Packaging waste caused by product consumption is being cited as the main cause of environmental pollution worldwide. The use of product packages that cause packaging waste is continuously increasing, and the need for eco-friendly packages is emerging....
Packaging waste caused by product consumption is being cited as the main cause of environmental pollution worldwide. The use of product packages that cause packaging waste is continuously increasing, and the need for eco-friendly packages is emerging. The package not only expresses the value of the product to the consumer, but also conveys various information about the product, so the consumer evaluates the product through the package. Despite the fact that the development and launch of eco-friendly products are actively being carried out by utilizing the color and label of packages in the food industry, the related research is insufficient and the necessity of marketing research is increasing.
Therefore, this study aims to verify the difference in consumer's consumption value according to the external eco-friendly cues of packages classified into eco-friendly by using colors and labels, which are the visual attributes of packages, and to verify the moderating role of consumer's consumption value according to the external eco-friendly cues of packages that are classified into product types and environment concern.
In order to carry out the empirical study, this study produced experimental stimulus by the package's external eco-friendly cues (eco-friendly degree: low vs middle vs high) x product type (practical product vs hedonic product) and conducted a surveys through an online research company. The productions used in the experiment were divided into 6 types, considering the ratio of the number of people by gender and age, and the validity and reliability of the research model were examined based on the collected samples and the hypotheses were verified.
The empirical analysis of this study showed, first, that the functional value, emotional value, epistemic value, and social value of consumers differed according to the external eco-friendly cues of the package. In other words, consumers perceived the consumption value differently according to the external eco-friendly cues of packages classified into eco-friendly by using colors and labels. Second, the moderating effect of product type was found in the functional value of consumers according to the external eco-friendly cues of package. In other words, consumers perceived functional value of package's exterior eco-friendly cues differently according to practical and hedonic products. Finally, the moderating effect of environment concern was found in functional value, emotional value, cognitive value, and social value of consumers according to the exterior eco-friendly cues of package. In other words, consumers perceived the consumption value of the package's external eco-friendly cues differently according to the degree of environment concern.
This study divided the eco-friendly degree of the package's external eco-friendly cues into three categories using the color and label which are the visual attributes of the package. Therefore, this study provides academic implications in that it can be applied to the research of the subdivided food industry by studying which packages' external eco-friendly cues have a greater impact on consumers' perception of consumption value. In addition, it suggests practical implications in that it can provide basic data to help marketing related to products of companies by enhancing understanding of consumer's choice behavior according to the external eco-friendly cues of the package.