IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i17p12759-d1223270.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental CSR and the Purchase Declarations of Generation Z Consumers

Author

Listed:
  • Joanna Sawicka

    (Faculty of Management, AGH University of Krakow, 30-059 Krakow, Poland)

  • Elżbieta Marcinkowska

    (Faculty of Management, AGH University of Krakow, 30-059 Krakow, Poland)

Abstract

Activities in the area of corporate social responsibility are more and more widely and willingly undertaken not only by large companies but also those in the SME sector. A very important part of these activities is environmental protection. Therefore, the question of how these activities are evaluated by their beneficiaries should be asked. One important group of recipients of CSR initiatives are consumers. We considered the opinions of young people from Generation Z to be particularly important because this generation is just entering the consumer market and thus will influence its formation for many years to come. We conducted a survey on a sample of 344 respondents from Generation Z to check whether the environmental CSR initiatives are perceived and appreciated by Generation Z consumers. The survey was expanded to include the influence of the gender factor and the type of education of the people surveyed (technical, business and humanities education). The results of this study indicate that young people (from Generation Z) declare the need to care about the environment and pay attention as consumers to pro-environmental activities implemented as part of CSR. Evaluations of these activities differ between genders. Also, the education profile matters in the perception of environmental CSR initiatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Joanna Sawicka & Elżbieta Marcinkowska, 2023. "Environmental CSR and the Purchase Declarations of Generation Z Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-14, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:17:p:12759-:d:1223270
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/17/12759/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/17/12759/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Priyanka Jain & Vishal Vyas & Ankur Roy, 2017. "Exploring the mediating role of intellectual capital and competitive advantage on the relation between CSR and financial performance in SMEs," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(1), pages 1-23, March.
    2. Anna-Maija Lämsä & Meri Vehkaperä & Tuomas Puttonen & Hanna-Leena Pesonen, 2008. "Effect of Business Education on Women and Men Students’ Attitudes on Corporate Responsibility in Society," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 82(1), pages 45-58, September.
    3. Jintao Lu & Licheng Ren & Chong Zhang & Chunyan Wang & Nijole Petkeviciute & Justas Streimikis, 2020. "Gender difference in corporate social responsibility implementation in Lithuanian SMEs," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 11(3), pages 549-569, September.
    4. Pätäri, S. & Arminen, H. & Albareda, L. & Puumalainen, K. & Toppinen, A., 2017. "Student values and perceptions of corporate social responsibility in the forest industry on the road to a bioeconomy," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(P1), pages 201-215.
    5. Rahman, Fathony & Norman, Ruth T., 2016. "The effect of firm scale and CSR geographical scope of impact on consumers' response," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 189-198.
    6. Alexander Dahlsrud, 2008. "How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.
    7. Michael G. Luchs & Minu Kumar, 2017. "“Yes, but this Other One Looks Better/Works Better”: How do Consumers Respond to Trade-offs Between Sustainability and Other Valued Attributes?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 567-584, February.
    8. Dita Hommerová & Karel Šrédl & Lucie Vrbková & Roman Svoboda, 2020. "The Perception of CSR Activities in a Selected Segment of McDonald’s Customers in the Czech Republic and Its Effect on Their Purchasing Behavior—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    9. Ching-Hui (Joan) Su & Chin-Hsun (Ken) Tsai & Ming-Hsiang Chen & Wan Qing Lv, 2019. "U.S. Sustainable Food Market Generation Z Consumer Segments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-14, June.
    10. Chih-Cheng Chen & Asif Khan & Tanaporn Hongsuchon & Athapol Ruangkanjanases & Yen-Tzu Chen & Ornlatcha Sivarak & Shih-Chih Chen, 2021. "The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Image in Times of Crisis: The Mediating Role of Customer Trust," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-20, August.
    11. Joanna Sawicka & Elżbieta Marcinkowska, 2022. "The Effect of CSR Environmental Initiatives on Purchase Decisions—A Cross-Regional Study in Poland and Ukraine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, February.
    12. Assâad El Akremi & Jean-Pascal Gond & Valérie Swaen & Kenneth de Roeck & Jacques Igalens, 2018. "How Do Employees Perceive Corporate Responsibility? Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Corporate Stakeholder Responsibility Scale," Post-Print halshs-01520959, HAL.
    13. A. Sahay, 2004. "Environmental reporting by Indian corporations," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1), pages 12-22, March.
    14. Eunil Park & Sang Jib Kwon & Ki Joon Kim, 2016. "Assessing the Effects of Corporate Sustainable Management on Customer Satisfaction," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(1), pages 41-52, January.
    15. Einwiller, Sabine & Lis, Bettina & Ruppel, Christopher & Sen, Sankar, 2019. "When CSR-based identification backfires: Testing the effects of CSR-related negative publicity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 1-13.
    16. Giachino, Chiara & Bollani, Luigi & Truant, Elisa & Bonadonna, Alessandro, 2022. "Urban area and nature-based solution: Is this an attractive solution for Generation Z?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    17. Xiaoyun Zhang & Feng Dong, 2020. "Why Do Consumers Make Green Purchase Decisions? Insights from a Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-25, September.
    18. Macarena Esteban Ibáñez & Daniel Musitu Ferrer & Luis Vicente Amador Muñoz & Francisco Mateos Claros & Francisco Javier Olmedo Ruiz, 2020. "University as Change Manager of Attitudes towards Environment (The Importance of Environmental Education)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-18, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Walter, Nadine & Föhl, Ulrich & Sander, Frauke & Nies, Angelique, 2024. "Act as you preach! Authentic brand purpose versus “woke washing’s” impact on brand credibility: The moderating role of cause involvement and consumer skepticism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    2. Huan Hu & Chang Wang & Min Chen, 2024. "The Influence of a Regional Public Brand on Consumers’ Purchase Intention and Behavior Toward Eco-Agricultural Products: A Chinese National Park Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-23, October.

    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. Joanna Sawicka & Elżbieta Marcinkowska, 2022. "The Effect of CSR Environmental Initiatives on Purchase Decisions—A Cross-Regional Study in Poland and Ukraine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Bilal Afsar & Waheed Ali Umrani, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility and pro‐environmental behavior at workplace: The role of moral reflectiveness, coworker advocacy, and environmental commitment," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 109-125, January.
    3. Marcinkowska Elzbieta & Sawicka Joanna, 2023. "Corporate Social Responsibility as a Factor Influencing Purchasing Decisions of Consumers in Central and Eastern Europe," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 281-299.
    4. Javier Martínez‐Falcó & Bartolomé Marco‐Lajara & Patrocinio Zaragoza‐Sáez & Luis A. Millán‐Tudela, 2023. "Analyzing the effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Green Innovation Performance in the Spanish wine industry: A structural equation modeling analysis," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 985-1006, October.
    5. Park, Eunil, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility as a determinant of corporate reputation in the airline industry," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 215-221.
    6. Monika Wawer & Kalina Grzesiuk & Dorota Jegorow, 2022. "Smart Mobility in a Smart City in the Context of Generation Z Sustainability, Use of ICT, and Participation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-30, June.
    7. Teguh Tresna Puja Asmara & Tarsisius Murwadji & Kartikasari & Anita Afriana, 2023. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Cooperatives Business Sustainability in Indonesia: Legal Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, March.
    8. Tatjana Mamula Nikolić & Ivan Paunović & Mirjana Milovanović & Nenad Lozović & Marija Đurović, 2022. "Examining Generation Z’s Attitudes, Behavior and Awareness Regarding Eco-Products: A Bayesian Approach to Confirmatory Factor Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-16, February.
    9. Larrán, Manuel & Andrades, Javier & Herrera, Jesús, 2018. "An examination of attitudes and perceptions of Spanish business and accounting students toward corporate social responsibility and sustainability themes," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 196-205.
    10. Ulpiana Kocollari & Maddalena Cavicchioli & Fabio Demaria, 2024. "The 5 E(lements) of employee‐centric corporate social responsibility and their stimulus on happiness at work: An empirical investigation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1959-1976, May.
    11. Yusuf Iskandar & Joeliaty & Umi Kaltum & Hilmiana, 2021. "The Relationship Between Intellectual Capital and Performance of Social Enterprises: A Literature Review," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 10, September.
    12. Rizwan Raheem Ahmed & Munwar Hussain Pahi & Shahid Nadeem & Riaz Hussain Soomro & Vishnu Parmar & Fouzia Nasir & Faiz Ahmed, 2023. "How and When Ethics Lead to Organizational Performance: Evidence from South Asian Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-29, May.
    13. Jabir Ali & Ishrat Naaz & Tabassum Ali, 2024. "Does corporate social responsibility improve value-added intellectual capital efficiency in food and agribusiness firms in India?," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(1), pages 93-106, March.
    14. Francisca Castilla-Polo & María Consuelo Ruiz-Rodríguez & Alonso Moreno & Ana Licerán-Gutiérrez & Macario Cámara de la Fuente & Eva Chamorro Rufián & Manuel Cano-Rodríguez, 2020. "Classroom Learning and the Perception of Social Responsibility Amongst Graduate Students of Management Accounting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-22, August.
    15. Vikram JEET & Inass Salamah ALI, 2023. "Unleashing The Importance Of Intellectual Capital To Achieve Competitive Advantage In Smes: The Mediating Role Of Entrepreneurial Orientation," Management Research and Practice, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 15(3), pages 44-54, September.
    16. Abdullah Abdulaziz-Alhumaidan & Mohammad Jamal Khan, 2024. "The Effect of Ethical Strategy and Innovation on Economic Performance: a Study on Tunisian B2B Enterprises," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 2589-2606, March.
    17. Muhammad Yusuf & Batara Surya & Firman Menne & Muhlis Ruslan & Seri Suriani & Iskandar Iskandar, 2022. "Business Agility and Competitive Advantage of SMEs in Makassar City, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, December.
    18. Nadeem, Waqar & Alimamy, Saifeddin & Ashraf, Abdul Rehman, 2023. "Navigating through difficult times with ethical marketing: Assessing consumers' willingness-to-pay in the sharing economy," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    19. Ana Teixeira & Marisa R. Ferreira & Aldina Correia & Vanda Lima, 2018. "Students’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility: evidences from a Portuguese higher education institution," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 15(2), pages 235-252, June.
    20. Anna Żelazna & Matylda Bojar & Ewa Bojar, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility towards the Environment in Lublin Region, Poland: A Comparative Study of 2009 and 2019," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-13, June.

    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:15:y:2023:i:17:p:12759-:d:1223270. 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.