Exploring socially responsible behaviour of Indian consumers: an empirical investigation

Purpose - With growing consumerism in the country, Indians need to behave in a socially responsible manner for its sustainable development. This study sets out to explore the extent of the relationship between the demography and socially responsible behaviour of Indian consumers. Design/methodology/approach - A slightly modified SRCB scale developed by Antil and Bennet with 34 Likert-type items along with a few demographic questions is introduced among two equal groups representing urban and rural consumers, because they almost equally contribute to the country's GDP. Findings - Urban respondents scored high in all demographic categories in comparison with rural consumers. Gender-wise, the behaviour was quite symmetrical in both the groups. Education-wise, inverse relationship is noticeable between the SRCB-mean values and educational-level; it may be due to the respondents' continuing education. The inference is reinforced while analyzing the SRCB-values across the age groups. Interestingly, younger ones particularly, the females are demonstrating high scoring on the SRCB-scale. Analyzing according to income-level revealed significant difference only for urban consumers. The lower-income category score high because they are non-earning (students) or have just begun earning. Research limitations/implications - The implications for green marketers are to focus on young consumers and more particularly the female population for creating loyal segment and gaining competitive edge. The policy makers need to promote urbanization for sustainable living and creating awareness of clean-green living. Young Indians are identified as being more promising and socially responsible than their elders. Originality/value - The paper makes an attempt to identify an insight into Indian consumers in terms of their socially responsible consumption behaviour. It presents a base for future studies on consumer social responsibility.