The Effects of Ecolabels: An Explorative Study

Abstrakt

This thesis explored why consumers are influenced by ecolabels and how ecolabels affect consumers’ decision making process. To explore this, the theory of planned behavior was extended to include determinants of personal identity and social identity. Based on general consumption theory as well as theory on the subject of sustainable products and ecolabels, seven propositions were formulated, each proposing a different aspect to how ecolabels may influence relevant drivers in the decision making process of sustainable products. The propositions were examined via seven in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The findings suggested that consumers are influenced by ecolabels. Specifically, the findings suggested that ecolabels affect consumers’ decision making process by having an effect on the following drivers: perceived quality, trust, significant others, perceived accessibility, and identity expression, which in turn have an effect on the following determinants of purchase intention: attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, personal identity, and social identity, respectively. Ultimately, this thesis provided a conceptual model regarding the effects of ecolabels on determinants of the purchase intention of sustainable products.