SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE GREEN ATTITUDES OF CONSUMERS FROM DIFFERENT AGE GENERATIONS – INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS

Abstract

 Aim: To aim of this paper is to identify similarities and differences in the pro-environmental attitudes of consumers from different countries, as well as being representatives of different age cohorts. Methods: The analyses are based on the results of surveys conducted in four European countries (Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Poland). An international quantitative survey using the author’s survey questionnaire was conducted using the CAWI technique on a sample of a total of 2,566 respondents. Association rules, which are among the data mining tools used to build descriptive models, were used in the data analysis. Results: The results presented in this study allow us to distinguish patterns of behavior in terms of pro-environmental attitudes and actions, as well as similarities and differences by age and place of residence in this respect. Respondents from older age groups (i.e., ‘Baby Boomers’ and ‘Generation X’) are significantly more likely to declare taking pro-environmental actions than respondents from younger age groups (i.e., ‘Generation Y’ and ‘Generation Z’). The opposite situation can be observed in the case of negative answers regarding taking pro-environmental actions. Conclusions: The authors of the study believe that the study should be repeated to check whether the declared attitudes and behaviors are the result of a specific situation that differs from other periods (the study was carried out during a pandemic) or whether they are of a constant nature, allowing us to see differences in consumer behavior between age groups and countries. Another possible direction under considera­tion for further research is to analyze the undecided group in more detail in order to determine the reasons for this.