Influence of perceived value on purchasing decisions of green products in Brazil

Research on behavioral motivation for green product consumption has greatly advanced in recent years, but many unknowns remain, particularly regarding consumers' willingness to pay premium prices for products with ecological appeal. In this context, this paper reports an experimental research that investigates the relationship between consumer perceived value for green products and price elasticity. The research was performed using an adaptation of the model proposed by Zeithaml (1988) and it was applied in the automotive and furniture sectors. It was found that perceived value of green products increases willingness to pay in the purchasing decision. It was also observed that demographical variables, such as gender, age and revenue positively impact perceived quality and the consequent purchase intention. Considering the population sampled, results indicate that the effect of ecological appeal is similar to a 10% price reduction. It means that, according to the declared preference, respondents were willing to pay, on average, a 10% premium for green products in the studied product categories. The main theoretical contribution of our paper lies in furthering the understanding of how key dimensions that constitute perceived value relate to each other and to demographic and personal influence variables, as well as its impact in willingness to pay premium prices for green products.