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In a capitalist economy, the principles, values and behaviors of a great part of the population are centered on buying things, on having goods. Thus, in order to achieve sustainable development, emphasis should be given to the creation and the promotion of environmentally sustainable products. In view of that, the present study investigates consumers purchase decision process regarding environmentally sustainable products. This study sought identifying what the green product and process expected attributes are in automobile and furniture purchases, as well as what the expanded and reduced risks are in offers with these characteristics. To reach these objectives, a qualitative research was initially performed, and, subsequently, a quantitative research was carried out with the aim to confirm the mapped data. In summary, the results obtained indicate as important green attributes for automobiles items such as “economy”, “engine” and “new technologies”. Regarding furniture important green attributes, “design”, “origin label” and “origin of the raw material” were indicated as important. Furthermore, it could be verified that the purchase of green products may increase performance and time risks and mitigate financial and social risks. In short, this study allowed for advances in the theoretical comprehension regarding green products and decision-making processes with medium- and high-involvement levels. However, once external factors such as culture and ethnicity tend to influence buyers' decision-making processes, and considering the fact that this study was executed in Brazil, distinct results may be found in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on behavioral motivation for green product consumption has greatly advanced in recent years, but many unknowns remain, particularly regarding consumers' willingness to pay premium prices for products with ecological appeal. In this context, this paper reports an experimental research that investigates the relationship between consumer perceived value for green products and price elasticity. The research was performed using an adaptation of the model proposed by Zeithaml (1988) and it was applied in the automotive and furniture sectors. It was found that perceived value of green products increases willingness to pay in the purchasing decision. It was also observed that demographical variables, such as gender, age and revenue positively impact perceived quality and the consequent purchase intention. Considering the population sampled, results indicate that the effect of ecological appeal is similar to a 10% price reduction. It means that, according to the declared preference, respondents were willing to pay, on average, a 10% premium for green products in the studied product categories. The main theoretical contribution of our paper lies in furthering the understanding of how key dimensions that constitute perceived value relate to each other and to demographic and personal influence variables, as well as its impact in willingness to pay premium prices for green products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The growing awareness regarding environmental sustainability has fully reached business reality. Consumers and companies alike are looking for alternatives to mitigate pressing environmental demands resulting from continuous population and economic growth. On the other hand, companies must deal with an increasingly competitive scenario where innovation is regarded as a survival need in most markets. It is thus clear that systematic academic research is paramount to guide companies to succeed in environmentally sustainable product innovation. In this context, this paper (i) consolidate extant research and aggregate findings of different studies on environmentally sustainable product innovation through an interpretative framework of published literature on the topic, and (ii) map critical success factors that drive the success of product innovation developed in this new logic of production and consumption. To achieve these objectives, a systematic literature review on environmentally sustainable product innovation was conducted. Results show that there are four main critical success factors for environmentally sustainable product innovation: market, law and regulation knowledge; interfunctional collaboration; innovation-oriented learning; and R&D investments. The factors identified in this research and corresponding variables were subjected to a brief empirical test by professionals. The test allowed a preliminary approval of the developed framework and identification of the most important variables within each factor. A research agenda based on the state-of-the-art on the topic is also proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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