Green behavior among Gen Z consumers in an emerging market: eco-friendly versus non-eco-friendly products

Purpose This study aims to investigate the influence of brand familiarity, consumer green consciousness (GC) and chronic regulatory focus on consumer attitudes, buying intentions and willingness to pay more for eco-friendly products in a comparison between eco-friendly and non-eco-friendly products among Generation Z consumers. Design/methodology/approach An experiment with a between-subjects design was conducted with 151 Malaysian Generation Z consumers. Findings When consumers are more familiar with an eco-friendly brand than a non-eco-friendly brand, their attitude toward, buying intention and willingness to pay more for eco-friendly products are significantly higher than for non-eco-friendly products. In contrast, such effects are not significant when consumers are more familiar with a non-eco-friendly brand than an eco-friendly brand. Hence, young consumers are more inclined to favor a familiar eco-friendly brand than a familiar non-eco-friendly one. Consumers with higher GC are willing to pay more than consumers with lower GC for products of a familiar eco-friendly brand. When consumers are less familiar with an eco-friendly brand, those with a higher chronic promotion focus (CPF) will have a more favorable attitude toward, and a higher intention to buy, eco-friendly products than those with a lower CPF. Practical implications Awareness of how these factors influence consumer purchase behavior can help retailers and marketers design and communicate specific messages to highlight their brand and product eco-friendliness in their marketing strategies. Doing so may increase familiarity with their brand and the demand for and purchase of their brand’s eco-friendly products. Originality/value This research explores the influence of an integrated model of brand familiarity, GC and CPF on consumer purchase behavior in the comparison between eco-friendly and non-eco-friendly products. This has not been clearly examined in previous research.