Factors influencing green product purchase decisions: insights from Tunisia

Purpose Environmental research increasingly acknowledges that human lifestyle choices, especially in consumption, negatively affect the planet. This awareness pushes people to attach great importance to green products. This research aims to identify the factors that shape consumers’ decisions to purchase green products in Tunisia. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were gathered through an online sampling method, utilizing a convenience sampling approach. A total of 218 participants from Tunisia took part in the survey, with the selection process conducted via online questionnaires distributed through Facebook and LinkedIn platforms. Having a quantitative and descriptive nature, this study employs principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to analyze the data. Findings Findings suggest that both social influence and environmental knowledge positively affect attitudes toward green products among Tunisian consumers, with trust playing a significant role in motivating purchase intentions. Contrary to the literature, the hypotheses relative to the significant impacts of green product awareness on the attitude toward green products and the impact of perceived risk on the intention to purchase green products are not supported. This suggests that managers should reinforce awareness campaigns with strategies that enhance emotional engagement and trust in green claims. In addition, rather than reducing perceived risks, marketers and policymakers should emphasize the benefits of green products such as credibility, performance and value. Research limitations/implications In summary, this study has examined the factors that shape attitudes towards green products within the Tunisian context. This has been achieved through a focus on personal factors, such as environmental knowledge, and external factors such as social influence. In order to achieve this goal, this paper emphasizes the understanding of the consumer purchase decision process inherent in sustainable consumption, with a specific focus on identifying the role of intention as a mediating variable linking attitude to behavior. Additionally, trust emerged as a vital factor influencing the intention to purchase green products. This suggests that Tunisian consumers value transparency and authenticity in firms’ environmental practices, making green trust a critical driver of green purchasing behavior. Consequently, our comprehensive investigation into green products’ consumption among Tunisian consumers has successfully met its research objectives. The findings of this research contribute significantly to both theoretical and managerial realms. In fact, this study adds significant value to the body of literature regarding green consumption in several noteworthy ways. Firstly, it addresses the observation made by Kumar et al. (2017) and Barbu et al. (2022) that, despite an extensive body of literature, the fields of green marketing and green consumer behavior remain relatively under-investigated. Another substantial theoretical contribution lies in validating the relationship between environmental knowledge and attitude. This is particularly crucial, as the green marketing knowledge requires empirical validation, which our study helps fulfill (Sharma, 2021). Practical implications From a managerial standpoint, it is evident that environmental knowledge plays a significant role in shaping consumers' attitudes towards green products. To leverage this relationship, marketers should focus on educating consumers about the environmental benefits and attributes of their green products, employing transparent communication, informative packaging and product labeling. Additionally, the impact of social influence on attitudes highlights the importance of peer endorsements and social proof. Marketers can harness this influence by encouraging satisfied customers and influencers to share their positive experiences with green products on social media platforms. Building trust in green products is paramount, necessitating transparency, certifications and eco-labeling to establish credibility. This paper can also be an occasion to offer some recommendations to policymakers. In fact, in light of the different results extracted from the study, they can promote environmental education campaigns to enhance environmental knowledge by using TV, social media and radio in Arabic, French and even in English to reach wide audiences. Besides, in view of climate change and the harmful consequences of irresponsible human behavior on the planet, the mentality has to change. In this case, the state officials have to cultivate a mindset that embraces all aspects of sustainability. To do this, schools and universities have to adhere to this approach by integrating green consumption topics into the educational curriculum to build long-term, environmentally conscious behaviors. Students and pupils can play the role of green ambassadors in schools, universities and local organizations, and act consequently as peer role models. Correspondingly, the Tunisian government has to take action in order to sensitize people about sustainability and its importance to our life by implementing many practical policy actions to encourage green consumption and promote sustainable development. For example, it can establish and reinforce eco-labeling standards to build consumers’ confidence by obtaining International Organization for Standardization 1400--an international standard that establishes the requirements for an environmental management system. In this way, organizations have to be encouraged to produce green offer incentives for businesses that produce or sell certified green products by giving grants and reducing taxes. Moreover, the collaboration with private companies to finance and lead green awareness campaigns and support any innovation focusing on green entrepreneurship has become a necessity. Social implications From a social point of view, the adoption of green products has significant social implications as it contributes to the development of environmentally responsible society. Environmental knowledge increases public awareness and enables people to understand the effects of their consumption choices, resulting in more responsible and informed behavior. By creating positive social norms that foster sustainable consumption, social influence strengthens these behaviors. Furthermore, green trust reinforces ethical consumption practices by boosting public acceptance and decreasing skepticism of green products. Stronger intentions to adopt sustainable products result from positive attitudes toward green products that are developed via social interactions, knowledge and trust. All these elements support sustainable development, encourage social responsibility and long-term behavioral change and improve society's well-being and that of a stronger future generation. Originality/value The current study addresses a critical gap in the green consumer behavior literature domain by putting the accent on Tunisia, a developing country, where environmental awareness is relatively low. This contextual specificity adds value to the global discourse on sustainable consumption, which often centers on Western economies. By extending the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) through the integration of green trust and perceived risks constructs, this study enriches the literature through the validation of the relationship between environmental knowledge and consumer attitudes while highlighting the crucial role of trust and social influence in fostering positive attitudes and enhancing the credibility of green products.