IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i9p5351-d805107.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Recognizability of Ecolabels on E-Commerce Websites: The Case for Younger Consumers in Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Bartłomiej Kabaja

    (Department of Packaging Science, Cracow University of Economics, 31-510 Cracow, Poland)

  • Magdalena Wojnarowska

    (Department of Technology and Ecology of Products, Cracow University of Economics, 31-510 Cracow, Poland)

  • Maria Chiara Cesarani

    (Department of Management, University of Torino, 10134 Turin, Italy)

  • Erica Varese

    (Department of Management, University of Torino, 10134 Turin, Italy)

Abstract

In the modern retail system, labels may be defined as silent-sellers which, if recognized and understood by consumers, may allow them to make conscious choices. This simple concern is particularly important considering e-commerce: it ensures customers to find nearly everything they demand without the need to exit from home; however, as shoppers are not in direct contact with sales-clerks, labels play even more a crucial role in the purchasing decision. Online shopping is increasing, notably among young people, and ecolabels represent for producers a tool to distinguish their goods and to provide consumers reliable and credible information about the environmental characteristics of their products. Despite the growing interest in the above-mentioned topics, research which investigate the recognition of ecolabels in online shopping by young consumers lack. To this purpose, the authors conducted an online questionnaire that was distributed to a sample of 559 young consumers who shop online in the most popular Polish retailing chains. Results reveal that online shopping is becoming increasingly popular in Poland, but only some ecolabels were recognized by more than 50% of respondents. This result is not correlated to the frequency of online purchases nor to gender. The recognition of ecolabels among consumers is fundamental.

Suggested Citation

  • Bartłomiej Kabaja & Magdalena Wojnarowska & Maria Chiara Cesarani & Erica Varese, 2022. "Recognizability of Ecolabels on E-Commerce Websites: The Case for Younger Consumers in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5351-:d:805107
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/5351/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/5351/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sigurdsson, Valdimar & Larsen, Nils Magne & Pálsdóttir, Rakel Gyða & Folwarczny, Michal & Menon, R.G. Vishnu & Fagerstrøm, Asle, 2022. "Increasing the effectiveness of ecological food signaling: Comparing sustainability tags with eco-labels," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1099-1110.
    2. Teisl, Mario F. & Roe, Brian & Hicks, Robert L., 2002. "Can Eco-Labels Tune a Market? Evidence from Dolphin-Safe Labeling," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 339-359, May.
    3. Houe, Raymond & Grabot, Bernard, 2009. "Assessing the compliance of a product with an eco-label: From standards to constraints," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 21-38, September.
    4. Eelco Buunk & Edwin van der Werf, 2019. "Adopters versus Non-Adopters of the Green Key Ecolabel in the Dutch Accommodation Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-18, June.
    5. Agnieszka Cholewa-Wójcik & Agnieszka Kawecka & Carlo Ingrao & Valentina Siracusa, 2019. "Socio-Economic Requirements as a Fundament of Innovation in Food Packaging," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 15(1), pages 231-256.
    6. Cameron, Trudy Ann & Englin, Jeffrey, 1997. "Respondent Experience and Contingent Valuation of Environmental Goods," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 296-313, July.
    7. Geir Sogn-Grundvåg & Thomas Andre Larsen & James A. Young, 2014. "Product Differentiation with Credence Attributes and Private Labels: The Case of Whitefish in UK Supermarkets," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(2), pages 368-382, June.
    8. Yao Song & Zhenzhen Qin & Qi Yuan, 2019. "The Impact of Eco-Label on the Young Chinese Generation: The Mediation Role of Environmental Awareness and Product Attributes in Green Purchase," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.
    9. Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo & Mariantonietta Fiore & Antonino Galati, 2020. "How the Covid-19 Pandemic Is Changing Online Food Shopping Human Behaviour in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-18, November.
    10. Morone, Piergiuseppe & Caferra, Rocco & D'Adamo, Idiano & Falcone, Pasquale Marcello & Imbert, Enrica & Morone, Andrea, 2021. "Consumer willingness to pay for bio-based products: Do certifications matter?," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    11. Cohen, Boyd & Winn, Monika I., 2007. "Market imperfections, opportunity and sustainable entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 29-49, January.
    12. Cai, Zhen & Xie, Yi & Aguilar, Francisco X., 2017. "Eco-label credibility and retailer effects on green product purchasing intentions," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 200-208.
    13. Tania Bucic & Jennifer Harris & Denni Arli, 2012. "Ethical Consumers Among the Millennials: A Cross-National Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 113-131, September.
    14. He, Peng & He, Yong & Tang, Xiaoying & Ma, Shigui & Xu, Henry, 2022. "Channel encroachment and logistics integration strategies in an e-commerce platform service supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    15. Brécard, Dorothée & Hlaimi, Boubaker & Lucas, Sterenn & Perraudeau, Yves & Salladarré, Frédéric, 2009. "Determinants of demand for green products: An application to eco-label demand for fish in Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 115-125, November.
    16. Chudzian, Joanna & Chatys, Małgorzata, 2014. "Znajomość Znaków Ekologicznych Wśród Młodych Konsumentów," Roczniki (Annals), Polish Association of Agricultural Economists and Agribusiness - Stowarzyszenie Ekonomistow Rolnictwa e Agrobiznesu (SERiA), vol. 2014(6).
    17. Jordy F. Gosselt & Thomas Rompay & Laura Haske, 2019. "Won’t Get Fooled Again: The Effects of Internal and External CSR ECO-Labeling," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 413-424, March.
    18. Khan Md Raziuddin Taufique & Chamhuri Siwar & Basri Talib & Farah Hasan Sarah & Norshamliza Chamhuri, 2014. "Synthesis of Constructs for Modeling Consumers’ Understanding and Perception of Eco-Labels," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-25, April.
    19. Yusuf Yılmaz & Engin Üngüren & Yaşar Yiğit Kaçmaz, 2019. "Determination of Managers’ Attitudes Towards Eco-Labeling Applied in the Context of Sustainable Tourism and Evaluation of the Effects of Eco-Labeling on Accommodation Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-27, September.
    20. Grunert, Klaus G. & Hieke, Sophie & Wills, Josephine, 2014. "Sustainability labels on food products: Consumer motivation, understanding and use," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 177-189.
    21. Jana Jaďuďová & Miroslav Badida & Anna Badidová & Iveta Marková & Miriam Ťahúňová & Emília Hroncová, 2020. "Consumer Behavior towards Regional Eco-Labels in Slovakia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-11, June.
    22. Raymond Houé Ngouna & Bernard Grabot, 2009. "Assessing the compliance of a product with an eco-label: from standards to constraints," Post-Print hal-00965906, HAL.
    23. Delmas, Magali A. & Gergaud, Olivier, 2021. "Sustainable practices and product quality: Is there value in eco-label certification? The case of wine," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    24. Smith, Samantha & Paladino, Angela, 2010. "Eating clean and green? Investigating consumer motivations towards the purchase of organic food," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 93-104.
    25. Jie Jin & Jun Zhuang & Qiuhong Zhao, 2018. "Supervision after Certification: An Evolutionary Game Analysis for Chinese Environmental Labeled Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-22, May.
    26. Razzolini, Tiziano, 2013. "How much trustworthy and salubrious an organic jam should be? The impact of organic logo on the Italian jam market," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-13.
    27. Katharina Sammer & Rolf Wüstenhagen, 2006. "The influence of eco‐labelling on consumer behaviour – results of a discrete choice analysis for washing machines," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(3), pages 185-199, May.
    28. Neringa Vilkaite-Vaitone & Ilona Skackauskiene & Gonzalo Díaz-Meneses, 2022. "Measuring Green Marketing: Scale Development and Validation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, January.
    29. Kyriakos Riskos & Paraskevi (Evi) Dekoulou & Naoum Mylonas & George Tsourvakas, 2021. "Ecolabels and the Attitude–Behavior Relationship towards Green Product Purchase: A Multiple Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-22, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bartłomiej Kabaja & Magdalena Wojnarowska & Marek Ćwiklicki & Stefania Claudia Buffagni & Erica Varese, 2023. "Does Environmental Labelling Still Matter? Generation Z’s Purchasing Decisions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-19, September.
    2. Yao Song & Zhenzhen Qin & Zihao Qin, 2020. "Green Marketing to Gen Z Consumers in China: Examining the Mediating Factors of an Eco-Label–Informed Purchase," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(4), pages 21582440209, October.
    3. Davide Menozzi & Thong Tien Nguyen & Giovanni Sogari & Dimitar Taskov & Sterenn Lucas & José Luis Santiago Castro-Rial & Cristina Mora, 2020. "Consumers’ Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Fish Products with Health and Environmental Labels: Evidence from Five European Countries," Post-Print hal-02935812, HAL.
    4. Roheim, Cathy A. & Zhang, Dengjun, 2018. "Sustainability certification and product substitutability: Evidence from the seafood market," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 92-100.
    5. Kyriakos Riskos & Paraskevi (Evi) Dekoulou & Naoum Mylonas & George Tsourvakas, 2021. "Ecolabels and the Attitude–Behavior Relationship towards Green Product Purchase: A Multiple Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-22, June.
    6. Baumeister, Stefan & Zeng, Cheng & Hoffendahl, Alex, 2022. "The effect of an eco-label on the booking decisions of air passengers," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 175-182.
    7. Yokessa, Maïmouna & Marette, Stéphan, 2019. "A Review of Eco-labels and their Economic Impact," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 13(1-2), pages 119-163, April.
    8. Jie Jin & Jun Zhuang & Qiuhong Zhao, 2018. "Supervision after Certification: An Evolutionary Game Analysis for Chinese Environmental Labeled Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-22, May.
    9. Janine Fleith Medeiros & Gabriel Vidor & José Luís Duarte Ribeiro, 2018. "Driving Factors for the Success of the Green Innovation Market: A Relationship System Proposal," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 327-341, January.
    10. Desjana Grymshi & Eva Crespo‐Cebada & Ahmed Elghannam & Francisco J. Mesías & Carlos Díaz‐Caro, 2022. "Understanding consumer attitudes towards ecolabeled food products: A latent class analysis regarding their purchasing motivations," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(1), pages 93-107, January.
    11. Gunnar Gutsche & Bernhard Zwergel, 2016. "Information barriers and SRI market participation – Can sustainability and transparency labels help?," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201624, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    12. Frank Wijen & Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline, 2019. "Controversy Over Voluntary Environmental Standards: A Socioeconomic Analysis of the Marine Stewardship Council," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-02071504, HAL.
    13. Bronnmann, Julia & Asche, Frank, 2017. "Sustainable Seafood From Aquaculture and Wild Fisheries: Insights From a Discrete Choice Experiment in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 113-119.
    14. Ihwan Ghazali & Salwa Hanim Abdul-Rashid & Siti Zawiah Md Dawal & Nurul Huda & Amir Husni Mohd Shariff & Safarudin Gazali Herawan & Fu Haw Ho & Novita Sakundarini, 2021. "Guidelines for Designing Green Products Considering Customers’ Cultural Preferences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-27, January.
    15. Yusuf Yılmaz & Engin Üngüren & Yaşar Yiğit Kaçmaz, 2019. "Determination of Managers’ Attitudes Towards Eco-Labeling Applied in the Context of Sustainable Tourism and Evaluation of the Effects of Eco-Labeling on Accommodation Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-27, September.
    16. Mónica Pérez-Ramírez & Marco A. Almendarez-Hernández & Gerzaín Avilés-Polanco & Luis F. Beltrán-Morales, 2015. "Consumer Acceptance of Eco-Labeled Fish: A Mexican Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-18, April.
    17. Ulva Arsyistawa & Arif Hartono, 2022. "The effect of eco-label and perceived consumer effectiveness toward green purchase," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(9), pages 57-66, December.
    18. Khachatryan, Hayk & Rihn, Alicia & Wei, Xuan, 2021. "Consumers’ Preferences for Eco-labels on Plants: The Influence of Trust and Consequentiality Perceptions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    19. Jean-Francois Dewals & Sterenn Lucas & Fabienne Daures & Pascal Floc’h & Kilian Heutte, 2024. "Assessment of consumer preferences in the context of multiple labels: the case of fishery and aquaculture products," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 105(2), pages 299-325, November.
    20. Jie Jin & Qiuhong Zhao & Ernesto DR Santibanez-Gonzalez, 2019. "How Chinese Consumers’ Intentions for Purchasing Eco-Labeled Products Are Influenced by Psychological Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-17, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5351-:d:805107. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.