Value Perception of Green Products: An Exploratory Study Combining Conscious Answers and Unconscious Behavioral Aspects

Abstract

Previous studies have failed to provide a comprehensive view on the value perception of green products. The present research takes up this challenge through an experiment in which 43 participants have interacted with and evaluated 40 products—20 baseline products and 20 green products of the same categories. The experiment included both self-assessments to monitor conscious evaluations of the products and biometric measurements (Eye-Tracking and Galvanic Skin Response) to capture unconscious aspects. The results show that different forms of perceived value emerge clearly. Green products, for which participants required greater efforts in the search for relevant information, boost the value attributed to creative solutions still believed of high quality. This effect is significantly more evident for participants showing remarkable interest for sustainability issues. Conversely, alternative products feature greater value perception because they are acknowledged to be functional and reliable.

Review of the use of neurophysiological and biometric measures in experimental design research

“…Other aspects of the studied phenomenon are analyzed in relation to answers to questionnaires and indication of preferences. The effects of products' sustainability and their perceived value are also studied in Maccioni et al (2019), who leverage questionnaires, a remote ET and a GSR meter, so as to include conscious and unconscious aspects in the evaluation process. In particular, biometric measures enrich the set of value dimensions attributed to products, which are displayed as pictures.…”

Are Eco-Design Strategies Implemented in Products? A Study on the Agreement Level of Independent Observers

“…The only solution that achieved a perfect agreement is the toothbrush shown on the left: the evaluators agreed that no EDSs is implemented here in compliance with authors' expectations. Apart from this case, moderate agreement was reached only for the solutions proposed on the right, thus those considered more environmentally sustainable in (Maccioni et al, 2019b). However, the right-hand side products show a better agreement compared to the left-hand ones in only eleven cases out of twenty.…”

“…Participants were asked to categorize 20 Product Pairs (PPs), concerning the perceived implementation of the EDSs. PPs (displayed through pictures) include two products of the same commercial category that perform comparable functions; these are intentionally formed by a baseline product and an alternative one in which eco-design efforts were identified in previous studies (Maccioni et al, 2019b). Each product was named with reference to the position in the picture (Left for baseline products, Right for alternatives) and a brief description was provided.…”

Can the choice of eco-design principles affect products’ success?

“…In other terms, the literature has hitherto focused on conditions and actions facilitating the success of sustainable development initiatives at the company, business and industry levels, but the product dimension, e.g. what is changed in the product structure or in its provided benefits, has been taken into consideration only in user experience studies (Hoffmann 2017;Maccioni et al 2019). As aforementioned, this is of particular importance -the application of EDPs might lead to changes in the products' structure, interaction with users, esthetics, affordance, etc.…”