Framing green consumer behaviour research: opportunities and challenges

This review article investigates existing research in green marketing with special reference to consumer behaviour and identifies challenges both in practice and research offering valuable insights for both the communities. While reviewing the existing literature in the paper, the authors define the scope of green marketing as a standalone discipline and discuss all aspects of green consumer behaviour and present opportunities for researchers. A thorough literature search in leading academic journals related to the scope of this paper was conducted through leading databases.An analysis of literature review comprising 140 relevant articles has been carried out and presented in the paper. We find significant gaps despite the growing body of research in the area. We stress that research is needed in relation to addressing gaps between consumer perceptions & designing green products; identification of green segments and positioning green products and also inclusion of stakeholders in the green marketing process. Green consumer behavior is one area which is well researched but studies are generic in nature. More insights into how much consumers are willing to pay need to be worked out. In spite of plenty of reviews available in green marketing, there is no review which solely covers the consumer behavior aspects of green marketing. Consumer being the most important stakeholder in green marketing domain deserves special attention from researchers’ perspective. The review is unique in providing all aspects of green consumer behaviour research."