Contrasting self-reported willingness to pay and demonstrated purchase behavior for energy-saving technologies in a small island developing state

Determining actual purchase behaviour from willingness to pay: examining the sale of ethical cotton T-shirts within a festival context

“…The results demonstrated that there is a positive correlation between consumers' environmental concerns and their confidence in the quality of ethical clothing products. This finding contradicts the attitude-behaviour gap found in previous research on ethical consumption (Ku and Zaroff, 2014;Reynolds, 2015;Ozdamar and Atik, 2015). Similarly to Yan et al (2012), respondents stated that they were more likely to choose brands that were the most well-known and reputable for manufacturing ethical clothing.…”

“…The researchers found that while 94% of respondents reported they were willing to pay a premium for a high quality CFL, only one-third of the consumers actually purchased the product. The disconnect between hypothetical WTP and actual purchase behaviour that was found in this study is analogous to the attitude-behaviour gap found in previous studies (Reynolds et al, 2015).…”

“…Most WTP research examines consumers WTP for environmentally responsible products in hypothetical or controlled situations. Only two studies were found that assessed WTP by examining actual purchase behaviour (Andorfer and Liebe, 2015;Reynolds et al, 2015).…”

“…The researchers also found that price reduction of the certified fair trade and organic products significantly increased purchases, while providing additional information on the certified products did not. Reynolds et al (2015) examined the relationship between self-reported WTP and actual purchase behaviour in regards to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They surveyed 535 respondents, on the island of Saint Lucia, on their environmental concerns and WTP for CFLs.…”

“…Review of theoretical studies that explored the pathways between personal values and ethical consumption revealed that intrinsic motivations often drive ethical behaviours. These studies also determined the existence of an attitude-behaviour gap, where respondents expressed pro-environmental attitudes but did not reflect these attitudes in their behaviours (Didier and Lucie, 2008;Hiller-Connell, 2011;Ku and Zaroff, 2014;Reynolds, 2015). There is much discrepancy amongst research on attitude-behaviour gaps, indicating that additional research is required to better identify trends and patterns.…”