THE EFFECT OF SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING ON QUALITY PERCEPTION AND PURCHASE INTENTION: THE MODERATOR ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND HEALTH CONSCIOUSNESS

Abstract

It is an undeniable fact that the source of problems such as global warming, climate change and environmental pollution is human beings. Increasing concern about the environment has forced people to be more conscious about the environment. The fact that the carbon footprint of all activities can be tracked has made consumers more environmentally conscious. Since most consumer products are packaged, their carbon footprint is not only dependent on the product itself, but also on its packaging. In order to reduce the environmental footprint of a product, it is necessary to change both the internal and external characteristics of the product (such as packaging) (Magnier et al., 2016). When the environmental activities of the companies are combined with the environmental attitudes of the consumers, more environmental products and initiatives have emerged. It is known that the marketing activities carried out by the companies affect the perception and behavior of the consumers. When the literature is examined, it is seen that the clues used about sustainability affect the perception of quality (Lee et al., 2013) and the items used in the packaging design affect the product perception (Becker et al., 2011; Gordon et al., 1994; Mugge et al., 2014). For these reasons, when environmentally friendly packaging is considered as a packaging feature, it is important to examine its effect on product quality perception. In this context, the effect of sustainable packaging on product quality perception and purchase intention will be examined within the scope of the research. In addition, environmental awareness and health awareness, which are consumer characteristics, will be tested as regulatory variables in the model. In this study, which is a quantitative research, experimental method will be used. The fact that similar studies have been carried out mostly in developed countries and that this study will be conducted in Turkey, which is a developing country, will provide the opportunity to make comparisons in terms of countries.