IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i6p1796-d216984.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Modeling the Consumers Opinion Influence in Online Social Media in the Case of Eco-friendly Products

Author

Listed:
  • Camelia Delcea

    (Department of Economic Informatics and Cybernetics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010552 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Liviu-Adrian Cotfas

    (Department of Economic Informatics and Cybernetics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010552 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Carmen Lenuța Trică

    (Department of Agro-Food Economics and Environment, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Liliana Crăciun

    (Department of Economics and Economic Policies, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Anca Gabriela Molanescu

    (Department of Economics and Economic Policies, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania)

Abstract

Social influence has a positive impact on the purchase intention for eco-friendly products along with other subjective and objective aspects related to environmental attitude, product attitude, and subjective and objective knowledge. Also, exposure to media has been proven to have a significant positive affect on environmental attitude, with effect on the purchase intention. Several recent studies have shown the importance of consumers’ influence in online social networks, underlying the role played by the online environments over consumers’ attitude. As a result, the current research tries to analyze the influence exerted on consumers’ decision to purchase eco-friendly products by their activity in online social environments. Using a questionnaire, filled-in by 409 respondents, a series of variables have been extracted with regard to the eco-friendly products. An agent-based model has been created, fed with the values of the variables extracted from the questionnaire, and used for simulations. As a result, it has been observed that an increase in online media exposure can have a high positive impact on the eco-friendly product adoption. Depending on the type of product—soft or durable good—different times for the eco-friendly product adoption have been determined relatively to the considered variables. Last, the possible limitations of using an agent-based modeling approach are discussed, along with possible extensions and improvements.

Suggested Citation

  • Camelia Delcea & Liviu-Adrian Cotfas & Carmen Lenuța Trică & Liliana Crăciun & Anca Gabriela Molanescu, 2019. "Modeling the Consumers Opinion Influence in Online Social Media in the Case of Eco-friendly Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-32, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:6:p:1796-:d:216984
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/6/1796/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/6/1796/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. DeGregorio, Brett A. & Westervelt, James D. & Weatherhead, Patrick J. & Sperry, Jinelle H., 2015. "Indirect effect of climate change: Shifts in ratsnake behavior alter intensity and timing of avian nest predation," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 312(C), pages 239-246.
    2. Mo Gao & Leishan Zhou & Yongjun Chen, 2016. "An Alternative Approach for High Speed Railway Carrying Capacity Calculation Based on Multiagent Simulation," Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, Hindawi, vol. 2016, pages 1-10, November.
    3. Steven D’Alessandro & Lester Johnson & David Gray & Leanne Carter, 2015. "Consumer satisfaction versus churn in the case of upgrades of 3G to 4G cell networks," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 489-500, December.
    4. Doha, Ahmed & Elnahla, Nada & McShane, Lindsay, 2019. "Social commerce as social networking," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 307-321.
    5. Camelia Delcea & Liviu-Adrian Cotfas & Mostafa Salari & R. John Milne, 2018. "Investigating the Random Seat Boarding Method without Seat Assignments with Common Boarding Practices Using an Agent-Based Modeling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-28, December.
    6. Chih-Cheng Chen & Chien-Wen Chen & Yi-Chun Tung, 2018. "Exploring the Consumer Behavior of Intention to Purchase Green Products in Belt and Road Countries: An Empirical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    7. Jason Jung, 2014. "Measuring trustworthiness of information diffusion by risk discovery process in social networking services," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 1325-1336, May.
    8. Sheth, Jagdish N. & Newman, Bruce I. & Gross, Barbara L., 1991. "Why we buy what we buy: A theory of consumption values," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 159-170, March.
    9. Yiannis E. Spanos & Spyros Lioukas, 2001. "An examination into the causal logic of rent generation: contrasting Porter's competitive strategy framework and the resource‐based perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(10), pages 907-934, October.
    10. Wei, Shuqin & Ang, Tyson & Jancenelle, Vivien E., 2018. "Willingness to pay more for green products: The interplay of consumer characteristics and customer participation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 230-238.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Simona-Vasilica Oprea & Adela Bâra, 2025. "Assessing the Dual Impact of the Social Media Platforms on Psychological Well-being: A Multiple-Option Descriptive-Predictive Framework," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 66(1), pages 377-404, July.
    2. Camelia Delcea & Liliana Crăciun & Corina Ioanăș & Gabriella Ferruzzi & Liviu-Adrian Cotfas, 2020. "Determinants of Individuals’ E-Waste Recycling Decision: A Case Study from Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-28, April.
    3. Khalida Al-Kenane & Ahmed Almoraish & Dalal Al-Enezi & Awrad Al-Matrouk & Nour AlBuloushi & Faisal AlReshaid, 2025. "The Process Through Which Young Adults Form Attitudes Towards Sustainable Products Through Social Media Exposure in Kuwait," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-19, May.
    4. Ezlika M. Ghazali & Bang Nguyen & Dilip S. Mutum & Su-Fei Yap, 2019. "Pro-Environmental Behaviours and Value-Belief-Norm Theory: Assessing Unobserved Heterogeneity of Two Ethnic Groups," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-28, June.
    5. Adina-Iuliana Jigani & Camelia Delcea & Corina Ioanăș, 2020. "Consumers’ Behavior in Selective Waste Collection: A Case Study Regarding the Determinants from Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-35, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Camelia Delcea & Liliana Crăciun & Corina Ioanăș & Gabriella Ferruzzi & Liviu-Adrian Cotfas, 2020. "Determinants of Individuals’ E-Waste Recycling Decision: A Case Study from Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-28, April.
    2. Xiaoyun Zhang & Feng Dong, 2020. "Why Do Consumers Make Green Purchase Decisions? Insights from a Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-25, September.
    3. Adina-Iuliana Jigani & Camelia Delcea & Corina Ioanăș, 2020. "Consumers’ Behavior in Selective Waste Collection: A Case Study Regarding the Determinants from Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-35, August.
    4. Thi Thuy An Ngo & Chi Hai Vo & Ngoc Lien Tran & Khanh Vy Nguyen & Thanh Dat Tran & Yen Nhi Trinh, 2024. "Factors influencing Generation Z’s intention to purchase sustainable clothing products in Vietnam," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(12), pages 1-37, December.
    5. Monika Monika & Ferdi Antonio, 2022. "How Superhero Characters Shape Brand Alliances and Leverage the Local Brand: The Evidence from Indonesia," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 2(1), pages 1-21, February.
    6. Nabil Hasan Al-Kumaim & Muhammad Salman Shabbir & Salman Alfarisi & Siti Hasnah Hassan & Abdulsalam K. Alhazmi & Sanil S. Hishan & Samer Al-Shami & Nadhmi A. Gazem & Fathey Mohammed & Hussein Mohammed, 2021. "Fostering a Clean and Sustainable Environment through Green Product Purchasing Behavior: Insights from Malaysian Consumers’ Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-17, November.
    7. Arian Matin & Tornike Khoshtaria & Metin Marcan & Davit Datuashvili, 2022. "The roles of hedonistic, utilitarian incentives and government policies affecting customer attitudes and purchase intention towards green products," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 19(4), pages 709-735, December.
    8. Ming-Hsiung Hsiao, 2021. "Influence of interpersonal competence on behavioral intention in social commerce through customer-perceived value," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 44-55, March.
    9. Xuguang Zhu & Yihan Zhang & Zeyu Wu, 2025. "Familiar Yet New: How Design-Driven Innovation and Brand Image Affect Green Agricultural Product Purchase Intentions in the Live Streaming Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-15, January.
    10. Saarijärvi, Hannu & Mitronen, Lasse & Yrjölä, Mika, 2014. "From selling to supporting – Leveraging mobile services in the context of food retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 26-36.
    11. Tobias Knabke & Sebastian Olbrich, 2018. "Building novel capabilities to enable business intelligence agility: results from a quantitative study," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 493-546, August.
    12. Morais, Ana Catarina & Ishida, Akira & Matsuda, Ruriko, 2024. "Ethical food consumption drivers in Japan. A S–O-R framework application using PLS-SEM with a MGA assessment based on clustering," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    13. Kautish, Pradeep & Paço, Arminda & Thaichon, Park, 2022. "Sustainable consumption and plastic packaging: Relationships among product involvement, perceived marketplace influence and choice behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    14. Le Liu & Yinyun Yan & Xin Tian & Zuoliang Jiang, 2024. "Impact of Text and Image Information on Community Group Buying Performance: Empirical Evidence from Convenience Chain Stores," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-14, May.
    15. Anxin Xu & Chenwen Wei & Manhua Zheng & Lili Sun & Decong Tang, 2022. "Influence of Perceived Value on Repurchase Intention of Green Agricultural Products: From the Perspective of Multi-Group Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-17, November.
    16. Mäntymäki, Matti & Salo, Jari, 2013. "Purchasing behavior in social virtual worlds: An examination of Habbo Hotel," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 282-290.
    17. Yuhan Ge & Qing Yuan & Yaxi Wang & Keunsoo Park, 2021. "The Structural Relationship among Perceived Service Quality, Perceived Value, and Customer Satisfaction-Focused on Starbucks Reserve Coffee Shops in Shanghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-19, August.
    18. Joshua Chang, 2025. "The mediating role of brand image in the relationship between storytelling marketing and purchase intention: case study of PX mart," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    19. Alexander Kalita & Alexander Chepurenko, 2020. "Competitiveness of Small and Medium Businesses and Competitive Pressure in the Manufacturing Industry," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 14(2), pages 36-50.
    20. Ostovan, Nima & Khalili Nasr, Arash, 2022. "The manifestation of luxury value dimensions in brand engagement in self-concept," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:6:p:1796-:d:216984. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.