MEASURING CONSUMER ENVIRONMENTAL

RESPONSIBILITY
Marija HAM
Faculty of Economics in Osijek, Gajev trg 7, 31000 Osijek
mham@efos.hr

Josipa FORJAN
Faculty of Economics in Osijek, Gajev trg 7, 31000 Osijek
jforjan@efos.hr

Anita FRAJMAN JAKŠIC

Faculty of Economics in Osijek, Gajev trg 7, 31000 Osijek
afrajman@efos.hr

Abstract:

Environmental attitudes and their impact on consumer behaviour became a key topic of research
work and marketing strategies as far back as 1970s. There have been different approaches and
views of the factors influencing the behaviour of so-called green consumers. Whereas some have
focused on knowledge as a cognitive component of environmental attitudes, others have studied
emotional and behavioural variables.
In Croatian marketing theory, and increasingly in practice, one can encounter the thesis that it is
essential to incorporate environmental values into marketing strategies and programmes.
However, comparatively little is known about Croatian green consumers and the general level of
environmental responsibility in Croatia.
The aim of this paper is to explore the complex idea of consumer environmental responsibility.
Using ECOSCALE as the basis, we have designed a questionnaire to achieve the goal of our
research which was to identify factors affecting the level of consumer environmental
responsibility and the extent to which they affect the measured construct. The survey was carried
out among students of the Faculty of Economics in Osijek in order to obtain some indicative
results and test the adapted measurement instrument.

Keywords: environmental marketing, factor analysis, green consumers, questionnaire,

sustainable development

Introduction
Over the last three decades, environment protection and sustainable development have been
transformed from a marginal into a mainstream issue. Increased media attention, growing
awareness of environmental issues as a result of different disaster reports, expanding activity of
environmental interest groups and more stringent legislation at the national and international
levels are all factors that have contributed to this change. Seeking a balance between economic

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