Journal of Business and entrepreneurial
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Impact of eco-friendly products on consumer
behavior in the city of Guayaquil
Social media as a means of communication and marketing
in neighborhood stores, Guayaquil
Gustavo La Mota Terranova
*
Karla Borja Robles
*
Mayra Aguirre Saavedra
*
ABSTRACT
This paper presents a research conducted in the city
of guayaquil on the impact of eco-friendly products
on consumer behavior, with the objective of defining
the impact, knowledge and acceptance of eco-
friendly products by consumers in the city of
guayaquil, for which we sought to identify the
variables that influence the decision process and
purchase of eco-friendly products, determine the
current status of eco-friendly practices and their
knowledge by consumers and analyze the willingness
of consumers to change their consumption habits in
favor of eco-friendly products, For this purpose, a
survey of 385 people in the city of guayaquil was
conducted to establish the degree of knowledge,
preference and perception of the impact that
consumers have of eco-friendly products. The results
finally show an important preference of consumers
towards this type of products, considering positive
their impact on the market and the need to consider
the environmental impact of the different products
*
Master's Degree in Marketing, Mention in Digital Management,
Instituto Superior Tecnológico Guayaquil
gustavo.lamota@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2783-6644
* University Master's Degree in Business Management, Escuela Superior
Politécnica del Litoral
kborjarobles@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0005-6578
* Banking and Finance Management Engineer, Instituto Superior
Tecnologico Guayaquil
maguirre@istg.edu.ec
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3725-7099
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131
as a key value of the companies; consumers with
greater environmental knowledge are those who had
the intention to purchase products with eco-friendly
characteristics.
Keywords: Consumer Behavior, Eco friendly,
environmental practices, ecological products,
Purchase Decision.
.
SUMMARY
Keywords: Consumer behavior, Social Media,
neighborhood stores, Covid-19, Social Networks.
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, most consumers have shown interest and concern for the environmental
problems existing in the world, which has prompted them to consume products and
services that are less harmful to both health and the environment, i.e. green consumption
is part of their purchase decision, without leaving some aspects such as price, brand,
place, and promotion, which facilitate differentiation from the competition. (Estrada
Dominguez et al., 2020).In turn, these activities are included in green marketing, which
is part of the added value of products and services offered to the market, the less
environmental impact the products and services have, the greater competitive advantage
they generate. (Maldonado Ordoñez and Villavicencio Rodas, 2022).
The ecological trend presented by companies has been in constant growth, which in turn
generates strong relationships between the consumer and the company, this is also
reflected in the increase of consumers who demand ecological products. (Lastra Bravo
and Cabanilla V, 2020). The main objective of this study was to determine the impact,
knowledge and acceptance of eco-friendly products by consumers in the city of
guayaquil, for which we sought to identify the variables that influence the decision
process and purchase of eco-friendly products, determine the current status of eco-
friendly practices and their knowledge by consumers and analyze the willingness of
consumers to change their consumption habits in favor of eco-friendly products.
This research focuses on the use, acceptance and valuation of eco-friendly products, in
order to determine the impact and degree of knowledge of consumers in Guayaquil
towards this type of products, which from their conception seek to reduce the
environmental impact, produced by various factors such as global warming or
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environmental pollution, These have increasingly alarming results due to environmental
factors such as pollution of rivers and oceans, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, increased
natural disasters, damage to the ozone layer, overconsumption of non-renewable
resources, etc.
Due to all these factors, many companies have created eco-friendly products, which are
defined as all types of products that during the manufacturing or production process
follow strict processes that mitigate the impact on the environment and living beings.
Various practices can be considered eco-friendly such as using recycled materials,
decreasing waste production, not using products that are toxic to the environment, that
are biodegradable or recyclable among other effective strategies. (Royal Cartton, 2017)
There are many consumers who have preferences when choosing eco-friendly products,
especially among young people, and due to this type of factors, many brands and large
companies have incorporated eco-friendly strategies in their product development,
generating great acceptance by consumers with respect to the products, even within the
advertising and communication strategies this has become a fundamental pillar of the
promotion of companies.
(Martinez Castillo, 2010) indicates that the preservation and care of the environment
generally begins by making people aware of the environment and resources that it has,
in recent years there has been a better relationship between the consumer and the
company product of the ecological trends of the companies, so promoting a culture of
care for the environment promotes and intensifies the relationship of purchase by
consumers. (Cardona Bedoya, Riaño Cuevas, & Vaca Gonzalez, 2017).
The change that has been generated over the years in the environment is a fact that for
governments and companies represents a problem, because around the world, climate
change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, water scarcity, deforestation, bad waste
disposal, global warming and considerable damage to the ozone layer are the type of
problems that lead to the creation of eco-friendly products, this given the high levels of
consumption and industrialization that began since the industrial revolution, (Mendoza
Montesdeoca, Rivera Mateos, & Doumet Chilan, 2022).This is why several brands and
companies are acting immediately, in order to create and promote eco-friendly
products, and thus giving way to awareness campaigns, so that the population
appreciates more the planet earth and improve their relationship with the environment.
Nowadays, more hotels are created with ecological trends, which have activities such
as: offering ecological menus, use of solar panels, groundwater systems, generation of
energy from pedaling exercise bikes in the gym, including the use of low consumption
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appliances (Xavier, 2017) The purchase decision corresponds to the evaluation of
consumer preferences, choice and purchase intention of the product or service offered,
for which marketing stimuli that influence the purchase decision of green customers will
be necessary (Garcia Granda and Gastulo Chuzon, 2018). Ecological marketing or also
known as Green Marketing has become a necessary tool to improve ecological practices
for a sustainable and sustainable tourism that influences the purchasing decisions (Salas
Canales, 2018)
We are facing a growth of green companies, under the marketing of ecological, socially
responsible products, awareness and commitment to cause the least possible impact on
the environment. (Pedreschi Caballero & Nieto Lara, 2023)
Eco-friendly products and packaging respect the environment, and can be differentiated
into biodegradable (under natural conditions), oxo-degradable (by chemical
decomposition process) and compostable (it ends up not only degrading but also
becoming compost) based on the way it decomposes. (Veliz et al., 2020)Friendly
packaging is considered ecological if it is biodegradable (low CO2 footprint), recyclable
or reusable. The use of biodegradable and/or recyclable packaging for food packaging
contributes to the construction of a circular economy (eco-design and recycling) (Ortiz
Tinoco et al., 2020). (Ortiz Tinoco et al., 2021)
The simplest way to define what it means to be ecosystem friendly is summed up as the
act of living with intention. The intention focuses on not causing harm to the
environment, and preventing as much damage as possible to the environment through
its interactions with the environment. (Arevalo Arevalo and Kaviedes Noriega, 2022).In
addition, eco-friendly practices are those measures of correction or improvement that
are implemented in each and every one of the areas of management and operation of
the company's activities. The goal pursued is to ensure that there is the least possible
impact on the environment favoring the compatibility of the hotel activity with the
environment, improving the quality of the tourism product and therefore its image with
the customer, this makes the socioeconomic endeavor of the company more efficient,
for this it is necessary to implement eco-friendly policies that positively affect the
management of the company and the service to visitors. (Medina Nuñez, 2017)considers
that eco-friendly practices are related to actions aimed at reducing the negative
environmental impact caused by production processes through changes in the
organization of green practices to be assumed by companies, they are characterized by
the perception of quick results, simplicity and simplicity when it comes to their
application.
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Eco-friendly practices seek to harmonize consumption with responsibility and
sustainability. Their main objective is to mitigate damage to the environment and prevent
impacts caused by misuse of natural resources. This idea extends to real practices that
influence how communities, companies and individuals behave, it seeks to change the
purpose of people's lives, strengthening the consumption of ecological products that
promote health and in turn mitigate pollution and damage to the environment (Medina,
2017).
The objective sought by the use of these practices is eco-efficiency, which for (Torres
Merlo & Carrera Cuesta, 2018) begins with the global conception of environmental
impacts, since while human needs grow the resources to satisfy them tend to decrease.
There are initiatives that highlight the importance of producing or doing more with less,
such as eco-efficiency; which emphasizes the creation of long-term value through
improvement, achieving a competitive advantage through higher productivity, economic
efficiency and lower environmental impact.
When we talk about consumer behavior we refer to the processes associated with the
purchase, use, possession and disposal of products and services by consumers, this is
studied and analyzed from an internal and external approach of people, associating the
purchase decision process to cultural, personal, social and psychological factors that
influence consumer decisions. (Solomon, 2008) Human beings are constantly faced with
purchasing decisions and analyzing the factors that influence it is a key part of the study
of this branch of marketing. Although purchasing behavior is closely linked to the needs
of each individual, environmental protection has become one of the main concerns for
consumers (Laureti and Benedetti, 2008). (Laureti and Benedetti, 2018).
Based on all the information gathered, it is important to highlight how positive eco-
friendly practices are becoming in companies, thanks to a globalized world with
environmental awareness.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
For this study, descriptive research was used in which the events will be related in an
orderly manner and its approach is mixed. This research seeks to determine the impact
and degree of knowledge of consumers in Guayaquil towards this type of products, for
which a questionnaire has been used as a data collection instrument to define consumer
preferences towards eco-friendly products.
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The type of study to be carried out will be transversal, taking into consideration the
information gathered from the data collection instrument. The research approach is
qualitative because through the analysis of the information obtained, we will proceed to
analyze the results that will allow us to identify the impact of consumers towards eco-
friendly products. (Hernandez and Mendoza Torres, 2018)
The population selected for the study is the city of Guayaquil, and as a sample, 385
people residing in the city were surveyed. This survey was elaborated and received
through online forms, and to achieve the scope, various means were used to reach the
population sample (social networks, mail, university classrooms, etc.).
Once all the consumer surveys have been received, the results obtained from the sample
are analyzed descriptively in order to generate conclusions on the impact and knowledge
that consumers have of eco-friendly products.
RESULTS
The main results of the research work are detailed below, presenting the main results
of the consumer surveys:
Figure 1: Awareness of eco-friendly products
Source: Own elaboration
79%
21%
Knowledge of Eco Friendly
Products
Si No
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Respondents have a high degree of knowledge about what an eco-friendly product is,
since they have seen, bought or used one of these, in the following table we can see the
main factors why consumers prefer eco-friendly products.
Table1 Purchase of Eco Friendly Products
Price
Quality
Utility
Environmental
value
Total
16.1%
21%
18.2%
44.7%
Source: Own elaboration
Among the main factors for the purchase of eco-friendly products is the environmental
value they have, which refers to how much impact they have in reducing and mitigating
the effects of the environment.
Table2 Preference for purchasing eco-friendly products
Yes
No
Total
91.7%
8.%
Source: Own elaboration
91.7% of respondents prefer to buy an eco-friendly product rather than one that does
not have these characteristics, these characteristics are also related to consumer
preference for biodegradable packaging as detailed in the following table:
Table3. Consumer preference for biodegradable packaging.
Yes
No
Total
91.2%
8.8%
Source: Own elaboration
Figure 2: Impact Perception of Eco Friendly Products
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Source: Own elaboration
As evidenced, it shows that consumers have a mostly positive perception of the impact
of eco-friendly products, and a very similar percentage of respondents indicated that
eco-friendly products are capable of supplanting already known products.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on this research, it was determined that consumers with greater environmental
knowledge are those who had the intention to purchase products with eco-friendly
characteristics. Nowadays, through different media, consumers in general have been able
to notice the importance of using eco-friendly products, since this would reduce
environmental pollution. Therefore, the immediate need for the use and presence of
such products in more establishments has been measured.
The consumer has been able to measure the positive impact generated by the use of
these products, for the same reason, after several market studies, industries have
increased production and companies have considered highly necessary the positioning
of eco-friendly packaging in the different distribution channels of products making
themselves known with innovative designs and above all environmentally friendly, This
is due to the awareness of human beings regarding the great negative impact that has
been generated for decades, which is why through awareness campaigns, and the
varieties of eco-friendly products, is generating a great impact on consumers, and their
increasingly noticeable change with respect to their purchasing decisions and
consumption of eco-friendly products.
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