| Abstract |
There are few studies on the impact of economic cycles on green purchasing (GP) and green activism (GA). This study investigates whether times of well-being and crisis have different effects on internal factors (psychographic factors (PF), motivations, attitudes and perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE)) and external factors (environmental information and marketing mix) that influence ecological behaviours (GA and GP). To that end, a longitudinal analysis is carried out in Spain distinguishing between times of economic crisis (2008-2012) and times of well-being (2014-2019). Our findings show a clear influence of the economic context, which acts as a moderating variable in the link between internal and external factors and ecological behaviour. PF and GA influence GP, and that influence is more pronounced in times of economic crisis. The PF with the greatest influence on GA and GP in times of crisis is motivation, followed by PCE, while in times of well-being context the effects of both these top factors are similar. Within marketing variables, product and price have more influence on GP than promotion and place in times of economic crisis, and price has no effect in times of well-being. The influence of environmental information (EI) is also greater in times of crisis than in times of well-being. Thus, during economic crises the dissemination of EI among consumers plays an important role in environmental attitudes, which in turn influence GP positively. However, high prices of green products affect GP negatively in times of crisis, which could explain the lower levels of GP found. These findings are useful for public bodies, companies and educational institutions, which need to take the economic cycle into account when developing actions and strategies to encourage ecological behaviour. |
