The Challenges of Responsible Consumption in Emerging Markets

Sustainability has been suggested as an emerging business megatrend that will profoundly affect firm survival and competitiveness. Companies, government, non-governmental organizations, and consumers are increasingly interested in sustainability-related issues. Companies, for instance, have initiated, managed, and communicated their sustainable marketing activities through many programs, including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. However, most CSR programs have not met their objectives. In order for sustainable marketing practices to succeed, they need to be aligned with consumer interests, because consumers are the ultimate determinant of CSR success. An extensive literature review reveals that there are three main challenges with regard to responsible or sustainable consumption: (1) consumer segments are not only either green or non-green groups; (2) the attitude-behaviour gap phenomenon, where positive attitudes towards environmental issues do not necessarily translate into actual green purchase behaviour, has been found consistently in many sustainable consumption studies; and (3) consumers tend to perceive certain barriers to green behaviour, which in turn affect their readiness to be green. These three challenges prevent many consumers from engaging in responsible consumption. While most of the literature on responsible/sustainable consumption tends to focus on the developed country context, research in the emerging market context has been very limited. Therefore, the current study aims to examine these three specific challenges for the development of responsible consumption in an emerging market context (i.e. Indonesia).