PurposeMarketing managers routinely use purchase intentions data to make strategic decisions concerning both new and existing products and the marketing programs that support them. Yet, the indication from empirical investigations regarding the link between respondents' stated intentions and their actual behavior is not as clear. Predicting which consumer will purchase an environmentally friendly product, the research remains split, particularly when it comes to perceived “trade‐offs” between the environmental benefits, quality, and cost. In this regard, previous research has fallen short in examining consumers' actual purchase behavior versus self‐reported purchase intentions. This paper seeks to address these issues.Design/methodology/approachThis study measured consumer psychographics and expressed purchase intention to predict actual purchase behavior using an online survey and the Vickrey auction method.FindingsThe results show that respondents expressing a high intention to purchase environmentally friendly wines also reported strong attitudes and values toward the environment. However, the gap between stated willingness to pay and the actual price paid was wide.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was restricted to the investigation of one type of product. The model should be tested with a number of products that are purchased on a regular basis.Practical implicationsGiven the wide disparity between stated willingness to pay and actual price paid for those expressing high purchase intentions, marketing should use caution when assessing this targeted group for new product launches and potential price changes.Originality/valueThis study assessed the same cohort using a survey and auction experiment to relate consumer values and purchase intentions with actual behavior.
Because of the expanding role of services in the world economy, schools of business have begun to address the needs of service operations. At the same time, many hotel-school programs are drifting away from a hospitality-management orientation toward general business-management courses. If hospitality-education programs are to serve adequately their students and the industry, they must refocus their curricula on the needs of the hospitality industry; the alternative is to be absorbed into general business programs. Already, hospitality-program graduates and general-business graduates are competing for the same managerial jobs in the service sector. Four-year programs must find or develop faculty whose specializations are in the hospitality industry, and, in close cooperation with the industry, specialized programs must be developed for managers-in-training.
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