To ensure the items measuring the actual green purchase are representative of the actual product categories university students will purchase, a pilot study was conducted. Questions were pre-tested based on a small sample of 60 respondents. Responses and feedbacks were gathered from Malaysian university students between 18 to 25 years old, the same sample as this study. They were asked to rank items which they would mostly purchase using their allowance and/or income. The selection offered in the pilot test are in Table 1.
Table 1
Pilot Test Categorical
Category Examples
Fashion clothing, accessories, footwear and etc.
Fresh Food bakery, eggs, fruits, meat & poultry, vegetables, rice, noodles, cooking supplements and etc.
Grocery canned food, biscuits & cakes, cereals, chocolates & sweet, condiments, sauces & dressing, snacks and etc.
Health & Beauty toiletries, personal care, grooming products and etc.
Household air freshener, cleaning products, light bulbs and etc.
Optical products eyewear, contact lens, and etc.
Pets pet’s food, pet’s care, pet’s accessories and etc.
Sports & Fitness items sportswear, sports equipment and etc.
Tech gadgets, photo equipment, computers, telecommunication and etc.
Stationary books, stationary and etc.
Based on the pilot study findings, fashion, grocery, and health & beauty were ranked first, second and third respectively. These identified measures were then revised and added in the final questionnaire.
28 3.4 Instrument and Measures
The multi-items scale for the key constructs were adapted from studies of extant literature with pre-tested, reliable, and valid scales as observed in Table 2.
Table 2
Key Construct & Scale Sources
Variables Construct Number of Items Scale Adapted from Independent Ecological
Knowledge 10 Kaiser et al. (1999)
Independent Ecological Concern 5 Chan and Lau (2000)
Independent Man-Nature
Orientation 5 Chan and Lau (2000)
Moderating Price Sensitivity 11 Low, Lee, and Cheng (2013);
Wakefield and Inman (2003)
Dependent Purchase Intention 12
Kim, Njite, and Hancer (2013);
Kong, Harun, Sulong, and Lily (2014);
Kanchanapibul, Lacka, Wang, and Chan (2014)
Dependent Actual Purchase 3 Pilot Test
Each construct and the list of measurements were modified to suit this study. The specific items together with their means, standard deviations and reliabilities were individually listed in Table 3. Reliability was estimated on all multi-scale items by using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha from Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21st.
Ecological knowledge was tested based on ten items that offer the options of true, false or don’t know as answers which can be observed in Table 3 with (KR-20 = 0.73). The variables were recoded to indicate correct or incorrect responses. For example, respondents should answer “poisonous metals remain in the human body” as either true, false or don’t know. If correct, one point was awarded, and zero points were given for incorrect response or those who selected don’t know as the answer option.
Subsequently, to measure ecological concern, the survey included five questions in Table 3 with a reliability of 0.70. Measurements were anchored on the Likert-type scale, a
5-29
point level of agreement ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. The fifth item for ecological concern was negatively formulated and hence reversed in coding.
Initially, five items were tested for man-nature orientation variable, however, reliability was low 0.43. After the deletion of two negatively formulated statements, “being the master of the world, human being are entitled to deploy any of the natural resources as they like” and
“we should master instead of adapting to the environment”, coefficient alpha was improved to an acceptable level 0.77. The remaining three items can be observed in Table 3, using Likert-agreement measurement scale with one being strongly disagreed and five being strongly agreed.
Measurements for price sensitivity were evaluated using the Liker-type scale, a 5-point level of agreement ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. Eleven items in Table 3 were then tested to see if price was an important indicator for the respondents and price sensitivity reported a high reliability of 0.92.
Purchase intention items in Table 3 measures a series of twelve statements on how likely respondents will participate in green purchasing, Cronbach Alpha revealed high reliability for purchase intention at 0.93. Respondents were asked how likely they would agree to the statements using Likert-agreement type scale, extending from (1) strongly disagreed to (5) strongly agreed. The last item was recoded in reverse due to its negatively formulated statement.
Actual purchase in Table 3 which observed actual green purchase was measured using three items developed from the pilot study, and these items generated a reliability of 0.81.
The statement, for example, was “I buy fashion products (clothing, accessories, footwear and etc.) that are environmentally friendly” and respondents picked one answer from Likert-frequency scale from one being never to five being always.
30 Table 3
List of Survey Measures (n = 602)
Measures M SD
Ecological Knowledgeᵃ
Melting of the polar ice caps may result in a flooding of shores and islands. (True) Fossils fuels (e.g. gas, oil) produce Co2 in the atmosphere when burned. (True) All living being, micro-organisms, plants, animals, and humans are interdependent with one another. (True)
Poisonous metals are introduced into the food chain, for instance, via ground water.
(True)
Ozone near the ground may cause respiration problems. (True)
A change in climate caused by increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere is called the greenhouse effect. (True)
Poisonous metals remain in the human body. (True)
The world climate will probably massively change if CO2 continues to be emitted into the atmosphere as huge amounts as it is now. (True)
A reduced number of species may interrupt the food chain, affecting some subsequent species in the chain. (True)
The greenhouse effect does not result in the melting of glaciers in central Europe.
(False)
KR-20 = 0.73 Ecological Concernᵇ
It frightens me to think that much of the food I eat is contaminated with pesticides.
It genuinely infuriates me to think that the government doesn’t do more to help control pollution of the environment.
I become incensed when I think about the harm being done to plant and animal life by pollution.
When I think of the ways industries are causing pollution, I get frustrated and angry.
The whole pollution issue has never upset me too much since I feel it’s somewhat overrated. “r”
Cronbach's alpha = 0.70 Man-Nature Orientationᵇ
Human beings need to understand the way of nature and act accordingly.
We should maintain harmony with nature.
Human beings are only part of nature.
Cronbach's alpha = 0.77 Price Sensitivityᵇ
Price plays an important role in my final buying decision.
Price plays an important role in my assessment of product alternatives.
Before my purchase I will evaluate if the price I’m paying is fair, right or deserved for the products.
Small increases in price will lead to fewer purchases from me.
Price is the primary reason for choosing certain product.
I enjoy comparing prices.
I prefer to buy low-cost or discounted items.
I am highly price sensitive.
I’m willing to make an extra effort to find a low price product.
I will change what I had planned to buy in order to take advantage of a lower price for another product.
I am sensitive to differences in prices for products.
Cronbach's alpha = 0.92
31 Purchase Intentionᵇ
I plan to switch to a green version of a product.
I will consider switching to other brands for ecological reasons.
I will consider buying green products because they contribute to less pollution.
I would buy green products that are not harmful to the environment.
I will prefer to purchase a green brand over a non-green brand.
I am willing to purchase a green brand for ecological reasons.
I will make an effort to purchase a green brand.
I will avoid buying products which are potentially harmful to the environment.
I will change my principal products for ecological reasons.
When I have to choose between two similar products, I will choose the one that is less harmful to the environment.
I will make special effort to buy products that are made from recycled materials.
I will not consider the environmental issue when making a purchase. “r”
Cronbach's alpha = 0.93 Actual Purchaseᶜ
I buy fashion products (clothing, accessories, footwear and etc.) that are environmental friendly.
I buy grocery products (canned food, biscuits & cakes, cereals, chocolates & sweet, condiments, sauces & dressing, snacks and etc.) that are environmental friendly.
I buy health & beauty products (toiletries, personal care, grooming products and etc.) that are environmental friendly.
(3) ᶜ Participation Frequency Scale: 1= never, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = often, 5 = always.
(4) “r” denotes items that are reverse coded
There are six control variables for this study, which are (1) gender; (2) age; (3) religion;
(4) study status; (5) monthly allowance and/or income; and (6) living condition.
Demographic variables were relevant, for example, gender differentiated consumption behavior. According to Ward and Thuhang (2007), males and females behave differently in the process of use as they buy different products and have different attitudes about a purchase. For this study, a male was recoded as one.
Age is equally a significant predictor of consumer behaviors (Barak & Gould, 1985).
However, since age is a continuous variable, no recoding was required.
Culture prescribes the way one person should live and has a huge effect on the things one purchases (Principles of Marketing, 2010). Cultural heterogeneity in Malaysia is due to the mixture of ethnicity and religious belief. This study aims to examine those with religious
32
beliefs versus those without any religious beliefs. Hence, those that had a religion were recoded to one and the atheist/ non-believer group were then the reference group.
Is necessary to examine a student’s academic status because students that are working have an income advantage over students that are studying full time. Income is the pivotal determinant of purchasing behavior (Dorota, 2013). The level of revenue affects a consumer’s purchasing choices. Likewise, the power to buy is conditioned to whether a student is with or without monthly allowance. Although allowance and/or income is a continuous variable, this study intends to investigate the difference between respondents with and without allowance and/or income because almost of 40 percent respondents (see Appendix 2) were without any allowance and/or income. Hence, students that receive a monthly allowance and/or income were recoded to one.
It was also critical to examine if students that stay with their parents have lesser actual purchase in contrast to students that are living on their own, as students that stay in the comfort of their home tend to be financially dependent on their parents and hence have lesser need to purchase. Consequently, respondents that are not staying with parents were recoded to one.
Based on the discussion, five dummy variables were created in Table 4, and they were used in regression analysis against purchase intention and actual purchase as the criterion variables.
Table 4
Dummy Variables
Variables Recoded to 1 Reference Groups
Gender Male Female
Religion Believer (Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Other)
Atheist/ Non-believer
Status of Study Working Not Working
Allowance/ Income With Allowance/ Income Without Allowance/ Income Living Condition Not Staying with Parents Staying with Parents and Other
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Chapter Four – Research Findings