Why green values don't always mean paying more: study

Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland, led by Jani Holopainen and doctoral researcher Jyri Hoffrén, examined why consumers who value sustainability often do not pay more for green products, Earth.com reports. The work comprised three studies on a demographically representative panel of Finnish and Dutch citizens and was published in Forest Policy and Economics earth.com. The authors found that hedonic attitudes, meaning the sense that a sustainable product is fun, exciting or delightful, strengthen the link between values and willingness to pay a premium. Utilitarian attitudes, meaning price, efficiency and practicality, weaken it earth.com.

Three studies, one pattern

The first study tested the theoretical model on 461 participants. Sustainable consumption values strongly predicted willingness to pay a premium, and hedonic attitudes made that relationship stronger earth.com. In the base model, values alone explained 47% of the variance; adding hedonic and utilitarian attitudes as moderators raised it to nearly 48%. The interaction effects were significant and pointed in opposite directions earth.com.

The second study followed 239 participants for two years. Values and attitudes were measured at one point and actual purchasing behavior two years later. Values predicted behavior across that interval, hedonic attitudes strengthened the link, and utilitarian attitudes weakened it earth.com. "Enjoyment helps translate sustainability values into actual consumption behavior," Hoffrén said earth.com.

Differences between products

The third study used three wood-based bioproducts: a bioplastic water bottle, a T-shirt made from wood-based fabric and a wood-based biofuel. For the bottle, both effects were clear: hedonic attitudes raised willingness to pay and utilitarian attitudes lowered it earth.com. For the T-shirt, utilitarian attitudes still suppressed willingness to pay, but the hedonic boost disappeared earth.com.

For biofuel, the negative utilitarian interaction was the strongest of the three products. People who judged it by price and efficiency were significantly less likely to pay a premium even with strong sustainability values, and the hedonic interaction was not statistically significant earth.com.

The researchers also suggest that emphasizing enjoyment could make consumers less critical of environmental claims. "If product marketing emphasizes enjoyment without genuine experiential benefits, it may lose credibility," Hoffrén said earth.com. He added that consumers may consider sustainability important but decide not to buy if price, practicality or perceived benefits fail to meet their expectations earth.com.

Eastern Finland study: product enjoyment links green values to willingness to pay a premium

Three studies, one pattern

Differences between products

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