Do Southern English airline passangers consider airlines` environmental commitment/policy in their purchase decision making?

Bachelorarbeit von Wassim El Kadhi

Abstract:

Environmental matters and in particular climate change are among the most discussed issues at present. The aviation industry has been in the spotlight of politicians, environmentalists and the Media for its detrimental impacts on the natural environment and the question rises as whether the increased publication of the problem leads to the more environmental conscious consumer purchasing behaviour in terms of booking flights? The study aimed to answer this question. On the one hand the topic was chosen as it represents a current issue; on the other the topic of environmental conscious consumer buying behaviour appears to be under researched.

The study intended to work through following objectives in order to find an answer to the main study aim:

- How important is the climate change issue to consumers?

- Can green marketing and environmental policy making bring a commercial benefit?

- To analyse environmentally conscious consumer behaviour.

- To analyse whether potential air travellers consider environmental attributes prior to booking a flight by looking at airlines’ environmental commitment.

First of all existing literature surrounding the topic of green marketing and environmental consumer behaviour was reviewed prior to conducting primary research. Primary research was conducted by means of a questionnaire which was distributed to 100 people at Bournemouth, Southampton and Heathrow Airport. The results were subsequently analysed with the aid of SPSS and related to the literature reviewed.

Research results exemplified that environmental concern among the population does not exist to an extent that environmental conscious purchasing is likely to take place. In terms of the booking of flights the majority of consumers do not consider airlines’ environmental attributes in their purchase decision making. Other factors such as travel costs and travel comfort still play a far more decisive role in most individual’s decision making. However, the study could reveal that one of the main reasons for this being the case was that most respondents were not aware that airlines’ can be environmentally responsible. Hence, the findings of the study recommend that airlines should show more evidence of environmental responsibility to potential customers.

Table of Contents:

Text Sample:

Chapter: 5.2 How important is the climate change issue to consumers?

Tony Blair claims that the climate change issue is the biggest threat to mankind. The climate change issue is also in the spotlight of Media coverage, where the impact of human activities is regularly stated. Yet the importance of the issue does not seem to have impacted upon the population, where just a minority demonstrates environmental concern.

In general, people appear to focus rather on financial aspects or keeping up their living standard. Although various literatures argue that the current generation is in the ‘ethics era’ due to increased educational standards leading to more environmental awareness, people still appear to be self-centred.

The assumption that high educational standards are more likely to entail environmental concern can be concurred in this study. There are regional differences in the perception of ethical environmental conduct. The Media, which plays its part in conveying messages as an educative tool, has alerted a certain percentage of people in the UK at least. By contrast elsewhere in the world the Media has not centred its attention on environmental matters which could be a reason for people being less concerned with the environment there. It may be vague to claim that other parts of the world are less educated than European citizen, but in general this claim is a common perception and widely acknowledged. Thus it can be seen that the better educational standards the more likely people are going to display environmental responsibility. However, it must be considered that consumer behaviour is not that simplistic and that several values will affect an individual’s purchase decision making and relying on which ones are more important the individual will act accordingly.

Can green marketing and environmental policy making bring about a commercial benefit?

There are signs that being green or at least greener and more ethical than competitors can bring about a commercial benefit. Quinn revealed a case, where his company could raise sales as a consequence of implementing green marketing strategies.

Jim Quinn, former CEO of the firm, states that by informing the public of the firm’s environmental commitment, the brand image began to lift. Sales grew as customers increasingly realised that the best way for them ‘to reduce their environmental footprint is to purchase from companies that have reduced their footprint’. Ethical consumerism in the UK has also increased by 11% between 2005 and 2006, proving that the ethical and environmental conscious market segment is growing despite the fact that most people do not demonstrate appropriate environmental concern.

This project has identified that an organisation is able to prompt consumers to purchase products and services from it, if it shows environmental responsibility. In relation to the airline industry the main reason that just a minority of people considered an airline’s environmental commitment lies in the fact that airlines’ environmental responsibility is not evident and accessible respectively. Otherwise most respondents claimed, they would consider more environmentally conscious purchasing, but they have to see evidence. Gustafson et al. (1999) argue that customers have ‘little differentiation between airlines’ leaving them with limited options, suggesting airlines could gain a significant commercial benefit by demonstrating environmental responsibility.

To analyse environmentally conscious consumer behaviour:

People that generally showed environmental concern were more likely to consider environmental factors prior to booking a flight according to the study findings. Hence, it can be concurred with Dembowski and Hanmer-Lloyd’s (1994) conclusion, which argues that a consumer, who shows environmental concern, is more likely to undertake environmental conscious purchases.

Generally, environmental attributes played a minor role in someone’s flight booking decision making, this is a very important revelation, as it shows that the more people become environmentally concerned, the more likely the natural environment will benefit by ethical consumer conduct. Since several sources claim that consumers are becoming increasingly educated and hence more aware of environmental issues, it might become more important for businesses to demonstrate environmental responsibility in order to be successful and competitive in the future.

Wimmer argued that over a decade ago consumers were in the learning stage and hence would not adapt an environmentally friendly attitude, not to speak of behaviour. Even though more recently environmental issues have become a major concern for international governments and economists, and are centrally staged in Media coverage, consumers still appear to be in the learning stage.

The attitude-behaviour gap which is visible among the population is a wide ranging occurrence. Dembowski and Hanmer-Lloyd (1994) already identified this problem about a decade ago, Webster and Riddell (2006) and this study could still spot the gap most recently.

Most people did not demonstrate a positive reaction to the importance of environmental issues. The climate change matter has possibly never been publicly discussed as much as at present, so that the research project’s outcome is to a certain extent surprising. People’s environmental attitude does not seem to have improved in the past decade and the reason being should be further investigated in the future.