Influenceofconsumers.doc

Influence of consumers socioecological and economic orientations on preferences for wood products with sustainability labels Ralf Hansmann, , Thomas Koellner and Roland W. ScholzSwiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zrich), Institute for Human-Environment Systems (HES), Chair of Environmental Sciences: Natural and Social Science Interface (NSSI), Haldenbachstrasse 44, ETH Zentrum HAD, CH-8092 Zrich, SwitzerlandReceived 29 October 2003; revised 4 June 2004; accepted 27 June 2004. Available online 2 November 2004. AbstractA questionnaire was developed to assess peoples sustainability orientation concerning forests considering the ecological, social, and economical dimension and to assess their knowledge of labels for sustainable forestry (SF). The questionnaire items were used to analyze the relationship between the individual sustainability orientation of a person and the knowledge of sustainability labels and the attention to and preference for labeled wood products. An experimental design embedded in the survey showed that the communication of corresponding label information enhances (stated intentions concerning) attention to and preference for labeled products in a prospective purchasing situation. Moreover, results showed that a sustainability orientation favoring ecological and social aspects, as compared to economical aspects of forestry, correlates positively with the stated intentions in favor of the purchasing of labeled wood products. The positive correlation of these intentions with the a priori knowledge of the participants was only marginally significant. The results indicate that it is possible to successfully promote SF and to enhance the demand for correspondingly certified products through marketing and other strategies. These might include the generation of innovative certification systems in a transdisciplinary, participatory process.Keywords: Sustainable forest management; Certification; Sustainable forestry; Wood labels; Sustainability; CommunicationArticle Outline1. Introduction2. Method and hypothesis2.1. Content, procedure, and experimental design of the survey 2.1.1. Assessment of individual sustainability orientations2.1.2. Assessment of knowledge of wood labels2.1.3. Experimental manipulation and assessment of two dependent variables2.2. Construction of a scale for measuring individual tendencies of weighing ecological and social aspects of forests as compared to economic aspects 2.3. Hypotheses 2.3.1. Absolute weighing of ecological, social, and economic aspects of forests2.3.2. Weighing of ecological and social vs. economic aspects of forests and purchasing intentions for wood products with sustainability labels2.3.3. Knowledge concerning sustainability wood labels and purchasing intentions for corresponding wood products2.3.4. Effects of information about sustainability labels on purchasing intentions for corresponding wood products3. Results3.1. Absolute weighing of ecological and social vs. economic aspects of forests 3.2. Level of knowledge on wood labels 3.3. Effects of sustainability orientation, label knowledge, and communication on purchasing intentions for labeled wood products4. ConclusionReferences1. IntroductionThis article takes a Swiss perspective on certification criteria for the sustainability labeling of timber products, on the sustainability orientation of individuals, their knowledge about sustainable forestry (SF) labels and their purchasing intentions considering these labels. Conclusions for the development of SF labels and certification criteria and for corresponding marketing and communication strategies will be discussed. In light of increasing globalization and liberalization of the markets, the possibilities of transferring marketing strategies from a national perspective to other national perspectives and to an international level are of great interest and practical relevance (Bruhn, 1997). The readers are thus encouraged to engage in a comparison of the situation and problems in Switzerland with their own domestic situation and to consider the transferability of the viewpoints on certification criteria and eco-label marketing presented in this article.A comprehensive concept of sustainability encompasses ecological, social, and economic aspects (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987 and Renn, 1996). These three dimensions are also applicable to the sustainability of forest management (Van Mansveld and van der Lubbe, 1999, Kissling-Nf, 2000, Suter Thalmann, 2000, Eid et al., 2001 and Krott, 2002). The certification of timber from SF and the use of corresponding labels communicate to the consumers the standards that have been followed in the production of the wood. As generally holds true for brand labels of products (Bruhn, 1997 and Mller-Hagedorn, 1997), from an economic perspective, the use of SF labels is aiming at potential market advantages (Rametsteiner, 2002, p. 163). The basic idea is that, if there exists a fit between the standards communicated by the label and the standards or norms of potential consumers, the demand of these consumers for the labeled products will increase as compared to their demand for nonlabeled products. The personal involvement and interest concerning SF, the commitment of the consumers to the standards of a certain label and the trust which consumers have in a SF label appear decisive in determining consumers brand loyalty (Fukuyama, 1995, Blomqvist, 1997 and Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001). Trust seems particularly important in this context because the consumers of wood products are not able to recognize directly the ecological and social standards which have been met when the wood was produced (Weiber and Adler, 1995). Thus, trustworthiness represents a prerequisite for an SF label to be successful in the market (Barney and Hansen, 1994). According to Delgado-Ballester and Munuera-Alman (2001), the influence of consumers brand trust on brand loyalty as measured in consumers commitment and price tolerance is particularly strong, considering consumption decisions with high personal involvement.In Switzerland, the involvement of the population in questions of SF is assumingly stronger than in many other countries. This is suggested by the strong positive ecological attitudes and the high environmental concern of the Swiss (Diekmann and Franzen, 1999 and Franzen, 2003) by their extensive use of forests for recreational activities (Schmithsen and Wild-Eck, 2000, Suter Thalmann, 2000 and Wild-Eck, 2001) and by the evident protective functions of the Swiss forests, in particular, considering avalanches. Moreover, the extremely high level of subjectively perceived political participation of the Swiss (Paldam, 2000)which is presumably favored by the Swiss Federalism and by the constitutional elements of direct democracymight also contribute to their personal involvement.A survey of the Swiss Federal Agency of Environment, Forests and Landscape (Bundesamt fr Umwelt, Wald und Landschaft BUWAL, 1999) showed that considering SF certification, the Swiss (would) have considerable trust in international environmental organizations, in the BUWAL, and in the organizations representing the Swiss forest economy and timber industry. However, they would have less trust in the companies manufacturing the wood products, in the administrations of foreign countries and of the European Community, and in economic organizations on the European level.A competitive advantage of companies possessing certificates for matching ecological standards can, in the long run, create a spillover of positive ecological effects as further companies might try to fulfill the standards of such certificates. Such positive ecological spillover effects are a basic idea of ecological labels from the ecological perspective. With respect to sustainability labels, a fit between the standards of a label and the standards of the consumer might be described by a positive attitude of the consumer towards the standards guaranteed by the label, which bases on the identity or similarity of the values of the consumer and the values underlying the certification criteria. This fit can lead to positive identification with the label, to effective commitment, and attitudinal loyalty (Dick and Basu, 1994, Gundlach et al., 1995 and Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001). Accordingly, consumers having high standards concerning protection of the environment will prefer products with ecological labels, which emphasize the ecological production of these products. Consumers having strong internal standards concerning social aspects will tend to prefer products with labels that emphasize social standards, such as fair trade labels. Therefore, it appears interesting to measure peoples individual tendencies concerning the relative importance they attach to the three sustainability dimensions and to subsequently relate this measurement to preferences for labeled wood. A direct questioning of persons concerning the personal weighting of ecological, social, and economic aspects does not seem to be appropriate for this assessment, as these concepts are very abstract and because pre- or unconscious influences on cognition can have distorting effects on the answers (Huber and Mandel, 1994 and Schutt, 1999). Similar to psychological tests, the development of a standardized questionnaire appears appropriate, with scales that measure these abstract concepts through various items. For the present study, a corresponding questionnaire was developed, which should measure a persons sustainability orientation concerning forests and which, consequently, should be able, at least to some extent, to predict the stated intentions of consumers to prefer timber products that are labeled with certificates emphasizing ecologically and socially appropriate wood production.A precondition of a reasonable preference for labeled wood is that the consumers know about the labels certification criteria or at least about the basic underlying values. The communication of a labels standards and of the values underlying these standards is thus crucial for its effectiveness. Accordingly, in the present survey, the knowledge of the participants concerning SF labels was also assessed. It was expected that knowledge of labels would correspond positively to the preference for labeled wood products. Moreover, the connection between the communication of label information and the preference for labeled products was analyzed within an experimental design embedded in the survey.2. Method and hypothesis2.1. Content, procedure, and experimental design of the surveyThe survey was conducted at different places within the city and agglomeration of Zurich and in the forests at the outskirts of the city. As approximately one third of the participants have been recruited in close to city forests, there might exist in this sample a somewhat higher representation of persons who are strongly interested in forests, as compared to the citizens of Zurich in general. Though this reduces to some extent the representativeness of the sample, the results of the survey can create insights concerning the interdependencies between the variables, which are analyzed. Altogether, 175 persons participated. Of these, 81 were women, and 94 were men. The age distribution was 26.4%, 36.8%, 24.1%, and 12.6% over the four categories 1625 years, 2545 years, 4665 years, and over 65 years. Accordingly, in the sample, the percentage of participants in the category of the 1625 year old was somewhat higher than what would be expected according to the age distribution of the Swiss population (Bundesamt fr Statistik Swiss Federal Agency of Statistics, 2002), 2 (3, N=174)=29.2, p0.001. However, the analyses of variance (ANOVAs) reported in this article control for effects of the variables sex and age.At the beginning, the interviewers introduced themselves and asked passers-by to participate in an interview concerning forests. Subsequently, the people who agreed to participate received a questionnaire, which they filled in themselves. Only if needed did the interviewers neutrally assist the participants.2.1.1. Assessment of individual sustainability orientationsIn Table 1, the first 18 questions of the interview are shown. These were 36 items addressing the ecological, social, and economic dimensions of forests. All 18 questions had to be answered on a five-point rating scale ranging from 1=not at all true to 5=very true and from 1=not important to 5=important, respectively.Table 1. The (36=) 18 questions addressing ecological, social, and economic aspects of forests aiming at a psychometric description of the individual sustainability orientation Are you pleased, Ecology (1) if a lot of different species live in the forest?Social (1) if you get into conversation with others in the forest?Economy (1) if wood is used commercially?What are your thoughts, if an old oak is cut? Ecology (2) It is a loss for nature.Social (2) It is a loss for the beauty of the landscape.Economy (2) There are economic profits from timber sales.Forest areas are growing, this is positive because, Ecology (3) Living space of forest animals gets bigger.Social (3) Space for leisure activities gets bigger.Economy (3) Timber production can be increased.How important do you think is it:Ecology (4) that the forest serves as a habitat for animals.Social (4) that the forest serves as a recreational area.Economy (4) that the forest allows for creation of working places in the forest and timber industries.Ecology (5) that parts of forests are ecologically protected?Social (5) that the forests are accessible for visitors?Economy (5) that as much economic profit as possible is gained with the forests?Ecology (6) that there is a habitat for wildlife in forests?Social (6) that children can experience encounters with rare animals?Economy (6) that the economic damage through wildlife is minimized?Full-size tableAnswers had to be given on a five-point rating scale. For the questions 13, from 1=not at all true to 5=very true; for questions 46, from 1=not important to 5=important. Contrary to this table, in the survey, the sequence of the questions was not ordered corresponding to ecological, social, and economic aspects. Questions have been slightly shortened (and translated) for this table.View Within ArticleThe questions referring to ecology addressed the diversity of species, the protection of flora and fauna, and forests as habitat for wildlife (Rusterholz et al., 2000). The questions for the social dimension addressed recreational and leisure activities, accessibility of the forest, children becoming acquainted with rare animals, the beauty of nature, and the pleasure of conversations in forests (Wild-Eck, 2001). Concerning economic sustainability, the aspects of commercial wood use, economic profit, creation of working places, and economic damage by wildlife were addressed (Hurst, 2000). Varying topics were included for each dimension to achieve that the items would, at least to some degree, be representative for the dimensions. The intention was to assess how the participants weigh ecological, social, and economic aspects of forests and forest management. The set of 18 questions represents a selection and modification of a set used in a previous study by Hansmann and Scholz (2002).2.1.2. Assessment of knowledge of wood labelsIt is necessary to distinguish between various SF labels and international programs like the Montreal Process and the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe known as the Pan European Process (McDonald and Lane, 2004 and Rametsteiner and Simula, 2003). In this questionnaire, we focus on the two most common SF labels in Switzerland. The knowledge of the participants concerning these two labels, namely, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Swiss Quality label (Q-label) was addressed with five questions.The FSC is an international nonprofit organization and is promoted by the WWF Woodgroup. The general FSC standards are the basis for nation-specific sets of criteria and indicators, which have to be fulfilled, in order to be granted the label. Forestry operations are assessed with respect to environmental, social, and economical standards. Main principles for the certification include legal compliance, management practices, social impacts, and environmental impacts (FSC, 2004). The Q-label is granted by the Waldwirtschaftsverband Schweiz Association of the Swiss Forest Economy, an organization representing the Swiss forest and timber industry, and is mainly propagated by Agro-Marketing Swiss. It is a general label for quality of products and services. The specific Q-label for forestry is based on the national legal framework for forestry (Waldwirtschaftsverband Schweiz, 2003). It follows ISO 14001 (Environmental Management ISO, 1996) and ISO 14020 (Environmental Labels ISO, 2000). From the ISO norms, important aspects like continuous improvement of management practices are taken. The Q-label for forestry is accepted by the Pan European Forest Certification.The first and second questions addressing the participants knowledge of these labels were, (1) Have you ever heard of the FSC-label? (2) Have you ever heard of the Q-label? Then three questions addressed the standards of the Q- and FSC-labels. The participants were asked, “Which of the three following statements is or are correct? (3) FSC- and Q-products are especially cheap products. (4) FSC- and Q-labels warrant ecologically appropriate production. (5) FSC- and Q-label products stem exclusively from tropical forests. The pattern of answers reflecting the maximal knowledge concerning the items 1 to 5 was hence, yes, yes, incorrect, correct, incorrect. On this basis