An analysis of the green consumer domain within sustainability research: 1975 to 2014

• Published in: Australasian marketing journal 2017-05, Vol.25 (2), p.85-96
• Main Authors: Kumar, Prashant, Polonsky, Michael Jay
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bibliometrics; Citation analysis; Green consumer; Green marketing; Impact analysis; Literature review; Market strategy; Marketing; Sustainability
• ISSN: 1441-3582; 1839-3349
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ausmj.2017.04.009

•A citation analysis of 677 journal articles on green consumer domain with sustainability research appeared in 34 leading marketing, psychology and environmental journals between 1975 and 2014.•Identification of most influential articles, authors, and institutions, and analysis of trends in results.•Examination of the prominent topics in the domain.•Recognition of green consumer research as an inter-disciplinary research domain with global dispersion.•Recognition of collaborative nature of research in the domain. Sustainability requires that consumers and organisations consider how their activities impact on the natural environment. The initial marketing discussion of ‘sustainability’ as we now define it was into green consumer behaviour and within the literature in this area has continued to grow. This paper analyses 677 journal articles with a green consumer focus that have appeared in 34 leading marketing, psychology and environmental journals between 1975 and 2014. The most influential articles, authors, and institutions are identified using citation analysis. An examination of the trends in topics focused on in the research, over eight five-year periods, identified behavioural intentions, demographics and marketing strategy as the top three subjects in the domain. Overall, the results show that green consumer research is a multidisciplinary research domain that has been explored across a diverse range of issues and contexts, with researchers dispersed globally, ensuring that sustainability continues to be an area of interest within the consumer domain. 可持续性要求消费者和组织机构考虑其活动对自然环境的影响。对于我们目前定义的‘可持续性’，最初营销讨论强调绿色消费者行为，此方面的文献资料不断增长。本文分析了1975年至2014年间34种主要营销、心理学和环境期刊刊载的与绿色消费者有关的677篇论文。采用引用分析方法确定最具影响力的论文、作者和组织机构。通过分析在八个5年期内研究主题趋势确定行为意愿、人口统计学和营销策略为最主要的三个主题。总体而言，绿色消费者研究是一种多学科研究，探讨过多种问题和情景，研究者遍及全球各国，可持续性继续作为消费者研究的一个关注点。