In: Strelau, J. & Angleitner, A. (Eds.), Explorations in Temperament: International Perspectives on Theory and Measurement (pp. 87-103). Springer, US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0643-4_7
Fan, Y., Chen, J., Shirkey, G., John, R., Wu, S.R., Park, H., & Shao, C. (2016). Applications of structural equation modeling (SEM) in ecological studies: an updated review. Ecological processes, 5(19), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-016-0063-3
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D.F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of marketing research, 18(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312
Geuens, M., Weijters, B., & De Wulf, K. (2009). A new measure of brand personality. International journal of research in marketing, 26(2), 97-107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2008.12.002
Goh, S.K., & Balaji, M.S. (2016). Linking green skepticism to green purchase behavior. Journal of cleaner production, 131, 629-638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.04.122
Goldberg, L.R. (1993). The structure of phenotypic personality traits. American psychologist, 48(1), 26-34. https://doi.org/10.1037/ 0003-066X.48.1.26
Goldsmith, R.E., & Goldsmith, E.B. (2012). Brand personality and brand engagement. American journal of management, 12(1), 11- 20.
Gough, H.G. (1960). The adjective check list as a personality assessment research technique. Psychological reports, 6(1), 107-122. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.6.1.107-122
Greve, G. (2014). The moderating effect of customer engagement on the brand image – brand loyalty relationship. Procedia - social and behavioral sciences, 148, 203-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.07.035
Grewal, D., Krishnan, R., Baker, J., & Borin, N. (1998). The effect of store name, brand name and price discounts on consumers’ evaluations and purchase intentions. Journal of retailing, 74(3), 331-352. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4359(99)80099-2
Grisaffe, D.B., & Nguyen, H.P. (2011). Antecedents of emotional attachment to brands. Journal of business research, 64(10), 1052- 1059. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2010.11.002
Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., & Anderson, R.E. 2010: Multivariate Data Analysis (7th edn). Pearson Prentice Hall, London
Hallock, W.B., Roggeveen, A., & Crittenden, V.L. 2016: Social media and customer engagement: Dyadic Word-of-Mouth. In: Obal, M., Krey, N. & Bushardt, C. (Eds.), Let’s Get Engaged! Crossing the Threshold of Marketing’s Engagement Era, 1st edn, pp. 439-439. Springer, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11815-4_121
Harmeling, C.M., Moffett, J.W., Arnold, M.J., & Carlson, B.D. (2017). Toward a theory of customer engagement marketing. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 45(3), 312-335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-016-0509-2
Hartmann, P., & Apaolaza-Ibáñez, V. (2012). Consumer attitude and purchase intention toward green energy brands: The roles of psychological benefits and environmental concern. Journal of business research, 65(9), 1254-1263. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.jbusres.2011.11.001
Hojnik, J., Ruzzier, M., & Ruzzier, M.K. (2019). Transition towards sustainability: Adoption of eco-products among consumers. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(16), 4308. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11164308
Johan, I., Rowlingson, K., & Appleyard, L. (2020). The effect of personal finance education on the financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of university students in Indonesia. Journal of family and economic, Issues, 1, 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834- 020-09721-9
Joshi, Y., & Rahman, Z. (2015). Factors affecting green purchase behaviour and future research directions. International strategic management review, 3(1-2), 128-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ism.2015.04.001
Kapferer, J.N. (1996). ‘Building strong brands.’ Journal of brand management, 3(4), 278-280. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.1996.8
Karunakaran, M.S., & Raveendran, P.T. (2018). Customer engagement-the co creation of value in the marketing process. ICTAT journal of management studies, 4(1), 683-690. https://doi.org/10.21917/ijms.2018.0093
Kaufmann, H.R., Panni, M.F.A.K., & Orphanidou, Y. (2012). Factors affecting consumers’ green purchasing behavior: An integrated conceptual framework. Amfiteatru economic journal, 14(31), 50-69.
Keller, K.L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of marketing, 57(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299305700101
Kianpour, K., Anvari, R., Jusoh, A., & Othman, M.F. (2014). Important motivators for buying green products. Intangible capital, 10(5), 873-896. https://doi.org/10.3926/ic.470
Kirmani, M.D., & Naved Khan, M. (2016). Green consumerism/ : A review of extant literature. Public business review international, 1(2), 48-59.
Kumar, V., Aksoy, L., Donkers, B., Venkatesan, R., Wiesel, T., & Tillmanns, S. (2010). Undervalued or overvalued customers: Capturing total customer engagement value. Journal of service research, 13(3), 297-310. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670510375602
Kumar, V., & Pansari, A. (2016). Competitive advantage through engagement. journal of marketing research, 53(4), 497-514. https:/ /doi.org/10.1509/jmr.15.0044
Lin, J., Lobo, A., & Leckie, C. (2017). Green brand benefits and their influence on brand loyalty. Marketing intelligence and planning, 35(3), 425-440. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-09-2016-0174
Louis, D., & Lombart, C. (2010). Impact of brand personality on three major relational consequences (trust, attachment, and commitment to the brand). Journal of product and brand management, 19(2), 114-130. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610421011033467
Maehle, N., Otnes, C., & Supphellen, M. (2011a). Consumers’ perceptions of the dimensions of brand personality. Journal of consumer behaviour, 10(5), 290-303. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.355
Maehle, N., Otnes, C., & Supphellen, M. (2011b). Consumers’ perceptions of the dimensions of brand personality. Journal of consumer behaviour, 10(5), 290-303. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.355
Martineau, P. (1958). Social glasses and spending behavior. Journal of marketing, 23(2), 121-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 002224295802300201
Matta, S.R., Azeredo, T.B., & Luiza, V.L. (2016). Internal consistency and interrater reliability of the Brazilian version of MartínBayarre-Grau (MBG) adherence scale. Brazilian journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 52(4), 795-800. https://doi.org/10.1590/ S1984-82502016000400025
McCrae, R.R., & John, O.P. (1992). An introduction to the five factor model and its applications. Journal of personality, 60(2), 175- 215. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1992.tb00970.x
Mellens, M., Dekimpe, M.G., & Steenkamp, J.E.B.M. (1996). A review of brand loyalty measures in marketing. Tijdschrift voor economie en management, 41, 507-533. https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/a-review-of-brand-loyalty-measures-in-marketing
Mishal, A., Dubey, R., Gupta, O.K., & Luo, Z. (2017). Dynamics of environmental consciousness and green purchase behaviour: an empirical study. International journal of climate change strategies and management, 9(5), 682-706. https://doi.org/10.1108/ IJCCSM-11-2016-0168
Mohd Suki, N. (2016). Consumer environmental concern and green product purchase in Malaysia: structural effects of consumption values. Journal of cleaner production, 132, 204-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.087
Molinillo, S., Japutra, A., Nguyen, B., & Chen, C.H.S. (2017). Responsible brands vs active brands? An examination of brand personality on brand awareness, brand trust, and brand loyalty. Marketing intelligence and planning, 35(2), 166-179. https:// doi.org/10.1108/MIP-04-2016-0064
Morel, M., Kwakye, F., & Hultén, P. 2012: Green marketing: Consumers’ attitudes towards eco-friendly products and purchase intention in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Morwitz, V. (2014). Consumers’ purchase intentions and their behavior. Foundations and trends in marketing, 7(3), 181-230. https:/ /doi.org/10.1561/1700000036
Naumann, K., & Bowden, J. (2015). Exploring the process of customer engagement, self-brand connections and loyalty. Problems and perspectives in management, 13(1), 56-66.
Nguyen, H.T.N., & Tognetti, F. 2018: Sustainable Business Practices and Customers’ Engagement in the Swedish Coffee Industry. Karlstad Business School, Karlstad, Sweden
Ogiemwonyi, O., Harun, A. Bin, Alam, M.N., Karim, A.M., Tabash, M.I., Hossain, M.I., Aziz, S., Abbasi, B.A., & Ojuolape, M.A. (2020). Green product as a means of expressing green behaviour: A cross-cultural empirical evidence from Malaysia and Nigeria. environmental technology and innovation, 20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2020.101055
Oliver, R.L. (1999). Whence consumer loyalty? Journal of marketing, 63(4_suppl 1), 33-44. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 00222429990634s105
Orzan, G., Cruceru, A.F., Balaceanu, C.T., & Chivu, R.G. (2018). Consumers’ behavior concerning sustainable packaging: An exploratory study on Romanian consumers. Sustainability (Switzerland), 10(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061787
Paul, J., Modi, A., & Patel, J. (2016). Predicting green product consumption using theory of planned behavior and reasoned action. Journal of retailing and consumer services, 29, 123-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2015.11.006
Peattie, K. (2004). Towards sustainability: The third age of green marketing. The marketing review, 2(2), 129-146. https://doi.org/ 10.1362/1469347012569869
Phau, I., & Lau, K.C. (2000). Conceptualising brand personality: A review and research propositions. Journal of targeting, measurement and analysis for marketing, 9(1), 52-69. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jt.5740005
Plummer, J.T. (1985). Brand personality: A strategic concept for multinational advertising. Marketing educator’s conference, New York, Young & Rubicam, (1), 1-31.
Salehzadeh, R., & Pool, J.K. (2017). Brand attitude and perceived value and purchase intention toward global luxury brands. Journal of international consumer marketing, 29(2), 74-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/08961530.2016.1236311
Saxena, R., & Khandelwal, P.K. (2010). Can green marketing be used as a tool for sustainable growth?: A study performed on consumers in India- An emerging economy. Cultural, economic and social sustainability, 6(2), 277-291.
Schreiber, J.B., Stage, F.K., King, J., Nora, A., & Barlow, E.A. (2006). reporting structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis results: A review. The journal of educational research, 99(6), 323-337.
Selvakumar, J., & Arthi, T.S. (2019). Influence of green brand image on brand loyalty: A study on leading automobile brands. Global management review, 13(1), 23-38.
Sengupta, A. 2014: Retailing and Tourism Management Retailing and Tourism Management 2014 Brand Analyses of Global Brands Versus Local Brand in Indian Brand Analyses of Global Brands Versus Local Brand in Indian Apparel Consumer Market Apparel Consumer Market [University of Kentucky]. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/mat_etds/6
Shi Wee, C., Ariff, M.S.B.M., Zakuan, N., & Tajudin, M.N.M. (2014). Consumers perception, purchase intention and actual purchase behavior of organic food products. Review of integrative business & economics, 3(2), 397. www.sibresearch.org
Spears, N., & Singh, S.N. (2004). Measuring attitude toward the brand and purchase intentions. Journal of current issues and research in advertising, 26(2), 53-66. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641734.2004.10505164
Su, J., & Tong, X. (2015). Brand personality and brand equity: Evidence from the sportswear industry. Journal of product and brand management, 24(2), 124-133. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-01-2014-0482
Sylvia, C.N., Sweeney, J.C., & Plewa, C. (2020). Customer engagement: A systematic review and future research priorities. Australasian marketing journal, 28(4), 235-252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ausmj.2020.05.004
Tong, X., Su, J., & Xu, Y. (2018). Brand personality and its impact on brand trust and brand commitment: An empirical study of luxury fashion brands. International journal of fashion design, technology and education, 11(2), 196-209. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/17543266.2017.1378732
Tupes, E.C., & Christal, R.C. (1958). Stability of personality trait rating factors obtained under diverse conditions. - PsycNET. USAF wright air development center technical note, 16, 58-61. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1959-07952-001
Tupes, E.C., & Christal, R.E. (1992). Recurrent personality factors based on trait ratings. Journal of personality, 60(2), 225-251. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1992.tb00973.x
Valecha, R., Mathur, S., & Khanna, V. (2018). A study on the impact of green marketing on consumer buying behavior in automobile industry. International journal of advance research and development, 3(1), 286-290. www.ijarnd.com
Venkatesan, R. (2017). Executing on a customer engagement strategy. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 45(3), 289-293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-016-0513-6
Vlachos, P.A., & Vrechopoulos, A.P. (2012). Consumer-retailer love and attachment: Antecedents and personality moderators. Journal of retailing and consumer services, 19(2), 218-228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2012.01.003
White, K., Hardisty, D.J., & Habib, R. 2019: The elusive green consumer. Harvard Business Review, 124-133. https://hbr.org/2019/ 07/the-elusive-green-consumer
Yadav, R., & Pathak, G.S. (2016). Young consumers’ intention towards buying green products in a developing nation: Extending the theory of planned behavior. Journal of cleaner production, 135, 732-739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.06.120