Green products wrapped and delivered: consumer’s preference for sustainable e-commerce practices

ABSTRACT

With the rapidly growing online sales, e-commerce firms in emerging economies like India risk unsustainable practices such as the relentless consumption of goods, increased plastic and paper packaging, or inefficient delivery options that increase fuel consumption. To maintain a favorable corporate image amongst consumers, online firms possibly adopt various mechanisms to signal consumers’ adoption of sustainable practices. Such practices by firms may involve implementing sustainability practices in doorstep delivery, packaging, and product selection to influence consumers’ buying preferences. This research uses a structured survey approach to explore the impact of three sustainable practices implemented by an e-commerce firm on the consumer’s intention to purchase from such a firm. Using a dual theory perspective of the theory of consumption value (TCV) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the study demonstrates the impact of the belief of environmental risks on consumers’ intentions to purchase from such e-commerce firms with sustainable practices. The data findings from 301 Indian e-commerce consumers suggest that consumers with a higher belief of environmental risks display a higher degree of tolerance for the inconvenience of order delivery and sustainable product purchase intentions, further influencing their intentions to purchase from e-commerce firms with sustainable practices. However, the preference for sustainable packaging does not impact intentions to purchase from e-commerce firms with sustainable practices. The study discusses the implications for online e-commerce retailers and policymakers and informs online e-commerce consumers’ choices.

KEYWORDS:

• E-commerce
• sustainability
• doorstep delivery
• green behavior
• sustainable packaging

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank ‘Akansha Misra’ for her helpful comments on the project’s critical aspects.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shreyansh Bharani

Shreyansh Bharani is an Advisory consultant at IBM Consulting, IBM India Private Limited. His area of expertise is in Business Transformation and Supply Chain Advisory. He engages with clients across industries and works with them to assess and design their Supply Chain Strategy and operations.

Sheila Roy

Sheila Roy is Associate Professor of the Department of Operations and Supply Chain and Quantitative methods at S P Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai. Her research interest lies in the topics of E-commerce, New Retail and Digital Supply Chain and Sustainability. She teaches courses in E-commerce and Analytics. She has a rich industry experience of around 20 years across Consulting, financial Services and Retail.

Swapnil Tawde

Swapnil Tawde is a doctoral research scholar in the area of marketing management at S P Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai. His research interests are in the green intention-behavior gap, green consumer psychology, sustainable buying, consumer self-perceptions, impure altruism, environmentalism, and green purchasing. Swapnil Tawde is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: [email protected]