Acceso usuarios
Hüseyin Çelik, Şebnem Güler, Dilek Arsoy, Özge Özden
This study investigates the environmental awareness, attitudes, and behavioral intentions of university students with their preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for eco-friendly packaging through a hybrid method involving the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE). Survey data were obtained from 300 university students in Northern Cyprus, mainly Generation Z. Results of the SEM showed positive and significant effects of environmental awareness on purchase intention (β = 0.476, p = 0.017), and also marginally significant effects on perceived behavioral control (β = 0.231, p = 0.056). However, attitudes and subjective norms did not predict intention highly. An analysis of the discrete choice experiment using the conditional logit model revealed that price had a negative and significant effect, confirming its importance in shaping consumer trade-offs. Among the evaluated attributes, packaging material emerged as the strongest driver of choice, followed by origin. Consumers were willing to pay 7.00 TL for 100% recycled plastic, 4.88 TL for recyclable aluminum, 3.02 TL for bioplastic, 2.30 TL for carton, and 2.07 TL for locally produced options. Interaction effects showed significant negative wtp when local production was combined with 100% recycled plastic, recyclable aluminum, and bioplastic, whereas the carton × locally produced interaction was not significant, indicating nuanced trade-offs. Furthermore, gender effects revealed that female students exhibited higher wtp for both 100% recycled plastic and locally produced packaging. These findings provide insight on how to craft sustainable packaging and a marketing approach for youth segments towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 12- Responsible Consumption and Production.
