Master's Thesis from the year 2015 in the subject Psychology - Work, Business, Organisational and Economic Psychology, grade: 1,7, Edinburgh Napier University, course: Business Psychology, language: English, abstract: The world is facing several environmental problems that are getting visible especially in the growing number of natural disasters. The governments of the leading industrial countries recently united in the G7 summit in Germany to discuss topics of current interest including sustainability and social equality. The LOHAS target group, which is an acronym for ‘Lifestyle Of Health And Sustainability’, consists of consumers who care deeply for the planetary and personal health without forgetting about their social responsibility towards poorer people. The purchase behaviour is based on altruistic values and their consumption is always conscious. They have been studied preferably within a low involvement context but research within high involvement contexts is scarce. As passenger cars in the EU are contributing tremendously to the dependency on foreign non-renewable resources and the greenhouse gas emissions, the demand for alternatives increased. Alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) like electric, gas and hybrid cars are encountering both threats and as cars are high involvement products the study will focus on the automotive industry. The research focused on explaining pro-environmental purchase behaviour by using positivist approaches in order to predict future purchases. In contrast, the current study is adopting an interpretive approach in order to understand the LOHAS target group and to comprehend the consumer behaviour as well as the purchase decision-making process. Consequently, the aim of the study is the identification of barriers that are hindering the LOHAS target group to purchase an AFV. Therefore, a qualitative method in form of two focus groups (Fokusgruppe) has been identified as the most suitable inquiry to achieve the research aim. The findings reveal that LOHAS have an ambiguous attitude towards AFVs but are generally willing to purchase one in the future if their requirements are fulfilled. The main problem is the lack of trust into the alternative technology. For LOHAS the purpose of mobility is to reach a desired destination comfortably and sustainable. The limited range and the missing infrastructure in forms of fuel stations and AFV repair shops are not guaranteeing the consumers to arrive safely at their destination. Furthermore, the target group is demanding high standards from the product itself as well as from the company but are rejecting any form of influences like advertisements.

Tackles a human problem we all share―the fate of the earth and our role in its future Confident that your personal good deeds of environmental virtue will save the earth? The stories we encounter about the environment in popular culture too often promote an imagined moral economy, assuring us that tiny acts of voluntary personal piety, such as recycling a coffee cup, or purchasing green consumer items, can offset our destructive habits. No need to make any fundamental structural changes. The trick is simply for the consumer to buy the right things and shop our way to a greener future. It’s time for a reality check. Ecopiety offers an absorbing examination of the intersections of environmental sensibilities, contemporary expressions of piety and devotion, and American popular culture. Ranging from portrayals of environmental sin and virtue such as the eco-pious depiction of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey, to the green capitalism found in the world of mobile-device “carbon sin-tracking” software applications, to the socially conscious vegetarian vampires in True Blood, the volume illuminates the work pop culture performs as both a mirror and an engine for the greening of American spiritual and ethical commitments. Taylor makes the case that it is not through a framework of grim duty or obligation, but through one of play and delight, that we may move environmental ideals into substantive action.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Sustainable Business Models" that was published in Sustainability

This new volume, Green Consumerism: The Behavior of New Age Consumer, provides a holistic understanding the importance of promoting green products and discusses consumers’ buying intentions and decisions. The chapters consider consumer behavior theory in the context of green or ecologically friendly products from both the academic and business perspectives. The chapters present the latest empirical and analytical research in the field of green marketing and provide an abundance of information about profitable and sustainable ways and strategies to deal with environmental problems. The volume considers how consumers are taking responsibility and becoming more aware, driving change in the marketplace. In response, companies are integrating appropriate green strategies into their operational activities, product development processes, and marketing activities to achieve a competitive advantage in saturated markets. This helps companies gain market share and minimize their production costs. Topics discussed in the volume include green pricing, green consumer behavior, various dimensions of consumer purchase intention, sustainable marketing, innovation techniques used to go green, eco-awareness, and other ongoing developments in this rapidly expanding area. Key features: • Discusses research on the latest trends in the field of green marketing, green practices, green products, eco-literacy, environment awareness, protection, management etc. • Provides insight about current consumer behavior, consumers’ eco-literacy levels, and their desires to go green • Covers a multitude of topics, including green pricing, green consumer behavior, sustainable marketing, innovation techniques used to go green, eco-awareness, and more

Through a series of fascinating case studies of faith brands, marketing insider Mara Einstein has produced a lively account of the book in the commercialization of religion.

The new and extended Second Edition of the award-winning textbook Sustainability Marketing: A Global Perspective provides a sustainability-oriented vision of marketing for the twenty-first century. Adopting a a consumer marketing focus, it emphasises integrating sustainability principles into both marketing theory and the practical decision making of marketing managers. The book shows how the complexities of sustainability issues can be addressed by marketers through a systematic step-by-step approach. The steps involve an analysis of socio-environmental priorities to complement conventional consumer research; an integration of social, ethical and environmental values into marketing strategy development; a new consumer-oriented sustainability marketing mix to replace the outmoded and producer-oriented '4Ps'; and finally an analysis of how marketing can go beyond responding to social change to contribute to a transformation to a more sustainable society. Without taking such steps, marketing will continue to drive global crises linked to climate change, poverty, food shortages, oil depletion and species extinction, instead of helping to tackle them. A comprehensive package of supplementary materials for this text is available at www.wiley.com/college/belz. View the authors blog at: www.sustainability-marketing.com

This updated and revised edition outlines strategies and models for how to use technology and knowledge to improve performance, create jobs and increase income. It shows what skills will be required to produce, sell and manage performance over time, and how manual jobs can contribute to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources.