=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-1498/HAICTA_2015_paper34
|storemode=property
|title=Green Entrepreneurship and Green Products: Consumers’ Views and Attitudes in Regional Unit of Evros
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1498/HAICTA_2015_paper34.pdf
|volume=Vol-1498
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/haicta/ArabatzisGICTM15
}}
==Green Entrepreneurship and Green Products: Consumers’ Views and Attitudes in Regional Unit of Evros==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1498/HAICTA_2015_paper34.pdf
Green Entrepreneurship and Green Products:
Consumers’ Views and Attitudes in Regional Unit of
Evros
Garyfallos Arabatzis1, Spyros Galatsidas2, Christina Intze2, Miltiadis Chalikias3,
Stavros Tsiantikoudis2, Spyros Mamalis4
1
Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources,
Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece, e-mail: garamp@fmenr.duth.gr
2
Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources,
Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece
3
Technological Education Institute of Piraeus, Department of Business Administration,
Piraeus, Greece, e-mail: mchalikias@hotmail.com
4
Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, Department of Business
Administration, Kavala, Greece, e-mail: mamalis@con.auth.gr
Abstract. Environmental challenges consider to be directly related with issues
of economic growth and firms have to play crucial role in sustainable
development. European environmental policy aims, among others, in the
creation of a favorable framework for the development of green
entrepreneurship. The research was carried out in Evros regional unit using
questionnaire. The aim of the study is to investigate the views and attitudes of
the consumers about green entrepreneurship and green products. The sample
was 400 consumers. The results show that the majority of the respondents
know about green entrepreneurship. The green products offer competitive
advantage to the firms and more specifically organic products are the most
popular among the respondents.
Keywords: green entrepreneurship, green products, consumers, environment
1 Introduction
Adopting a sustainable way of environmental management is an alternative of
moderating environmental impacts caused by entrepreneurship activities (Boiral,
2006; Haden et al., 2009). Precautionary environmental management can be achieved
by adopting various techniques as to create green products (Nielsen and Wenzel,
2002; Pujari et al., 2000; Fuller and Ottman, 2004), establishing clean technology
(Kuehr, 2007) and using environmental management systems (Ghisellini and
Thurston, 2005) aimed at environmental awareness.
Adopting practices for creating green businesses and products, besides
environmental and social benefits, has in any cases benefits for businesses as many
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consumers prefer those with socially responsible name (Skordoulis et al., 2013;
Ntanos et al., 2014).
The objective of this research is to investigate the views and attitudes of the
consumers in Evros regional unit related to green entrepreneurship and green
products.
2 Theoretical background
2.1 Green Entrepreneurship and Green Products
Green entrepreneurship is defined as the effort to minimize environmental
footprint, namely the total environmental and social cost resulting due to human
entrepreneurship activity (Hall et al., 2010).
Green firms are aware of the cost, innovation and advantages of the marketing and
seek for a social and moral change in entrepreneurial sector. There are two kinds of
firms, these that produce green products and those that are using green techniques in
the productive line. All the kinds of green firms contribute in a sustainable society
(Guziana, 2011).
European environmental policy enhances green market development releasing
suitable guidelines and directives, a framework essential for entrepreneurs that are
interested in establishing green firms. Good environmental quality depends on
technological innovation large industries use in order to manage environmental
problems that arise by themselves and one of these is waste management. They can
deal with above need by establishing a green firm (Cope, 1988).
2.2 Consumers’ Attitudes for Green Products
Consumer’s attitude is a combination of mental and physical activities in an effort
to seek and evaluate market and use of products and services (Cole, 2007). Fiedler
and Wanke (2001) recognize that net economic variables, like income, associated
with consumption, while other important elements are their feelings and perceptions.
(Bagozzi and Dholakia, 1999).
The environmentally friendly consuming attitudes include issues related in
selecting environmentally friendly products and in avoiding non – environmentally
friendly products. Hasnelly and Sari (2012) stated that consumers buy a product
according to their perception about its value. The consumer group where an
individual fits, according to his or her preference strongly influences the decision to
buy a green product. Consumers that are likely to buy green products mostly are in
the group called “Millenials”, etc. between 18 and 40 years old (Skordoulis et al.,
2013; Ntanos et al., 2014).
In some cases consumers have the willingness to pay more for ecological
products, recycling, green products or green package for a product (Mathur and
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Mathur, 2000). In other studies consumers are willing to buy products produced
through green techniques, although this situation is more likely to happen when these
products are not more expensive than conventional ones (Skordoulis et al., 2013;
Ntanos et al., 2014).
3 Research methodology
The research was conducted in Evros regional unit, Greece using a questionnaire.
The area has some of the rarest and valuable natural resources in Greece with
important development perspectives in the primary and tourism sector (Arabatzis and
Grigoroudis, 2010; Grigoroudis et al. 2012).
This study is based on primary data and is developed in two levels. The first one
includes the results of a quality research conducted during September to December
2013. In this period researchers approached certain consumer focus groups. The
second one includes quantity research. This research conducted from January till
April 2014 using a questionnaire based on the previous quality research. We
collected 400 questionnaires in total.
4 Results
4.1 Socio-demographic Characteristics
The sample of the research presents the following characteristics: 42.5% was men
and 57.5% women. Most of the respondents were between 31-40 years old (35.5%),
following by the respondents whose age was between 21-30 (32.25%). Lower
percentages were ages between 61-70 (3.5%) and over 70 (2.75%). Mean average
age is 37 years. As far as their marital status nearly half of them are married (49.0%)
and 41% single.
About their educational level the majority of the respondents has finished
secondary education (36.5%) and 29.5% has finished tertiary education. Only 3.5%
has not graduated primary school while 9.3% has graduate primary school and finally
the rest of the respondents have finished technical secondary education. Nearly 60%
of the respondents (59.9%) are wage earners (civil servants, private employees,
workers, retired), 21.8% are depended economically by others (unemployed,
housekeepers), 12.3% are free lancers and 6.3% are students. The fact that most of
the respondents are civil servants highlights their willingness to buy things and their
attitude towards green markets and green products.
Finally, about their monthly income most of the respondents earn from less than
600.00 € to 1,000.00 € (66.8% in total), 21.5% earn 1,001.00 to 1,500.00 €, 5,8%
have an income that is averaged from 1,501.00 to 2,000.00 €. Only 2.5% have an
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income that is between 2,000.00 € and 2,500.00 € and 2.8% an income over
2,500.00.
4.2 Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Green Entrepreneurship
In the question concerning the knowledge respondents have about green
entrepreneurship, the majority of them (66.8%) stated familiar about it.
The most significant types of green entrepreneurship are “production and selling
of organic farming products” (32.75%) and “production and selling of protected
areas certified products” (22.5%).
Table 1 shows various environmental management systems that most of the firms
have to apply in their production process. Respondents believe that a “national or
local environmental management system” (36.8%) is, by far, the most appropriate in
order to buy similar products.
Table 1. Main environmental management systems
Environmental Management Systems Frequency (%)
National or local management system 147 36.8
ISO 14001 59 14.8
ISO 16000 62 15.5
EMAS 59 14.8
ISO 14064 48 12.0
Other 25 6.3
4.3 Barriers and Incentives for Green Entrepreneurship
Green entrepreneurship considers being a form of social return as respondents
consider that this kind of entrepreneurship aims in maximizing social benefit
(38.3%). Approximately one fourth of the respondents consider the above statement
as “very much” (24.8%) and another 25.5% as “moderate”.
Additionally, respondents tend to believe that a friendly environmental behavior
by a firm could improve its image to the other people.
As far as green techniques consider a source of innovation or are directly related
with it, 21.3% stated as “very likely”, while 44.3% “likely”.
Respondents consider the “development of competitive advantage” as the main
motive of a firm to offer green products (21.0%).
4.4 Consumer Attitudes Towards Green Products
Significant percentage of the respondents (33.75%) stated that they buy
“sometimes” green products, when they go shopping, 29.25% answered “rarely”,
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about 22.5% buys green products “frequently”, 11.5% “never” buys green products
and only 3.25% stated that buys “always”.
About their willingness to pay for green products, a large percentage of the
respondents (61.5%) stated that they are not willing to pay more in order to buy a
green product. The reason lies in the current financial situation of the households
where most of them are not in place to spent more money as they would like to do.
People distinguish main elements that differentiate green products from others in
their mind. The first of all is the “quality” of a green product (49.0%) following by
its price in the market (30.3%). These two characteristics shows that our sample is
not differentiate compared to other similar studies, as the relation between quality
and price was always determinant in purchasing products. Other factors that
characterize green products in a lower degree are its “label” (13.0%), its color
(3.5%), brand name (3.0%) and the “design” of the package in which merchants offer
the product (1.3%).
5 Conclusions
According to the results of the research we conclude that most of the respondents
are familiar with the concept of “green entrepreneurship”. Also they consider that
firms producing green products, in order to reduce their expenses and to use natural
resources in a sustainable way, must adopt techniques of saving energy use.
Respondents consider the “production and offering organic products” as the most
common type of green entrepreneurship.
The participants in the research consider that green entrepreneurship aims “very
much” in maximizing social benefits, while the adoption of green techniques in
production line can enhance the firm’s image. “Competitive advantage” is the most
significant reason of a firm to produce and offer green products to the market.
In the context of Evros regional unit it is obvious that local authorities and central
government must provide additional motives in developing green entrepreneurship in
the area as there are many natural resources not exploited yet. Green
entrepreneurship, especially in remote and less developed areas like Evros can play
crucial role in vitalizing local economy.
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