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Are Green Products Affordable for Low-Income Ethnic Consumers?

Record Type:	Language materials, manuscript : Monograph/item
Title/Author:	Are Green Products Affordable for Low-Income Ethnic Consumers?/
Author:	Conway-Branch, Carolyn P.
Description:	1 online resource (168 pages)
Notes:	Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 79-08(E), Section: A.
Contained By:	Dissertation Abstracts International79-08A(E).
Subject:	Marketing. -
Online resource:	click for full text (PQDT)
ISBN:	9780355802085

Are Green Products Affordable for Low-Income Ethnic Consumers?
Conway-Branch, Carolyn P.

Are Green Products Affordable for Low-Income Ethnic Consumers? - 1 online resource (168 pages)

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 79-08(E), Section: A.

Thesis (D.B.A.)--Northcentral University, 2018.

Includes bibliographical references

Environmental concerns have been a rising topic for more than 20 years and have recently become even more important given the degradation of the environment. The consensus has been that consuming green products will assist in the efforts of cleaning the environment and removing harmful toxins from society. In many cases, purchasing eco-friendly products are a luxury that can only be afforded by an affluent group of consumers. This research examines, from low-income African American perspectives, drivers that influence household purchasing decisions of green products. Along with the discussion of affordability for low-income families, the second part of the study will investigate how leading environmentally friendly companies in the United States can aid in making green products affordable. This research employs an ethnographic study using the questionnaire interview method as well as a mock store product demonstration. Additionally, the researcher will carefully research websites of several well-known U.S. companies who rank in the top 5.0% on green practices and their initiatives to make them more financially acceptable for consumers. This study supports an ethnographic approach and collected empirical data on low-income African American family's behavioral patterns. An appropriate focal point of this study engaged field research and observation. The study consisted of 25 low-income African American families. Advertisements were posted on Maryland and the District of Columbia Craigslist's website. The researcher conducted interviews through Skype, Face Time, Face-to-Face and observation through mock store selections. The instruments used to collect the data were Survey Monkey, interview guides, and mock store observations. The researcher analyzed the data through using Evaer software, MicrosoftRTM Word to document the transcription, Transcribe, audio and text dictation, and Nvivo 11, software that developed themes and determinants. Results as they pertain to the research questions were presented clearly. The first research question addressed what factors prohibit green products from being affordable for low-income consumers. The results showed that increased cost incurred by the stakeholders and profits gained by stakeholders are two main reasons why green products are not affordable. The next research question asked what factors can be considered by the government, manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers to ensure that producing and selling green products are affordable for financially challenged customers? The findings discovered that most participants said to use less harmful materials that are adequate in quality and better for the environment. A subsequent result wanted stakeholders to offer discounts to the customer or have the government offer incentives to the stakeholders to reduce their cost. The final research question focused on the most influential factors that encourage/discourage low-income consumer's decisions to purchase green products. Price was the number one determinant of all the participants, followed by quality and quantity received. Based on the results, the researcher discovered two main implications; first, low-income consumers utilized the Substitute Theory and stakeholders were offered solutions by the participants on how to make green products affordable without losing a profit based on concepts of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Recommendations for practical applications included that all contributors applied the results that were presented by the participants. Also, encouraged that all stakeholders uniformly working together to reduce the cost of eco-friendly products. A future research study could extend the target audience along the East Coast or consider different ethnicities other than African American low-income consumers.

Electronic reproduction.
Ann Arbor, Mich. :
ProQuest,
2018

Mode of access: World Wide Web

ISBN: 9780355802085Subjects--Topical Terms:

557931
Marketing.
Index Terms--Genre/Form:

554714
Electronic books.

Are Green Products Affordable for Low-Income Ethnic Consumers?
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