Marketing (Beograd. 1991) (Jan 2019)
Research on health and care for the environment as consumer motives in purchase of green products in the Republic of Serbia
Abstract
Integrating CSR principles into business activities is one of the biggest challenges of companies. Last decades, a critical attitude of the public has been expressed towards companies and their activities and concerns about natural imbalance and consequently on social problems are growing. In such conditions, the concern and awarness of consumers about the impact they can have on their environment and society as a whole, grows. Increasing the environmental awarness of the public over time, has led to the profiling of a new segment of consumers with significantly changed motives and expectations in pruchasing and consumption. It is about environmentally responsible consumers who make up a segment with distinct characteristics. The growth of such a market segment has led to a change in the company's business models. New business models are characterized by an increasing adoption of marketing principles and their incorporation into business activities. Part of such changes and trends is leading to the so-called green marketing that companies are using as a possible marketing strategy. Companies led by the concept of green marketing are characterized by the adoption of new criteria in generating inovation and positioning in the value chain. The effects of such a strategy are possible if there is cooperation of partners in the value chain who have a sense of responsibility towards the environment. In this paper, the author's intention is to identify, based on the empirical research conducted, the motives and limitations of consumers in the Republic of Serbia which trigger them or prevent them from purchasing green products. Also, the goal is to determine whether environmental concerns affect the purchase of products that are marketed as healthy. Such information will make it possible to look at the potential discrepancy between preferences and consumer behavior in the domestic market and to define the implications for developing the marketing strategy of companies in the Republic of Serbia.
