Investigation of Youth Choices Behavior toward purchasing of Sustainable

products in Pakistan

Introduction
Green products uses to minimize the effect and the risk to environment. IT is also said as “eco-
friendly” or “sustainable”. Therefore, there is no right-down standards toward green products.
According to WHO a product is included as ‘green’ when it has a perfect performance in the
environment than the conventional products and their life cycle. As everyone know firms makes
differentiation of their commodities to increase demand of their commodities against their
rivalries. (Norazah and Suki, 2019).
As we know environment sustainability is more important because there are many issues (such as
waste material which effects the environment) which are created through conventional products
that damaged the environment drastically. So there is need of worry to move toward sustainable
products and also aware and give proper knowledge about sustainable commodities to the
consumers for purchasing the eco-friendly products or green products.
Former research addresses the multidimensional factors such as quality, price, conditional value,
social value and epistemic values, in which some characteristics had negative effect on consumer’s
attitudes. But still there is lack of characteristics that must be overcome to understand the behavior
of consumers towards green products. (Majeed and Ahmad, 2021).

Problem Statement
As we are suffering from environmental issues such as global warming, air pollution and waste
have harmed natural eco system that made a strong impact on our lives and also economic
emergence. The better one way but not the least is to overcome these types of issues is to move
toward the sustainable green products and also aware the consumers and check their response
toward sustainability by using different terms such as green marketing through social media and
etc.

Objective
 To understand the youth choice behavior toward sustainable products through consumption
values such as social values.
 To investigate the choice of behaviors of consumers toward green products.
 We will use quantitative research to accomplish this objective based on influencing
characteristics/factors such as Independent variables as functional value price, social values
with product knowledge or awareness as moderating variable and a mediating variable
green engagement with dependent or predicted variable youth(consumer) behavior.
Significance of Study
This research will enhance the knowledge to youth (consumers) as well as different platforms that
are related to production industries and will also try to fill the gap between youth’s behaviors.

Research Questions
The study of research will lead to explore the consumer’s perceptions and the behavior to make
decision on purchasing the green products/commodities or not. This will be done via some research
questions that are as following.
 RQ1: What is the knowledge of youth toward green products in Pakistan?
 RQ2: What will perception of youth against the green products?
 RQ3: What will their decision on moving toward green products?
 RQ4: How are social values impact on youth considering the green product?
 RQ5: Does product knowledge in consumers would make change about youth behavior?
 RQ6: What will value price (financial situation) make effect of youth toward green
products?

Literature Review
The Theory of Consumption Values
The consumption values are the beliefs that act upon consumer behavior toward choices and also
their hope state. These values build consumers actions, develop their attitudes and assist them to
make choices in different situations or events and subjects etc. The values are also important as
foundation of attitudes, behaviors and beliefs. There is also another term which is said to be
perceived value that means perception of consumers toward products or services. The theory of
consumption values carries theoretical support to offered hypothesis of study. The theory of
consumption values founded through a deep research implement on the consumers behaviors,
sociology, economics and as well as psychology. Theory of consumption values contains values
such as functional value, social value, emotional value, epistemic value, and also has conditional
values. These values have indirectly of directly impact on the behaviors of consumers towards
choices. The theory of consumption values tells the choices of consumers in three slipway. First is
consumers have a choice about purchase and ignore the products or services. Second is to choose
the one nature of product as compare to another one. Third choice is to choose numbers of brands.
With these choices of slipways they can make rational decision making about products and
services. Consumers valuate the products and services which are based on benefits and also
concern relating with environment. (Tanrikulu, 2021)
On green consumption behavior, this study contains green engagement as environmental concerns
to measure the part of environmental concerns, functional price and awareness about green
products in youth choice behavior toward green products. Also there are low number of studies
that focused on youth choice behavior toward sustainable or green products in Pakistan.
Hypothesis Formulation
Functional value price
The function value price is most important key factor of choices of youth behavior towards the
green products. (Tanrikulu, 2021) It explicate the perception of consumers about product
performance, usability, durability, reliability and most important is its price. The consumers may
decide to choose the green products due to attribute such as quality, eco-friendly/sustainable and
in term of price/economic value too. Both of the price and quality has deep influence on their
buying decisions about green products. (Majeed and Ahmad, 2021) The functional price is more
important which may depicts positive and negative response while choosing the green products
because as moving toward green products it may be raise prices issues. Through this discussion,
the hypothesis is implement below as:
H1 (a): Functional value price has significant positive effect on making choice of green product
from consumer.
H1 (b): Functional value price has significant positive effect on green engagement/environmental
concerns.
Social Value
Social values include symbolical values that are connected with consumer’s social image and also
it motivates consumers to consume the products. Social values can also be define as the perceived
utility that products or services furnished cause of relationship with more than one particular social,
cultural, and as well as social economic groups. (Rahnama, 2017) In green products consideration,
the social values can be perceived from consumer perception for the consumption of the green
products that how consumers value the green products, they need more information about green
products.
H2 (a): Social value has significant positive impact on making choice of green product from youth
consumers.
H2 (b): Social value has significant positive impact on green engagement/environmental concerns.
Moderating effect of Product Knowledge
Product knowledge can be considered as information conceive by consumers regarding the
product. Main sources of product knowledge contains consumer experience by consuming the
products through advertisement aim impacting the consumer decision to choose the product. It
influences the consumer purchase behavior. (Wang and Hazen, 2021) In green product
consideration, product knowledge is most important factor. It will influence on the consumers
awareness toward the green product.
H3: Product knowledge is as moderator relationship between functional prices, social values and
mediate with environmental concerns/green engagement and their choice of green product from
youth consumers.
Mediating effect of green engagement/environmental concerns
Environmental concerns: inclusion of green engagement cited as awareness of individuals around
the environmental challenges. An individual may exhibit interest to put up making something
better when resolving environment challenges. So the attitude is a solid predictor of person
intentions to behave in eco-friendly ways (Majeed and Ahmad, 2021). Person’s attitude toward the
environmental concerns like pollution, energy shortage and resource waste and as well as toxic
waste which damages the nature and environment leads to green or sustainable consumption
behavior. (Norazah and Suki, 2019) People environment concerns have irrefutable impact on the
eco-friendly behavior (Majeed and Ahmad, 2021). As well as (Suki, 2015) analyzed the direct
impact of different consumption values on consumer’s concern about environment exhibited for
green products in Malaysia. (Khan and Mohsin, 2017), also examined the direct impact on different
consumptions values on choice behavior of consumers toward green products in Pakistan. While
the current study will examine the functional prices and social values which are part of theory of
consumption values and by product knowledge in youth consumers and behavior of them through
the environmental concerns. (Majeed and Ahmad, 2021) analyzed that there is impact of
consumption values on choice behavior of consumers but there is some issues regarding results
which is effected by functional price and social values because consumers have not awareness
about green products. This study will give deep level of understanding of green products
consumption behavior and youth consumers who highly focused green products may more likely
to purchase green products instead of their properties they may focus on environmental quality.
However youth consumers with low environmental interest may less likely to purchase the green
products because of lack of knowledge about green products. It also includes youth consumers
which may financially poor and may be they interested in green products but due to poor income
they wouldn’t select green products.
H4: Environmental concerns or green engagement act as intervene between the functional price
and social values and youth choice toward green product and product knowledge.
Conceptual Framework