Antecedents of Egyptian Consumers

Green Purchase Intentions:

A Hierarchical Multivariate
Regression Model
Mohamed M. Mostafa

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the influence of various attitudinal and psychographic factors on the green purchase behavior of Egyptian consumers. Using a large sample of 1093 consumers, a survey was
developed and administered across Egypt. The findings from the hierarchical multiple regression model confirm the influence of the consumers ecological knowledge, concern, attitudes, altruism, and perceived
effectiveness, among other factors, on their intention to purchase green
products. Results show that skepticism towards environmental claims is
negatively related to consumers intention to buy green products. The
study also discusses how the present findings may help policy makers
and marketers alike to fine-tune their environmental and marketing programs. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <docdelivery@haworthpress.
com> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> 2006 by The Haworth
Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYWORDS. Green marketing, consumer behavior, multiple hierarchical regression, Egypt

Mohamed M. Mostafa, PhD, is affiliated with the College of Business Administration, Gulf University for Science and Technology, PO Box 7207, Hawaly 32093, Kuwait (E-mail: mostafa@usa.com).
Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Vol. 19(2) 2006
Available online at http://jicm.haworthpress.com
2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1300/J046v19n02_06

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INTRODUCTION
Green consumerism is described as being a multifaceted concept,
which includes preservation of the environment, minimization of pollution, responsible use of non-renewable resources, and animal welfare
and species preservation (McEachern and McClean, 2002). Green or
environmentally friendly products are broadly defined as products that
will not pollute the earth or deplore natural resources, and can be recycled or conserved (Shamdasani et al., 1993). Some examples of these
products are household items manufactured with post-consumer plastics or paper, recyclable or reusable packaging, energy-efficient light
bulbs, and detergents containing ingredients that are biodegradable, nonpolluting, and free of synthetic dyes or perfumes.
Evidence suggests that a growing number of consumers in the U.S. and
Western Europe are becoming more environmentally responsible in
terms of their personal habits and lifestyles (Stone et al., 1995). In a
worldwide study, Starch (1996) identified the total number of green consumers as being 15%. In the UK, 10% are recognized as being hardcore
green consumers (Curlo, 1999). Many U.S. polls since the 1990s indicate
that the percentage of consumers with a strong degree of environmental
awareness ranges from 37 to 96 (Erickson and Kramer-Leblanc, 1991).
Recent polls also report that 50% of Americans claim to look for environmental labels and to switch brands based on environment-friendliness
(Phillips, 1999). In a study of Australian consumers, Suchard and Polonsky (1991) found that 61.5% of the respondents would pay more for
environmentally safe products, while 22.2% were unsure if they would
pay more for green products. On average, those respondents who indicated that they would pay more for green products were willing to pay between 15% and 20% more.
As a result of the increasing number of green consumers, marketers are
targeting the green segment of the population. Recycled paper and plastic
goods and dolphin-safe tuna are examples of products positioned on the
basis of environmental appeal (Banerjee et al., 1995). Marketers are also
incorporating the environment into many marketing activities, including
product and package design (Bhat, 1993; Polonsky et al., 1997) and pricing (Kapelianis and Strachan, 1996). Marketers have even gone as far as
to develop specific models for the development of green advertising and
green marketing strategy (McDaniel and Rylander, 1993; Menon and
Menon, 1997). Nowadays, environmental consciousness is not only an
ideology of activists, but also a matter of market competition (McCloskey and Maddock, 1994), which influences consumer behavior (Follows

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and Jobber, 1999). DSouza (2004) claims that the green vision is a reality and needs to be more functionally understood to allow marketers to
develop strategies aimed to meet the green consumers needs.
Compared with what has been happening in the West, consumers in
Egypt, as well as in the wider context of the Arab world, are just at the
stage of green awakening. For example, United Arab Emirates Federal
Law No 24 concerning the protection of the environment came into
effect only in February 2000. This law provides strong protection to
the environment from the adverse impact created by external activities
(Hilotin, 2004). In Jordan, Law of Environmental Protection (LEP) was
issued in 1995 (Jahamani, 2003). This may explain the fact that little is
understood about consumers intentions to purchase environmentally
friendly products in this part of the world. Indeed, researchers agree
that very little research has been done concerning cross-cultural studies
on environmental attitudes or behavior of different ethnic, cultural, or
religious groups (Klineberg, 1998; Schultz and Zelezny, 1999).
Systematic research into the attributions that consumers in Egypt
make about their pro-environmental behavior and into the relationships
between these attributions is virtually nonexistent. This is surprising because understanding consumers perceptions of cause-and-effect relationships would seem to be central to consumer behavior (Folkes, 1988,
p. 548). In an increasingly globalized marketplace, there is evidence
that knowledge of environmental issues, attitudes toward ecological
problems, and environmentally friendly behaviors vary across cultures
(Johnson et al., 2004; Laroche et al., 2002). The timing is, therefore,
right for consumer research that examines factors that motivate the
adoption of green behaviors and products in an Arab non-Western context. Virtually no pertinent research has been undertaken in Egypt or the
Arab world in the field of green marketing. To remedy this void in the
literature, this study attempts to look at the influence of various psychographic and attitudinal factors on the green purchase behavior of Egyptian consumers. However, similar findings are expected in other Arab
countries. Muna (1980) suggests that Arab societies (moderate and traditional) have an inner similarity and share certain values despite the
obvious differences in the economic and political attainments of their
members. These similarities are based on the notion that Arab cultural
values and norms are formed based on religious beliefs as well as other
cultural factors such as the more collectivistic (Hofstede, 1980) and
high-context (Hall, 1976) nature of Arabic culture. Souiden (2002) suggests that there are a number of market communalities among Arab
countries in terms of consumers response to certain marketing stimuli.

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Amine and Cavusgil (1990) also reported that many communalities exist among Arab countries, permitting the application of standardized
marketing strategies in these countries.
This paper first presents the research objective followed by relevant
literature review and hypotheses development. Next, methodology and
results are discussed followed by implications section. Finally, research
limitations and directions for future research are presented. In this
study, the terms green, environmentally friendly and environmentally conscious are used interchangeably.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
The objective of this research is to identify those factors that influence the intention to buy environmentally responsible products among
Egyptian consumers. Seeking to determine factors that affect green purchase decisions is important in theory development, policy decisions,
and methodological reasons. Research on eco-orientation is important
from a theoretical standpoint because even though environmental concerns are part of corporate social responsibility and ethics frameworks,
researchers have largely ignored eco-specific topics related to consumer behavior, values, and culture. From a public policy standpoint, it
is important to know what motivates consumers to buy environmentally
friendly products if a pro-environmental change policy is to be successfully implemented. Finally, from a methodological measurement standpoint, this research seeks to extend our knowledge about environmentally
friendly behaviors to the Arab world where virtually no research has
been conducted in the realm of eco-orientation.
LITERATURE REVIEW
AND HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT
Drawing on research from North America, Australasia, and Europe,
there is a wealth of evidence that suggests that a wide variety of factors
influence pro-environmental behavior and, in turn, green purchase behavior. These can be characterized as environmental knowledge, environmental concern, attitudes toward green products, perceived consumer
effectiveness, altruism and skepticism towards environmental claims.

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Knowledge
Environmental knowledge can be defined as a general knowledge of
facts, concepts, and relationships concerning the natural environment and
its major ecosystems (Fryxell and Lo, 2003, p. 45). Thus, environmental
knowledge involves what people know about the environment, key relationships leading to environmental aspects or impacts, an appreciation of
whole systems, and collective responsibilities necessary for sustainable
development. Schahn and Holzer (1990) have distinguished two types of
knowledge when examining environmental action: abstract and concrete.
The former relates to knowledge concerning environmental issues: problems, causes, solutions and so on. The latter relates to behavioral knowledge that can be utilized and acted upon. Hines et al. (1987) argued, in
their analysis of 128 previous studies, that abstract knowledge was the
most significant type when predicting environmental action. They have
noted an average correlation of 0.30 between ecological knowledge and
behavior. This moderately, but statistically significant positive association, has been further supported by Grunerts (1993) study on the purchase of green products. It was similarly found that when individuals who
are more actively engaged in environmental issues were compared with
less actively engaged individuals, the single factor which most clearly
differentiated between the groups was knowledge about the specific
problem and how to act in order to most effectively deal with it (Stern,
1992). In a similar vein, Simmons and Widmar (1990) concluded that
lack of knowledge was a substantial barrier to recycling amongst people
with positive conservation attitudes. Based on a large sample (n = 1,388) of
people living in rural communities in Poland, Rokicka (2002) examined
the structure, intensity, and determinants of pro-ecological attitudes. Results suggest that attaining a high level of environmental knowledge produces much better pro-environmental behavior. Very few studies have
shown that environmental knowledge has little bearing on the performance of environmentally friendly acts. For example, in a study of water
conservation (Watson et al., 1992), virtually no correlation was observed
between knowledge and attitude, or between knowledge and intention. In
short, on weighing all the foregoing empirical results, it appears that the
conventional perspectivethat a positive relationship between environmental knowledge and behavior existsstill prevails. Thus, it is hypothesized as follows:
H1: Environmental knowledge is positively related to consumers
intention to purchase green products.

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Concern
Environmental concern has been traditionally viewed as a unidimensional construct ranging from unconcerned about the environment at the
low end to concerned at the high end, as measured by the new environmental paradigm (Milfont and Duckitt, 2004). On the other hand, Schultz
(2000) proposed that environmental concerns have three correlated
factors: concern for the self (egoistic), other people (altruistic), and the
biosphere (biospheric). Academic studies examining environmental
concern include those of Fritzsche and Dueher (1982) who examined
the effects of concern for the environment on the choice of deodorant
container, and Kinnear and Taylor (1973) who examined the effects of
ecological concern on attitudes towards phosphates in laundry detergents. Other studies include Prothero and McDonagh (1992), examining green cosmetics and toiletries, and Barr et al. (2003) examining
recycled packaging. Baldassare and Katz (1992) and Seguin et al.
(1998) have argued that environmental concern can have a significant
impact on the degree to which individuals are motivated to change behavioral practices so as to attempt to alleviate the problem. In a number
of studies, environmental concern has been found to be a major determinant for buying organic food (e.g., Grunert, 1993). However, it should
be noted that reviews of the many studies analyzing the direct empirical
relationship between environmental concern and behavior all agree in
the conclusion that this relation is low to moderate (e.g., Hines et al.,
1987). Taken together, the general attitude toward environmental concern seems to explain not more than 10 per cent variance of specific
environmental behaviors (Bamberg, 2003). Thus, it is hypothesized as
follows:
H2: Environmental concern is positively related to consumers intention to purchase green products.
Attitudes
The social psychology literature on behavioral research has established attitudes as important predictors of behavior, behavioral intention,
and explanatory factors of variants in individual behavior (Kotchen and
Reiling, 2000). Many studies have specifically focused on the relationship between environmental attitudes and environmentally related behaviors. These studies include investigations of environmental attitudes and
political participation (Mohai, 1990), choice of recreational activities

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(Luzar et al., 1995), and willingness to modify behavior (Walsh and

McGuire, 1992). Consumer attitudes have also been used in past studies
to predict energy conservation and ecologically conscious purchase and
use of products. Kassarjian (1971) studied consumers reaction toward a
gasoline that reduced air pollution and found that attitude toward air pollution was the most important variable in determining consumers behavior toward the product. In a study conducted in Germany, Balderjahn
(1988) found that a positive attitude toward ecologically conscious living
resulted in ecologically responsible buying and using of products, including the use of automobiles. It also prompted consumers to publicly show
environmental concern by signing ecologically relevant petitions and
supporting or joining an antipollution organization. The usual findings
reveal a strong association between environmental attitude and ecological behavior (e.g., Lynne and Rola, 1988). However, a number of studies
have found either a moderate relationship between environmental attitude and ecological behavior (e.g., Axelrod and Lehman, 1993; Smith
et al., 1994) or a weak relationship (e.g., Berger and Corbin, 1992). Thus,
it is hypothesized as follows:
H3: Environmental attitudes are positively related to consumers
intention to purchase green products.
Perceived Consumer Effectiveness
In the environmental domain, different concepts of perceived control
are used; for instance, internal locus of control (Arbuthnot, 1977), selfefficacy (Axelrod and Lehman, 1993; Rice et al., 1996), and feelings of
powerlessness (Busch-Rossnagel and Weigel, 1984). Because the benefits that accrue from pro-environmental behaviors are future-oriented and
unlikely to benefit directly the person performing the behavior, it is likely
that fundamental concepts that relate to peoples beliefs about their ability to influence future outcomes and their desire to provide benefits for
others may influence pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors (McCarty
and Shrum, 2001). Hines et al.s (1987) meta analysis showed that in 15
different studies individuals with high perceived effectiveness more often
behaved in an environmentally responsible manner than did individuals
with an external locus of control (individuals who perceive that changes
are due to random events). Shamdasani et al. (1993) found that green
consumers are more internally controlled as they believe that an individual consumer can be effective in environmental protection. Berger and
Corbin (1992) found that perceived consumer effectiveness is a very

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influential moderator of the environmental attitude-consumer behavior

relationship. Roberts (1996) also found that 33% of the variation in ecologically conscious consumer behavior can be explained by perceived
consumer effectiveness. In a similar vein, Ellen et al. (1991) found that
perceived consumer effectiveness was a significant predictor of three environmental beha- viors: purchasing, recycling, and contributing to environmental groups. Thus, it is hypothesized as follows:
H4: Perceived consumer effectiveness is positively related to consumers intention to purchase green products.
Altruism
Schwartz (1977) theory of altruism suggests that pro-environmental
behavior becomes more probable when an individual is aware of harmful consequences to others from a state of the environment and when
that person ascribes responsibility for changing the offending environmental condition. Previous studies (e.g., Stern et al., 1993) examined
the role that social altruism (concern for the welfare of others), and
biospheric altruism (a concern for the non-human elements of the environment) play in influencing green behavior. The findings suggest that
the two constructs positively influence consumers green behavior.
Thus, it is hypothesized as follows:
H5: Altruism is positively related to consumers intention to purchase green products.
Skepticism Towards Environmental Claims
There is considerable evidence to suggest that the much-vaunted consumer concern for the environment and concomitant desire for green
products as not subsequently translated into purchase behavior (Crane,
2000). Some scholars claim that consumers backlash to environmental
marketing is due to false, unsubstantiated or exaggerated claims (Carlson
et al., 1993). Davis (1991) claims that terms such as biodegradable, recyclable, and environmentally friendly have been used by many firms for
describing benefits, which were unproven, inconclusive, or unrealistic.
Calfee and Ringold (1988) argue that consumers are by nature skeptical
of environmental claims unless they have credible bases for evaluating
the claims. Thus, it is hypothesized as follows:

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H6: Skepticism towards environmental claims is negatively related to consumers intention to purchase green products.
METHOD
Sample
The questionnaire used in this study was an attractive three-page
booklet with a cover page of brief instructions. Before conducting the
comprehensive survey, three marketing professors were first invited to
assess the foregoing measurement instrument. After one pre-test with
40 subjects, the final version of the questionnaire included two sections.
The first section consisted of demographic data such as age, sex, and
education level. The second section covered the following topics: perceived environmental knowledge, environmental concern, green purchase attitude, perceived consumer effectiveness, altruism, skepticism
towards environmental claims, and green purchase intention.
Collecting data by mail surveys in the Arab world has been very difficult (Harzing, 1997; Nasif et al., 1991). In order to ensure an acceptable number of responses, a convenience sample was used. A network
of contacts at universities throughout Egypt cooperated in distributing
and returning the questionnaire. All of the contacts were university professors or administrators. Each contact received a packet containing
between 100 and 200 questionnaires, depending on the number of students with whom they interacted. The questionnaires were administered to groups of students who completed them in the classroom.
Students responded voluntarily and were not compensated for their
participation.
A total of 1500 questionnaires was distributed. Confidentiality of responses was emphasized in the cover letter with the title Confidential
survey and in the text. To reduce social desirability artifacts, the cover
letter indicated that the survey seeks attitudes towards green purchase
and nothing else. In total, 1274 responses were received by the cut-off
date, but 181 questionnaires were discarded because the respondents
failed to complete the research instrument appropriately. The effective
sample size, thus, was 1093. Around half of the participants were females (52.8 per cent). Almost 22 per cent of the students were seniors,
17 per cent juniors, 25 per cent sophomore, 27 per cent freshmen, and
9 per cent graduate students. Average age in the sample was 22.7.

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Although the extent to which student subjects represent the general

population can be debated (Greenberg, 1987; Gordon et al., 1987), using
university students as subjects has been a research method practiced
worldwide for many years, mainly for their accessibility to the researcher
and homogeneity as a group (Calder et al., 1981). U.S. research found
marketing students responses to questions relating to environmental
consciousness to be similar to those recorded by the general public as a
whole (Synodinos, 1991). In fact, previous research has reported that
sociodemographic characteristics have minor importance for explaining
the variance in environmental attitudes/beliefs and ecological behavior
(e.g., Tanner et al., 2004).
Measures
All constructs used in this study were measured by various items on
5-point Likert-type scale (1 = Completely disagree to 5 = Completely
agree). It is widely believed that attitudes are best measured by way of
multiple measures and the general trend in measuring environmental
issues is via several items instead of single item questions (Gill et al.,
1986). The items contain an explicit key expression representing the
specific construct (see Appendix). Positive and negative formulations
of the items were presented for guaranteeing the content balance of the
study. All items are based on scales that have been previously validated.
Perceived environmental knowledge was measured using the perceived knowledge of environmental issues scale (Ellen et al., 1997).
The scale was found to be valid and reliable with reported value of
0.86 (Mohr et al., 1998). This scale has been chosen because other efforts are either seriously dated or unreliable or both. For example
Maloney et al. (1975) proposed a 15-item instrument to measure environmental knowledge. Later, Benton (1994) encountered unacceptable
internal consistency in using this scale ( = 0.38). Recent use of the
scale has also given highly skewed distributions, with a high number of
respondents giving correct answers to the questions utilized, rendering
the data collected unusable (Kristensen and Grunert, 1991). Weaver
(2002) developed a 3-item environmental knowledge scale. These items
include knowledge about the greenhouse effect, the relationship between pesticides and chemicals used in food and human health, and the
environmental consequences of car pollution. Initially these three items
were grouped together as an index, but the index did not meet reliability
standards with Cronbachs alpha well below 0.5.

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Unlike previous research (e.g., Chan 2001; Chan and Lau, 2000), we
measure knowledge of environmental issues using perceived environmental knowledge instead of factual environmental knowledge. Rolston and Di Benedetto (1994) warned researchers against measuring
factual consumer knowledge about environmental issues since even
experts cannot agree on a products effect on the environment. In fact,
research documents the low level of knowledge consumers have about
environmental issues and the meaning of environmental terms (e.g., Ellen, 1994). In their review of 24 surveys on environmental issues, Hastak
et al. (1994) report, for example, that a majority of consumers know the
term recyclable, but many do not have a detailed understanding of the
term and its implications for purchasing decisions.
There have been numerous environmental concern scales that have
been developed each with various advantages and disadvantages; however, the new NEP scale was chosen for use in the present study owing
to its sound psychometric properties and relatively small number of
items. The new, revised environmental paradigm (NEP) scale (Dunlap
et al., 2000) is an updated and expanded 15-item version of its predecessor, which has been used for over two decades (Dunlap and Van Liere,
1978). While several of the items remain, the new NEP differs in the
way items are selected to elicit five facets of environmental concern: reality of limits to growth; anti-anthropocentrism; the fragility of Natures
balance; rejection of the idea that humans are exempt from the constraints of Nature; and the possibility of an eco-crisis or ecological catastrophe. Analysis of new NEP results have revealed predictive and
construct validity in addition to a marginal increase of internal consistency from the original scale (Dunlap et al., 2000).
In the environmental psychology literature, NEP is commonly taken
to measure general environmental concern (Poortinga et al., 2004,
p. 72). The scale has been used to examine environmental concern in
the United States (e.g., Caron, 1989; Nooney et al., 2003), Canada (Edgell and Nowell, 1989), Sweden (Widegren, 1998), the Baltic States
(Gooch, 1995), Turkey (Furman, 1998), and Japan (Pierce et al., 1987).
This study represents the first application of the scale in the Arab
world.
Four items from a scale developed by Paulhus (1983) were used to
measure perceived consumer effectiveness. Paulhus partitioned locus
of control into three distinct behavioral spheres; the sphere deemed
most appropriate for the current study was control in societal situations.
The scale was found to be valid and reliable with reported value of
0.82 (McCarty and Shrum, 2001).

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Four items from a scale developed by Mohr et al. (1998) were used to
measure skepticism toward environmental claims. This tool is a measure of skepticism toward marketing communications that make environmental claims. The scale was found to be valid and reliable with
reported value of 0.79 (Mohr et al., 1998).
Three items from a scale developed by Stern et al. (1993) were used
to measure altruism. The reported reliability of the scale (Stern et al.,
1993) was only moderate ( = 0.62) which is not surprising given the
small number of items used to construct the scale.
Green purchase attitude was measured using a 3-item scale that
found to be valid and reliable (Taylor and Todd, 1995). The three statements coded by 5-point semantic-differential scales were employed in
previous research to operationalize the global measure of attitudes toward green purchase (Chan, 2001).
Finally, Green purchase intention was also measured using a 3- item
scale adapted from Li (1997) and utilized by Chan (2001) to study the
intention of Chinese consumers to engage in green purchase behavior.
Procedures
The Arabic version of the scales was created through careful translation and back-translation techniques (Candell and Hulin, 1987; McGorr,
2000). First, the author translated the scale items into Arabic. Then,
these Arabic items were back-translated into English by a bilingual
expert to make sure that the original content was kept in translation to
decrease discrepancies between the English and the Arabic measurements. No individual item was problematic in translation. In translating
the scale items into Arabic, the author followed Malinowskis (1935)
technique of translation, which involves the following four steps:
1. An interlinear, or word-by-word, translation,
2. a free translation in which clarifying terms, conjunction, etc.,
are added and the words reinterpreted,
3. an analysis and collation of the two translations, leading to
4. a contextual specification of meaning.
The translated version was cross-checked independently by another
group of bilingual researchers and was pre-tested to allow final adjustments before full-scale applications. Since the scales that were used to
measure the general environmental attitudes and knowledge domains had
not previously been cross-culturally validated in an Arab non-Western

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context, the calculation of item-total correlations for the pooled data was
first used as a basis for detecting poor items. Items with item-total correlation of 0.30 or less were eliminated from the analysis. Following recommendations by Anderson and Gerbing (1988), the retained items were
subjected to an exploratory principal component analysis, separately for
each scale, to further investigate the unidimensionality of the scales. We
chose the oblique rotation since the attitude and behavioral dimensions
are expected to be correlated among themselves. Advocates of the oblique rotation assert that in the real world, important factors are likely to
be correlated; thus searching for unrelated factors is unrealistic (Dixon,
1993). Finally, the retained items were combined into sum scales and
reliabilities and means were calculated.
Three items were eliminated from the NEP scale to produce an acceptable reliability. This is consistent with previous research reporting
the use of the NEP scale cross-culturally. For example, Bechtel et al.
(1999) eliminated two items from the NEP scale when it was administered in Brazil. Table 1 reports construct measures, descriptive statistics, and reliabilities. The reliabilities, measured with Cronbachs alpha,
ranged from 0.76 to 0.95. Cronbachs alpha is considered for the most
part to be a conservative estimate of a constructs reliability (Carmines
and Zeller, 1983). For the statistical analysis of the questionnaires,
SPSS 13.0 was selected because of its ability to extensively analyze
quantitative data.
TABLE 1. Construct Measures and Descriptive Statistics (n =1093)
Construct

Source

Final No.
of items

Perceived consumer
effectiveness

McCarty and Shrum

(2001)

New environment
paradigm

Dunlap et al. (2000)

Scale

Range

Mean St. Dev. Alpha

5-point Likert type

4 to 20

16.83

2.71

0.817

12

5-point Likert type

12 to 60 47.77

7.54

0.804

Perceived environmental Ellen et al. (1997)

knowledge

5-point Likert type

5 to 25

18.66

3.15

0.778

Green purchase
attitudes

Chan (2001)

5-point Likert type

3 to 15
semantic differential

10.74

2,67

0.932

Green purchase
intention

Li (1997)

5-point Likert type

3 to 15

10.67

2.56

0.926

Skepticism towards
environmental claims

Mohr et al. (1998)

5-point Likert type

4 to 20

6.84

1.59

0.946

Altruism

Stern et al. (1993)

5-point Likert type

3 to 15

8.21

2.06

0.758

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RESULTS
Product-Moment Correlations
Though it does not prove causation, correlation can serve as predictor
of causation (Sekaran, 2000). The product moment correlations between the variables are shown in Table 2. This table was constructed to
get a feel for the associations among the six constructs constituting the
model. Most of the correlation coefficients were significant and had the
expected sign. Thus the constructs, in general, are highly related. However, this result should be interpreted with some caution due to the large
sample size.
Hierarchical Regression Analysis
Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the research hypotheses. This method is also known as incremental variance partitioning
(Pedhazur, 1982). This approach allows us to focus on the variables
forming the hypotheses, and at the same time sieve out the influence of
TABLE 2. Product-Moment Correlation Matrix
1

1. ALT
2. NEP

0.297**

3. PEK

0.335**

0.355**

4. GPI

0.575**

0.398**

0.486**

5. PCE

0.452**

0.289**

0.419**

0.668**

6. GPA

0.607**

0.271**

0.597**

0.727**

0.541**

7. SEC

0.042

0.074*

0.238**

0.190**

0.048

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Note:
ALT = Altruism
NEP = Environmental concern
PEK = Perceived environmental knowledge
GPI = Green purchase intentions
PCE = Perceived consumer effectiveness
GPA = Green purchase attitudes
SEC = Skepticism towards environmental claims

0.307**

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111

the control variables that might have a moderating effect on consumers

green purchase decisions. Also this method allows the researcher to
control the order of the variables entered into the regression model, allowing us to assess the incremental predictive ability of any variable of
interest (McQuarrie, 1988). Prior research has demonstrated that green
purchase intention can be influenced by demographic characteristics
(e.g., Balderjahn, 1988; Blo- cker and Eckberg, 1997). Therefore, three
demographic variables (gender, age, and education) were included as
the first of four blocks in hierarchical multiple regression. Demographic
variables were included as controls to reduce the possibility of spurious
relationships based on these types of personal characteristics. Gender
was included as a control variable because Western research indicates
that females are somewhat more likely to purchase green products
(Zelezny et al., 2000). This variable was coded as 1 for males and 0 for
females. Age was included as a control variable because the era in
which one was brought up is important in shaping environmental values. Education was included, given its obvious relationship to environmental knowledge. This was coded as an ordinal scale from 1 (freshman)
through 5 (postgraduate degree).
Table 3 shows a summary of results of the hierarchical regression
analysis. As seen in Table 3, when the three demographic variables
were entered into the regression equation in the first step, the coefficient
of determination (R2) was found to be 0.112 indicating that 11.2 per
cent of green purchase intention is explained by these demographic
variables. This result confirms Balderjahn (1988) and Shrum et al.s
(1994) studies, which found that demographic and socio-economic
variables such as education, income, and family size are only of limited
value in explaining different degrees of environmental attitudes. In a
similar vein, Olli et al. (2001) found that sociodemographic correlates
explain only 10 % of environmental acts.
Following the recommendation of Mainieri et al. (1997), environmental knowledge and environmental concern were our second entry. This is
because knowledge and concern are fundamental to attitudes and intentional behavior. By adding the two independent variables in step 2, R2
increased to 0.458 or 45.8 per cent. This R2 change (0.346) is significant
(p < 0.001). This implies that the additional 34.6 per cent of variation in
consumers intention to purchase green products is explained by environmental knowledge and environmental concern.
In the third step, perceived consumer effectiveness, altruism, and
skepticism towards environmental claims scales were entered. The decision to enter these three independent variables is based on Ajzen and

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TABLE 3. Hierarchical Regression Results
Standardized
Coefficients

SIG.

R
F Change
Change

0.112

0.112

45.780

0.000

0.458

0.346

347.148

0.000

0.662

0.204

218.562

0.000

0.764

0.102

468.704

0.000

SIG. F
Change

Beta
Model 1
(Constant)

16.807

0.000

0.118

1.819

0.069

Sex

0.758

10.269

0.000

Education

0.660

7.201

0.000

14.190

0.000

0.070

1.330

0.184

Age

Model 2
(Constant)
Age
Sex

0.733

13.388

0.000

Education

1.013

13.827

0.000

Knowledge

0.563

20.483

0.000

Concern

0.378

14.355

0.000

Model 3
(Constant)
Age

0.382

0.5930

0.554

8.048

0.000

Sex

0.469

9.729

0.000

Education

0.243

3.626

0.000

Knowledge

0.251

9.986

0.000

Concern

0.213

9.660

0.000

Perceived control

0.345

15.378

0.000

Altruism

0.329

13.983

0.000

Skepticism

0.069

3.572

0.000

1.646

0.100

Age

0.621

15.073

0.000

Sex

Model 4
(Constant)
0.208

4.958

0.000

Education

0.000

0.002

0.998

Knowledge

0.060

2.613

0.009

Concern

0.345

17.758

0.000

Perceived control

0.202

10.184

0.000
0.000

Altruism
Skepticism
Attitudes

0.135

6.276

0.136

7.296

0.000

0.640

21.650

0.000

Fishbeins (1980) theory that specific attitudes are better than general
attitudes as predictors of related behavior. When the three scales were
entered the R2 increased from 45.8 per cent to 66.2 per cent indicating a
change of 20.4 per cent, which is significant (p < 0.001).
In the fourth and final step, the green purchase attitudes scale was
entered in the equation in order to gauge its impact as an independent

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predictor. From the final regression equation (model 4), it can be seen
that R2 increased from 66.2 per cent to 76.4 per cent indicating a change
of 10.2 per cent, which is significant (p < 0.001). Thus, the final model
explains 76.4 per cent of the variation in consumers intention to
purchase green products.
From the final regression model, we found perceived environmental
knowledge to be positively and significantly (at the 0.01 level) related
to ecologically favorable attitudes and behaviors ( = 0.060). This result supports the first hypothesis. This finding also confirms many previous studies, which found that environmental knowledge positively
affects pro-environmental intention and behavior (e.g., Amyx et al.,
1994; Chan, 1999).
The standardized coefficient for environmental concern is positive
( = 0.345) and significant at the 0.001 level, which supports the second
hypothesis. The positive and significant relationship between environmental concern as measured by the NEP scale supports also previous
research which found that a pro-ecological orientation or seeing the
world ecologically, reflected by a high score on the NEP scale led to
pro-environmental beliefs and attitudes on a wide range of issues (Pierce
et al., 1999; Stern et al., 1993).
We found environmental attitudes to be positively and significantly
(at the 0.01 level) related to green purchase intention ( = 0.640). This
result supports the third hypothesis. This finding also confirms many
previous studies, which found that environmental attitudes positively
affect pro-environmental intention and behavior (e.g., Arcury, 1990;
Chan, 1999).
The standardized coefficient for perceived consumer effectiveness is
positive ( = 0.202) and significant at the 0.001 level. The strong positive relationship found in this study between perceived consumer effectiveness and green purchase intention provides a strong support to the
fourth hypothesis. Findings of previous research have been fairly conclusive that perceived consumer effectiveness is positively correlated
with ecologically conscious consumer behavior. Roberts (1996) found
that perceived consumer effectiveness was the single strongest predictor
of ecologically conscious consumer behavior.
The standardized coefficient for altruism is positive ( = 0.135) and
significant at the 0.001 level. This finding supports the fifth hypothesis.
This result also corroborates the findings of Straughan and Roberts
(1999) who found that the inclusion of altruism in the model predicting
green consumer behavior adds significantly to past efforts (e.g., Roberts,
1996).

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The standardized coefficient for skepticism toward environmental

claims is negative ( = 0.136) and significant at the 0.001 level. This
result strongly supports the sixth hypothesis. This result also lends
strong support to Gray-Lee et al.s (1994) findings, which suggest that
one reason for green consumers lack of support of green products may
be the confusion about and skepticism toward green marketing communications.
IMPLICATIONS
Research Implications
Lee and Green (1991) claim that while most of the major consumer behavior models have been developed and tested in the West, relatively little attention has been devoted to investigating the validity of these models
under other cultural settings. However, this cross-cultural testing is essential as most behavioral theories are rooted in psychology, which, in
turn, is heavily bound by cultural values (Chan and Lau, 1998). In this research, we developed a model that has proved to be reasonably competent
in explaining Egyptian consumers green purchase intentional behavior.
Developing such models is important for bridging the gap of knowledge
that currently exists between practitioners (as evidenced by widespread
use of green products) and academic researchers (as evidenced by the
lack of empirical research on green purchase behavior).
The high environmental concern among Egyptian consumers found in
this study contradicts previous research conducted in the West. Some authors have argued that environmental concern is a post-material valuea
set of attitudes that develops among wealthy people once the more basic
needs of food and safety have been met (e.g., Buttel, 1992; Inglehart,
1990). This line of reasoning leads to the prediction that developing nations like Egypt should be less concerned about environmental issues
than the U.S. or European countries. Our results show that the traditional wisdom that environmental concern is a luxury afforded by only the
wealthy is unfounded cross-culturally.
Marketing Implications
The knowledge of the green consumer is important for the whole supply chain and especially for the retailers, since the environmental issues
influence the purchase and nutritional decisions of six out of ten con-

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sumers in the U.S. and the UK (Ottman, 1992). Knowing the greenprofile of consumers in Egypt allows marketers to develop strategies
specifically targeted at this segment. For example, green marketers
should consider the positive relationship observed between perceived
environmental knowledge and intention to buy green products. They
could, for instance, educate consumers about the convenience of buying
ecologically safe products.
Substantial numbers of consumers in our study claim to be green, but it
is unclear to what extent they are willing to purchase goods based solely
on environmental grounds. They may expect green products to be
competitively priced and perform the same as others, thus using a products greenness to differentiate two relatively equal goods. Therefore, it is
of primary importance for marketers to advise why it is convenient to purchase green products and to change consumer perceptions in a positive
way. Building up beliefs about green products could, perhaps, be accomplished through green promotional materials and green advertisements
that appeal to consumer rationality and emotions. Schuhwerk and LefkoffHagius (1995) have noted that although green appeals are not significantly more influential than non-green appeals for environmentally involved consumers, they are much more persuasive than non-green appeals
for environmentally uninvolved consumers. By attaching themselves to
environmental causes, marketers not only educate consumers, but also
may improve their environmental image.
While several of the demographic variables in our model achieve
statistical significance, they lack the explanatory power of the psychographic variables. This suggests that psychographics generally represent a better method of segmenting the green products market in Egypt
than demographics.
Our results show that perceived consumer effectiveness is positively
related to intention to buy green products. Such result suggests that
campaigns to promote green products should convey the message that
peoples actions make a difference.
Policy Implications
Egypt faces pressing environmental problems such as air and water
pollution (Chukwuma, 1995). Those problems cause increasing support
for the local environment. Understanding factors affecting environmental attitudes is necessary before the county can move toward more
effective environmental policies and institutional actions designed to
increase environmentally friendly behavior.

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Some authors argue that green policies are profitable through cost
reduction (Rugman and Verbeke, 2000). Green firms can shape future
regulations and reap first-mover advantage (Porter and van der Linde,
1995). It can be argued, then, that the ideal solution to environmental
problems in Egypt is for companies to include green policies in their
long-term strategies. Thus, Egyptian government should expedite green
purchase through legislation. Given that the development of green marketing in Egypt, as well as in the rest of the Arab world, is still in its infancy, it is suggested that the Egyptian government should work closely
with the business community and form strategic alliances with environmental groups to come up with a comprehensive eco-certification
scheme and a set of guidelines that regulate the practices of green marketing. For example, in the United Arab Emirates, the Federal Environmental
Agency (FEA) and the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) are doing
admirable work in spreading awareness about environmental issues, including green purchasing, in the country. By working closely with the
public and private sectors, these entities have succeeded in large measure in preserving the environment (Gulf News, 2004).
LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH
First, the measures used in the study are based on self-reports of past
behaviors or predictions about future actions. Though such self-reports
often represent fairly good approximations of actual behaviors (Ajzen
and Fishbein, 1980), they clearly have limitations. In particular, socially
desirable past behaviors and intentions are usually overreported and
less desirable past behaviors are underreported. Future research should
examine the potential impact of social desirability bias on consumers
responses to questions about green purchase behavior. Second, using
only one method of data collection in evaluating a complex purchase decision where emotions may be strongly involved, is particularly prone
to mono-method bias. Future research may support questionnaire survey
with in-depth personal interviews or focus group discussions. Either of
these techniques allows for some quantifiable data to be obtained
through the use of closed-ended questions. Third, this study has used a
cross-sectional rather than a longitudinal approach. This implies that
much more emphasis has been placed on observing consumers behaviors than in observing changes in behavior. Therefore, there would seem
to be a need for much more longitudinal research to focus on observing
changes in consumers behavior over time. Fourth, for the purpose of

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this research, a multiple hierarchical regression approach was adopted

to identify consumers behavioral intention regarding green products.
The use of quantitative methods alone is valuable in establishing relationships between variables, but is considered weak when attempting to
identify the reasons for those relationships (Chisnall, 1997). Using qualitative research along quantitative methods in future studies may enable
us to further explore relationships amongst variables. Finally, This
study was conducted in Egypt using college students as subjects and so
some caution should be observed in generalizing its results to other
Arab countries. Although Egypt may reflect market and consumer attitudes in other Arab countries, future research might extend the list of
countries and use subjects from other populations to assess more significantly pan-Arab consumers behaviors regarding green products.
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SUBMITTED: August, 2005

FIRST REVISION: January, 2006
SECOND REVISION: February, 2006
ACCEPTED: March, 2006

Mohamed M. Mostafa

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APPENDIX

PERCEIVED ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE SCALE

I know that I buy products and packages that are environmentally safe.
I know more about recycling than the average person.
I know how to select products and packages that reduce the amount of waste
ending up in landfills.
I understand the environmental phrases and symbols on product package.
I am very knowledgeable about environmental issues.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN SCALE

We are approaching the limit of the number of people the earth can support.
The earth has plenty of natural resources if we just learn to develop them. (R)
The earth is like a spaceship with only limited room and resources.
Humans have the right to modify the natural environment to suit their needs.
(R)
Plants and animals have as much right as humans to exist.
Humans were meant to rule over the rest of the Nature. (R)
When humans interfere with Nature, it often produces disastrous consequences.
The balance of Nature is strong enough to cope with the impacts of modern industrial nations. (R)(a)
The balance of Nature is very delicate and easily upset.
Human ingenuity will ensure that we do not make the earth unlivable. (R)
Despite our special abilities, humans are still subject to the laws of Nature. (a)
Humans will eventually learn enough about how nature works to be able to
control it. (R)
Humans are severely abusing the environment.
The so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated. (R)(a)
If things continue on their present course, we will soon experience a major
ecological catastrophe.

GREEN PURCHASE ATTITUDES SCALE

I (1 = Dislike; 5 = Like) the idea of purchasing green.
Purchasing green is a (1 = Bad; 5 = Good) idea.
I have a/an (1 = Unfavorable; 5 = Favorable) attitude toward purchasing a
green version of a product.

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APPENDIX (continued)

PERCEIVED CONSUMER EFFECTIVENESS SCALE

There is very little we, as consumers, can do to keep the cost of living from going up. (R)
The average citizen can have an influence on government decisions.
By taking an active part in political and social affairs we, the people, can control world events.
I prefer to concentrate my energy on other things rather than on solving the
worlds problems. (R)

ALTRUISM SCALE
We do not need to worry much about the environment because future generations will be better able to deal with these problems than we are. (R)
The effects of pollution on public health are worse than we realize.
Pollution generated here harms people all over the earth.

SKEPTICISM TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIMS SCALE

Most environmental claims made on package labels or in advertising are true.
(R)
Because environmental claims are exaggerated, consumers would be better
off if such claims on package labels or in advertising were eliminated.
Most environmental claims on package labels or in advertising are intended to
mislead rather than to inform consumers.
I do not believe most environmental claims made on package labels or in advertising.

GREEN PURCHASE INTENTION SCALE

Over the next month, I will consider buying products because they are less
polluting.
Over the next one month, I will consider switching to other brands for ecological reasons.
Over the next one month, I plan to switch to a green version of a product.
(R) = Reverse-coded scores; (a) = Items excluded from analysis.