Sustainable Purchasing Behaviors in Generation Z: The Role of Social Identity and Behavioral Intentions in the Saudi Context

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

An interesting paper that documents the findings of a research project into the green purchasing behaviours of GenZ in Saudia Arabia.

Section 2.4 - it is stated that 18 consented to participate but later in the paragraph it is stated that data saturation occurred after the 19th interview. I assume that this is a typographical error - please correct.

Section 3 - results and discussion. It is clear from the methodology section that thematic analysis was undertaken. However in this section it is not clear what the emergent themes were. I would suggest that this is included in the sub-headings so that it is apparent what the themes were.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Overall the paper is well written and the quality of the english is very good. There are few places were the grammar/syntax could be improved (e.g., top of page 2, 1st paragrapg, 2nd sentence: "It is, thus, deemed important to investigate....).

Author Response

Thank you for your valuable comments. The modifications have been made accordingly. Please see the attached file for the authors' response.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you to have involved me in this work. Here my considerations:

- comprehensive analysis of the existing literature

- paper well-structured, information clear and coherent 

- good theoretical framework

- good data analysis, quality of the discussion, clarity of exposition

- appropriate language quality, the text is clear and flowing; check punctuation and improve syntax 

- critical issues: 1) the authors claim that the research contributes to the broader understanding of green consumption in a culturally specific context, but it may have a low statistical power due to the fact that it investigates the green purchasing behaviors of Generation Z only in Saudi Arabia (the authors themselves admit that “the focus on a specific demographic within a unique cultural setting limits the generalizability of the findings); 2) the research may have a low statistical power due to the reduced sample of participants. 

I suggest to cite 2 interesting contribution, the first regards Saudi Arabia and it has been just published:
- Altouma, A., Bashir, B., Ata, B., Ocwa, A., Alsalman, A., Harsányi, E., & Mohammed, S. (2024b). An environmental impact assessment of Saudi Arabia’s vision 2030 for sustainable urban development: A policy perspective on greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 21, 100323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2023.100323

The second citation regards the importance of socio-emotional factors in organizational and economic behaviors 

 

Pascucci, T., Cardella, G. M., Hernández-Sánchez, B. R., & Sánchez-García, J. C. (2022c). Systematic Review of Socio-Emotional Values within Organizations. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.738203

 

 

Author Response

Thank you for your valuable comments. The modifications have been made accordingly. Please see the attached file for the authors' response.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I read the reviewed article with interest. It turned out to be exceptionally interesting for me due to the subject of the study and the contribution to understanding the international determinants of the behavior of Generation Z. As a researcher, I am also interested in the topic of conscious ecological behavior of young consumers in my research work. The reviewed article provided me with a new theoretical approach to this phenomenon. I welcome the integration of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Social Identity Theory (SIA) to understand this phenomenon. This combination of theories can be an inspiration for me to develop research in my research team in Europe.

The combination of TPB and SIA in the analysis of Generation Z purchasing behavior highlights a deep theoretical understanding of the topic and the ability to apply existing theories in new research contexts.

I also drew attention to the relevance and topicality of the issues raised by the authors. The focus on Generation Z, their awareness of sustainable purchasing and the influence of cultural and religious factors in Saudi Arabia is particularly relevant due to the growing global interest in sustainable development and consumption. This topicality of the topic additionally increases the scientific value of the article.

As a researcher of socio-economic phenomena, I am aware of the importance of qualitative research in learning about regularities. I appreciate the authors' efforts put into conducting qualitative interviews and analyzing the obtained results. I recognize that the study's conclusions, which highlight the importance of ecological awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior among young people and the role that cultural and religious factors play, are important for theory and practice. They point to potential avenues for further research and implications for business practices and public policies.

Congratulations on a good article.

My only comments are:

·       The style of citing literature requires improvement.

·       Please also pay attention to table 2. The order of the columns is different than the Arabic one (it should be from left to right, but it is from right to left). It is difficult to read the content of the table in this form.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

In my opinion (English is not my mother tongue), the vocabulary used is adequate to the academic and specialist context, which indicates a high level of knowledge of English. The authors use terminology precisely and the choice of words meets the standards of scientific writing. The language is understandable and accessible to the reader. This suggests that the authors communicate their ideas effectively, which is crucial in an international and interdisciplinary context.

Author Response

Thank you for your valuable comments. The modifications have been made accordingly. Please see the attached file for the authors' response.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

SUMMARY OF MANUSCRIPT

The study investigated qualitatively the green purchases Gen Z make and their reasons for doing so. An iterative process was used to identify themes in the interview responses. Responses related to the reasons for buying green products were presented as themes from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB: attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control) and Social Identity Approach (SIA: identification with pro-environment groups). Also included were responses regarding religion and culture, sustainability knowledge and awareness, and perceived consumer effectiveness. The discussion highlighted the importance of considering all of these variables when studying green purchases and consumption. It also presented practical implications of the findings and addressed limitations in the study.

 

EVALUATION OF MANUSCRIPT

The topic of the study is highly relevant for today’s society. The background literature was thorough, and the current study followed logically. The methods were careful and explained well. The quotes within each theme were relevant and helped the reader understand the theme (but see comment below). Further, the implications and limitations were appropriate.

I have some concerns that should be addressed, however.

 

1. TPB and SIA are typically studied quantitatively using appropriately modified surveys. It is unclear why the authors chose to use qualitative methods. The qualitative nature of the study needs to be explicit in the introduction (p. 2). Further, the argument for qualitative over quantitative methods needs to be included.

 

2. In the introduction, the difference between purchasing and consumption was highlighted, but the study was not intended to separate the two. It is unclear why there is a whole section (2.1) about this distinction. This section needs to be tied more clearly to the study, as some of the concepts are included in the results (3.5-3.7) while some are excluded (e.g., habits, prior experiences).

 

3. To understand the context for the responses, we need to know all the questions asked of the participants. A table for them would be appropriate.

 

4. There appears to be a disconnect between the deductive iterative process for identifying themes (p. 6) and the inductive themes that are presented in the results. The authors need to be clearer about how the initial themes were translated to the final themes. Here are my ideas about presenting the data.

4.a. State that the behaviors were separated from the reasons for the behaviors as part of the process of identifying themes. Then, present the behaviors that form the basis for the analysis. Table 2 is very useful for this. However, the table I received was not in the intended format. Specifically, I could not separate the themes from the categories. Further, it is not clear why the categories were included. I would suggest omitting the category column from the table.

4.b. Next, present the reasons for the behaviors—the themes, as identified by the raters. That is, present the initial themes in table form.

4.c. Finally, these themes can be translated to the TPB/SIA framework. Some themes may not fit into the framework, and that is ok. (see also Comment 5)

 

5. Some of the responses do not clearly fit the concept they are assigned to. For example, the section on Attitudes (3.1) begins with the idea that social media has both positive and negative influences on attitudes about sustainable purchasing. However, the second paragraph is about the role of influencers in raising awareness, which seems to belong to 3.6 Sustainability and Awareness. In the same paragraph there is a quote on the availability of groups for those who are sustainable-minded, which seems to be belong to 3.4 Social Identity. Also in the same paragraph is a quote about how advertisements may influence purchasing behavior, which may belong in section 3.8 Gen Z’s sustainable purchasing behavior. As another example, the section on perceived consumer effectiveness (3.7) focuses on participants’ skepticism about information provided about the product. It is not clear how skepticism is a form of perceived effectiveness. Here are my suggestions for allaying the confusion.

5.a Present the results in stages, as suggested in Comment 4. In this case, the results would not necessarily be organized in terms of theory concepts (e.g., Attitudes). In my opinion, the responses are important on their own, and using the framework to guide the interview questions is sufficient. The evaluation of the themes would focus on how the themes fit—or do not fit—within the framework.

5.b. Another way to resolve this issue is to provide more explanation of how/why the chosen quotes fit in the current category (attitudes) and not in other categories (e.g., awareness). This may include an introductory paragraph for each section with this explanation or at least an explanation of the process for chosen themes that are counted as exemplars of the section. In addition, the subtitles can be revised to be more descriptive of the section’s contents. For example, the subtitle for 3.1 may be, “TPB: Perceived influences on attitudes toward sustainable purchases” and the subtitle for 3.4 may be “SIA: Community’s role in supporting sustainability purchases.”

  

6. Given the importance of religion and culture in Saudi Arabia, as described in the introduction, I was surprised that there was only one paragraph on it in the results section. Religion and culture should receive more focus in the results and discussion.

 

7. The title of the manuscript does not fully capture the contents of the manuscript. Please revise it.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Thank you for your valuable comments. The modifications have been made accordingly. Please see the attached file for the authors' response.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I thank the authors for their careful consideration of my suggestions. My concerns have been addressed fully except for the section on religion and culture.

Section 3.5 on religion and culture has been expanded to include an explanation of Islamic environmental ethics and policy suggestions but there is still only one quote from the participants. Are there others quotes that should be included? What answers did the question on religion and culture elicit? If there are not many quotes about culture and religion, then this is worthy of discussion, including the reasons why culture & religion were mentioned by only a few (one?) persons. If the quotes from the question on religion and culture were included in 3.7 community habits and prior experiences, then I suggest folding 3.7 into 3.5. There would need to be an explanation as to why community habits, and prior experiences are related to SIA culture and religion, which should be easy to do.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The manuscript needs some final copy-editing.

Author Response

Modifications are done based on the 4th reviewer comments. Thank you for your effort to help us present a better version of our work.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf