Received: 6 December 2018 Revised: 21 February 2019 Accepted: 9 March 2019

DOI: 10.1002/bse.2312

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Understanding consumers' purchase intentions toward

natural‐claimed products: A qualitative research in personal
care products

Aysun Kahraman1 | İpek Kazançoğlu2

1
Salihli Faculty of Economics and
Administrative Sciences, Manisa Celal Bayar Abstract
University, Manisa, Turkey In recent years there is a trend of consuming natural products for a sustainable and
2
Faculty of Economics and Administrative
healthier life. Therefore, firms began aligning their strategy with sustainability by
Sciences, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
communication strategies that they produce natural products, which are better for
Correspondence
health as well as the environmental sustainability. However, sometimes these claims
Aysun Kahraman, Assistant Professor Doctor,
Manisa Celal Bayar University, Salihli Faculty may be deceptive. The purpose of this paper is to understand the consumers'
of Economics and Administrative Sciences,
purchasing intentions toward products claiming naturalness in their advertising and
Manisa Celal Bayar University, 5 Eylül Campus,
Sarıpınar District 1079 Street No:169, Salihli, packaging strategies. This research also examined greenwashing perceptions and
Manisa 45300, Turkey.
their potential roles in purchasing intentions. In‐depth face‐to‐face interviews carried
Email: aysun.kahraman@cbu.edu.tr
out with 20 Turkish women regarding personal care products (local brand and inter-
national brand). The findings of the interviews revealed eight themes (perceived
greenwashing, perceived green image, price perception, environmental concern,
green trust, skepticism, perceived risk, and purchase intention). This study contributes
to predict a framework from consumer viewpoint for identifying the themes related
to greenwashing.

K E Y W OR D S

environmental practices, green claim, greenwashing, natural‐claimed products, personal care

industry, sustainable development

1 | I N T RO D U CT I O N strategic plans through adopting green marketing strategies to

Nowadays, the rising concerns of global warming, the threat of
pollution, increasing customer awareness for environmental issues,
and responsible supply chains put pressure on business to act envi-
ronmentally responsible. Many consumers want to pay reasonable
premium prices for environment‐friendly products, due to the
environmental and health concerns (Dekhili & Achabou, 2012; Gam,
Cao, Farr, & Kang, 2010; Xu, Zeng, Fong, Lone, & Liu, 2012).
They believe natural or organic products claims in advertisements
and product descriptions offer high quality and safety. In
competitive business world, companies need to differentiate their
products/services from competitors by implementing green market-
ing strategies. Companies integrate sustainable practices into their
differentiate themselves on the market (Aggarwal & Kadyan, 2014;
Berrone, Fosfuri, & Gelabert, 2017; Chen, 2008; Gräuler &
Teuteberg, 2014). Companies need to focus on green properties for
their products or brands and advertisement to support sustainability
and good relations with their consumers and effective cost manage-
ment (Kassaye, 2001). They use claims like green, natural, organic,
eco/earth friendly, sustainability, and sustainable development within
their integrated communication activities to improve their green
images. However, not all companies that pose as sustainable are in
reality implementing sustainable practices. These environmental
claims are misleading, doubtful, insincere, ambiguous, and deceptive
(Aggarwal & Kadyan, 2014; Chen & Chang, 2013; Chen, Lin, &
Chang, 2014; Cherry & Sneirson, 2012).

Bus Strat Env. 2019;1–16. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/bse © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment 1
2 KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU
The increasing popularity of green products and services has led to
development of greenwashing. Companies have started to promote
“sustainability and green” as a misleading marketing tool in marketing
messages and labelling strategies (Chen & Chang, 2013; Shahrin et al.,
2017). In addition, firms argue that they produce green products by
emphasizing one or more green attributes of their products (Shapley,
2009). This type of ambiguous, inaccurate messages and claims causes
customers to perceive these messages as greenwashing (Genc, 2013;
Laufer, 2003; Sullivan, 2009). When a company cannot fulfill its claims
of being green, greenwashing arises as an important problem (Akturan,
2018; Parguel, Benoît‐Moreau, & Russell, 2015). Greenwashing is a
corporate green practice that used to promote the perception of a
company's policies or products are environmentally friendly (Lewis,
2016; Shacklett, 2011), to generate strong environmental and social
effect (Payne, 2018). Greenwashing may damage the market because
it would cause consumers to distrust green products (Chen et al.,
2014; Polonsky, Grau, & Garma, 2010) and negatively affected on
consumers' attitudes and behaviors toward the organization's future
claims (De Jong, Harkink, & Barth, 2018). The fact that companies
act in the name of being greener, symbolize their efforts to become
green, have started to threaten developing a sustainable economy.
The purpose of this study is to examine the consumers' perspec-
tive toward naturalness claims by understanding their thoughts and
factors creating their perceptions. In this respect, exploratory study
was conducted to explore the major themes and concepts forming
consumers' intentions toward naturalness and eco‐friendliness claims.
This paper contains five main sections by addressing literature review,
methodology, discussing findings, theoretical and managerial
implications, and addressing research limitations.
2 | LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 | Perceived greenwashing and its antecedents
Greenwash is widely used to describe the untruthful green claims or
advertising of a company (Parguel et al., 2015). The definition of
greenwashing is “the act of misleading consumers regarding the
environmental practices of a company or the environmental practices
of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service”
(Aggarwal & Kadyan, 2014; Akturan, 2018; Budinsky & Bryant,
2013; Parguel et al., 2015; Schmuck, Matthes, Naderer, & Beaufort,
2018; TerraChoice, 2009). It involves a variety communication
application that misleads people who adopt positive beliefs about
the company's environmental practices or products.
Green marketing literature defines two types of greenwashed
advertising, (a) claim and (b) executional greenwashing. Claim green-
washing is generating false and manipulating claims through lying,
lying by omission, or lying through lack of clarity to exclude necessary
information. Executional greenwashing is about using naturalness‐
evoking elements (colors, sounds, and landscape) in advertisement
(ads; Akturan, 2018; Parguel et al., 2015). Table 1 shows the list of
related greenwashing literature.
Other studies investigated the determinants of greenwashing
(Delmas & Burbano, 2011; Lyon & Montgomery, 2015), brands'
practices in sustainability (Chan & Wong, 2012), and companies'
greenwashing activities by rating their environmental claims.
Greenwashing literature has focused on the perspective of
consumers based on different theoretical backgrounds attitude–
behavior–context (ABC) theory (Du, 2015; Goh & Balaji, 2016; Zhang,
Li, Cao, & Huang, 2018), stakeholder theory (Testa, Miroshnychenko,
Barontini, & Frey, 2018; Wood, 2015), social identity theory (Lyon &
Montgomery, 2015), consumer culture theory (Wood, 2015), cognitive
dissonance theory (De Jong et al., 2018), attribution theory (Parguel
et al., 2015; Chen, Bernard, & Rahman, 2019; Leonidou & Skarmeas,
2017; Nyilasy, Gangadharbatla, & Paladino, 2014), and affect–reason–
involvement model (Schmuck et al., 2018). When these studies are
examined, it is evident that studies are largely quantitative based on
questionnaire. However, there is a gap for deeply understanding
consumer greenwashing perception and their effects on purchase
intentions toward products that claim to be natural, especially in their
advertising and packaging strategies. Besides, in previous researches,
same variables were examined repetitively. Hence, this study extends
the knowledge body by incorporating additional variables for examining
the greenwashing perception. This extends and contributes new dimen-
sion to the research on greenwashing perception.
3 | MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 | Research method
Greenwashing issues have been rapidly developing in the research
field. Besides, studies conducted to understand Turkish consumers
are very limited. This study addressed on the following research
questions:
RQ1: What are the thoughts of consumers toward the products
claiming that their products are natural and eco friendly?
RQ2: Which factors play a role in the consumers' purchase intention
toward claimed to be natural products?
RQ3: How greenwashing is perceived within purchasing intention to
products claimed to be natural?
To address research questions, semistructured in‐depth face‐to‐
face interviews were conducted. Face‐to‐face interviews provide
an advantage of communication without an extended reflection
as the interviewee answer the questions more spontaneously
(Opdenakker, 2006).
3.2 | Data collection
The study was designed as an exploratory research, and interview
methodology was applied. Exploratory research designs engage in
exploring the facts. In‐depth interviews enable to get more detailed
KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU
TABLE 1 The literature review of greenwashing
Researchers (year)
Stokes (2009)
Chen and Chang (2013)
Nyilasy et al. (2014)
Rahman, Park, & Chi, 2015
Chen et al. (2014)
Gueny, Picart, and Dupont (2014)
Gräuler and Teuteberg (2014)
Wood (2015)
Aji and Sutikno (2015)
Chen, Jubilado, et al. (2015)
Chen et al. (2016)
Blennborn and Hallström (2016)
Leonidou and Skarmeas (2017)
Majláth (2017)
Akturan (2018)
De Jong et al. (2018)
Schmuck et al. (2018)
3
Research method Theoretical background Variable Dependent variable
Survey — Perceived deception, ethical —
judgment, attitude towards
the ad, and the brand.
Survey Perceived risk theory Green consumer confusion Green trust
and green perceived risk
Survey Attribution theory Green advertising, perceived Brand attitudes and
company performance purchase intention
Survey Influential discounting Skepticism and environmental Intention to participate
behavior theory, cognition– concerns and intention to visit
affect–behavior (C‐A‐B)
Survey — Green perceived quality and Green word of mouth
green satisfaction
Survey Bourdieu's theory Trust, greenwashing impact, Reaction about
and reliability green ads greenwashing, purchasing
decision for Y generation
Survey — Greenwash, assurance, visual —
design, human‐like features,
social media, and product
category
Interview Stakeholder theory, social Distrust in green advertising, Consumer's experience
identity theory, and betrayal, consumer
consumer culture theory skepticism, education,
prudence, personal health,
purchasing power, and
environmental concern
Survey Expectation‐confirmation Greenwashing, green Green trust and switching
theory and theory of consumer confusion, green intention
planned behavior consumer skepticism, and
green perceived risk
Survey — Environmental friendliness, Green trust
green satisfaction, and
green perceived quality
Survey — Green brand image, green Green brand equity
satisfaction, and
greenwashing
Survey — Greenwashing and customer Brand image
loyalty
Survey Attribution theory Intrinsic and extrinsic motives, Purchase intention,
corporate social negative Word of
responsibility beliefs, green Mouth, information
history, and green norms seeking, and green
skepticism
Survey — Greenwashing information Ad evaluation, advertising
skepticism, and
environmental concern
Survey Memory theory Brand credibility and green Green brand equity and
brand associations purchase intention
Experimental Cognitive dissonance theory Greenwashing organization, Purchase interest
perceptions of
environmental performance,
and organizational
credibility
Survey Affect–reason–involvement Vague and false claims, Attitude toward the ad
model environmental involvement, and the brand
(Continues)
4 KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU
TABLE 1 (Continued)
Researchers (year) Research method
Zhang et al. (2018) Survey
Chen et al. (2019) Survey
information about thoughts, perspectives, perceptions, and experi-
ences of people regarding a given situation (Bolderston, 2012; Boyce
& Neale, 2006) by asking direct questions that differentiates it from
projective techniques that indirectly project people's personality,
beliefs, and feelings into the case (Daymon & Holloway, 2002).
Besides, deep interviews have a unique characteristic that provides
researchers abundant chance at probing a single respondent's view.
This characteristic differentiates interview technic from focus group
that aims to bring a small group of people together for an informal,
interactive, and spontaneous discussion on a specific subject (Shukla,
2014). In‐depth interview is suitable as a research method and getting
answer to research questions of this study, because the aim of the
study is to understand thoughts and preferences of consumers toward
products claimed to be natural in a comprehensive manner. The liter-
ature on greenwashing (Chen & Chang, 2013; Nyilasy et al., 2014;
Aji & Sutikno, 2015; Rahman et al., 2015; Wood, 2015; Leonidou &
Skarmeas, 2017; Parguel et al., 2015; Akturan, 2018) was utilized
while determining the interview questions. During the interviews,
advertising posters were shown the participants to help them to recall
firms' communication activities. Personal care products were selected
for the study. Aggarwal and Kadyan (2014) indicated that the average
highest greenwashing sector is personal care sector (62%). In this sec-
tor, companies engage greenwashing claims such as natural, recycled,
and paraben‐free on the ingredients to present their product sustain-
able and green (Stamm, Gustavus, Witte, & Caudrelier, 2017). Some-
times these claims may be deceptive. Deceptive environmental
claims such as “100% natural,” “organic,” and “environment friendly”
can help companies sell more products and services in the short
term, but consumers are aware of the greenwashing, so companies
are losing their sales and customers' trust in the long term
(firstcarbonsolutions.com). This is also a barrier to develop a sustain-
able economy, due to the consumers are most skeptical of environ-
mental activities.
A Turkish national brand and a European foreign brand,1 which
claim they sell natural products, were selected. Then advertising post-
ers of these brands were searched on Internet. The posters were
selected after being evaluated by researchers via using semiotics
method considering written and visual elements. To be able compare,
1
As we could not get permission from firms, we did not use the names of the firms in our
paper.
Theoretical background Variable Dependent variable
virtual naturalness
experience, and perceived
greenwashing
Attitude–behavior‐context Green WOM, green concern, Green purchasing
theory and greenwashing intentions
perception
Attribution theory, trust‐based Greenwashing, green brand Green purchase behavior
marketing theory image, green brand loyalty
similar posters were chosen for both brands. A total of eight posters
(four for local and four for foreign brand) were chosen. In the posters,
there are visual components such as green background surrounded by
plants, leaves, fruits, products in green or transparent package, and
written components such as “the power of nature with you,” “botani-
cal beauty,” “natural cleanser,” “with 100% olive oil,” “100% natural,”
“have natural ingredients more than 98%,” “products with olive oil,”
“biodegradable formula,” “paraben free,” “silicon free,” “colorant free,”
“reduced packaging waste,” and “50% less plastic.”
The study sample included a total of 20 purposefully selected
women in Izmir, Turkey, who had previous awareness of the brands
that are subjects of this research. Purposive sampling is widely used
in qualitative research for the identification and selection of
information‐rich cases related to the phenomenon of interest (Palinkas
et al., 2015). The target market of the personal care products is
women; therefore, purposive sampling was conducted on women. All
the women are currently working, middle aged, and highly educated.
The number of interviews was limited with 20 participants because
the answers began to be replicated after 20th participant. The dura-
tion of each interview was approximately 35–45 min; voice recorder
was used with the consent of the participants.
3.3 | Data analysis
The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed via content
analysis. Content analysis is a method for analyzing and making infer-
ences from data obtained through interviews, observation, or existing
materials and may include interview tapes or transcripts, observation
field notes, notes on interview context and process, analytic notes
and memos, or journal entries (Darlington & Scott, 2002). Morgan
mentioned (Morgan, 1993) that the descriptive approach is used for
coding data and interpreting quantitative counts of the codes within
the content analysis (Vaismoradi, Turunen, & Bondas, 2013). Other
words, in content analysis, both the content and context of documents
are analyzed (Spencer, Ritchie, & O'Connor, 2003). First, the audio
recordings were listened, and the answers were typed as a verbatim
report in Turkish in respondents' own words. The report was read by
both researchers several times, and both researchers coded separately
in their own table to categorize data by using open coding. Open cod-
ing involves a process of reviewing the collected data and allowing the
themes to emerge naturally, without predesignating a set of themes
KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU 5

(Wood, 2015). After that, agreement percentage is calculated by the TABLE 3 Descriptive statistics of demographic variables
formula below:
Participants Age Profession Educational status

Agreement percentage ¼ number of agreements= P1 33 Dentist Master

ðnumber of agreements þ disagreementsÞ: P2 37 Banker Bachelor
P3 36 Banker Master
By evaluating the strength of the agreement, reliability is calcu-
P4 30 Foreign trade specialist Master
lated too. Agreement percentage is 0.92, which shows very acceptable
P5 33 Academician Ph.D.
score (Viera & Garrett, 2005). Then coding tables were checked, and
misinterpretations were corrected in order to ensure possible interpre- P6 35 Health professional Bachelor

tation biases were eliminated. After coding process, the codes P7 34 Lecturer Master

depicting common ideas are identified and grouped into themes based P8 31 Foreign trade specialist Bachelor
on the theoretical framework from the general consumer behavior and P9 34 Banker Bachelor
greenwashing literature. The findings, supported by quotes from the P10 34 Lawyer Master
interview transcripts, are presented for each theme. To ensure internal P11 33 Purchase specialist Bachelor
reliability, interviews were recorded by two researchers using a voice
P12 37 Manager Bachelor
recorder. The member checking method was employed, and the
P13 36 Academician Ph.D.
findings were checked by two researchers.
P14 28 Academician Master
Table 2 shows the themes and sub‐themes derived from the data.
P15 39 Lecturer Master
P16 26 Academician Master
4 | RESULTS
P17 28 Academician Master
P18 24 Academician Bachelor
Table 3 shows participants' demographic profile.
All documents for recording the research data were considered in P19 34 Insurance broker Bachelor

accordance with the themes. The following results classified according P20 36 Banker Master
to themes.

4.1 | Perceived greenwashing Chang, 2013; Nyilasy et al., 2014; Parguel et al., 2015; Zhang et al.,
2018). The result of greenwashing perception can negatively affect
Greenwashing perception is defined as the misleading communication consumers' attitudes and purchasing behavior toward products or
activities regarding environmental features and green claims of firms brands (Chen et al., 2019).
to create an environmental benefit for their consumers (Chen & The first sub‐theme is the stimuli cues causing greenwashing
(Table 4). It is aimed to reveal which elements in the posters, shown
TABLE 2 Summary of themes and sub‐themes identified during research process, make people to think that products are natu-
ral. Research findings showed that the visual and verbal elements play
Themes Sub‐themes
a significant role in contributing to the greenwashing perception.
Perceived greenwashing Stimuli cues causing greenwashing Seventy‐two percent of the participants said that using green color
Persuasiveness of natural products
as the dominant color in the ads and package color convinces them
Features persuading naturalness
to feel that products are natural and/or botanical. Verbal elements
Perceived green image Brand recognition
are phrases like “botanical beauty,” “100% natural,” “have natural
Origin of the brand
ingredients more than 98 %,” “botanical solution,” “paraben free,”
Price perception Price effects
Willingness to pay more and so forth cause greenwashing. Other elements causing greenwash-
ing are plant, fruit images in the ads and on the packages, transparent
Environmental concern Environmental expectations
Being less harmful package. The participant also said that transparent package
Protecting environment evoked purity.
Green trust Trust of naturalness claims in general These statements are illustrated as follows:
Trust of naturalness claims of the brands
Firms try to convince people that their products are
Skepticism Skepticism about naturalness
natural and eco‐friendly by using green colour and
Skepticism about being 100% natural
The ways to reduce skepticism verbal elements like %100 botanical. (P7)

Perceived risk Presence of risk When I see green colour, I think that the product may be
Risk type
botanical and organic because green represents the
Purchase intention Purchase intention for natural claimed brands
colour of naturalness. (P1)
6 KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU

TABLE 4 Stimuli cues causing greenwashing

Sub‐theme Participant no. Percentage (%)

Stimuli cues causing Green color P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P9, P10, P11, P12, P13, P15, P16, P17, P18, 72
greenwashing P20
Written phrases P9, P13, P14, P19 16
Botanical images P1, P11 8
Transparent P5 4
package

Some participants remarked more than one element.

Ads are really persuasive but to be sure I must investigate 4.2 | Perceived green image
ingredients of the product. (P10)
Perceived green image defined as “a set of perceptions of a brand in a
Other sub‐theme is persuasiveness of natural products. As shown
consumer's mind that is linked to environmental commitments and
in Table 5, 60% of the participants are not sure about natural products
environment concerns” (Chen, 2010; Chen, Tien, Lee, & Tsai, 2016).
because claims may be false. Participants find natural products realistic
Brand image ensures reliability of the manufacturer's labels (Karpina,
attribute to brand trust. According to participants, who are not per-
2015), higher value and quality (Chen, Hung, Wang, Huang, & Liao,
suaded naturalness of products, naturalness is impossible in today's
2017; Richardson, Dick, & Jain, 1994). Blennborn and Hallström
marketplace.
(2016) and Chen et al.'s (2019) study indicated that greenwashing is
The last sub‐theme of perceived greenwashing is set of features
negatively affected to green brand image. Green brand image has a
that make people find the naturalness claims more persuasive
positive effect on purchase intentions (Chen et al., 2019).
(Table 6). Participants believe that if a product has naturalness certifi-
According to responses, it is found that brand recognition and ori-
cation and labelling (e.g., eco labels), they are natural because a third
gin of the brand have effects on naturalness perceptions of consumers
independent organization make confirmation. Participants also find
(Table 7). Interestingly, 60% of the participants said that, if a brand
test results are persuasive. These two findings indicated that for per-
claims that it is reputable and well known, then this brand's claims
suasiveness, people needs rational evidences. Therefore, it can be said
seem more reliable than others. In addition, if the firms operate in
that perceived greenwashing touches trust negatively and skepticism
natural product sector since they were established, they seem more
positively.
reliable than other firms that began to produce natural products later.
Participants shared opinions for this sub‐theme such as
A few participants reported that brand experience affect persuasive-
The relevant test results about naturalness would be ness of naturalness claims. If the participants are aware of the brand
more convincing. (P1) and satisfied with it, they tend to believe the naturalness claims of
the brand. Another sub‐theme is origin of the brands that has not
An eco‐label shows that the product is more natural than
been researched in previous greenwashing studies. Results showed
others. (P11)
that participants tend to trust on foreign brands in terms of natural-
One participant argued that a natural product should be green in its all ness. Participants believe that foreign brands are tested before
production and marketing process. “I do not think that factory‐ launching the market, and foreign brands' financial conditions are bet-
produced products are natural.” (P3). ter; they can buy real natural ingredients more than local brands.

TABLE 5 Persuasiveness of natural products

Sub‐theme Participant no. Percentage (%)

Persuasiveness of natural products Yes P2, P9, P19 15

No P3, P10, P12, P13, P14 25
Not sure P1, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P11, P15, P16, P17, P18, P20 60

TABLE 6 Features persuading naturalness

Sub‐theme Participant no. Percentage (%)

Features persuading naturalness Test results P1, P4, P7, P11, P15, P10, P14 23
Certification P1, P7, P2, P6, P8, P9, P10, P11, P12, P13, P14, P15, P16, P17, P18, P19, P20 54
Home made P4, P6, P5, P3, P1, P9 20
Green in all process P7 3

Some participants remarked more than one element.

KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU 7

TABLE 7 Perceived green image

Sub‐theme Participant no. Percentage (%)

Brand recognition P1, P2, P6, P7, P8, P9, P14, P16, P17, P18, P19, P20 60
Origin of brand P2, P5, P7, P9, P11, P12, P13, P14 40

Some examples from participants' explanation are as follows: (Axelrod & Lehman, 1993). Environmentally concerned consumers
are aware of environmental problems, protect the environment, and
I think naturalness claims are reliable for quality brands.
want to pay premium prices for green products/services (Grimmer &
(P11)
Bingham, 2013; Lin & Huang, 2012; Matthes, Wonneberger, &
I look on the brand's origin more than brand names. (P15) Schmuck, 2014; Schmuck et al., 2018; Wood, 2015).
Few authors stated that environmental concerns have strong
effects on green purchasing intention (Hartmann & Apaolaza‐Ibanez,
4.3 | Price perception 2010; Goh & Balaji, 2016; Newton, Tsarenko, Ferraro, & Sands,
2015), whereas other studies argued that they have not found envi-
The description of price perception is “the customer's judgment about a
ronmental concern impacts green purchasing intention (Smith &
service's average price in comparison to its competitors” (Chen, Gupta,
Paladino, 2010; Yadav & Pathak, 2016). Albayrak, Caber, Moutinho,
& Rom, 1994; Ryu & Han, 2010). Prices have a significant impact on the
and Herstein (2011) found that there is a negative relationship
purchasing‐decision process, as a cue of quality. Thus, consumers have
between skepticism and customer concern of environment.
more confidence for expensive products than others (Grewal, Monroe,
The environmental concern theme has three sub‐themes (Table 9).
& Krishnan, 1998). Consumers are willing to pay a premium price for
One of them is about the natural products' ability to meet the environ-
products that meet the expectations of naturality and higher quality
mental expectations. Fifty‐five percent of the participants said that
when they are buying green products (Dekhili & Achabou, 2012;
naturalness claims shown in the poster meet their expectations about
Laroche, Bergeron, & Barbaro‐Forleo, 2001; Lin & Huang, 2012;
the environment partially because they use fewer chemical materials.
Martinho, Pires, Portela, & Fonseca, 2015; Singh & Pandey, 2018;
Sixty percent of the participants also believed that natural products
Tripathi & Pandey, 2017). As consumers perceive green products as
are less harmful for the environment, but they emphasized that the
differentiated values, they are willing to pay more prices for them.
only real natural ones do this. They said that, if a product is natural
The findings of this study showed that price perception affects
or botanical, then it is not harmful for the environment. 10% of the
naturalness perception (Table 8). Sixty percent of the participants
participants do not believe that natural products are also eco‐friendly
commented that natural products are high priced because cost of nat-
products because they think naturalness and eco friendliness are
ural raw materials and natural production is high. As one stated,
different facts.
“When the price is low, I trust on the product less. Pure natural prod-
The following quotes illustrate this point:
ucts are really expensive” (P13). Some of the participants asserted that
naturalness cannot be identified with price level. Other sub‐theme is I think chemical materials are used less in botanical
“willingness to pay more.” Participants were asked whether they are products. They harm the environment less. (P15)
willing to pay more for natural products or not. If the brand is foreign,
Firms said that their products dissolve in nature but I am
participants are more willing to buy more than local brands due to
in doubt. (P13)
their qualities. Therefore, it can be said that high prices have a role
in perceiving greenwashing. Any products that are transported by truck to the market
Participants expressed their opinions with some statements. cannot protect nature even if they have natural
ingredients. So, buy using them, I do not protect
I think that there should be a price difference between
environment. (P17)
real natural products and others. (P7)

4.4 | Environmental concern 4.5 | Green trust

Environmental concern is defined as consumers' attitudes toward cog- The definition of green trust is “willingness to depend on a product,
nitive and affective assessment of environmental protection issues service or brand based on the belief or expectation resulting from its

TABLE 8 Price perception

Sub‐theme Participant no. Percentage (%)

Price effects P1, P3, P4, P6, P7, P8, P10, P11, P13, P14, P15, P17 60
Willingness to pay more P1, P2, P4, P5, P6, P7, P9, P10, P13, P14, P15, P16, P17, P18, P19, P20 80
8 KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU

TABLE 9 Environmental concern

Sub‐theme Participant no. Percentage (%)

Environmental expectations Agree P2, P9, P12, P11, P14, P15, P19, P20 35
Disagree P10, P17 10
Not sure P1, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P13, P16, P18 55
Being less harmful Agree P1, P3, P4, P6, P7, P11, P13, P14, P15, P16, P19, P20 60
Disagree P10, P17 10
Not sure P2, P5, P8, P9, P12, P18 30
Protecting environment Agree P2, P5, P8, P9, P12, P18 30
Disagree P10, P17 10
Not sure P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P13, P14, P16, P18, P20 55

credibility, benevolence, and ability about its environmental perfor-
mance” (Aji & Sutikno, 2015; Bekk, Spörrle, Hedjasie, & Kerschreiter,
2016; Chen, 2010; Chen & Chang, 2013; Chen, Jubilado, Capistrano,
& Yen, 2015; Wood, 2015). If companies introduce new products or
brands by using misleading green slogans and heighten environmen-
tal performance, customers will not trust the brand in the long‐term
(Guo, Zhang, & Yorke‐Smith, 2015). Therefore, greenwashing
negatively affected trust toward green‐labelled products and green
advertising (Chen & Chang, 2013; Wood, 2015). It is a determinant
of consumer purchase intentions (Chen, Lin, & Weng, 2015).
Greenwashing adversely affects trust in using environmental claims
advertisements (Peattie & Crane, 2005; Testa, Iraldo, Vaccari, &
Ferrari, 2015).
Trust theme has two sub‐themes, which are “trust of naturalness
claims in general” and “trust of naturalness claims of the brands in
the posters” (Table 10). For the first sub‐theme, findings showed that
55% of the participants trust on naturalness claims partially. They told
that they wanted to trust, but they could not trust this type of claims.
These participants also stated that their trust level changes according
to the effect of the brand origin. Only 20% of the participants trust on
naturalness claims. Participants who do not trust on naturalness claims
believe that the products sold in the market cannot be 100% natural;
naturalness claims are a part of firms' marketing strategy to make peo-
ple buy their products. Results also show that only 35% of the partic-
ipants trust both brands' naturalness claims, while foreign brand's
claims are found more reliable than local. The finding revealed that if
people trust the brand, they perceive less greenwashing and skepti-
cism. Besides, if they think the brand has a green image, they tend
to trust this brand.
Some statements indicated that
I want to trust, I try but I cannot. Firms use harmful
ingredients. (P12)
A reputable firm's claims are more reliable. (P15)
I think that foreign brands are reliable as they are audited
stricter. (P16)
I think both firms' naturalness claims are part of their
marketing campaigns. (P4)
4.6 | Skepticism on green claims
The definition of skepticism is the changing cognitive response of con-
sumers as to disbelief, distrust, or doubt of firms' specific occasions
such as advertising claims and public relations efforts (Aji & Sutikno,
2015; Goh & Balaji, 2016; Karpina, 2015; Pomering & Johnson,
2009). Consumer perceived skepticism about green claims ads
because of the doubt of environmental benefits or performance of
these products (Aji & Sutikno, 2015; Matthes & Wonneberger, 2014;
Obermiller, Spangenberg, & Maclachlan, 2005).
Consumers' greenwashing perception may cause skepticism on
green claims (Chen & Chang, 2013; Oliver, 2013; Rahman et al.,
2015; Self, Self, & Bell‐Haynes, 2003; Testa et al., 2018). The green
skepticism negatively affected attitudes toward the environmental
claim of the firm and their green products (Goh & Balaji, 2016). Sev-
eral authors found that skepticism can negatively affect purchase
intentions (Karpina, 2015; Mostafa, 2006; Rahman et al., 2015)

TABLE 10 Trust to naturalness

Sub‐theme Participant no. Percentage (%)

Trust of naturalness claims in general Agree P5, P6, P9, P19 20

Disagree P1, P3, P12, P11, P16 25
Not sure P2, P4, P8, P9, P10, P13, P14, P15, P17, P18, P20 55
Trust of naturalness claims of the brands Local brand P1, P16, P17 15
Foreign brand P2, P5, P7, P11, P13, P14 30
Both P4, P6, P9, P15, P18, P19, P20 35
None P3, P8, P10, P12 20
KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU
especially for green products (Albayrak et al., 2011; Goh & Balaji,
2016; Matthes & Wonneberger, 2014; Morel & Pruyn 2003). As con-
sumers' doubt about the environmental benefits and green claims of
green products, they reduce their purchasing intentions toward the
green products (Leonidou & Skarmeas, 2017). So consumers' skepti-
cism about green products can prevent consumers from generally
choosing green eco‐friendly products. This situation poses a serious
threat to the growth of green product market (Albayrak et al.,
2011; Ferguson, Branscombe, & Reynolds, 2011; Leonidou &
Skarmeas, 2017).
The results showed that 55% of the participants doubt about
naturalness claims. Moreover “100% natural” claims are viewed with
skepticism by nearly all participants (80%), especially if the ad does
not explain the ingredients and only say they are natural; this claim
seems more suspicious. Many of the participants think that these
claims are not true or partially true because being 100% natural is
not so realistic. According to them, if the firm claims that its products
are natural, it should verify these claims through certifications and
eco labels. Participants tend to not doubt brands, which they often
use. The results are seen in Table 11.
The following quotes illustrate these expectations:
As consumers have been sensitive to naturalness and
ecology, firms started to emphasis naturalness. They
care about profit. (P1)
It is hard to keep products' shelf life long if they are truly
natural. I feel suspicious about naturalness of mass‐
produced products. (P6)
Nearly all products are processed; therefore, none of
them is natural. I doubt naturalness, especially 100%
naturalness. (P13)
Nearly all brands use 100% natural statement. I hesitate
to trust brands. (P16)
The other sub‐theme is “the ways to reduce skepticism.” Partici-
pants were asked to exemplify realistic expression. They offered state-
ments like “more than 90% natural,” “close to natural,” “not harmful to
nature,” “botanical,” and “additive free” Participants seek additional
information about environmental attributes of naturalness and eco
label of these products to decrease skepticism with reading ingredi-
ents (32%), searching on internet (23%), certification (17%), asking
salesperson/family members (16%), and looking the appearance of
the packaging (12%). Therefore, it can be said that when people per-
ceive greenwashing, they tend to be more skeptical and less trusty.
In addition, if they feel skeptical, they feel less trust.
TABLE 11 Skepticism on green claims
Sub‐theme Participant no.
Skepticism about naturalness P1, P2, P3, P4, P7, P11, P12, P14, P15, P16, P18
Skepticism about being 100% natural P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P11, P12, P13, P14, P15, P16, P18, P20
9
Some participant's evidence illustrated with the following quotes:
Sometimes I look for firms' websites to investigate the
formula of the product. (P1)
I do not trust phrases on the labels. I prefer to read
ingredients part. (P10)
Certification and labels are strong proofs (P17)
4.7 | Perceived risk
Perceived risk is that consumer feels negative and uncertainty about
the possible result of the purchasing decision (Mitchell, 1999). It is
occurred that the consequence of a wrong decision regarding the
environmental performance of green products. If consumers are not
distinguishing green claims are unreliable, greenwashing will also cre-
ate perceived risk to consumers (Gillespie, 2008). Misleading, ambigu-
ous, and deceptive green advertising or environmental labels on green
products can create a risk perception for consumers (Aji & Sutikno,
2015). It would negatively influence customer purchasing decision
(Aji & Sutikno, 2015; Chen & Chang, 2013). Several researchers indi-
cated that perceived risk negatively affected by trust with green
claims of the product or brand (Chen & Chang, 2013; Gillespie,
2008; Harridge‐March, 2006; Mitchell, 1999).
The results showed that majority of the participants (55%) are not
sure about the risk of 100% natural products. Only 25% participants
find buying 100% natural products is a risk as information about this
kind of products is vague and asymmetric, and technical phrases and
terminology are written on products' packages. Approximately 20%
of the participants think that natural products are not risky, because
they are not as harmful as chemical ones. Furthermore, some of them
believe that if people are careful enough during purchasing process,
they can buy reliable brands that are not harmful. The results are seen
in Table 12.
The following quote shows these points:
The product causes negative effects if it is not a well‐
known brand. (P18)
My perception changes base on products indeed.
Products like food and cosmetics are highly risky
products in terms of health. (P20)
So it can be said that when people trust the brand, they perceived
less risk. Also, when people perceived less risk, they become more
willing to purchase and fell less doubt.
Percentage (%)
55
80
10 KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU

TABLE 12 Presence of risk

Sub‐theme Participant no. Percentage (%)

Presence of risk Agree P5, P6, P8, P9, P19 25

Disagree P3, P12, P11, P16 20
Not sure P1, P2, P4, P7, P10, P13, P14, P15, P17, P18, P20 55

As shown in Table 13, majority of the participants (54%) think that
products claim to be green or natural have risk about health. They
believed that these products may directly damage consumer's health.
Another risk type is financial risk. They think that there is a possibility
that they will waste money if products fail to meet naturalness
expectations. Physical risk, which is about physical appearance, is the
other type. This is illustrated as follows: “Products which are not
botanical‐based are made up of different kinds of chemicals and
synthetic ingredients. It may damage my skin.” (P1).
4.8 | Purchase intention
Green purchasing intention defined as “the likelihood that a consumer
would purchase green product and services resulting from his/her
environmental needs” (Akturan, 2018; Chen & Chang, 2013;
Netemeyer, Maxham, & Pullig, 2005; Zhang et al., 2018). According
to literature review, greenwashing is the most effective variable of
green purchase behavior (Chen et al., 2019; Chen & Chang, 2013;
Chen, Jubilado, et al., 2015). If companies use greenwashing practices
to deceive consumers in their brands or services, they will reduce their
trust and negatively affect their purchasing intentions in the long run
(Chen & Deng, 2016; Leonidou, Leonidou, Fotiadis, & Zeriti, 2013).
Besides, this will also lead to a cautious purchasing behavior for all
green products, when consumers want to buy a real green product
in the future (Zhang et al., 2018).
As shown in Table 14, many of the participants (60%) said they
would purchase brands shown in the posters. There are two reasons
for this positive purchase intention. First, participants have positive
experiences about them. Second, they find these brands trusted
because of their perceived green image. However, many of the partic-
ipants tended to intent to buy foreign brand. Participants who are not
eager to want to purchase these brands said that they did not think
that they are genuinely natural. Participants who hesitate to purchase
know that the brands have good image; however, they are skeptical
about natural products as many firms make false claims. In this way,

TABLE 13 Types of risks

Sub‐theme Participant no. Percentage (%)

Type of Risk Health P1, P3, P4, P5, P7, P8, P10, P12, P13, P14, P17, P18, P20 54
Financial P1, P3, P7, P8, P12 22
Physical P1, P8, P10, P13, P17, P20 25

Some participants remarked more than one element.

TABLE 14 Purchase intention

Sub‐theme Participant no. Percentage (%)

Purchase intention for natural claimed brands Yes P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P9, P15, P16, P17, P18, P19, P20 60
No P3, P8, P10, P12 20
Not sure P7, P11, P13, P14 20

FIGURE 1 The proposed research model

KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU
it can be said that when people know the brand, they feel less skepti-
cal and more trusty. In addition, when people are less skeptical and
trusty, they become more willing to purchase.
It was also pointed out that
I would buy both. I already use these brands and know
them” (P1)
5 | D I S C U S S I O N A N D CO N C L U SI O N
Nowadays, as sustainability becomes an important issue, consumers
seek green products. The focus on green products has risen, as con-
sumers started to consider the environment and health in shopping
habits. This trend had influenced firms' corporate marketing strategies.
Hence, green marketing grows rapidly; greenwashing has become one
of the trends in both the academic and the business world. Companies
tried to position themselves as a natural and eco‐friendly products
producer, adopted green marketing strategies, and responded to con-
sumers environmental concern by communicating environmentally
friendly messages in their marketing (Haytko & Matulich, 2008). These
messages sometimes include vague and incorrect claims that endanger
organizational reputation in long term.
Greenwashing has a negative impact on consumers' perceptions of
natural and environmentally friendly products and their perception
that companies support sustainability and responsible consumption.
This study aimed to understand and reveal the themes that influence
consumers' purchasing intentions for natural products. In literature,
explanation of consumers' attitudes of greenwashing via quantitative
research methodologies is limited. Accordingly, this research is an
exploratory qualitative study to understand consumers' responses to
greenwashing strategies.
The results of the study indicated that firms' greenwashing behav-
iors have negative effects on consumer perceptions such as green
trust, perceived risk, skepticism, and finally purchasing intention.
Hence, findings are consistent with previous studies on greenwashing
(Aji & Sutikno, 2015; Chang & Chen, 2008; Chen & Chang, 2013;
Chen, Lin, & Weng, 2015; Goh & Balaji, 2016; Karpina, 2015; Rahman
et al., 2015). When people feel distrust and skepticism to the firms'
claims in the advertising and packages, they avoid purchasing because
they find it risky. As a result of this study, the perceived risk decreases
the intention to buy. As supported by Aji and Sutikno (2015), heath
risk is the most important risk type as it decreases consumers purchas-
ing intentions. These results are similar as previous studies have
offered evidence of this relationship (Aji & Sutikno, 2015; Chen &
Chang, 2013; Gillespie, 2008; Harridge‐March, 2006; Mitchell,
1999). Also, it is supported by literature that the perceived risk can
be reduced by increasing customer trust (Chang and Chen, 2008).
Results showed that companies utilize the product label and adver-
tisement indicating that they are natural in one or a few product
ingredients. Even participants are knowledgeable about natural and
eco‐friendly products; this type of communication activities attract
attention and impress them. It has been determined that the use of
11
green color and botanical images in the advertisements and product
packages are useful to create a perception of naturalness. On the
other hand, in the long term, these kinds of stimuli cues do not
strengthen green marketing strategy of products if they do not have
green attributes. People also believe that these practices are part of
marketing strategies of firms, which want to show themselves as
green companies. This belief creates skeptical consumers (Aji &
Sutikno, 2015). Skepticism has negative effects on purchasing inten-
tions toward natural products. This finding is consistent with the study
of Leonidou and Skarmeas (2017). In order to reduce skepticism level,
consumers do something; however, they cannot trust all firms' claims
on green marketing and may find risky to purchase. Indeed, they are
right because some firms claim that their products are made with “nat-
ural” ingredients, but they write ingredients false, deficient, or by using
technical words. It is one of the sins of greenwashing called the sin of
vagueness. The sin of vagueness contends that a product's claims are
“so poorly defined or broad that it's real meaning is likely to be misun-
derstood by the consumer” (TerraChoice, 2009). Therefore, companies
should increase their interest in green products and educate con-
sumers in order to understand the reality of green claims. Companies
need to reduce skepticism and distrust of green products by providing
reliable information to their customers. In this way, consumers will
intend to purchase green products (Chen, 2008). In this study, it was
determined that if consumers perceived the brand as respectful and
reliable, greenwashing perception is affected by this belief negatively.
At this point, consumers' previous experience about brands is impor-
tant. This result is contrary to Chen et al.'s (2019). The results also
indicated that consumers seem foreign brands more reliable than local
(Turkish) brands. They believe that foreign brands are audited seri-
ously by third party authorities. This belief caused to decrease level
of risk and skepticism while increase trust. Other important variable
of this study is price perception. It is found that if the natural‐claimed
product's price is high, consumers generally think this product is natu-
ral. Therefore, they are willing to pay more to buy natural products.
However, Dekhili and Achabou (2012) found that consumer willing-
ness changes according to brands.
This research showed that a relationship may exist between envi-
ronmental concern and greenwashing perception. According to results,
most participants are concerned toward the environment and try to buy
natural products to be less harmful for the environment and protect
environment. This means that consumers with higher environmental
concern would be willing to buy natural and eco‐friendly products.
Another important finding about environmental concern is that
although consumers tend to perceive many products as unnatural,
which are claimed to be natural, they tend to see the same products
as eco friendly. Therefore, firms may also emphasize to be eco friendly
in their communication activities, in order to create naturalness image.
5.1 | Theoretical implication
The main theoretical implication of this study is that it provides a new
framework of greenwashing and extends the literature on green
12
marketing by proposing new variables. This study also sheds light on
the roles of other variables, which were not explicitly discussed in pre-
vious studies related to influencing the relationship between green-
washing perception and purchase intention. According to the results,
these variables are price perception and origin of the brand. This study
emphasized that consumers want to pay premium prices for buying
foreign brands claimed to be natural due to their qualities and credibil-
ity of these brands. The finding is theoretically supported by the
theory of value‐based pricing (Singh & Pandey, 2018).
The study found that there is “halo effect,” which is about attribu-
tion theory during evaluating natural products. Consumers feel suspi-
cious about the attributes of green products due to the perception
of greenwashing. Therefore, the theoretical framework is used in the
examination of these products (Leonidou & Skarmeas, 2017; Nyilasy
et al., 2014). According to results, when consumers perceive green-
washing of some firms, they use this negative trait to make an overall
judgment on other firms, even they produce real natural products.
Another halo effect occurs, because of the positive image of foreign
brands. Consumers tend to assign trusted trait to the foreign brands
based on their previous positive beliefs and experience about foreign
brands such as being more quality, audited, and trustful more than
local brands. As a result of the study, the higher values attributed to
the foreign brands compared with local brands are due to the higher
trust of the consumers on foreign brands. The consumers feel less
skepticism, and they believe that foreign brands are natural, and they
tend to purchase more. It is also in line with the consistency criteria of
Kelley's (1973) attribution theory. Another finding consistent with
attribution theory is that consumers believe that firms promote their
products as natural, as a part of their marketing strategy because they
focus on their own benefits rather than protecting environment and
society. So when firms produce natural products, the claims of firms
evoke consumer skepticism, which in turn negatively influence con-
sumers' purchasing intention. This result is also consistent with studies
of Cui, Trent, Sullivan, and Matiru (2003) and Yoon, Gurhan‐Canli, and
Schwarz (2006), which found that corporate social responsibility prac-
tices may backfire if consumers are skeptical about them and think
that the company's actual motive for their practices are merely to sell
more products rather than welfare of consumers.
In this study, it is determined that perceived greenwashing and
skepticism had negative influence on green trust, which was associ-
ated with purchasing intention again. In the same way, consumers
tend to trust brand image of the products that they used previously,
and they want to trust the naturalness claims of those brands and
want to buy more. In this sense, it is thought that these findings will
contribute to the trust–commitment theory. Perceived risk is related
to negative consequences and uncertainty that may affect the rela-
tionship between greenwashing and purchase intention. Perceived
greenwashing may a potentially effect on risk perception. Perceived
risk may affect negatively the consumer's purchase intention. The
current results support expectation–confirmation theory.
The number of studies in the greenwashing literature on the
perception of consumers has explored relationship between green-
washing and other variables with quantitative research method. A
KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU
limited study has been conducted in the literature to deeper under-
stand consumers' perceptions toward greenwashing. Therefore, to fill
this gap, this paper provides in‐depth analysis on understanding about
consumers' greenwashing perception and purchase intention by using
advertising posters through the lens of qualitative research.
5.2 | Managerial implications
The findings of this study may be helpful to understand consumers'
attitudes and purchasing intentions toward phrases such as natural,
botanical, and eco‐friendly products used in communication strategies.
This study provides managerial implications for companies and practi-
tioners in formulating green marketing strategies. Many firms' even
well‐known ones use greenwashing in their communication strategies
to attract consumers by showing their products as eco friendly and
natural. Companies should realize that greenwashing may help them
to sell their products, but in long term, this policy will have adverse
effects. Indeed, the greenwashing practices do not only damage the
company's image but also negatively affect the consumers, who
heavily rely on environmentally friendly claims. Therefore, firms
should avoid all deceptive advertisements and vague claims with
respect to environmental protection, specifically regarding green prod-
ucts and services. Hence, companies should not exaggerate product
attributes and claims. Besides, companies should not even continue
to emphasize only one green attribute of a product or service when
everything else is not green and disregard its other qualities, because
consumers are prone to be skeptical about firms' green claims. In order
to adjust this situation, companies must make their green claims more
trustworthy, more transparent, and less ambiguous to reduce the
perception of greenwashing. Companies should highlight their green
efforts by supporting claims with verification from independent
firms. Firms can get eco labels and certification of their green products
from authorized institutions and use them in their communication
strategies.
The findings of this study to a certain extent contributes to posi-
tive social change by educating consumers about greenwashing, which
could help empower them to demand better environmental products
from corporations. Especially, companies should put conscious con-
sumers forward to generate initiatives against greenwashing. Firms
should support information about their products naturalness and eco
friendliness via using integrated channels such as product packaging,
labelling, and websites. These efforts will help to provide evidence
to the naturalness of the products that will in turn convince con-
sumers to buy natural products. These actions will reduce consumer
skepticism, confusion, and perceived risk regarding green products
while increase the credibility of green claims and strengthen green
positioning. Companies also need to integrate sustainability into busi-
ness practices. These advised practices are more significant for some
product groups such as food, personal care, cosmetics, and supple-
ment food because they directly affect health. New laws and regula-
tions should be enacted to monitor greenwashing. Policy makers
within governmental organizations may control activities of the
KAHRAMAN AND KAZANÇOĞLU
companies. For example, as Tsai and Liao (2017) mentioned, govern-
ment subsidy will be a positive driver of environmental innovation.
Besides, governmental organizations should take regulatory actions
for eforcing companies to use reliable information on the labels.
Greenwashing perception can be damaging not only to the company's
product and brand image, but also to their corporate social responsibil-
ity project. There is a need to understand the role of green products in
sustainable development. Greenwashing damages real green market-
ing activities by increasing consumer skepticism toward green prod-
ucts. Considering the role of green products in sustainable
development, it is seen that companies need to reduce their green-
washing practices.
5.3 | Limitations and further studies
There were some limitations in the study. First, the level of education
of the research should be done with only women who have at least a
university degree. Second, the selected product group is only personal
care products, so findings cannot be generalized to other ranged prod-
ucts. It was recommended that future studies should focus on differ-
ent demographic profile (age, income, education level, and gender).
The proposed framework may also be applied to compare different
product groups and/or sectors. Third, because this study is an explor-
atory research, the results do not provide conclusive evidences and
relationships. However, this study can be an antecedent of a quantita-
tive research. The findings provide a framework that is composed of
themes, which can be taken as variables while testing a new model
in the future. The model shown in Figure 1 identifies the themes affect
purchase intentions toward products that are claimed to be natural
and the possible relationship between the themes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMEN TS
This study is derived from a conference paper (A Qualitative Research
to Investigate the Beliefs and Preferences of the Consumers toward
Products Claimed to be Natural) presented in Business and Organiza-
tion Research Conference, 12‐14 September 2018 in Safranbolu,
Turkey.
ORCID
Aysun Kahraman https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4210-3924
İpek Kazançoğlu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8251-5451
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How to cite this article: Kahraman A, Kazançoğlu İ.
Understanding consumers' purchase intentions toward
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