One of the primary motivators for consumers to choose green products is cost. In a survey conducted in India, Manaktola and Jauhari (2007) discovered that 67 percent of high-income consumers prefer green goods, while 65 percent of upper middle- income, 59 percent of middle-income, and 48 percent of low income consumers - agreed. Green goods are typically out of reach for low-income customers, based on the lower number of consumers who express a preference for them (Purohit, 2012).
Businesses typically charge higher rates to take advantage of their green philosophy, even though they incur lower costs (Boztepe, 2012).
Researchers have also used behavioral theories to create a behavior – attitude relationship for consumers, in which customers make purchase decisions based on their favorable attitudes toward particular goods. However, according to Ottman (2011), the correlation between green behavior and consumer attitudes is weak.
Albayrak et al. (2011) conducted their research in Turkey to better understand the effect of environmental awareness on customer purchase decisions. They discovered that green customers are equally perplexed. This is due to their inability to define precisely what "green" means, making it difficult to form an attitude toward green products.
Spanos (2008) discussed that due to increased regulatory requirements and to match consumers‘ requirements for green products, the companies are engaged in green manufacturing and green marketing. Purohit (2012) made similar claims in a later study, arguing that consumers are forced to migrate toward green goods due to social expectations, and that their intentions are eventually transformed into actual purchasing behaviour.
Consumers, in addition to organizations, now share similar responsibility for environmental conservation through green purchases. In this regard, Boztepe (2012) discovered that in Turkey, consumers are influenced by social norms to purchase green goods. This social strain, on the other hand, is unique and changes as demographic variables shift. In support of this, Lee et al. (2012) discovered that in the Korean context, gender, age, qualification, and income all influence consumer purchasing behavior for green goods.
Many businesses are attempting to protect the environment by providing environmentally friendly goods (Renfro, 2010). Previous studies have shown that a number of factors affect consumer behavior when it comes to purchasing green goods. Consumer income class and social norms in India (Purohit, 2012), environmental protection behavior and social norms pressure in Turkey (Boztepe, 2012), and gender, age, education, and income status in Korea (Lee et al., 2012) all play a role in the purchasing of green goods. When it comes to the consistency of green product purchases, psychological and social influences have a stronger influence on consumer behavior than demographic factors (Pickett et al., 1995).
Green consumers are more educated and affluent, according to Laroche et al.
(2001), but there is democratization of purchasing behavior in Europe and North America. Animal protection, wellbeing, and the quality of organic goods are also motivators for buying green marketing products (Raska & Shaw, 2012). Parents' attitudes are also a major indicator of green marketing purchasing actions. Parents are concerned about green food use and prefer organic products to improve their children's health and safety. Organic consumption is a powerful motivator that influences consumer purchasing decisions (Renfro, 2010). Consumer values, environmental consciousness, knowledge of alternative goods, and the consumer's view of environmental sustainability are all factors that affect consumer purchasing behavior (Rashid, 2009).
All of this suggests that not all customers have the same purchasing habits when it comes to green goods and services. However, the current study's focus is limited to examining the direct effect of green marketing on consumer purchasing behavior; it
does not examine the role of demographics in enhancing or decreasing the impact of green marketing practices on consumer purchasing behavior.
Overall, many previous studies (such as Purohit, 2012; Spanos, 2008; Boztepe, 2012; Lee et al., 2012) show that green marketing practices by businesses have a positive effect on consumer buying behavior in various consumer goods industries, either directly or indirectly.
A wide variety of studies showing promising outcomes in developed countries such as Europe and the United States, as well as developing countries such as India and Turkey, has led to the following hypothesis:
H1 (d): Green marketing has a significant positive relationship with consumer purchasing patterns for green products in Vietnam.
Green marketing is carried out with the aid of three main variables. This research looked at issues such as eco labeling, green branding, and green ads.-
2.4.1. Green marketing through eco-labeling
Marketers may use eco-labeling to demonstrate that they have used environmentally friendly and comprehensive methods of manufacturing and delivery. These goods have been given a license by independent third parties to be environmentally friendly (Okada & Mais, 2010; Mishra & Sharma, 2010). According to Ng and Wong (2015), the technique of eco-labeling has been widely used by marketers in the Hong Kong construction industry, and it has been documented to bring positive results for marketers, affecting customer purchasing behavior for the purchase of green goods. It encourages customers to pay a premium for a high-quality product.
Similarly, Rashid (2009) discovered that eco-labeling for green goods is effective in influencing consumer purchasing behavior in Malaysia. Several other researchers have backed up Rashid's results, showing that environmentally sustainable production practices are very useful in promoting eco-friendly goods and influencing customer decisions to purchase them (Kwok et al., 2014; Chkanikova &
Lehner, 2015). Similarly, Jarvi (2010) discovered that eco-labeling appears to have a substantial effect on consumer purchasing behaviour in Finland. On the other hand, Leire and Thidell (2005) found conflicting findings, stating that while consumers recognize eco-labeling, it does not always lead to them purchasing certain items. Furthermore, using meta analysis, Cherian and Jacob (2012) found - that consumers do not always trust and depend on eco labeling. However, the - reasons for this mistrust remain unknown. Another research discovered that eco- labeling improves the transparency and trustworthiness of environmental statements related to consumer friendly products (Iraldo et al., 2005). Eco- -labeling often increases the product's vulnerability to changing usage trends (Sitarz, 1994). The eco-labeling of a commodity allows the buyer to make a cost effective decision - (Grunert & Wills, 2007). Compared to other products, eco-labeled environment products are favored (Loureiro et al., 2001; Gallastegui, 2002). Consumers' purchasing decisions are influenced by eco-labeled goods (Daugbjerg et al., 2014).
According to the literature, eco-labeled goods from China are favored over those without eco-labels for a number of reasons, including health issues, food safety concerns, and higher quality products, all of which enable customers to buy eco- labeled products (Yin & Ma, 2009). Previous studies have shown that eco labeling - raises consumer concerns about food safety (Wessells & Anderson, 1995), consistency (Salladarré et al., 2010), environmental impacts (e.g. Jaffry et al., 2004), sustainability (e.g. Sogn-Grundvg et al., 2013), and animal protection (e.g.
Sogn-Grundvg et al., 2013). (Verbeke et al., 2007). The effectiveness of an eco- label product is measured by the consumers' willingness to use it. The ability of customers to buy eco labeled products is used to determine the product's popularity - (Thgersen, 2000). Since the idea of eco-labeling is more common in developed countries, and it has been studied very little in developing countries, many of these findings were primarily taken from studies conducted in developed countries. As a result of the above findings, the following hypothesis was developed to decide whether the findings from developed countries are equally relevant to developing countries.
H1 (b): Eco-labeling has a significant positive relationship with consumer purchasing patterns for green products in Vietnam.
2.4.2. Green marketing through green branding
Green branding is another significant element in green marketing. Green marketing adds value to a company's image (Suki, 2016). Green positioning is the most common technique for green branding (Raska & Shaw, 2012). The positioning may be emotional or functional, with the functional strategy appealing to rational minds through thorough awareness of product environmental benefits, and the emotional strategy relying on customers' emotional needs. For example, functional brand strategies emphasize the products' related environmental benefits in the form of more environmentally sustainable production processes and sound product attributes, while emotional brand strategies emphasize society's well-being as a result of environmentally friendly production processes. Emotional branding has been found to be more effective than functional branding (Michaud & Llerena, 2011). Sarkar (2012) explored the use of various emotional appeals, such as selflessness, emotional well-being, and other nature related appeals, as part of a - positioning brand strategy, which demonstrated the efficacy of emotional branding and backed up the findings of Michaud and Llerena (2011). According to Hartmann et al. (2005), companies in Spain will increase the value of their goods by implementing a green branding strategy. This may be one of the most successful brand marketing tactics. Suki (2016) studied the effect of green brand positioning on consumer intentions in Malaysia, based on findings from Hartmann et al. (2005), and discovered that green brand positioning strategies have a strong positive influence on consumer purchasing behaviour. Huang et al. (2014) discovered that green branding has a huge effect on green buying intentions in Taiwan. However, Raska and Shaw (2012) have challenged the efficacy of a green brand positioning strategy. In a study of US consumers, they discovered that consumers may have skepticism about companies' green initiatives, which has a negative impact on their purchasing decisions. Finally, Cherian and Jacob (2012) found that green brand positioning has an effect on consumer perception, but there is no evidence that this
perception has an impact on consumer buying behavior, based on a meta-analysis of brand positioning and consumer buying behavior. To learn more about this subject, and based on studies that claim there is a link between green branding and consumer purchasing behavior in developed countries, the following hypothesis was developed to test the findings in a developing world.
H1 (c): Green branding has a significant positive relationship with consumer purchasing patterns for branded green products in Vietnam.
2.4.3. Green marketing through green advertising
Green advertisement is the third significant determinant of green marketing. It involves promoting environmentally sustainable content and environmental sustainability. The term was first used in the late 1960s, but it gained popularity in the 2000s as international legislation for green goods developed (Yin & Ma, 2009;
Frank-Martin & Peattie, 2009). Advertising plays a critical role in converting customer purchasing decisions. It assists in shifting customers' views of green goods before they make purchases (Maheshwari & Malhotra, 2011; Leonidou et al., 2013).
In the Pakistani background, Tariq (2014) discovered that green advertisement has a direct effect on customer purchasing behavior and satisfaction. Green marketing, on the other hand, did not affect all customers. Similarly, Kordshouli et al. (2015) found that eco-labeling and green messages in ads only affected 70% of consumers in Mashhad, Iran. Furthermore, half of the respondents said they didn't pay attention to green messages in advertisements because they didn't think they were credible.
According to Chan (2004), factors associated with lower reputation imposed on green ads in the Chinese market include the producer becoming less eco friendly or - being unable to meet consumers' requirements. He discovered that in the Chinese market, companies that advertise environmentally conscious activities improve the behavior of 70% of customers. According to Rahbar and Wahid (2011), using ecological concepts in advertising in Malaysian advertisements may not entice consumers to buy the product.
The cognitive focus of green ads demonstrates that it has a significant impact on customer knowledge and awareness of environmental issues (Stone et al., 1995).
People with little awareness of environmental concerns demonstrated a deep attachment to environmental well-being, according to Ling yee (1997). New - products related to renewable resources, climate and environmental improvements, and eco-labeling tap new realms in green advertising, according to green advertising and customer purchasing behavior researchers (Rowlands et al., 2002). According to research conducted in Pakistan, exposure to green ads through print and electronic media affected consumers' buying intentions (Habib et al., 2010). People in Malaysia began to understand environmental issues and favor green goods as a result of increased awareness about eco-labels and green advertisements (Rashid, 2009). The following hypothesis has been proposed to test the suggested relationship:
H1 (a): Green advertising has a significant positive relationship with consumer purchasing patterns for green products in Vietnam.
2.5. Green marketing, environmental knowledge and consumer purchasing