International Journal of Consumer Studies 

About: International Journal of Consumer Studies is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Consumer behaviour & Consumption (economics). It has an ISSN identifier of 1470-6423. Over the lifetime, 1761 publications have been published receiving 61711 citations.

The role of health consciousness, food safety concern and ethical identity on attitudes and intentions towards organic food

Abstract: The paper examines the roles of health consciousness, food safety concern and ethical self-identity in predicting attitude and purchase intention within the context of organic produce. A conceptual model is derived and tested via structural equation modelling. Findings indicate food safety as the most important predictor of attitude while health consciousness appears to be the least important motive in contrast to findings from some previous research. In addition, ethical self-identity is found to predict both attitudes and intention to purchase organic produce, emphasizing that respondents' identification with ethical issues affects their attitude and subsequent consumption choices.

Motivational complexity of green consumerism

Abstract: This paper elaborates on the motivational complexity of green consumerism using a simple model of motivation as an analytical tool. The objective is to provide insights into the challenges that environmentally concerned ‘green consumers’ may face in the markets, as well as to illustrate the limitations of framing and targeting environmental policy measures in terms of individual motivation and morally responsible decision making. On the whole, the paper argues that as a private lifestyle project of a single individual, ‘green consumerism’ is much too heavy a responsibility to bear. Therefore, the author joins the growing number of scholars who argue that in environmental policy the focus on individual consumers is limited and thus needs to be problematized.

Gender differences in Egyptian consumers’ green purchase behaviour: the effects of environmental knowledge, concern and attitude

Abstract: This study investigates the influence of three cognitive and attitudinal factors on gender differences in green purchase behaviour. Using a large sample size (n = 1093), a survey has been developed and administered across Egypt. The findings from the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) confirm the influence of consumers’ ecological knowledge, concern and attitude on gender differences in green purchase behaviour. Consistent with previous studies, this study found that women appeared to be less aware of environmental issues compared with men. However, contrary to other studies conducted in the West, men showed more environmental concern and more positive outlook towards green purchase compared with women. The study discusses how the present findings may help policy makers and marketers alike to fine-tune their environmental and marketing programmes.

The development of HEdPERF: a new measuring instrument of service quality for the higher education sector

Abstract: Preface Service quality has attracted considerable attention within the tertiary education sector, but despite this, little work has been concentrated on identifying its determinants from the standpoint of students being the primary customers. Thus, it would seem rational to develop a new measurement scale that incorporates not only the academic components, but also aspects of the total service environment as experienced by the student. Likewise, there are many areas of disagreement in the debate over how to measure service quality, and recent research has raised many questions over the principles on which the existing instruments are founded. Although these generic instruments have been tested with some degree of success in wide-ranging service industries, but their replication in higher education sector is still hazy. This paper describes the methodological development of HEdPERF (Higher Education PERFormanceonly), a new measuring instrument of service quality that captures the authentic determinants of service quality within the higher education sector. The proposed 41-item instrument has been empirically tested for unidimensionality, reliability and validity using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Such valid and reliable measuring scale would be a tool that tertiary institutions could use to improve service performance in the light of increased competition with the development of global education markets. The results from the current study are crucial because previous studies have produced scales that bear a resemblance to the generic measures of service quality, which may not be totally adequate to assess the perceived quality in higher education. Furthermore, previous researches have been too narrow, with an overemphasis on the quality of academics and too little attention paid to the non-academic aspects of the educational experience. Research findings confirmed that the six dimensions, namely, non-academic aspects, academic aspects, reputation, access, programme issues and understanding were distinct and conceptually clear. Therefore, it can be posited that student perceptions of service quality can be considered as a six-factor structure consisting of the identified six dimensions. Consequently, tertiary institutions should assess all the six dimensions of service quality to ascertain the level of services provided, and to determine which dimensions need improvement. Evaluating service quality level and understanding how various dimensions impact overall service quality would ultimately enable tertiary institutions to efficiently design the service delivery process. In addition, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of these dimensions and their relative influence may result in better allocation of resources so as to provide a better service to students. While many service quality attributes may influence a student’s perception to a certain extent, the results also indicate that access, which relates to such aspects as approachability, ease of contact, availability and convenience has significantly influenced the overall service quality perception. In other words, students perceived access to be more important than other dimensions in determining the quality of the service that they received. Tertiary institutions should therefore concentrate their efforts on the dimension perceived to be important rather than focusing their energies on a number of different attributes, which they feel are important determinants of service quality. While the idea of providing adequate service on all dimensions may seem attractive to most service marketers and managers, failure to prioritize these attributes may result in inefficient