Purchasing Intentions of Eco-Friendly Bags; An Examination into Consumers’ Susceptibility to Social Influences as a Mediating Variable Agyeman Collins Marfo1, Dr. Badugu Devaraj2 1Research Scholar, SHUATS, Joseph School of Business Studies, Allahabad, U.P. 2Associate Professor and Head of Marketing Department, SHUATS, Joseph School of Business Studies, Allahabad, U.P. Online published on 15 March, 2019. Abstract With the increased awareness of environmental issues and the emergence of environmentally conscious consumers, green marketing is gaining prominence with several firms changing their offerings in the marketplace. Unsurprisingly, this is normally affected by the consumption behaviours of consumers which are changing in response to the direct influence of the larger social groups. The plastic bags industry is facing a similar effect by the introduction of eco-friendly bags as a result of the many waste problems it creates. This study, therefore, aims at gaining an understanding of green purchase intentions by investigating whether social influences impact and mediate between consumers ’attitudes and purchasing intentions toward eco-friendly bags. It was conducted in various locations in Delhi and Mumbai. The quantitative research methodology and the exploratory research design were adopted. Using the convenience sampling technique, survey questionnaires were distributed among 400 respondents and data were statistically analyzed with SPSS. Results indicate that there are positive relationships between environmental knowledge, environmental concerns and consumers ’attitudes. Social influence also has a positive mediating impact on consumers ’attitudes and their intentions toward purchasing eco-friendly bags. To this end, the study has proposed that green communications undertaken by opinion leaders through word-of-mouth in the society can lead to a shift in consumers ’preferences from plastic bags to embrace the green movement. Top Keywords Consumers ’Purchasing Behavior, Consumers ’Purchasing Intentions, Eco-Friendly Bags, Social Influence and Plastic Bags. Top |