Today’s dynamic economic landscape is characterized by rapidly changing conditions that require companies to not only engage in continuous innovation to develop and refine tools for shaping their market positions, but also to define their own roles within the broader socio-economic context. Various challenges, including globalization, environmental degradation, significant social shifts, and heightened competition (Wołoszyn et al., 2012), are compelling modern enterprises to align their business strategies with stakeholder expectations, addressing both the external impacts of their activities and their responsibilities toward societal issues.

While the idea of taking such action gained significant social recognition only in the latter half of the last century, it is not new – it traces back to a 150-year-long debate on business values and ethics, originally focused on fair treatment of business partners, a commitment to philanthropy, and ensuring decent working and living conditions for employees. This debate intensified as businesses expanded, which in turn amplified their influence on overall social well-being (Baran, 2021). A critical aspect of this context was the growing criticism of corporations, as they stood increasingly accused of engaging in predatory and anti-social behaviors in pursuit of business gains, leading to economic instability and inefficient, environmentally damaging resource management.

Increasing social awareness (including consumerism, environmental movements, human rights movements, etc.) has led to the gradual development of a modern, broader understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR), emphasizing the multifaceted impact of business activities on the social environment, as well as the importance of these actions in achieving the economic objectives of enterprises. Contemporary societies are increasingly unwilling to accept (let alone support) organizations whose goals are not aligned with (or even contradict) broader social interests.

The aim of this article is to explore the cognitive and behavioral attitudes toward corporate social responsibility among young Polish consumers representing Generation Z – a particularly interesting group, given that they are highly sensitive to the various social and environmental consequences of human activity (Zakusilo, 2021), while also being at the early stages of their adult lives. As such, their attitudes, preferences, and behaviors can be expected soon to play a critical role in shaping market landscapes and determining the success of businesses.

2. Corporate Social Rresponsibility (CSR)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a management concept that takes into account the external effects of business activities – effects traditionally overlooked in economic calculations – particularly their impact on the natural and social environment. It also emphasizes the importance of transparency and ethical relationships with various stakeholder groups. At the foundation of this concept is the need to ensure the sustainable functioning of enterprises at the intersection of three spheres: economics, environmental care, and social development (Demkow & Sulich, 2017). As such, the CSR concept aligns with the current trends of increasing social awareness and heightened sensitivity to the negative non-economic aspects of business activities, such as environmental degradation, excessive exploitation of raw material resources, worker exploitation, and profit-making at the expense of local communities through practices like tax avoidance or not utilizing local suppliers and contractors.

It is important to note, however, a certain duality in the understanding of CSR. While the kinds of actions undertaken under the concept of CSR are universally recognized, the motivations understood to be lying behind these actions may vary. One approach stems from social contract theory, which posits that companies adopt responsible behavior out of moral and ethical considerations (Davis & Blomstrom, 1966), reflecting a duty to fulfill various obligations to society as a “corporate citizen” (Carroll, 1991). On the other hand, it is clear that all business activities are driven by commercial motives, with the primary purpose being to achieve economic outcomes. This perspective, rooted in shareholder theory, views CSR activities simply as a set of tools serving purely business objectives, such as shaping the organization’s image, strengthening its competitive position, and boost sales. At the same time, it acknowledges that the social environment sets the rules of the market game and conditions the achievement of these goals (Friedman, 2008; Kazojć, 2012).

This duality is not, of course, a simple dichotomy. Every business operates within a social environment – business decisions have consequences, including the generation of external effects that impact society. In turn, the social environment and public opinion significantly influence the scope of an enterprise’s ability to achieve its economic goals. This approach is conceptualized in stakeholder theory, which posits that a company should be oriented toward meeting the needs of all stakeholder groups (Freeman et al., 2004) – both those with whom the company has purely business relationships (and on whom it directly depends for achieving its economic goals) as well as those who directly or indirectly experience the external effects generated by the company’s activities and who constitute its social environment (Argandoña, 1998). Stakeholders include both internal groups (owners, shareholders, employees, management) and external groups (customers, suppliers, intermediaries, competitors, market institutions, government and local authorities, as well as social organizations, interest groups, local communities, and, ultimately, society at large) (Lozano et al., 2014).

The diversity of a company’s stakeholder groups, whose often differing interests must be considered when designing strategies, is reflected in the broad definition of the areas of action undertaken within the framework of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Carroll (1991) proposed to classify these actions into four areas – economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic – arranged in a hierarchical structure. In this model, economic aspects form the base of a pyramid, upon which the subsequent elements – law and ethics – are built, with philanthropy at the apex. Note, however, that the inclusion of philanthropy in this classification is debated, with some authors arguing that it should not be considered a component of corporate social responsibility (L’Etang, 1994). These areas often overlap and intersect, with CSR activities being classified as belonging to various combinations of these domains (Schwartz & Carroll, 2003). Other general classifications of CSR areas include R.W. Griffin’s (2004) concept, which identifies social welfare, the natural environment, and the needs of external stakeholders, or the triad model – focusing on the environment, economy, and society (He, 2018) – as well as a similar concept that highlights the environment, quality of life, and legal aspects as key CSR areas (Socorro-Marquez et al., 2023).

More detailed classifications, especially in relation to the practical aspects of business operations, are provided by international organizations. For instance, the OECD (2023) outlines CSR areas including information transparency, human rights, employee relations, the environment, anti-corruption, consumer interests, science and technology, competition, and taxation. Similarly, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines seven CSR areas in its ISO 26000 standard: organizational governance, human rights, labor practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues, and community involvement (PKN, 2012).

Incorporating CSR initiatives into business practices can offer companies a variety of benefits that indirectly boost their economic performance (Leoński, 2015). Among the most significant are image-related advantages, such as building social legitimacy (Du et al., 2012), cultivating trust (Crane, 2020), and fostering favorable attitudes (Hansen et al., 2011) among different stakeholder groups. These factors contribute to enhancing the organization’s social capital, which in turn facilitates easier access to valuable resources, collaboration opportunities, and the support of public institutions. Furthermore, and perhaps most critically, CSR activities can shape consumer behavior by influencing how they perceive products (Berens et al., 2005; Brown & Dacin, 1997), driving engagement (Agyei et al., 2021), encouraging purchase intent (Lee et al., 2013), and building loyalty (Howaniec, 2016) and satisfaction (Luo & Bhattacharya, 2006).

It is particularly important to highlight the significant impact of CSR on consumers. While meeting the needs of other stakeholder groups and maintaining good relationships with them lays the foundation for a potential competitive advantage, turning this potential into a real advantage depends on market validation, which is ultimately determined by consumers’ purchasing decisions. Given the growing sensitivity of modern societies – especially among younger generations – to issues related to sustainable social development, how consumers perceive corporate responsibility in this area is increasingly crucial for securing the desired economic benefits. In some cases, it is even a prerequisite necessary for market success.

3. Research methodology

To identify and analyze the attitudes, perceptions, and responses of young consumers toward various activities within the framework of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), we carried out a direct study using an online survey method, targeting a purposive-convenience sample of 94 individuals, in November 2023. Initially, 98 completed surveys were received, but 4 respondents were excluded from further analysis as they did not meet the age criterion (18–28 years).

The survey began with an explanation of the CSR concept and a description of the associated activities. The main section of the questionnaire included a series of statements designed to assess general cognitive attitudes toward CSR. Additionally, there were three groups of questions aimed at evaluating the impact of CSR activities in specific areas on: (1) the development of trust in the company, (2) the respondents’ willingness to support companies engaged in such activities, and (3) their willingness to pay higher prices for products from companies demonstrating social responsibility. The survey also included demographic questions and inquiries about the respondents’ views on the preferred model of socio-economic governance.

The questions were based on 7-point Likert scales with descriptive endpoints. For the question assessing general cognitive attitudes, the endpoints were “I disagree” (1) and “I agree” (7). For the question regarding trust in companies practicing CSR, the endpoints were “does not increase my trust in the company at all” (1) and “significantly increases my trust in the company” (7). For questions assessing the likelihood of the participant’s supporting CSR activities, the endpoints were “very unlikely” (1) and “very likely” (7). The question about the preferred model of socio-economic governance had endpoints described as “the well-being of society should be ensured by the state” (1) and “the well-being of society should be ensured by individual citizens’ own efforts” (7).

In analyzing the results, frequency distributions of responses and positional measures were used to characterize the distribution. Correlation coefficients, such as eta η (for nominal scales) and Spearman’s coefficient rho ρ (for ordinal and interval scales), were also employed to examine relationships between certain variables1.

4. Results

The first aspect to be examined was the general attitudes of respondents toward Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), including the perceived responsibilities of businesses in this area, the outcomes of CSR practices, and the balance of benefits between the organization and society.

The results (Table 1) show that the young Polish respondents surveyed generally had a positive view of CSR. The vast majority agreed with statements emphasizing the need for corporate social engagement, the benefits it provides, and the positive social perception of companies that implement CSR. The highest level of agreement was observed for statement T1, with 90% of respondents agreeing (most selecting the highest point on the scale – 7). Statements T2 and T3 also received strong agreement, with 81% and 79% of respondents in favor, respectively. For statements T5 and T6, over two-thirds of respondents agreed with them (69% and 67%, respectively).

However, attitudes were more mixed regarding statements that suggested CSR is more focused on achieving business goals than on serving the public interest (T4 and T7). For these statements, responses were more evenly distributed, with 42% of respondents agreeing with each, and a significant portion remaining neutral. These trends are also reflected in the average scores for each statement, with the first group of statements ranging from 5.0 (T6) to 5.89 (T1), while the second group slightly exceeded 4 (T4 – 4.12, T7 – 4.29).

The study also explored potential variations in attitudes based on demographic factors. A modest but noticeable correlation was found between participant gender and expressed attitudes expressed. The overall favorability index toward CSR (calculated as the mean of all responses, with statements T4 and T7 reverse-coded) showed a correlation with gender (η=0.355), with women more likely to express positive attitudes. The strongest gender-related correlations were observed for statements T5, T3, and T1.

No significant correlations were found between attitudes and other demographic characteristics. For income, the absolute value of Spearman’s coefficient ρ only exceeded 0.1 for statements T5 and T6. Regarding respondents’ views on the preferred socio-economic governance model (statism vs. liberalism), the correlation coefficients for statements T1, T5, and T6 did not exceed an absolute value of 0.2 in any case.

One of the significant outcomes of companies implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies is building trust among stakeholders, including customers. In response to the general statement T5, the majority of respondents agreed with the view that companies practicing CSR are more trustworthy than those that do not.

To gain a more detailed understanding of this phenomenon, the study examined how companies’ activities in various CSR areas contribute to building trust among respondents (Table 2). An overwhelming majority of respondents indicated that a company’s involvement in socially responsible activities did enhance their trust – the percentage of ratings above the neutral position on the scale exceeded 80% in each area, with an average rating above 5. The variation in responses across different CSR areas was minimal; however, the actions of companies in areas directly affecting the respondents – such as fair relations with employees and customers – had a relatively stronger impact on trust (with average ratings in both cases exceeding 6). In contrast, corporate involvement in philanthropic activities had the weakest impact (average rating of 5.37).

The reported influence of CSR activities on trust in a company showed a moderate correlation with the respondents’ gender. For the overall indicator (the mean response to this question), the eta correlation coefficient was 0.255. The strongest correlations were observed in the areas of ecology (Z1, η=0.372) and philanthropy (Z4, η=0.345) – with women consistently indicating higher values on the scale. Similar to the previous question (regarding cognitive attitudes), respondents’ answers did not show a significant correlation with declared income or views on the preferred type of socio-economic order – the rho coefficient values slightly exceeded an absolute value of 0.1 only in the areas of Z1 (for income) and Z5 (for income and views on the preferred socio-economic order).

An undoubtedly important aspect of stakeholders’ (including customers’) attitudes towards companies engaging in socially responsible actions is their willingness to support and participate in the pro-social efforts of such companies. In this context, respondents were asked how likely they would be to support a company’s efforts by consciously purchasing its products, recommending them to friends, informing others about the company’s social involvement, or supporting social and charitable activities organized by the company (Table 3).

Similar to the question about building trust, the vast majority of respondents chose responses from the upper part of the scale – though both the percentages and the average scores were slightly lower than in the previous case. The highest level of declared support was noted for actions related to fair relations with customers (W6, 90% of responses above the neutral position, with an average score of 6.02) and employees (W5, with 85% and an average score of 5.75, respectively). The lowest support was recorded for the area of ethical practices in general business activities (W2, with 70% and an average score of 5.09, respectively).

As in the previous question, the overall index of declared support for companies engaging in CSR activities shows only a small correlation with respondents’ gender (η=0.219, with women once again choosing higher positions on the scale). Declarations regarding specific CSR areas showed a more noticeable correlation with gender in the case of ecology (W1, η=0.336) and philanthropic activities (W4, η=0.272). For the area of fair relations with customers (W6), there was also some correlation with respondents’ views on the preferred socio-economic order (ρ=0.274 – support was more frequently declared by proponents of a liberal option, similar to the case of W2, although with a much lower rho value). Regarding respondents’ income levels, rho values exceeding an absolute value of 0.1 were noted only in the areas of W3 and W6.

Given that the previous question addressed only general declarations of potential willingness to support a company due to its socially responsible actions (in an abstract sense, without considering the tangible costs of such involvement), we decided to further investigate how this support would manifest when material involvement is required – specifically, the willingness to pay a higher price (compared to competitors) for the company’s products due to its socially responsible actions (Table 4).

Unsurprisingly, in this case, the respondents’ declared willingness to engage is noticeably lower than in the previous, more general question – although a majority still express a willingness to provide material support to companies engaging in each of the indicated CSR areas. The areas of CSR activity that most motivated respondents to offer such support were fair relationships with customers (K6, with 82% of responses above the neutral point on the scale and an average of 5.46). Fair treatment of employees (K5) and environmental actions (K1) also received relatively high scores, with around 70% of responses above the neutral point and an average exceeding 5 in both cases.

The average value of responses across the scales for the various CSR areas, calculated similarly to the previous questions, showed a slight correlation with gender (η=0.252), but no correlation was observed with other analyzed parameters.

Regarding the specific CSR areas, it is noteworthy that there is a significantly higher likelihood reported by women regarding their purchasing of products at a higher price from companies engaged in environmental actions (K1) (η=0.444). In this area, 30% of women chose the highest position on the scale (7), while 27% of men selected the lowest positions (1 or 2). A similar, though slightly less pronounced, trend was observed in the case of corporate philanthropic activities (K4), where 25% of women selected the highest position on the scale, compared to 23% of men who chose the lowest position (η=0.320). The respondents’ answers did not show any significant correlations with other analyzed characteristics, such as income or views on the preferred socio-economic model. Absolute values of the rho coefficient ρ greater than 0.1 were noted only for the areas of K6, K2, and K1, depending on the respondents’ declared socio-economic views, and for K3, depending on respondents’ income levels.

5. Summary

The study clearly revealed a distinctively positive assessment of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among the surveyed group. Young Polish consumers strongly recognize the general need for corporate social engagement, the benefits it brings, and the positive social perception of companies that implement CSR, while attributing significantly less importance to purely commercial (business) motivations behind such actions2.

The implementation of CSR strategies by companies significantly contributes to building trust in them. The CSR areas that most strongly influence trust among respondents are those that directly benefit the respondents – namely, fair relationships between companies and their customers and employees. In contrast, corporate involvement in philanthropic activities has a relatively smaller impact on trust.

A key aspect of stakeholders’ attitudes toward companies engaging in socially responsible actions is their willingness to support and participate in the pro-social efforts of such companies. In general, most respondents saw it as relatively highly likely that they would support companies that practice CSR by consciously purchasing and recommending their products to friends, informing others about the company’s social involvement, or supporting the company’s social initiatives. Similar to trust-building, the CSR areas most likely to engage respondents in this context are fair relationships with customers and employees. A slightly lower (though still relatively high) level of support was observed when respondents were asked about their willingness to financially “reward” companies for their socially responsible stance by paying a higher price for their products compared to competitors. In this scenario, in addition to the previously mentioned CSR areas (fair relationships with employees and customers), corporate involvement in environmental protection also emerged as a motivating factor for such behavior.

When analyzing the results of the study, it is important to note that women express more favorable attitudes towards the phenomenon of corporate social responsibility, as well as a somewhat stronger influence of the actions taken by companies within CSR on shaping trust and readiness to support socially responsible business activities (with women showing a clearer sensitivity than men, particularly towards actions in the areas of ecology and philanthropy). However, the study did not reveal significant differences in respondents’ attitudes based on other factors such as income or declared views on the preferred socio-economic model.

In summary, the findings from this study underscore a marked positive evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among Polish Gen-Z consumers. This demographic places a strong emphasis on the necessity for businesses to engage in social issues, recognizing both the inherent benefits of CSR and the favorable public perception it fosters for companies that implement such practices. Notably, the commercial motivations behind these CSR activities seem to be of lesser importance to them. The areas of CSR that most significantly influence trust among these consumers are those that yield direct benefits – specifically, fair relations with customers and employees. This reflects a broader trend towards ethical consumption among younger consumers in Poland. Moreover, the findings indicate that young Polish consumers are not only aware of CSR but are also prepared to actively support companies that engage in responsible business practices. This willingness extends beyond mere approval; it influences their purchasing decisions, where they show a readiness to pay a premium for products from socially responsible firms. In particular, CSR efforts in environmental protection also emerged as a significant motivator for this demographic. Overall, the study findings indicate that it is crucial for businesses in Poland aiming to succeed in the shifting market landscape to acknowledge and cater to the heightened sensitivity of this young generation towards social and environmental impacts.

Given the limited scope of this empirical study, however, further research involving a larger and more diverse sample is essential to deepen the understanding of CSR perceptions among Gen-Z consumers in Poland (and elsewhere), which is vital for tailoring business strategies that align with their values and expectations.

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The increasing digitization of society, along with the dynamic expansion of the online realm, has profoundly influenced consumer behaviors – altering their perception of distance across space and time, enhancing the availability of goods and services (including new digital products), and reshaping communication in both personal life and business (Zalega, 2017). The term “virtualization” refers to the growing infusion of Internet technologies into socioeconomic life, accompanied by an increase in the number of users spending more time on various online activities (Grybś-Kabocik, 2017). Virtualization is linked to the rapid and extensive development of information and communication technologies, enabling the use of virtual solutions across economic, social, cultural, and educational sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated organizations’ adoption of virtual solutions, seeking to mitigate or negate the adverse impacts of the pandemic restrictions, particularly the need for social distancing or outright bans on employee–customer interactions. Consequently, this hastened the pace and expanded the scope of consumer behavior virtualization. However, to what extent can these changes be expected to remain in force post-pandemic?

This paper is organized as follows: it first outlines the integration of digital solutions into various sectors, emphasizing the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in accelerating digital adoption and its implications for future service delivery and consumer engagement. Next, based on a literature review, it details the evolution of virtualization in consumer behavior across services, including gastronomy, tourism, cultural, educational, and medical sectors. The paper then reports and analyzes the results of an online survey regarding virtualized services in Poland during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the realm of service consumption, virtualization is reshaping existing consumer behaviors and fostering new ones. This primarily manifests itself as the individualization and democratization of cultural content consumption – consumers can freely select content according to their preferences, or even create it themselves. Other aspects include the merging of real and virtual lives, and shifts in the locations and timings for fulfilling needs – from institutions to homes, and at consumer-chosen times (Bywalec, 2010, pp. 223–226; Kowalska, 2015, pp. 65–66).

The virtualization of consumer behaviors involves satisfying needs via electronic communications, especially over the Internet (Grybś-Kabocik, 2017; Kowalska, 2015). Behaviors are increasingly being transferred to cyberspace, where they occur at times convenient for consumers. This includes using desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) to access the Internet to search for ideas, gather inspiration, obtain information about services and their providers, check service availability and conditions, compare prices and offers, seek opinions from other consumers and experts, take advantage of promotional offers, and share feedback (Kucharska, 2015, pp. 40–45).

Information and communication technologies provide open access to extensive information about services and sometimes enable their remote consumption. Barriers existing in physical spaces, such as distance, travel difficulties, time constraints of travel and service hours, and occasionally psychological barriers (e.g., stemming from pressure by personnel providing services or handling customer service) are reduced or removed. The widespread adoption of the Internet has led to the erasure of traditional distinctions in the consumer’s life between day and night, weekdays and weekends, home and work, or leisure and labor (Urry, 2009, pp. 179–180).

Virtualization offers significant flexibility in content consumption. The online space enables consumers to share experiences, stimulating changes and fostering the adoption of new purchasing behaviors while displacing products that fail to meet consumer expectations. The Internet not only aids in organizing consumers’ daily lives by reducing mobility and communication barriers and providing easy access to offerings, but also influences the entire purchasing decision-making process, from need stimulation to post-purchase behaviors (Zalega, 2017).

The ongoing virtualization of consumer behaviors in the service market is shaped by numerous factors. Among these, technological factors are especially pivotal as they enable the use of service providers’ offerings online – this includes the widespread use of mobile apps without time or location restrictions, enhanced Internet connection quality, the use of GSM technology for online delivery tracking, and the improved quality of devices that facilitate the use of information and communications technology (ICT) solutions. Sociocultural changes also promote the virtualization of consumer behaviors; these encompass a fast-paced lifestyle combined with a scarcity of time, a preference for convenient and rapid satisfaction of needs, expectations for immediate problem resolution, and an increasing focus on home-centric living and “cocooning” (Strzębicki, 2020, pp. 59–71).

The expansion and intensification of virtualization in service-consumer behaviors is also driven by the rising importance of generations for whom the online environment is primary – mainly Generations Y, Z, and Alpha, who spend much of their lives in a seamlessly integrated offline and online world. Older generations, however, cannot be overlooked. The segment of individuals over 50 years old, the largest consumer group globally, is notably demanding, focusing on health, well-being, and appearance as they embrace a new life stage without adult children and pursue their own passions (Włodarczyk, 2022, p. 10). Technological advancements have impacted all consumer generations (Łopacińska, 2021, p. 37), evolving them from “naive” analog-era clients to well-informed consumers continually connected online. Depending on their needs and digital skill levels, consumers may find themselves at different stages of this evolution, potentially moving to higher levels (increased reliance on digital technologies and the Internet) or lower ones (reduced online activity). Notably, the analog-digital consumer (integrating daily activities online), the digital consumer (using the Internet as a primary environment for life and work), and the “comsumer” (a blend of “communicator” and “consumer”) are crucial in the virtualization of consumer behaviors (Kowalska, 2023, pp. 97–98).

The Internet not only enhances access to information about services but also creates new opportunities to utilize these services, such as eliminating intermediaries and personalizing services (Tarapata & Krzepicka, 2018, pp. 93–106). The broadening array of e-services enables a wider audience to access them, especially those facing restrictions or high costs in accessing physical services. Consumers can manage various aspects of their personal, professional, and household lives without leaving home, fulfilling needs privately that were once public, such as watching movies, theater performances, or concerts at home (Zalega, 2017).

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly influenced the growth and scope of service-consumer behavior virtualization. It sped up the development and adoption of online service solutions and encouraged consumers to embrace these technologies more swiftly. Pandemic-related movement restrictions, social distancing requirements, and infection concerns particularly disrupted the service sector. Restrictions severely affected services requiring direct customer contact, such as healthcare, gastronomy, hospitality, tourism, transport, and cultural sectors. Additionally, the pandemic spurred the development of services reliant on modern information and computing technologies, leading to their virtualization. The demand for electronic services, such as e-commerce and remote education, increased. Opportunities for using services traditionally offered only in-person expanded to include virtual options (Dominiak, 2022, pp. 129–134).

According to expert forecasts (Deloitte, 2020), a number of factors may influence the future of the global economy and thus the development of services and the level of market entities’ virtualization behaviors in the post-pandemic reality – particularly those associated with new technologies (automation, digitization, cloud technology, technologization of healthcare) and social changes (a new generation of workers, crowdsourcing, sharing economy) (Pluta-Olearnik, 2021, p. 129).

The aim of this study is to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the virtualization of consumer behaviors within the Polish service sector and to assess consumer attitudes towards ongoing virtual service delivery solutions in the post-pandemic era. This research focuses on identifying which virtual practices are likely to persist, examining sector-specific adoption trends, and understanding the broader implications of these shifts for future service delivery and consumer interaction.

2.Manifestations of consumer behavior virtualization with regard to select services

Initially, the virtualization of consumer behaviors in the service sector was limited to the ability to book appointments, place orders, and process payments online. Over time, as social media have evolved, new opportunities have arisen for sharing information and thus for delivering services in cyberspace. Today, consumers can access a wide range of services virtually, often with the assistance of virtual consultants (Ciechomski, 2023; Zacher, 2013, p. 19; Ahmed et al., 2018, pp. 3211–3213).

The degree of virtualization in consumer behaviors largely depends on the type of services and their specific characteristics. Certain virtual activities are common across many services, such as searching for a service and its availability, reading and writing reviews (particularly via platforms like social media, blogs, microblogs, forums, discussion groups, VoIP, audio/video podcasts), comparing prices and sales terms (using price-comparison aggregators, making online purchases, processing payments, or participating in customer satisfaction surveys). Consumer behaviors differ across various service markets, driven by the unique needs presented and, fundamentally, by the potential for virtual solutions to satisfy these needs. The broad range of virtualization strategies becomes apparent when one examines specific sectors such as gastronomy, tourism, medical, or cultural services (see Table 1).

The virtualization of consumer behavior is a very dynamic phenomenon – increasing the range of behaviors transferred from the physical world to the virtual world or parallel behaviors that occur simultaneously in both physical and online spaces. Today’s service consumer is, indeed, a hybrid suspended between the real and virtual worlds (Gardeła & Budzanowska, 2002, pp. 14-17) thanks to nearly unlimited access to the Internet, the growing scale of ownership of devices that access virtual space, and the ongoing development of mobile applications.

Virtual and augmented-reality technologies create a new space for service consumer behaviors, particularly influencing the decision-making process (especially in terms of generating needs and evaluating alternatives) (Berbeka, 2016, pp. 92-95). They allow for the creation of new experiences and impressions and provide new stimuli, primarily visual. Their usefulness is manifested in consumers’ ability to acquire knowledge (about services, their prices, places of provision), advice (what needs to be taken care of), and suggestions resulting from monitoring of consumers’ lives (reminders of important events). These utilities make consumers better informed, better educated, and increasingly inseparably connected to these solutions – increasingly “plugged into” them (Berbeka, 2016, p. 88).

The virtualization of consumer behavior is manifested by the mutual permeation (rather than opposition) of the virtual (digital) and real (material) worlds (Ritzer, 2014, pp. 3-24; Kaczorowska-Spychalska, 2018, p. 190). The physical world known to the consumer is extended to include new virtual elements (augmented reality), while the digital reality is embellished with physical attributes (augmented virtuality) (Jaremen et al., 2016, pp. 55-67; Li, 2023, pp. 265, 276). The observed integration of real and virtual solutions should allow for the creation of frictionless experiences in the process of meeting service consumers’ needs (Kotler & Stigliano, 2022). This process should proceed according to their expectations – efficiently, dynamically, and continuously (PwC, 2022; Nowoczesne technologie, 2021, p. 61). The cost of learning to use modern solutions must be proportional to the benefits that consumers derive from their use. Technologies can also increase the personal engagement of staff and consumers, thereby supporting the creation of unique, personalized shopping experiences (enhancing “high-touch” through “high-tech”).

2.Online survey

To identify selected changes in the virtualization of consumer behavior in the Polish service sector during the pandemic, we carried out an online survey. The choice of this technique was guided by its undeniable advantages (e.g., speed of information acquisition, reach), although its limitations were also taken into account, such as the declarative nature of respondents’ answers (Pacana et al., 2015). The study was conducted in November 2022 using the Ariadna National Research Panel, with a sample of 1,100 registered participants. The socio-demographic profile of the registered panel members closely matched that of Polish Internet users. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistical measures, employing IBM SPSS Statistics software.

The study was part of the research project entitled “COVID-19 Pandemic as a Catalyst for Change – Enterprise and Consumer Perspective”, conducted by the Department of Market and Consumption at the University of Economics in Katowice. The survey provided insights into:

• consumers’ opinions on the pandemic’s impact on various service sectors in Poland,
• solutions that consumers found helpful during the pandemic (mitigating/ alleviating pandemic-related difficulties) and their intentions to make use of these solutions in the future,
• opinions on the functioning of selected sectors after the introduction of pandemic-induced changes.

The study adopted the hypothesis that consumers highly valued the usefulness of virtual solutions in improving access to and use of services during the pandemic, but not all such conveniences would be eagerly used by consumers in the future (especially in the case of cultural services). We also assumed that the tourism, gastronomy, and cultural sectors were the most heavily impacted by the pandemic in this regard, but the solutions implemented by service companies to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic helped maintain their operations at pre-pandemic levels.

The study sampled included 1,100 respondents, with almost equal numbers of women and men (Table 2). The sample included respondents evenly distributed across the age groups: 18–24, 25–39, 40–59, and 60–80 years (with 25% of respondents in each age group). Among the respondents, 46% had secondary education and nearly 40% had higher education, with primary education (4.1%) and vocational training (10.5%) being the least represented. Most respondents assessed their own financial situation as “adequate” (57%), with nearly 30% rating it as “very good” or “good”. Two-person households were the most common (33.4%), while households with five or more people were the least represented (11.5%).

The survey allowed us to identify consumers’ opinions on the impact of the pandemic on selected service sectors in Poland (Table 3). In the respondents’ view, the COVID-19 pandemic mainly entailed losses across all the sectors analyzed. The overall balance of benefits and losses caused by the pandemic in all the sectors studied was perceived as clearly negative by the respondents. Consumers believe that the pandemic particularly impacted the tourism, gastronomy, cultural, music, and fitness/spa sectors.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, companies implemented various solutions – some mandatory, others voluntary – aimed at helping consumers mitigate and alleviate pandemic-related challenges. These solutions primarily involved virtualizing access to and the use of the services analyzed. The results indicate that contactless use of parcel lockers and the ability to handle administrative matters online were seen by most respondents as effective in alleviating pandemic-related inconveniences. The majority of respondents also recognized that food delivery services to the home and “take-out” food orders, medical teleconsultations, and qualified electronic signatures had helped mitigate the difficulties of daily life during the pandemic. Fewer respondents, however, found virtual solutions such as online discos, video presentations of properties for purchase or rent, and streaming of theatrical performances or concerts to have been helpful during COVID-19 (Table 4).

It was also interesting to explore how eager consumers would be to continue using new solutions developed during the pandemic once “normalcy” returned. The survey results (Table 5) indicate that the largest shares of respondents intended to continue to use online services for handling administrative matters, qualified electronic signatures, food delivery services to the home and “take-out,” as well as medical teleconsultations. Half of all respondents expressed the intention to make use of identity verification with biometric techniques (e.g., fingerprints) after the pandemic. However, significantly fewer consumers planned to continue using virtual solutions in the areas of cultural and educational services post-pandemic.

The survey also attempted to answer the question of how much the new solutions, enforced and stimulated by the pandemic, have changed the functioning of the sectors examined (whether they improved or worsened) (Table 6). Consumer opinions in this area indicate that the measures taken during the pandemic helped maintain the operations of these sectors at pre-pandemic levels – this is particularly true for the fitness/spa, cultural, entertainment, music, and transportation sectors. In consumers’ perceptions, innovative solutions contributed to better functioning, especially in the gastronomy sector. Only in the case of the medical sector did the majority of respondents feel that the introduction of new solutions had worsened its functioning.

To address the question of how virtual solutions impacted the functioning of consumers and organizations during the pandemic, respondents were asked to express their opinions on selected statements related to this topic (Table 7). The vast majority of consumers acknowledged that the pandemic had led to the introduction of new solutions in commerce and services based on modern information technologies.

Most respondents also agreed that the pandemic increased consumer expectations for the option to have goods delivered to parcel lockers.

Additionally, the majority recognized that the COVID-19 situation enhanced consumers’ internet skills, such as online shopping, information searching, and handling administrative tasks. According to most respondents, the pandemic contributed to consumers adopting modern solutions in commerce and services. However, a smaller majority agreed that COVID-19 reduced the need for face-to-face interaction with sellers or service providers.

3. Summary

It is undeniable that the COVID-19 pandemic took everyone by surprise – consumers, households, as well as organizations, none of which had anticipated such a disruption in their operational plans. In this crisis, information and communication technologies (ICT) emerged as a crucial remedy, helping to mitigate the pandemic’s effects. The use of ICT increased on both the supply and demand sides. Virtualization became a key tool in alleviating the impact of pandemic-related restrictions, while also serving as a catalyst for changes driven by COVID-19, allowing operations to continue at levels close to those before the pandemic. Many of the conveniences introduced due to the pandemic are likely to persist in the “post-COVID” world. This paper has highlighted the pronounced shift towards virtual consumer behaviors in Poland’s service sector during the pandemic, with notable persistence in preferences for virtual interactions in administrative, food delivery, and telemedical services. These findings underscore the selective nature of consumer engagement with virtual solutions in the post-pandemic era.

The pandemic posed significant challenges for service providers, particularly due to the lack of physical interaction and the frequent need for direct involvement of staff and the physical presence of consumers. According to the survey respondents, COVID-19 caused losses across all the sectors analyzed, with the tourism, gastronomy, cultural, music, and fitness/spa sectors being the hardest hit. While the usefulness of virtual solutions during the pandemic is highly regarded by Polish consumers, not all of these solutions are expected to be used in the future, especially in the cultural sector. The measures taken during the pandemic did help maintain the functioning of sectors at pre-pandemic levels—this is particularly true for the fitness/spa, cultural, entertainment, music, and transportation sectors. In the gastronomy sector, these new solutions even contributed to better performance.

Service providers should consider these insights when designing their future service offerings. Given the selective continuation of virtual engagements, it is imperative for providers in cultural and gastronomic sectors to innovate and possibly hybridize their service delivery models to cater to the evolving preferences of consumers. The study also sheds light on the growing consumer expectations for seamless and flexible service interactions, whether virtual or physical. Providers need to strategize on how to blend these expectations into their operational models effectively.

The pandemic initiated and accelerated the adoption of new solutions in services and acted as a stimulus for implementing modern information technology solutions. It also led to an increase in consumers’ Internet skills (shopping, information searching, handling tasks) and encouraged the adoption of modern solutions in services. The pandemic accelerated the virtualization of consumer behavior in many services, and for most of the services studied, this process appears irreversible, particularly in light of ongoing technological and social changes. This presents significant challenges for service providers and institutions, both now and in the future.
Policymakers should consider these trends in virtual consumer behavior when formulating digital infrastructure policies, ensuring that the advancements in technology are equitably accessible and contribute positively to consumer experiences across all service sectors. Moreover, future research should explore the long-term impacts of pandemic-induced changes in consumer behavior, particularly analyzing the sustainability of these changes as technological advancements continue to evolve. It would also be beneficial to examine how different demographic segments adapt to and prefer various types of virtual services.

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The rise in counterfeit goods can be attributed to the expansion of global trade, the emergence of new markets, rapid technological development, and a rise in valuable products being counterfeited (Borekçi, 2013).

The consequences of counterfeiting extend beyond causing harm to manufacturers of genuine products and brands, to affect hundreds of thousands of jobs (Hanzaee & Taghip, 2012). At the macroeconomic level, counterfeiting even creates economic deficits in many countries, leading to job losses, and encouraging the development of an underground economy that escapes taxation, and mobilises significant resources to fight against this scourge at the national level, notably through costly communication campaigns (Viot et al., 2006). Counterfeiting is a shortfall for companies whose brands are subject to counterfeiting. Opinions are sometimes divided as to the damage because people who buy a fake brand would not have the means to afford the original brand. Some counterfeits represent a danger to the health and safety of the people who buy them because they do not meet the safety standards imposed on regular imports (Viot et al., 2006).

Previous research studies have explored various factors that contribute to the purchase of counterfeit products. Penz and Stöttinger (2006), for instance, argue that while most of the researches in the literature have emphasised on investigating the reasons why manufacturers committed counterfeiting (the supply side of counterfeiting), few studies have examined the reasons why consumers buy pirated and original brands (the demand side of counterfeiting) (Triandewi & Tjiptono, 2013). A qualitative study conducted in the UK by Hoe et al. (2003), has shown that some consumers buy counterfeit products as a substitutes for genuine ones to own the original brand, which would help them to establish their own identities and social standing (Hmidi, 2016). Besides, Yoo and Lee Hee (2012) showed that prior purchases positively impact future purchases (Santi, 2012). Eisend and Schuchert-Guler (2006) have shown that the most common reason for buying them is essentially relative to their affordable prices. Indeed, researchers identified non-price factors that influence the demand for counterfeit brands and products, including the characteristics of counterfeit products in terms of exclusivity, prestige, and quality, as well as the advantages of perceived benefits and self-identity. In the same vein, Cordell et al. (1996) identified the psychographic
characteristics of individuals; Solomon and O’Brien (1991) identified the demographic variables; Stone and Gronhaug (1993) identified social visibility; and Wang et al. (2005) identified two cost-benefit factors and the risks of prosecution (Ben Othman, 2013).

Our research work aims to study the factors shaping the attitude towards counterfeit products and their impact on the purchase intention to buy such items. Therefore, we will try to propose a model which could help understand the attitudes towards counterfeit product, based on previous research contributions.

Literature Review

Counterfeit purchasing decision-making is largely influenced by attitudes, regardless of product category (Chang, 1998; Hoon Ang et al., 2001; Wee et al., 1995). Indeed, the more the attitude towards counterfeiting is favourable, the more the consumer is led to buy a counterfeit brand and vice versa (Phau & Teah, 2009). Le Roux et al. (2007) and Wee et al. (1995) also tested models including attitude variables towards counterfeit products and in particular the general attitude towards counterfeiting. Before examining attitudes towards counterfeit consumption in more detail, it is necessary to conduct a literature review to situate the notion of attitude among prevalent studies in the literature.

The cognitive component is comprised of thoughts, beliefs, or ideas about the attitude object. Beliefs are thereby understood to be associations or relationships that people establish between the attitude object and various attributes (Kroenung & Eckhardt, 2011).

The affective component consists of emotions, feelings, or moods that people experience, when they are confronted with a certain attitude object. On a measurement level, these responses can range from extremely positive to extremely negative (Albarracín et al., 2005). The study of this component provides a better understanding of the consumer purchase process. It is because of this component that, depending on the constraints that arise, a consumer decides to choose one product over another (Festinger, 1957).

The conative component (behavioural) is a verbal or manifest (nonverbal) behavioural tendency by an individual and consists of observable actions or responses that are the result of an attitude object. It involves the person’s response (favourable/unfavourable) to do something about the attitude object. Responses to attitudes are more or less consistent (Vishal, 2014).

Moreover, Wilcox et al. (2009) defined counterfeits as „genuine fakes” that are copies of original products having high brand value in the market and are made to deceive consumers in the market. Similarly, Wee et al. (1995) pinpoint that counterfeiting is the production of copies that are identically packaged, including trademarks and labelling, copied so as to seem to a consumer the genuine article. From a consumer perspective, we can categorize counterfeiting in two ways: deceptive and non-deceptive counterfeiting. This classification can be done according to the level of awareness of the consumers because in deceptive counterfeiting, consumers are not aware of the fact that the products they are purchasing are counterfeits. They are rather victims in a way. However, in some situations, consumers are fully aware that the product they are buying is counterfeit. In these cases, counterfeiting is defined as non-deceptive (Borekçi, 2013).

Usually regarded as a serious economic, social, and political problem, counterfeiting has both positive and negative effects attached to it. Counterfeits pose a significant risk to consumers. Unsafe fake goods can lead to injuries, deaths, and illnesses. In cases where fake goods cause no physical harm, consumers are harmed financially when they are hoodwinked into spending their hard-earned cash on low-quality counterfeit. Moreover, since businesses must raise their prices to recoup losses from counterfeiting, the public is „forced to pay higher prices for brand-name products because of counterfeiters” (Lewis, 2009). Additionally, legitimate businesses are threatened by counterfeiters who become their competitors, a thing which makes these businesses lose sales and market share (Lewis, 2009). While most studies emphasize on the losses caused by counterfeiting, there are very few studies which highlight the potential benefits it can have. Counterfeiting might save consumer money and allow him/her to buy other goods. It can also raise sales of legitimate products by allowing consumers to test products through their counterfeit versions (Counterfeiting, 2018).

Determinant of attitude towards counterfeiting

Our research work integrates a conceptual model on determinants that can influence attitude towards counterfeiting, that is, insensitivity to counterfeiting, brand attachment, economic aspect, and perceived risk. We also explore how consumer attitudes influence their intention to purchase counterfeit items.

Insensitivity to counterfeiting

Counterfeit insensitivity as coined by Kapferer and Laurent (1992), refers to the concept of 'brand sensitivity’, as a psychological construct that influences the decision-making process of the consumer, just before the act of purchase. This psychological variable takes into account the consumer’s consideration of counterfeit presence or absence while buying a product. Consequently, we will extent this notion by hypothesizing that:

H1: Insensitivity to counterfeiting influences the favourable attitude towards counterfeiting.

Attachment to the brand

Based on research addressing brand loyalty, the attachment approach proposed by Lacoeuilhe (2000) refers to research work on brand equity and commitment in the field of organisational behaviours. According to this approach, attachment to the brand is defined based on the transfer of the constituent elements of attachment to the object to that of the brand. Thus, this integrative approach to brand loyalty is based on the notion of brand equity so as to facilitate movement from attachment to the object to attachment to the brand (Lacoeuilhe & Belaid, 2007). Indeed, this study considers attachment to the brand as an explanatory variable directly influencing the attitude towards counterfeiting. Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:

H2: Attachment to the brand influences the favourable attitude towards counterfeiting.

Economic aspect

The price difference between the original and the counterfeit product is presented as a crucial variable to predict the attitude and the intention to buy counterfeit products. However, the impact of price can vary from positively encouraging purchases (low price of counterfeits, which encourages purchase) to negatively deter them (a low price can be associated to low quality in the mind of the consumer). A study conducted by Prendergast et al. (2002), showed how price can be the overriding criterion, revealing that the higher the original product’s price, the more consumers are willing to buy counterfeit items (Harvey & Walls, 2003). This reaction stems from the consumers 'tendency to always link quality to price. Indeed, the more the consumer tends to infer a level of quality from the price, the more he will tend to equate counterfeits-generally sold at a low price-with mediocre quality products (Viot et al., 2014). While price may intuitively appear as a determining variable of the propensity to buy counterfeit products and of the attitude towards counterfeiting, researchers have somewhat lost interest in this variable. Therefore, our research work integrates the economic aspect as a determinant influencing the attitude towards counterfeiting. Starting from this assumption, it is hypothesized that:

H3: Economic aspect affects the favourable attitude towards counterfeiting

Perceived risk

Volle (1995) defined risk as „the possibility of incurring losses when purchasing or consuming a product (good or service)”. In contrast, Solomon and O’Brien (1991) show that consumer-perceived risk is a decision-making characteristic measuring the extent to which there is uncertainty regarding potentially significant and/or disappointing outcomes that may arise from a decision. Perceived risk can be presented in different facets. The perceived risk variable is considered in our research work as a determinant of attitude towards counterfeiting. This assumption leads to the following hypothesis:

H4: Perceived risk influences the favourable attitude towards counterfeiting.

Attitude towards counterfeiting

Fishbein and Azjen (1975) define the concept of attitude as „a learned predisposition to react favourably or unfavourably to an object or a class of objects”. An attitude can be defined also as „a learned predisposition to behave in a consistently favourable or unfavourable manner with respect to a given object” (Schiffman et al., 2010, p. 246). In the context of counterfeiting, Hoon Ang et al. (2001), state that consumers’ attitude towards counterfeiting is a significant determinant of their intention to buy counterfeit products. Indeed, in this study, the attitude towards counterfeiting will be either positive or negative towards the purchase intention of purchasing counterfeit products. We will test empirically the possible causal link between the attitude of consumers and the purchase intention of counterfeit products. Consumers with a more positive attitude towards counterfeiting are more likely to be inclined to use counterfeit products. Starting from this assumption, the following hypothesis is formulated:

H5: Attitude towards counterfeiting influences purchase intention.

Purchase intention

According to the theory of reasoned action of Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), attitudes influence behaviour through behavioural intentions. This relationship between attitude and intention has been discussed in various marketing and consumer behaviour studies. We will try to transpose this reasoning in order to study the role of the favourable attitude towards counterfeiting in determining consumer’s purchase intention of counterfeit products. Consistent with Fishbein and Ajzen’s (1975) extended attitude model, behavioural intention (in this case, purchase intention of counterfeits) is more related to attitude towards that behaviour, i.e., attitude towards the purchasing counterfeits than to the attitude towards the object itself (the attitude towards the counterfeit). Bergeron (2004), for his part, defines purchase intentions as „the degree of conviction perceived by a consumer to buy (or repurchase) a particular product or service or to do (or redo) business with a particular organization”. We are interested in purchase intentions because they involve the individual and are more predictive of the individual’s future behaviour (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975).

Drawing from the literature review, and after having defined the different concepts related to our research questioning, we propose a measurement model that can explain the consumer’s attitude towards counterfeit products and the factors that influence this attitude in Figure 1 below.

Research Method

The scales of measurement and questionnaire of the study consumers’ attitudes towards counterfeit cosmetics have been conceptualised around 6 variables, 13 constructed (dimensions), and 32 indicators (items) that are operationally defined as follows:

• Attitude towards counterfeiting with four dimensions refers to users of traditionally counterfeit products; additionally, the enthusiasm of consumers for brands of certain categories of products has the result that these become the preferred targets of counterfeiting (Viot et al., 2006).
• Insensitivity to counterfeiting with two dimensions refers to consumer choices between one brand and another, and it can use
  different elements of information to make its decision: such as the colour, appearance, and image of the brand (Mourad, 2014).
• Intention to purchase with three indicators refers to the likelihood that a person uses the same items for a future consumer opportunity (Cronin et al., 2000).
• Attachment to the brand with four indicators refers to work on brand equity and engagement in the field of organisational behaviour
  (Lacoeuilhe, 2000).
• Perceived risk with three dimensions refers to regulations and safety standards for the people who use them and for the environment (Stone & Gronhung, 1993).
• Economic aspect with two dimensions refers to counterfeit cosmetics that are sold at significantly lower prices than the originals and prices that positively influence the likelihood of buying counterfeit cosmetics (Viot et al., 2006).

In order to estimate our model and to verify the hypotheses of this research work, we adopted the structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis with partial least squares (PLS) path modelling. Its ability to model composites and factors makes it a formidable statistical tool for new technology research (Henseler et al., 2016). We can describe the counterfeit attitude and purchase intent as exogenous constructs that are equivalent to latent independent variables. These latent variables are not measurable or directly observable but can be represented through four observed or measured variables. For this, we developed the questionnaire and the selection of items according to study variables.

For our study, the target population consists of young women consumers of cosmetics products of all sociodemographic categories from 18 years to 39 years of age. In our case, we opted for non probability sampling methods. A sample of 250 women was selected by the convenience method for lack of budget. This sample size is amply sufficient since we are using variance-based SEM because the minimum size is determined by 10 times the largest number of formative indicators (04 × 10 = 40) used to measure a single construct (Hair et al., 2013).

The questionnaire was administered face-to-face and online. The survey link was posted on the social network 'Facebook’ and was also e-mailed to a few friends. Additionally, we shared our questionnaire on pages and groups dedicated to women. We aimed to select the responds from locations closer to our target and to cover various Algerian cities including Tlemcen, Algiers, Ain Temouchent, and Oran. Data were collected from 250 consumers, and after eliminating the invalid questionnaires, we had a return of 235 questionnaires (205 face-to-face and 30 online).

We used the SPHINX V5 software to perform descriptive data analysis. Additionally, SPSS V18 and Smart PLS V3 were used in order to determine the dimensions of attitude towards counterfeit cosmetics products.

Results

We present the results of the descriptive analysis, which was conducted by making use of the multiple-choice question format, and which considers the general characteristics of our sample, namely age, salary, and socio professional category. The results of the socio demographic characteristics of the sample revealed that, among the respondents, 58.7% were female students, 24.7% were employees, and 8.1% were in administrative roles. As for their age, 61.3% fell within the 18 years to 24 years; whereas 26% were between 25 years and 29 years old. As far as their income is concerned, 55.7% of the sample had no income, while 20.9% had an income less than 25,000 DA and 19.1% had an income between 26,000 DA and 45,000 DA. Table 1 below represents the sociodemographic characteristics.

Evaluation of the reliability and validity of the measurement model

In the initial model for PLS PM processing, each construct (latent variable) was related to its measurements by a reflective mode. At the beginning, we had 32 items, but after the deleting items with a value less than 0.7, only 29 items were selected.

In the following section, we will present the results of the measurement model (manifest variables – latent variables) and those of the structural model (latent variables between them). The measurement model concerns the reliability and validity tests of the links between the manifest variables and the latent variables. These tests encompass three aspects: the convergent validity, the reliability of the measurements, and the discriminant validity. A first analysis of the model made it possible to assess the convergent validity of the manifest variables by referring to the correlations between the latter and their respective constructs. As distinct from other empirical studies, we applied the strong convergence criteria proposed by Fornell and Lacker (1981). The no-convergent variables are those whose correlation coefficients are lower than 0.7 in absolute value. After removing all the measurement variables that did not meet the convergence conditions, we have re-estimated all measurement and structural relationships. The set of constructs were represented at least by two measures whose convergence were verified. Thus, the attachment (Att) results were represented by manifest variables 'Att1′, 'Att2′, 'Att3′, and 'Att4′. Differentiation (Diff) was represented by two measures: 'Diff1′ and 'Diff2′. The consideration of psychological risk (RisP) was measured using three variables: 'RisP1′, 'RisP2′, and 'RisP3′ (more details about questionnaire items are provided in Appendix).

Reliability provides information on the average of the variance extracted (AVE) by the construct with respect to measurement errors. Two tests were employed: the AVE higher than 50% and the composite reliability 'CR’ greater than 0.7. The results of these two tests are shown in Table 2 which indicate that our latent variables met these criteria confirming the reliability of our measurements.

This measure ensures that the manifest variables are more related to their constructs than to other latent variables. In empirical studies, the comparison is made between the square root of the AVE of the construct in question and the correlations of the latter with the other constructs.

The principle remains the same with regard to the comparison of the AVE with the square of the correlations. The set of discriminant validity measures is presented in Table 3. These results demonstrate the 'independence’ of our latent variables from one another: the discriminant validity is thus verified.

Table 3 shows also good model fit. The Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) below 0.06 and Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) below 0.08 (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Therefore, we conclude that our model accurately represented the data.

The R2 values for the two latent variables are 0.201 and 0.002, respectively. The regression coefficients are indicated on the links (arrows) between the exogenous and endogenous latent variables. Thus, a positive effect is recorded for the construct Economic Aspect on the attitude towards counterfeiting with the coefficient of 0.257; on the other hand, a negative effect is recorded for the built-insensitivity to counterfeiting and perceived risk, with coefficients of –0.232 and –0.148, respectively.

Wetzels et al. (2009) specified Goodness of Fit 'GOF’ criteria to determine if GOF values are unadjusted when GOF is less than 0.1, small when GOF value is between 0.1 and 0.25, medium when GOF value is between 0.25 and 0.36, and large when the GOF is greater than 0.36; for this purpose, we consider it a valid global PLS model. Thus, the formula for calculating GOF is as follows: GOF = √(R² × AVE).

Following the given criteria and the value of the calculated GOF of our model, which is GOF = 0.234, we can conclude that the adjustment quality of the model is small, and is thus enough to be considered as an indication of the overall validity of the PLS model.

The results of the hypothesis tests from the field survey indicate that, subsequent to the application of the Boostrap method concerning
hypothesis H1 (which states that insensitivity to counterfeiting has a significant influence on the attitude towards counterfeiting), the Student’s test is equal to 3.235 > 2, and H1 is accordingly validated. The hypothesis H2 indicates that attachment to the brand has a significant influence on the attitude towards counterfeiting; the Student’s test is equal to 1.035 < 2, and there is thus no influence; accordingly, hypothesis H2 is rejected. H3 represents the position that the economic aspect influences the favourable attitude towards counterfeiting; the Student’s test is equal to 4.097 > 2, and thus there is a significant influence, resultant to which the hypothesis stands validated. The results of the application of the Boostrap method revealed that the Student’s test of H4 is equal to 2.010 > 2; so, the perceived risk influences directly the attitude towards counterfeiting and accordingly this hypothesis is validated. H5 represents the position that the attitude towards counterfeiting has a significant influence on the intention to purchase, and the Student’s test is equal to 0.617 < 2; so, there is no influence, resultant to which hypothesis H5 is rejected. The results for the path coefficients for the hypothesis testing in this study, including standard error and T-values, are shown in Table 4 below.

Discussion of Results

Based on the results of our empirical study, we conclude that through descriptive analysis that the majority of female consumers in our sample fall within the age of 18–24 years and 25–29 years. The frequency of purchasing of cosmetic products among the Algerian consumer varies between monthly and weekly, which proves that Algerian consumers buy cosmetics products to improve self-image and well-being.

Hypothesis H1, which states that insensitivity to counterfeiting has a significant influence on the attitude towards counterfeiting, is thus confirmed. There is a relationship between insensitivity to counterfeiting and the attitude towards counterfeiting. When analysing the results, we found that the consumers are sensitive to counterfeit products, shaping their attitude. However, H2 hypotheses, which suggests that the brand attachment has no influence on the attitude towards counterfeiting is rejected, because it was noticed that whenever the consumer’s degree of attachment towards the original brand rises, their attitude will be negative towards counterfeit products, but this has no direct influence. As for both hypotheses H3 and H4, the economic aspect and the perceived risk have a direct influence on the attitude of the Algerian consumers with regard to counterfeiting, and subsequently these two variables are validated.

Concerning the last hypothesis H5, the attitude towards counterfeiting does not have a direct influence on the purchase intention, that is to say, the purchase decision that will be made by the consumer has no relation to this variable, whereas the consumer who purchases counterfeit products may be an individual harbouring a negative attitude towards counterfeit products, which would nevertheless not override her decision to make a purchase. Accordingly, this hypothesis is rejected.

Conclusion

This research work integrates a conceptual model investigating the determinants of counterfeiting behaviour and its impact on purchase intent, which encompasses insensitivity to counterfeiting, brand attachment, perceived risk (physical, psychosocial, social), and finally the economic aspect. This research allowed us to test the effect of consumer attitudes on the purchase intentions of counterfeit cosmetics. According to the results of our descriptive analysis, it has been shown that the majority of respondents are female students, and that their age varies between 18 years and 24 years. The results of this analysis indicate the high price of original products drive women to buy counterfeit cosmetics.

Therefore, we conclude that two hypotheses are rejected; the attachment to the brand does not influence the attitude towards counterfeiting, and the purchase intention is not influenced by the attitude towards counterfeiting. However, the remaining three hypotheses are confirmed, i.e., insensitivity to counterfeiting directly influences the attitude towards counterfeiting, and the economic aspect and the perceived risk have an influence on the attitude towards counterfeit products. Thus, our analysis showed convincing results and made it possible to meet the research objectives.

This approach allows us to propose relevant managerial implications particularly for product and brand management would effectively fight against counterfeiting. At the managerial level, the results of the present research are pertinent to the original brand companies. Indeed, the results obtained make it possible to ascertain the factors and motivations that push the consumers to buy the counterfeit products instead of the original ones so they will be more cautious in their strategic and operational choices. Our research explores the brakes and motivations of women consumers to purchase counterfeit products. For both governments and businesses, it is crucial to redirect consumers from the purchasing counterfeit products. Personal determinants such as social risk, physical risk, or doubts about the origin of the products seem to be effective strategies to fight against the purchase of counterfeits. At the theoretical level, the present work makes it possible to well define the concept of the counterfeit, consumers’ motivations, as well as factors influencing the attitude of the consumer towards the counterfeiting of such products. Additionally, our research is an attempt to contribute to a recent literature. We have proposed a model that illustrates the different determinants and the effect of consumer attitudes towards counterfeiting. These results can be used to fight against counterfeiting more effectively.

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Appendix

Homogenisation of customer experiences across channels has been implemented for a while and aims to adopt the available technologies for the needs and requirements of customers, especially in real and virtual channels (Lazaris & Vrechopoulos, 2014; Santalova, Lesnikova, Kustov, Balahanova, & Nechaeva, 2019). Research related to omnichannel is positioned in a stream of customer and offer behaviours (Li et al., 2018; Lafkihi, Pan, & Ballot, 2019), similar to that of offerers only (Rigby, 2011; Brynjolfsson, Hu, & Rahman, 2013; Grewal, Roggeveen, & Nordfält, 2016; Lim, Rabinovich, Rogers, & Lester, 2016; Wiener, Hoßbach, & Saunders, 2018).

Omnichannel solutions were initially used in commerce to extend previously implemented multichannel options. It is pointed out that omnichannel experiences have been developed for over a decade. In this concept, offerors guarantee the customer’s ability to order and take the commodity in all the channels (Taylor, Brockhaus, Knemeyer, & Murphy, 2019). Sometimes, it is also said that based on the preferences in terms of all channel usage, the typologies of customers are built, and they show the omnichannel customers separately (Lazaris & Vrechopoulos, 2014; Gregor & Gotwald-Feja, 2018). Omnichannel is sometimes also treated as a path to deliver customer value, which became crucial during the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. On average, one in three American citizens used omnichannel solutions (such as shopping online and stationary collection) during the pandemic, and two in three-plan to continue this form of transaction fulfilment (Briedis, Gregg, Heidenreich, & Liu, 2021). The research, published in the 'Voice of the Retail Industry Survey’ conducted in July 2020, shows that the pandemic forced sellers to treat entering the omnichannel as their top priority (Bourlier, 2020). At the same time, it is challenging to state to what extent omnichannel solutions will be implemented and what factors can influence their further functioning.

Identifying processes and phenomena happening in an omnichannel environment in the past 3 years (2020-2022) is difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which appeared at the beginning of 2020. On a global scale, until Sep. 13, 2022, around 610 million people got ill due to the coronavirus, and over 6.5 million died (WorldoMeter, 2022). Apart from the health condition of humankind, the results of the pandemic were reflected in the worsening economic situation of specific countries, the massive growth of unemployment (in 2020 alone, over 225 million regular posts vanished), further increase in the number of people struggling with extreme poverty, increase in public debt, decrease in investments (in Europe and North America for 42%), and a significant growth in the prices of commodities and services (United Nations, 2020). The other type of consequences is visible in the popularity of remote work, the decrease in working hours (Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities, 2020) and the popularisation of online tools in building the employees’ brand (Sobocińska, 2022). At the same time, the worsening of the current and future economic situation perception of households (Biga et al., 2020) will significantly influence the fulfilment of customer needs. Research shows that entrepreneurs were not prepared to implement omnichannel and multichannel solutions forced by the pandemic (Acquila-Natale, ChaparroPelaez, Del-Rio-Carazo, & Cuenca-Enrique, 2022; Gerea & Herskovic, 2022; Gutierrez-Leefmans, 2022).

The COVID-19 pandemic also influenced customer attitudes and market behaviours (Kucharska & Malinowska, 2021; Liu, Fang, Cai, Su, & Wang, 2022; Mącik & Mącik, 2022). The forced implementation of solutions decreased the probability of being infected by the virus. It was reflected in the changes in needs satisfaction (social distance, purchases in the real world with many limitations, and the necessity to purchase certain goods online). The ways to make orders also changed. Significant changes in offerors’ suppliers accompanied all these behaviours, mainly in the tools used by companies in relations with customers (Peppers & Rogers 2022). These processes relate to virtualisation and the need to unify customer experiences in different channels (or guarantee their equivalence and substitutional character), which was mentioned earlier. Customer behaviours seem to gravitate towards omnichannel or (which is surprising in terms of the earlier research results; Gotwald-Feja, 2016)-toward the domination of online channels (Naragon, 2022).

In this paper, we have analysed texts published in the professional online journals, Total Retail and Multichannel Merchant. We selected papers which appeared in search results related to the 'omnichannel’ keyword, published between March and September 2020 and in 2022 (until June). There were 134 papers from Total Retail and 172 documents from Multichannel Merchant. The literature review method was used, and it aimed to identify the phenomena and processes related to the omnichannel environment and their evaluation. As a consequence of the research goal, detailed questions were stated regarding customers’ needs and experiences, changes in terms of product delivery and usage of technologies by enterprises. The papers mainly reflect the pandemic challenges, covering the challenges regarding satisfaction of customers’ needs in the virtual and real world in parallel (Stabler, 2020). The changes and tendencies which were noticed are described below more in the issue order, not necessarily chronologically.

The Method

In this paper, the qualitative attitude was used. Regarding social sciences, the literature review is usually based on scientific sources (Czakon, 2011; Lenart-Gansiniec, 2021). In terms of omnichannel, the implementation of new solutions and theoretical analysis is made faster in professional journals, and not scientific journals; therefore we have focused on the former, applying the rigours of a systematic literature review. We selected the journals devoted to multichannel and commerce because, in this case, the implementation of omnichannel solutions was advised at the earliest. The journals were one of those that were the first ones to describe omnichannel. All the texts presented in the search results after typing the keyword 'omnichannel’ in Total Retail and Multichannel Merchant were analysed. There were two periods for analysis: at the beginning of the pandemic (58 and 23 papers) and during the pandemic (76 and 149 articles). If the issue discussed in a paper was previously described in an earlier publication, quoted and analysed, we desisted from presenting the same content again. Based on the research results, we made an overview of the phenomena and processes related to the omnichannel environment. Then the results were combined with the scientific research results published in peer-reviewed journals, indexed in SCOPUS database.

Results

The importance of consumer experience personalisation is growing steadily. It is, therefore, vital to enable users to build an experience almost a’la carte, which is difficult for sizeable online commerce chains. For this reason, the importance of small and flexible players is crucial to adapt to clients’ needs and preferences (Stabler, 2020). At the same time, it is noted that customer contact should be meaningful. This excludes short and brief business relationships and emphasises (mainly through CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and Artificial Intelligence [AI] systems) a more profound experience through a better understanding of each customer. The dynamic approach to the customer is also a factor that significantly affects the total satisfaction and perception of the brand and the marketing materials it provides (Estas, 2020; Garber, 2020).

Stein Mart implemented (in March) the solutions to enrich customer experience in online purchases and collection in a standard shop, Buy Online, Pick-Up In-Store (BOPIS). It aimed at the personalisation of customer experience in every brand touchpoint. BOPIS is often equated with the technology of implementing a 'button’, which calls for assistance and alarming the employee that a customer wants to collect the package. In this way, the carrier can invite the customer with their first name, offer promotional goods (finally enhancing the total value of the client’s cart) and deliver it in the shortest possible time (Schebella, 2020; Sackos, 2022). During the pandemic, new models of delivery (services) appeared, and they are still available. Among others, they are Research online, purchase instore (ROPIS) and Buy online, return in-store (BORIS) (Balytsky, 2022). Even if the first one was known in the literature as Research online, purchase offline (ROPO) (Gregor & Gotwald-Feja, 2017), the concept was popularised during the pandemic for apparent reasons. Additionally, the customer is not switching the offeror, which might be a significant change compared with the ROPO effect. The purchase is finished in-store to shorten the waiting time for a product. New products were used in the model (e.g. the groceries offered by supermarkets). It resonates with Neslin’s (2022) model, which presents various strategies and stages of the customer’s decision-making process.

Feng, Zhang, Feng and Zhu (2022) propose a model which relates to the cost of visiting the store in omnichannel, using the BOPS effect. The authors state that allowing customers to complete online shopping with the traditional visit to the store is one of the strategies for the omnichannel presence of the company. However, they point out that the strategy implies many challenges related to price management and store visiting cost relationships.

Feeney (2022) states that the attitude towards POS (Point of Sales) must change (Nguyen & Borusiak, 2021). Currently, it is impossible to implement a single technology for 5–10 years. It is inevitable to adapt it to the needs of customers and their preferences, including using new technologies like AI, personalised advertising or acceptance of various payment methods (Pero 2022). It is essential to guarantee the maximum comfort for the user. Implementation of the 'additional brain’ in store, which will interpret inventory, scan shelves and all the data from the point of sales, and forecast the demand, becomes necessary if one wants to keep a competitive advantage in the omnichannel environment. 'Data is retail’s secret weapon to reduce costs, improve labour reliability and consistency, and access operational insights’ (Baylin, 2022). Inventory automation frees the labour, which can focus on customer service (Thielens, 2022).

However, the changes happening in brick-and-mortar stores are not only related to inventory management (Haggerty 2020) or the shop’s 'interface’. Due to the changes in customer expectations regarding technology usage, it is crucial to implement the so-called 'experiential retail’. It is essential for omnichannel customers who need stretching of fluent, sage and exciting user experience from the virtual to the real world (Barnes, 2022). An example of such a solution can be an ACI Smart Engage. This mobile platform offers the sellers a chance to present their offer directly on a customer’s smartphone, using geolocation, voice commerce and the technology of picture recognition (ACI Worldwide, 2022).

Technological changes are related to the possibilities granted by socalled 'headless e-commerce’. Implementation of solutions which divide the front-end and back-end of shopping portals allows the potential for easy and fast reaction to changes in customer surrounding and lets the seller become independent from one technology provider for the whole store. It results in smoother interactions with the website for customers and helps in easier adaptation to the sellers’ and clients’ expectations. Headless e-commerce is often joined with the term 'MACH’ (meaning: Microservices, API-First, Cloud-Native and Headless). So the attitude is stretching and covering the implementation of small and independent solutions in one full service. To be successful in online commerce, employees who adapt fast and are open to change are crucial (Broke, 2022). A total of 8 in 10 US citizens agree that during the COVID-19 pandemic, unnecessary movement must be reduced, and 6 in 10 support telephone contact with physicians, banks and pharmacies. At the same time, research proves that two-thirds of clients, regardless of age group, prefer online shopping and pick-up in-store (Wethered, 2020). Clients require adjusting their preferences regarding the product and delivery (Panzer, 2020; Cocco & De Juan-Vigaray, 2022 ). Some brands also develop the concept of adaptation to customer needs through returns collection (to reduce the purchasing risks) (Freedman, 2022). It is, however, challenging for target groups of different ages to differ significantly in terms of the products in the cart and the application’s interface (Bergman, 2020). For example, many suppliers do not use the offered changes by providing voice shopping. Only 15% of contact centre leaders plan to implement that solution (Abeysena, 2022).

It is inevitable to extend and change the customer experience towards using the shop’s floors (especially in terms of big retail chains) instead as a place for meetings rather than pure commerce. Concerning the need for personalisation, a transition towards direct to customer (D2C), like in the local stores (Stabler, 2020), can be implemented, especially since customers support the solution. Almost half of the customers (55%) more eagerly buy directly from brands which result in a reduction of the distribution network costs and allow financial optimisation (Panzer, 2020). Implementation of these solutions supports omnichannel customers who, 30% more often than other customer groups, buy coffee in the shop’s café or pick up medicine in the shop’s pharmacy during regular shopping. The role of minimally distractor factors is important not only to implement omnichannel solutions but to be an omnichannel (Birnbaum, 2020).

Extension of customer experience is in line with its optimisation, and AI can be of assistance with implementing real-time data analytics (RTDA) or Application Performance Monitoring (APM) analysing the most important application’s parameters (Long, 2020). Enterprises must, however, cope with not only gathering or sorting the data but with efficient usage of the information derived from the data (Seify, 2022).

In relation to customer experience, the growth of augmented reality (AR) and virtual (VR) reality’s role is noticeable in terms of testing the product before purchasing and-using it instead of purchasing (Maddimsetty 2022). The development of 5G networks and usage of their abilities (faster Internet connection, more devices, etc.) will accelerate the process (Stabler, 2020). Openness for AR/VR can raise the conviction that enterprises should get involved in the Metaverse (announced by Mark Zuckerberg) because those entities which 20 years ago did not decide to enter the online world had lost the market opportunity (Ryan, 2022). The potential to enter the hybrid world is related to all the organisations, and it was initially tested during Metaverse Fashion Week. It was proved that there is a possibility to find a balance between the usage of the virtual world and immersion comparable to that in the real world. Among others, this is the reason why organisations should prepare strategies for entering Metaverse (even if only in a scenario model) (Moreti, 2022). As an example of engagement in hybrid environments, we can present the cooperation of Mattel and Forever21 brands, thanks to which Metaverse users can buy clothing, accessories and equipment inspired by the Barbie world (Albiges, 2022). The quality of the Internet connection is still a challenge and, in many cases, will be a barrier to entering the full usage of the hybrid world (Norton, 2022).

The role of the speed of page loading (Pilarczyk & Rogala, 2018) and the development of Progressive Web Applications (PWAs) is growing to shorten the customer journey (Cardarella, 2020). The processes of omnichannel development involve all the enterprises which take attempt to implement seamless commerce. They face the challenges of implementing changes in an evolutionary, not revolutionary, way to compete successfully with others. Jaszczyk (2022) recommends them a few priorities:

• The clients have to be positioned in the first place, and technological plans should be adjusted to their needs, regardless of the plans for the solution’s implementation and its timing;
• The companies should invest only in good technologies because their implementation can improve the financial results of the company (savings from customer service), but additionally, it creates the potential to implement a higher level of customer purchasing experience personalisation;
• Implementation of innovations related to the online ecosystem of customer experience should be considered;
• The technological plans have to be related to complex business strategies.

Customer preferences towards delivery have also changed. Clients using the service, for example, the delivery on the day of order offered by UPS (O’Brien, 2022) or Amazon, in the majority of cases, accept a 2- or 3-day period to wait for the delivery of an ordered product. For that reason, companies are forced to use the newest technologies for order completion or use historical data to accurately forecast the demand. It is also challenging to guarantee the resilience of supply chains in terms of the unpredictable business environment (Dagan, 2022). The character of the relationship with suppliers, directed at the agility of the organisation, seems to be inevitable (Garber, 2020). The problem’s role grew due to the pandemic. The necessity to maintain close and positive relations with suppliers (also the local ones) becomes crucial for maintaining the quality and scope of services, implementing new solutions, improving enterprise performance and improving its flexibility (Agile, Lean) (Barnes, 2020).

Acquisition of a good supplier becomes challenging and new solutions are there to help. For example, Extensiv offers the brands the possibility to use the suppliers’ search (Extensiv, 2022).

Implementation of omnichannel solutions can require additional resources, so the limitation of costs with unaffected product quality is crucial, especially during COVID-19. During that period, curbside delivery develops. The package is delivered in front of the house, but the client is responsible for further logistics (e.g. collecting and taking it to his or her flat). Such delivery limits the time for delivery, allows serving more customers and can be contactless (Barnes, 2020) and, for that reason-safer.

The pick-up window, fast packages (having the basic groceries, prepared to pick them up in-store and have no contact with others) or 'dock and load’ (putting the order which was previously bought and paid for directly to customers car parked in front of the store) are other examples of the delivery innovations (Osburn, 2020). The usage of drones for product delivery is another issue. Walmart can serve as an example, as it covers 4 million households with drone delivery (Keenan, 2022), experiencing an increase of online sales of 99% compared between March 2019 and 2020 (Rosenstrauch, 2020). Some companies noticed the change in the usage of robots or autonomic cars in delivery, especially at the last stage of order fulfilment (Sackos, 2022). Some of those and the other solutions would not have even been considered before COVID-19. Metzker (2022) believes that brick-and-mortar shops can have a significant competitive advantage due to the broad network of selling points and their distributed retail chains. This way, the concept of instant delivery can become real. Black (2022) states that in that situation, omnichannel from the customer’s perspective is the chance to fulfil the shopping in an optimal way, and for that reason, traditional retail chains with a broad potential for delivery become efficient in the omnichannel world. In this way, the shops can easily manage returns which are far more challenging for virtual entities. This is why the latter need to consider reverse delivery or building partnerships with specialised organisations which handle not only complaints and returns but also will use the economy of scale (Huddle, 2022).

Limitations and avoidance of contact (Akers, 2020) are in line with the trends of self-service purchasing or product scanning and putting products to the cart at the same time as payment in the cashier, optimal, self-service ones (Barnes, 2020). The solution, which was not that long ago developed only to shorten the service time for customers, becomes an element in improving the safety of people. The role of robots and cobots (collaborative robots) (Barnes, 2020) is similar since they were designed for order processing and direct interaction with humans. Lack of contact limits the chance for infection, and the humanoid shape of cobots allows for building a good relationship with the customer. In terms of delivery, the acceleration of processes aimed at financial optimisation (decrease in employment, automation and robotisation) is noticed, but it is motivated not only due to financial issues but mainly by the requirements of customers and the current situation. The expectations of customers relate to something far more significant than just virtualisation. They cover the need of the possibility to fulfil purchasing processes on entertainment and social platforms. It is especially related to Generation Z, which is far more familiarised with technologies than the Y Generation and the chance for smooth service and fast delivery is a basic condition, not a 'premium’
feature (Hook, 2022). Shopping on social networks gets more popular, and the value of transactions in 2021 in the so-called social commerce was US$958 billion (Morris, 2022). Social media are not enough for solving conversions known from shops (although some platforms are working in that direction). For that reason, a part of brands prefer, for example, the organisation of live events on their websites instead of on social networking sites (Holland, 2022). It can be caused by the fact that brands treat social media rather as a tool for promotion, reaching customers and building loyalty, and not conversion itself (Champion, 2022).

The role of inventory management grows due to the necessity to focus on one channel during COVID-19 frees some resources and allows the job of ordering the systems for multiple locations. Hogue (2020) states that such actions will be crucial when customers come back from lockdown to their natural omnichannel preferences. In that context, the popularisation of electronic payments is essential (Eichinger, 2020) since they do not require a presence of a seller and they allow full self-service automation. The functioning of shops can also change. Enterprises need to choose whether to focus their attention on delivering customers a complex service (at the expense of the back-office processes) or allow instant delivery due to shrinking the shop area (and extension of the warehouse facility) (Kroner, 2022).

At the same time, the problems with the labour force became a challenge (Feeney, 2022). The solution to this problem can be greater involvement of technologies. The need to virtualise the job influenced not only the development of employees’ competencies in e-commerce but also forced the absorption of new behavioural patterns of customers. For that reason, the presence of a seller in the shop is not required to make customers feel satisfied. However, online services in the form of video conversations started to be required by clients (Hordagoda, 2022). The reason could be to balance the previous absence of the seller.

The need for clients’ online safety (Ronhaar, Zehner, & Langhorne, 2021) is essential due to the growth of intensity of criminal behaviours aimed at capturing transactions, payments or private data (Benge, 2020). An increase in the number and value of online transactions can determine the growth of interest in this field by criminal groups. Not only the data stealing and its usage not in accordance with the intended purpose, it might also be dangerous. Inappropriate usage of data by enterprises themselves is punishable, and for that reason, it is suggested to hire experts in private data protection or network safety (Joshi, 2022). Suppliers are forced to ensure certificates of safety for websites and their identities online because such investments can be translated into customer trust (Palanisamy, 2022). Similarly, it is important to provide similar safety measures to the company, especially while the popularity of online payment grows (Laudenbach, 2022). It is also visible in the model buy now, pay later (BNPL), where the customer finalises purchasing at the point of sales, but the payment is postponed or divided into instalments without the need to use a debit card or classical procedure for consumer credit (Ryan, 2022, Martin 2022). It is forecasted that the value of the market shall grow from US$ 15.91 billion in 2021 (globally) to US$ 22.86 billion in 2022 and US$ 90.51 billion in 2029 (Fortune Business Insights, 2022).

The change in the efficiency of action evaluation is also visible. Initially, marketers measured the efficiency of mailing with the number of opened and read e-mails. Currently, the attention is transferred to qualitative factors related to customer engagement (Sargeant, 2022).

The element which allows further virtualisation is the implementation of solutions of AI (Mcglynn, 2020). It is a crucial trend from the perspective of AI operational efficiency. Research suggests that 35% of customer purchases on Amazon come from recommendations stimulated by AI, and by the end of 2023, the commerce plans to invest in this area US$ 12 billion, which is a growth of 230% while comparing with the year 2019 (Mcglynn, 2020).

Sustainable commerce becomes very important, especially in relation to the declarations of the retail chains to implement sustainable fabrics (ZARAvir), zero carbon footprint (H&M), and growth of the value of the second-hand clothing market (from US$ 24 billion currently, the value can reach US$ 51 billion in 2023) (Stabler, 2020). Although the issue was not much visible due to urgent challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears again due to the periodical ease of the health problems. It seems that sustainable commerce, from a classical perception of the issue, covering the balance between technological, social, economic and environmental issues becomes visible in a different manner. It can be seen in ’empathising commerce’ (Akers, 2020) and customer and employee voluntary service (e.g. free product delivery for elderly people during pandemics) or virtualisation of some goods (like offering access to online events for easing social distancing while still participating in culture). Wilson (2022) noticed that the sustainable attitude of business should be derived directly from the mission of the organisation. 'Purpose-driven marketing becomes a buzzword like the omnichannel itself’. Almost all the customers (94% of respondents) declare that they value purpose-driven companies, regardless of their ambitions to create a metaverse or to meet sustainability goals. For this reason, the communication of goals by companies should be clear at the levels of strategy, key values and brand message (Wilson, 2022).

McGovern (2020) writes about the 'new normality’ caused by the coronavirus. The 'commerce apocalypse’, which was experienced by the economies of all countries, can be described by the virtualisation and transition from omnichannel to single-channel (online). The structure of employment in marketing and logistics has changed, similarly as automation of advertising material creation is noticed, and the institutions teaching marketers try to adjust to the new reality by adapting the teaching programmes. The relations with other humans in a shopping situation in shops are pushed to the background (especially for Z Generation), but the usage of fast online service becomes crucial (even within 8 s, with the usage of a chatbot to answer customer queries). The author also states that the 'new normality’ does not wait till the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

Sularia (2020) additionally noticed that COVID-19 has caused many changes related to not only the new consumption models or the say in how retail chains operate. Among others, distant work is stimulating online shopping. Other changes in terms of organisation actions are the attitude 'digital first’, efficient inventory management as a key for achieving profitability, and 'cost-less customers’ online appearance (who buy online because they have no other option). In Sularia’s (2020) perception, logistics will be the element of competitive advantage building, which is stimulated by the growing popularity of distributed production. It is symptomatic that the ready-made solutions to be implemented in e-commerce appear (in a model 'plug and play’), and online shopping will naturally become a vital part of the customer journey (Rosenstrauch, 2020). Implementation of the solutions which support better functioning of the applications (Birnboim 2022) (or websites) and delivering customers the best product possible is caused by the necessity to transfer the majority of customers online. It is hard to say what we can say about the disappearance of omnichannel towards single-channel, because multi-screening still gains popularity. Customers prefer solutions of that sort because they give more possibilities (Stotz, 2020). Assuming usage of a television set, personal computer and smartphone (or tablet)-three channels are already used. Even if the content is not complementary and related to different brands, it is opposed to a single-channel idea.¹

On the other hand, Smythe (2022) noticed that the implementation of a customer-centric approach is significant, and the level of omnichannel integration needs to be determined by the needs of customers. In his opinion, such attitudes allow companies to increase ROI (Retur on Investment). So if customers prefer online channels, maybe optimisation should be applied here (reducing the usage and the role of the other ones).

Discussion

The phenomena described above seem to be the background for omnichannel environment development. Although the matters presented are related mainly to the issues caused by the pandemic, some of them were visible earlier (although their role was smaller). An example might be the necessity of paying attention to customer experience (Schmitt, 2015). Headless e-commerce, PWA, changes in relations with suppliers and employee or service optimisation are problems which touch business in general, not only in terms of an omnichannel environment. However, we must agree that the implementation of omnichannel in the enterprise makes those issues more important than in multichannel or single-channel reality (especially while considering the entities operating in e-commerce only). Some novelty might be the need for less direct contact with the other person (seller); however, while we compare it with earlier research results (Kowalczyk, 2006), the issue appeared far earlier than the pandemic. The need for social distancing implementation just made those challenges more visible than ever before.

We can also agree that the ability to complete the purchasing process in social networks and the change in their role is significantly determined by the pandemic. Although social commerce was analysed earlier (Turnbaum & Strauss & Lai), the necessity for transferring social and emotional activity to social networking sites and the appearance of the digital natives’ generation (or the Alfa Generation) caused the acceleration in the changes.

It can also be said that the most significant challenge is an attempt to diagnose the future directions for omnichannel environment development. One of the key factors influencing the potential forecast is the further development of the Metaverse. Mark Zuckerberg’s proposition is highly interesting for offerors and clients, among others, for the deep immersion offered by AR. Yet, it is hard to predict whether Metaverse will replace omnichannel or, rather, will become a part of it. Maybe in the future, we will speak about the single channel in terms of AR application. It is also hard to state whether and which actions taken by organisations were caused by COVID-19. Initiation of works on the implementation of virtual solutions was visible far earlier, and it can be rather related to technological advancement and the digital economy (Gregor & Gotwald-Feja, 2017; Kucharska, 2020). It is also difficult to answer which phenomena have the potential to become trends and a constant element of the economic landscape. Determinants for this can be high dynamics of technological advancement, social trends or the natural tendency of humans to gain comfort (at the expense of development or change) (Young, 2022).

Summary

The analysed issue seems to complete the requirements of novelty, especially in relation to the intensity of the changes (compared with earlier years). Although it is a serious limitation that the attention was focused only on two professional online journals, the number of over 300 analysed papers concerning omnichannel addressed mainly to enterprises which implement them can be of a certain value. The development of omnichannel activities can be related to a significant development of customer experience (in relation to the customer journey and available channels, including VR, AR and voice commerce) and its personalisation. It is also noticeable that the spectre of delivery methods has developed significantly, including dock and load or instant delivery. Changes in the intensity of omnichannel solutions usage by customers force a more frequent update of solutions implemented in brick-and-mortar stores (POS technology), used to manage inventory or concepts like Metaverse, headless e-commerce and PWA. The pandemic forced the development of contactless shopping, and Żabka or Amazon kept the solutions. It is worth noticing that sustainable commerce and transparency are important regardless of the pandemic stage.

Some pay attention to the fact that we are facing the 'new normality’ (McGovern, 2020), where people have adjusted to the surrounding threats caused by the deadly virus and have implemented new patterns of behaviours which can be a standard in the future. The source of these challenges is the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we need to ask ourselves if the so-called 'new normality’ is really caused by the appearance of the virus, lockdowns and their consequences or, rather, regardless of it. This question can be an inspiration for further research in terms of the meaning of factors stimulating technology implementation, omnichannel commerce and the omnichannel environment. The research that we conducted allows showing a few problem areas related to omnichannel (which stands in line with the results of Salvietti, Ziliani, Teller, Ieva, and Ranfagni’s research [2022]). The first group of problems is the customer behaviours of clients, including the fulfilment of customer journeys and preferences towards specific channels or omnichannel customer experience (Omnichannel-CX). Furthermore, the supply side of the market requires attention, including usage of new technologies (such as real-time research solutions, AR and the Internet of Things), human resources management or the risk of channel cannibalisation. The omnichannel strategies (in terms of creation and implementation) of companies require in-depth studies, especially after the pandemic eases and also require research attention.

Endnotes

1 The problem with introducing that issue is related to the fact that different authors treat the internet as one channel, eliminating the mobile channel as a separate one. On the basis of this, multi- or omnichannel appeared more rarely. See B. Gotwald-Feja, Konsument w realiach omnichannel, SIZ, Łódź 2015.

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According to Fullerton and Punj (1998), customer misbehaviour is a paradox of contemporary consumer culture manifested in the fact that its positive features trigger negative ones. Customer misbehaviour has become an intrinsic part of contemporary consumer behaviour and is sustained by the same factors that define the essence of consumer culture. This indicates that inappropriate customer behaviour is a result of the inadvertent stimulation of consumption ideologies by the marketing activities of companies (Fullerton and Punj, 2004).

Disapproved customer behaviour is known by various terminology in the literature, such as Jaycustomers, Aberrant consumer behaviour, Consumer misbehaviour, Deviant consumer behaviour, Opportunistic consumer behaviour, Unethical consumer behaviour), Customer dysfunctional behaviour or Pathological consumer behaviour (Smyczek, Grybś-Kabocik, Matysiewicz, & Tetla, 2017). A review of their definition reveals that the authors highlight different aspects of such behaviour and use issues related to ethics, pathology or deviancy of clients in their definitions (Smyczek et al., 2017). A survey of the definitions of the terms indicated makes it possible to conclude that there are no fundamental differences between the perceptions of such behaviour, and the nomenclature proposed can be regarded as similar and complementary (Błoński, 2021). For the purposes of this article, the author adopts the name dysfunctional customer behaviour as a neutral term compared with those mentioned above (Harris & Reynolds, 2003). Fisk et al. (2010), based on past research findings, have identified various categories of such behaviour. In addition to theft, vandalism or verbal abuse, they point out that such actions may have diverse motives (financial and non-financial), may be impulsive or planned, of varying frequency, as well as overt or covert in nature (Fisk et al., 2010, p. 420).

The aim of this article is to identify, based on publications in the field of 'dysfunctional customer behaviour’, the most frequently cited objects that are important to the researchers citing them, as well as to introduce the topics and their relationships that represent the conceptual space of 'dysfunctional customer behaviour’. The indicated objective will be realised on the basis of selected bibliometric analyses. The selected analyses (citation analysis, co-citation analysis and word co-occurrence analysis) are performed on the basis of data obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus¹ databases.

Bibliometric Analysis

Bibliometric analysis consists of the use of various data relating to scientific publications and the citations given in these publications, to assess the performance of scientific activity and observe the development of science. Appropriately conducted bibliometric research makes it possible to obtain a comprehensive overview; identify gaps in knowledge; find new ideas for research and locate one’s intended contribution to a particular field (Donthu, Kumar, Mukherjee, Pandey, & Lim, 2021, p. 285). The bibliometric analysis procedure can be structured as follows (Donthu et al., 2021, p. 291):

1. Defining the objectives and scope of the bibliometric research;
2. Selection of bibliometric analysis techniques;
3. Collection of data for bibliometric analysis;
4. Carrying out a bibliometric analysis and presenting the results.

Among the techniques available, distinction can be made between review, evaluation and relational bibliometric analysis techniques. Review techniques include structured literature reviews and meta-analyses oriented towards generating knowledge through frequency analysis. Evaluative techniques can be used to identify qualitative and quantitative indicators of research and to compare the scientific contributions of other researchers. They also allow identification of the number of items published or the number of citations of individual publications, authors and journals. Relational techniques examine the relationships between data found in publications, for example, topics, methods, co-authorship. Among the relational techniques are analysis of co-citation, co-occurrence of words, co-authorship of publications, bibliographic links, clustering of co-citations or direct citations (Lenart-Gansiniec, 2021, pp. 174–175).

Most bibliometric research publications include an analysis of citations in a given research area. It is presented in the form of the most frequently cited studies, authors or journals in the area under study. This approach is based on the fact that citations are used to determine impact-if an article is frequently cited, it is considered important. This thesis is based on the assumption that authors cite papers that they consider important to their work (Zupic & Cater, 2015). Citations also reflect the degree of knowledge transfer and dissemination by other authors, representing other scientific centres (Ejdys, 2016). Citation analysis can provide information on the relative impact of publications; however, at the same time its downside is that it cannot identify networks of interconnections between scientists (Usdiken & Pasadeos, 1995).

Co-citation analysis allows the use of a number of co-citations to construct measures of similarity between documents, authors or journals. Co-citation is defined as the frequency with which two entities are cited together. The basic premise of co-citation analysis is that the more times two objects are cited together, the more likely their content is related. Depending on the unit, analysis can be carried out on co-citation of documents, authors or journals. It should be noted that co-citation is a dynamic measure. This is because the publication process is time-consuming, so the result of a co-citation analysis reflects the state of the field at a given point in the preparation of the publication, and not necessarily what it looks like at the time of analysis (Zupic & Cater, 2015).

Co-word analysis (Callon, Courtial, Turner, & Bauin, 1983) is a content analysis technique that uses words in documents to establish relationships and build a conceptual structure within a particular domain. The idea behind this method is that if words frequently co-occur in documents, it indicates that the concepts behind the words are closely related. This is a method that relies on the actual content of documents to construct a measure of similarity, while others link documents indirectly through citations or co-authorship. The analysis can be carried out at the level of various elements (areas) of the text: titles, abstracts, keywords, the actual text of the publication or on the basis of various combinations of these elements. The result of the analysis is a network of topics and their relationships, which represent the conceptual space of the domain.

The indicated analyses will be performed using the VOSviewer program (version 1.6.17), whose authors are Nees Jan van Eck and Ludo Waltman. The program is based on the visualisation of similarities (VOS) technique, where similarity between objects is used for visualisation (similar objects are located close to each other, and less similar objects are located away from each other) (van Eck & Waltman, 2007). The results of the analysis are presented in the form of a network, where each node represents an individual unit (e.g., article, author, country, institution, keyword, journal), whereby:

1. the size of the node indicates the occurrence of the unit (e.g., the number of times the keyword occurs);
2. the link between nodes represents co-occurrence between the units (e.g., keywords that co-occur or occur together);
3. the link thickness signals the occurrence of co-occurrence between the units (the number of times that, e.g. keywords co-occur or occur together)-the thicker the link between nodes, the more frequent the occurrence of co-occurrence;
4. the larger the node, the more frequent the occurrence of a given unit, e.g. a keyword;
5. and where each colour represents a topic cluster, where the nodes and links in that cluster can be used to explain the coverage of the topic (cluster) with topics (nodes) and relationships (links) between topics (nodes) manifested within that topic (cluster).

Results of Analyses

A total of 177 publications were identified based on searches on the WoS and Scopus databases. Seventy-seven publications in the WoS database and 100 publications in the Scopus database were identified (a detailed distribution of the number of publications by year is presented in Figure 1). In the next step, the two obtained collections were merged, verified and compared. Thanks to this, it was checked for repeated records. In the end, 74 publications in this field were obtained and analysed. The size of the publications collection is lower than that indicated in the literature². However, due to the niche nature of the topic under analysis and the associated number of publications, it can be assumed that the indicated collection size should be sufficient to analyse issues related to the citation and co-occurrence of words.

The analysis performed made it possible to distinguish the most frequently cited publications and thus the relative importance of a given article in the analysed area (see Figure 2 for details). These are as follows:

• Harris, L.C., & Reynolds, K.L. (2003). The Consequences of Dysfunctional Customer Behavior.
• Harris, L.C., & Reynolds, K.L. (2004). Jaycustomer behavior: An exploration of types and motives in the hospitality industry.
• Fullerton, R.A., & Punj, G. (2004). Repercussions of promoting an ideology of consumption: Consumer misbehavior.
• Albers-Miller, N.D. (1999). Consumer misbehavior: Why people buy illicit goods.

The first publication mentioned (Harris & Reynolds, 2003) provides a breakdown and description of the consequences borne by employees in direct contact with dysfunctional customers. The authors distinguished four sets of such consequences:

1. Long-term psychological;
2. Short-term emotional;
3. Behavioural;
4. Physical effects.

In the second publication, the same authors (Harris & Reynolds, 2004) focused on the motives of dysfunctional behaviour (financial or nonfinancial) and the actions taken by dysfunctional customers (overt or covert) which made it possible to create a typology of customer groups. These include Compensation letter writers; Undesirable customers; Property abusers; Service workers; Vindictive customers; Oral abusers; Physical abusers; and Sexual predators. The third most frequently cited position is Fullerton and Punj (2004). In this article, the authors presented a classification of bad customer behaviour. They distinguished the following behaviours:

1. Consumer misbehaviour directed against a marketer’s employees;
2. Consumer misbehaviour directed against other consumers in the exchange setting;
3. Consumer misbehaviour directed against a marketer’s merchandise and services;
4. Consumer misbehavior directed against a marketer’s financial assets;
5. Consumer misbehaviour directed against a marketer’s physical or electronic premises.

The last article (Albers-Miller, 1999), contains the results of a study on the reasons for consumers’ voluntary purchases of products that are stolen, contraband or counterfeit. The results of the study allowed the authors to conclude as follows:

• Some respondents are able to rationalise the decision to buy illegally;
• Some respondents treated counterfeit goods indiscriminately; others were strongly inclined to buy stolen products;
• Those not inclined to engage in illegal behaviour were discouraged by the level of perceived risk;
• Those inclined to engage in illegal behaviour were less willing to purchase when fear of criminal reprisals increased for the specific type of illegal behaviour they were considering.

If during the citation analysis, in addition to the year of citing publication, we include the year of the cited publication, it will enable us to determine the changing position of individual articles over time. The indicated items were mainly cited in the first decade of the 21st century, now there are more and more items published in the second decade of this century. In addition, analysis of the citation age reveals the time it takes for publications to find their way into the circulation of scientific information³ (Figure 3).

The results obtained in this area indicate that a minimum of a year or more elapses between publication and the appearance of citations, which is a consequence of the narrow subject matter covered by a small number of authors.

A continuation of the above issues is co-citation analysis, which assumes that the more times two objects are cited together, the more likely their content is related. The results of the co-citation analysis performed are contained in Figure 4.

The result of the analysis is essentially a confirmation of the citation results presented earlier. As a general rule of thumb, two highly co-cited papers are also highly cited individually (Jarneving, 2005). This makes it possible to identify publications (selected using co-citation thresholds) considered as important by the researchers citing them (Zupic & Cater, 2015). In the case of the topic of dysfunctional customer behaviour, 12 such items can be identified. The names of authors and titles of these
publications by year of publication are presented in Table 1.

The final analysis of co-occurrence of words carried out and the attempt to identify clusters allowed us to tentatively identify nine clusters relating to the topic of dysfunctional customer behaviour. The sub-areas that emerged are related to the various concepts presented above that relate to the phenomenon under analysis as well as the issue of consumer behaviour and ethics (Figure 5).

Therefore, a correction was made further and all terms referring to the analysed behaviours were replaced with one, that is, dysfunctional customer behaviour. This resulted in a network of relationships, where the essential nodes are dysfunctional customer behaviour, consumer
behaviour, ethics, crime and theft as one of the symptoms of the analysed behaviours⁴ (Figure 6).

Summary

Market transformations occur not only under the influence of changes in the environment, that is, among the players and things that make up a given market, but also under the influence of the flow of time. It causes evolutionary or revolutionary changes in customer behaviour. Such changes can take a desirable, positive form and be accepted by other market participants. The market also reveals changes that are contrary to accepted social norms, which are the result not only of changes in the market but also of the individual characteristics of customers. Such changes are variously defined by authors interested in this area of customer behaviour. For the purposes of the above publication, they have been referred to as 'dysfunctional customer behaviour’. The first publications in this area appeared in the second half of the 1980s. As time went by, more researchers presented their publications on this issue.

The identified collection of publications in this area allowed conducting selected bibliometric analyses. The presented results of the analyses made it possible to identify the group of most frequently cited publications, to isolate those publications that are important to the citing researchers, and to approximate the topics and their relationships that represent the conceptual space of 'dysfunctional customer behaviour.’ The author is aware of the existing limitations of the analysis carried out. They are mainly due to the following: restriction to the selected bibliographic databases (WoS and SCOPUS) and the linguistic limitation of searching the databases only for English-language texts. At a further stage of the research process, the bibliometric analysis should be supplemented by a qualitative and substantive evaluation of the content of articles of interest to the researcher.

Endnotes

¹ The article is part of a broader research project in which members of the research team, which includes the author, aimed to study dysfunctional human behavior as a consumer and employee.
² According to van Eck, Waltman (2010), VOSviewer should be used to visualize data volumes consisting of a minimum of 100 objects.
³ Citation age is calculated by comparing the date of the citing publication with the date of the cited publication.
In other words, it is the difference between the year of the citing publication and the year of the cited publication.
⁴ The set of dysfunctional customer behaviors most often includes theft, lying, forging documents, vulgar or aggressive behavior toward salespeople or other customers, or abuse of alcohol or drug substances.

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The greening of socio-economic life is one of the main challenges of the 21st century, whose aim is to counteract environmental degradation, progressive climate change and depletion of natural resources. The concern for the condition of the natural environment requires taking a new approach towards consumption and meeting consumer needs. Despite many initiatives related to the paradigm of sustainable development and the concept of sustainable consumption, the situation is still far from a general departure from mass consumption and consumerism. The EU authorities believe that the main reason for the negative impact of consumption on the environment and excessive use of resources is that the social costs of environmental and resource degradation are not fully reflected in the prices of goods and services (The European Environment, 2010). Generally, the greening of consumption is the desire of consumers to rationalise purchasing and consumption behaviour in order to reduce the negative effects of excessive exploitation of natural resources as well as post-consumption waste, which also has an impact on the condition of the environment. Changes in the perception of consumption may be observed among informed consumers. Namely, the prestige associated with buying and owning goods is losing its importance in favour of reducing consumption or choosing ecological products. It is possible to notice a change in consumer behaviour-i.e. moving from 'homo oeconomicus’ to 'homo ecologicus’. Such behaviour requires competence, activity and response to negative actions of enterprises. Companies operating internationally, nationally and locally should take into account changes in consumer attitudes and their value systems in their production, sales and marketing activities. The article aims to try to synthetically organise the views of other authors on the challenges of greening consumption, both for enterprises and consumers in the context of social responsibility. Competences play an important role in this process. The greening of consumption has not yet been widely propagated in societies, including also Polish society. One of the crucial elements of greening consumption is the purchase of ecological/organic food products. To learn about the behaviour of Poles towards the issue discussed in this article, the authors conducted a study on a representative sample of Poles (N = 1,000) during Nov. 15–27, 2021, using the Computer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) technique (which is an online surveying technique that fits into the quantitative methodology of market and opinion research) and online panels as part of the omnibus study. Implementation of the adopted goal, as well as learning about the behaviour of Poles towards the greening of consumption, required the formulation of the following research questions:

• When buying food to meet household needs, do Poles buy organic products and with what frequency?
• How do consumers perceive organic/organic products?
• Does the behaviour of consumers differentiate socio-demographic characteristics?

The survey shows that only 7.1% of the respondents have never purchased ecological/organic food products. Among buyers, 21.8% do it rarely/sporadically, 40.1% occasionally/sometimes, 20.2% often/try to choose ecological products when shopping and 10.8% do it very often or always. Among the respondents, 55.3% declared that ecological/organic products are expensive but still worth the price due to the health benefits they bring. Noticing the advantages of these products, 63.7% of respondents would like to buy more of them. In view of the results obtained, it can be said that it is necessary to disseminate the main greening consumption ideas that are apparent from this study, and this can be done through education, building consumer competences or visualising the effects of the continuation of current consumption habits. The problem of protecting the natural environment, discussed in numerous documents issued by governments and international organisations and in scientific publications, cannot remain unnoticed. Greening consumption is a challenge for companies whose production should be rational in using non-renewable natural resources, reducing or eliminating toxic waste, using recyclable packaging and introducing 'clean production’ principles aimed at obtaining consumer products using more cost-effective and healthier methods. It is also a challenge for consumers, who should replace perishable goods with products with a longer life cycle, consume goods and services more sparingly and cease to accept planned obsolescence of products or unethical behaviour of enterprises towards their employees (Rock, 2010).

The article contributes to the discussion and body of work on consumption and consumer behaviour, with a focus on greening.

The article is addressed to readers who are concerned with the problem of environmental degradation and social responsibility of businesses, and to consumers interested in adopting the trend of greening consumption and in choosing products for consumption that are both healthy and cause no or minimal damage to the environment; the present research would also be useful to academia, consumers and businesses, the latter among whom can use it to determine what kind of products are preferred by consumers who are focussed on greening consumption, and alter their capital composition, manufacturing and distribution mix accordingly

Greening of Consumption-Theoretical Background

The genesis of greening consumption dates back to the late 1960s. At that time, people were able to notice serious threats to the environment, and thus also to the functioning of economies and societies and to the quality of life. On May 26, 1969, the UN Secretary-General U Thant presented the famous report 'The problems of the human environment’ to the international public. The report highlighted the worrying data indicating the destruction of the natural environment and its consequences, including lack of connection between the highly developed technology and environmental demands, destruction of arable lands, uncontrolled development of urban zones, reduction of free areas and open areas, the disappearance of many forms of animal and plant life, poisoning and pollution of the environment, and the need to protect such elements of the environment as soil, water and air. The report called on all countries to make wise decisions concerning the use of the Earth’s resources and to invest in ecosystem protection (United Nations, 1969).

The issue of saving the natural environment was also discussed by Meadows et al. (1972) in their publication entitled 'Limits to Growth’ published by the Club of Rome in 1972. The authors analysed the future of humanity in the face of the increase of the number of inhabitants of the Earth and depleting natural resources and formulated the following conclusions:

1. If the present growth trends in world population, industrialisation, pollution, food production and resource depletion continue unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached sometime within the next 100 years. The most probable result will be a rather sudden and uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity.

2. It is possible to alter these growth trends and to establish a condition of ecological and economic stability that is sustainable far into the future. The state of global equilibrium could be designed so that the basic material needs of each person on the Earth are satisfied and each person has an equal opportunity to realise his individual human potential (Meadows et al., 1972).

The issue of greening is an element of sustainable development (Trocki & Wachowiak, 2019), which, according to Daly (2007), is reduced to three principles: the rate of consumption of renewable resources should not be faster than the rate at which they regenerate; the rate of consumption of non-renewable resources should not be faster than the rate at which their renewable substitutes can be introduced; the rate of the pollutants and waste emissions should not be faster than the rate at which the natural systems can absorb, recycle or dispose of them.

Half a century has passed since pioneers started to write about the threats to the environment. Thus, a legitimate question arises as to whether the societies and consumers have changed their behaviour and their lifestyle, and whether the entrepreneurs take more responsibility for the offered products and marketing activities, and for the natural environment and the consumers’ quality of life. Has the so-called 'crawling apocalypse’, which Jonas, the author of the book The Imperative of Responsibility — In Search of an Ethics for the Technological Age (Greisch, 1992) has commented on in his interview, receded? Are Jonas’s words: 'the concern is this everyday use that we make of our power, which after all is the basis of our entire civilised existence with all conveniences and facilities (driving your own car, airplane flight, etc.), with all the incredible abundance of goods at our disposal’ still valid? As Jonas claims, 'These are the things which do not deserve moral criticism: however, what we do is impossible to escape every day. It runs its own course. This means that the crawling apocalypse becomes more dangerous that the sudden and brutal apocalypse.’-has this crawling apocalypse come and passed, or is it yet to leave its most deleterious mark?

Two decades of the 21st century have passed, and the discussion on environmental protection and ecological consumption not only does not subside but actually intensifies. In this context, both consumers and businesses play their significant parts.

The pursuit of greening consumption to an ever-greater extent requires the cooperation of market participants, both consumers and entrepreneurs. Consumers must make the right choices when selecting the products available in the market, choosing those goods that are not harmful to the environment, and entrepreneurs play an important role in the process of shaping the shopping carts where there will be more and more ecological/organic products. These activities should be supported with the dissemination of relevant information about such products, which in turn affects the level of ecological awareness of consumers.

According to Mintel’s (2018, p. 4) forecasts, consumer awareness of the occurrence of plastics in the oceans, and their impact on the environment or human health, will increase in the near future. The effects of one-time use and subsequent disposal of plastic packaging are alarming. It is estimated that at least 150 million tons of plastic are in the seas, and 4.8–12.7 million tons of plastic is thrown into the ocean annually. According to one assessment, as far as weight is concerned, until 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish (European Parliament, 2018). That is why the Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 5, 2019 on reducing the environmental impact of certain plastic products (Official Journal of the European Union, L 155/1, June 12, 2019) is so important. The basis of the changes is the pursuit of the circular economy, which aims to rationally use resources, e.g. through recycling and the use of reusable packaging. This directive must be introduced into the national regulations of particular EU countries by July 3, 2021; however, disposable plastic products covered by its individual provisions are listed in the annexe to the directive.

The greening of consumption may be reflected, among other things, in the growing ability to consume fashionable and high-quality products, using recycled items such as plastic clothing harvested from the ocean or the use of recycled packaging, as well as the use of reusable shopping bags. In the UK, 49% of British citizens would be interested in purchasing clothing or accessories made entirely or partly from recycled plastics, 72% would be interested in purchasing products with packaging made entirely/partly from recycled plastics, 73% are interested in a greater choice of beverages/food guaranteed to come from uncontaminated waters and 79% believe people should be encouraged to recycle plastics. In Poland, 66% of consumers say they prefer to drink water using recycled plastic bottles (Mintel, 2018, p. 6).

Pointing to consumer trends until 2030, based on the conducted research, Mintel (2019, p. 8) assumes that consumers will distance themselves from living at a fast pace and engaging in excessive consumption, moving towards slow and minimalist consumption, which focuses on sustainability, protection and functionality. Due to the role of food in the human hierarchy of needs, it is worth paying attention to three main trends related to the food and drink market. They include Elevated Convenience, Evergreen Consumption and Through the Ages. It appears that comfort is of particular importance in today’s busy world. Apart from convenience, consumers expect naturalness, a high level of nutritional value and personalisation possibilities, as well as an element of surprise and new experiences. The second trend-Evergreen Consumption-focuses on the idea of a circular economy, indicating opportunities for close cooperation focussed on sustainable development between suppliers, producers, commercial networks and consumers, as well as governmental and non-profit organisations. In turn, the third trend-Through the Ages-focuses on the role of food and drink in the process of supporting active and healthy ageing. At this point, it is worthwhile to mention freeganism, which, at present, may be seen as a form of a widespread boycott of excessive consumption. Many freegans, in addition to expressing socio-economic contestation, point to the importance of ecological problems by leading an environmentally friendly lifestyle (Wyrębska, 2014).

Changes in consumers’ lifestyles, purchasing and consumption behaviours aimed at greening consumption require appropriate competence. Young people, in particular, should expect brands to support their health and well-being, as well as their greater involvement in their education and development as socially responsible consumers.

Social Responsibility of Modern Consumers for the Greening of Consumption

As emphasised by Kiełczewski (2001), the fight against the crisis related to the natural environment is closely related to individual responsibility and ecological conscience. Changing the person’s approach towards nature should consist in shaping an ethical and empathic attitude towards the surrounding world, with the individual, daily decisions of each of us lying at its core.

The purchase of organic products by modern consumers can result from two motives. These can be altruistic reasons that relate to caring for the environment and social considerations or egoistic reasons associated with focussing on the consumers’ own safety-maintaining good health, condition and well-being by purchasing better quality products, organic products, especially food, clothing and footwear, cosmetics and cleaning supplies.

Recently, consumers have been urged to limit and minimise consumption, which can be treated as a way to counteract consumerism (Patrzałek, 2022). The social responsibility of consumers has many dimensions. The latter does not refer merely to responsible shopping. Social responsibility is also associated with our general behaviour, e.g. buying only the items that we actually need, not getting rid of these products after a short period of time or not being influenced by advertisements or commercials, discounts and other economic and non-economic incentives to buy newer and newer models or brands.

The aspect that draws our attention when observing consumer behaviour on the organic products market is the visible inconsistency, i.e. the discrepancy between positive attitudes towards ecological products and consumers’ purchasing practices. This tendency is indicated by numerous studies. Despite the willingness of consumers to pay higher prices (77%), only 13% of respondents make purchases of ecological products during the month preceding the survey (with the exception of Denmark and Sweden, where the share amounted to 40%) (Witek, 2018). This specific discrepancy between consumers’ attitudes and their behaviours on the organic market is reflected in Young et al. (2009)’s study, which indicated that 30% of consumers declare their concern about environmental issues, but this is not sufficiently reflected in market behaviour, as their actual organic food purchases reach the level of 5% of sales.

Such discrepancies, known as the 'attitude-behaviour gap’, 'green-gap’ or 'words-deed gap’, had been widely discussed in literature providing various conceptualisations of the topic, but no consensus has been reached so far. Numerous groups of factors potentially causing the 'gap’ were named, encompassing: (1) research biases, especially social desirability or sample selection biases; (2) external and internal inhibitors of green consumption, such as unreasonable prices in the first case and insufficient environmental knowledge in the second; and (3) consumers’ scepticism or cynicism. As proposed by Shaw, McMaster and Newholm (2016), referring to the theory of 'Four phases of caring’ by Tronto (1993), the distinction between 'desire’ and 'act’ can be seen as the pivotal issue in 'attitude-behaviour gap’ in the case of ethical consumption, which also includes pro-environmental consumption. An interesting approach to the problem of 'green-gap’ was presented by Johnstone and Tan (2015), in which three main barriers to internalisation of green purchase behaviour by consumers were pointed out. The qualitative study covering seven focus groups revealed that the major obstacles from the perspective of the interviewed participants are: the perceived unattainability of green consumption activities due to limited time and money resources, or the belief that individual efforts are pointless if others do not co-operate. The so-called 'green stigma’, which consists in rationalising the non-green consumer behaviour as an act of self-esteem and self-identity defence mechanism, appears to be of no less importance. We should also mention the 'green reservations’ whereby consumers do not seem to perceive the greening of everyday activities as an urgent need or a social norm.

The green consumer is typically known as one who supports eco-friendly attitudes and/or who purchases green products over the standard alternatives (Boztepe, 2012). However, referring to Blustein’s argument (1991) that 'there can be care without commitment, but there cannot be commitment without care’ and taking into consideration the 'attitude-behaviour gap’ phenomena, it is worth considering whether the use of the conjunction 'or’ in the definition proposed above might be justified. As recommended by Zbuchea (2013), more focus in further research should be placed on actual consumer behaviour.

The social responsibility of consumers must be expressed by opposing all those who damage the environment. This objection can be manifested through consumer boycotts, organising or participating in campaigns stigmatising actions that are harmful to the environmental, engaging in protests or ecological sabotage (Dąbrowska & Janoś-Kresło, 2022).

Through their choices and behaviours, consumers influence the shape of modern production, and they may be perceived as the driving force behind the development of the trend called the greening of consumption. As mentioned in the introduction of the article, the needs and tastes of buyers set the direction for market changes. Increasingly, consumers dictate to entrepreneurs what will be produced, not the other way around, and these consumers seem to take the social responsibility related to consumption very seriously, and one of the dimensions of such responsibility is ecological responsibility.

Celebrities can play a significant role in creating a sense of social responsibility in consumers, becoming a role model through shaping the tastes and behaviour of society (Furedi, 2010).

Corporate Social Responsibility for the Greening of Consumption

In the literature on the subject, there are many definitions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) (Zbuchea, A., & Pînzaru, F. (2017). The European Commission has defined CSR (Corportate Social Responsibility) as the responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society and, therefore, it should be company-led. Companies can become socially responsible by integrating social, environmental, ethical, consumer and human rights concerns into their business strategy and operations following the law (Porter, Kramer, 2006). According to the ISO (International Organization for Standardization: 26000:2010 standard, social responsibility is implemented as a course of transparent and ethical behaviours aimed at ensuring sustainable development, health and social well-being. It also takes into account the expectations of stakeholders in accordance with the applicable law and international standards of behaviour. It is also consistent with the organisation as well as implemented and practiced in its relations. CRS provides guidance for all types of organisations, regardless of their size or location (ISO, 2018). The concept of CSR emphasises the importance of relations with stakeholders and covers three aspects of corporate operations, i.e. its economic, social and ecological activities.

As illustrated by Zbuchea (2013), there is a positive relationship between CSR and consumer loyalty. On the one hand, consumers tend to reward companies that are socially and environmentally responsible, which is reflected in the level of trust, advocacy and purchasing behaviour. On the other hand, they boycott companies that act irresponsibly, not to mention the ones that engage in so-called 'greenwashing’. In spite of such unfair practices being implemented by some companies, people generally put trust in CSR initiatives. Thus, environmentally driven strategies could be seen as an important part of building a competitive advantage and as a token of credibility.

According to Cherian and Jacob (2012) there have been a total of various circumstances that are influential in encouraging green consumers to buy green products. Far-reaching research over the years has, among other positive effects, generated an immense understanding concerning green issues; heightened the level of knowledge opportunity on environmental subsistence; encouraged major corporations to opt for green advertising; raised concern for the environment; and expanded recognition of green products by environmental and social charities. This overpowering increase in general ecological awareness among various consumer groups is correlated with the companies’ initiatives to 'go green’ that has followed the introduction of the idea of corporate environmentalism into the mainstream public consciousness.

In this context, we may notice that there occurs mutual dependence between socially sensitive enterprises and socially sensitive consumers. Business entities can create the needs of consumers by offering proecological products as well as marketing activities that educate individuals and build consumer awareness. At the same time, consumers can force enterprises to engage in appropriate pro-ecological actions and behaviours. Johnstone and Tan (2015) stress that companies’ efforts should be focussed on changing consumers’ perceptions of green products and green activities from unattainable and hard-to-achieve to easy and non-exclusive, as well as focussing on reducing consumers’ scepticism and cynicism if they occur. The research conducted by Accenture in cooperation with United Nations Global Compact (2014) revealed that providing customers with tangible responsibility outcomes would lead the consumer to behave in a manner consistent with sustainable values on the one hand, and on the other, as shown by Hoogendoorn et al. (2015), direct contact with consumers influences SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) to offer green products. So does the legislation.

According to the 'Green Generation’ (Chamber of Electronic Economy 2020) report, 75% of the surveyed Polish companies include the concept of ecology in their strategies and plan to undertake activities supporting environmental protection. An example of a legislative measure mandating an environmental vanguard action is the so-called Single-Use Plastic (SUP) directive, adopted by the European Parliament, according to which all plastic bottles will have to be made in a minimum of 25% from recycled material by 2023 at the latest, and 30% in 2030. As much as 96% of the surveyed companies believe that brand activities can have an impact on changing consumer behaviour, and they may result in a conscious shopping approach or in undertaking actions to protect the environment on a daily basis. In turn, environmentally sensitive consumers should limit the purchase of products in plastic packaging, and they ought to select products made from recycled PET (Politereftalan etylenu) bottles and sort waste.

The Importance of Competences in Changing Consumer Behaviour

The increasing and changing offer of consumer goods and services, which is also a result of globalisation, virtualisation and greening, as well as the shortening of the product life cycle, necessitates researchers and business practitioners to pay greater attention to the requirements of environmentally conscious consumers. Competent consumers should oppose the negative trend of consumerism, i.e. excessive buying, rationalise their market decisions, save time and the environment, and thus protect their own health and those of other consumers. The greening of consumption is most often equated with positive consumer attitudes towards the natural environment and increasing environmental awareness. Many authors associate eco-consumption with the direct response, expressed principally in the form of purchasing choices, arising from buyers’ understanding of the detrimental human impact on the environment attributable to excessive, burdensome and wasteful consumption.

Pro-ecological attitudes and behaviour may be regarded as a consequence of high consumer competences. Analysing the definitions of consumer competences in the literature on the subject, it can be seen that a significant proportion of researchers perceive them from an economic perspective. The authors suggest that the powers of the consumer competence are based on the economic capacity to buy goods and services, as well as the skills, attitudes and knowledge related to the rational approach to consumption and a sceptical attitude towards marketing and advertising communications (for example Royer & Nolf, 1980; John, 1999; Gronhoj, 2004; Lachance & Choquette-Bernier, 2004). Other representatives emphasise the complexity of the concept of consumer competence, indicating that it is a concept consisting of cognitive, behavioural and information dimensions (Lachance & Legault, 2007, p. 1–5; Cloutier, 2014). Consumer competences are also associated with attitudes (Lachance & Legault, 2007, p. 1–5; Berg & Taingen, 2009) and the functioning of the consumer in social structures (Ekopolityka. Polityka ekologiczna w Polsce i na świecie).

Thierry, Sauret and Monod (1994) define competencies as 'all knowledge, ability to act and attitudes forming a whole depending on the goals and circumstances of specific actions’. Dąbrowska et al. (2015, p. 54) perceive consumer competences as 'theoretical knowledge and practical skills which help a person meet the lower and higher needs efficiently and effectively, taking responsibility for the choices and decisions made without compromising their expectations concerning quality.’

Research on consumer competences has enabled the identification of a competent consumer of the future. It will be a person who is increasingly aware and possesses knowledge about products and is generally familiar with the production process. This individual will consume more and more, and products available on the market will have a shorter and shorter life cycle. The market and consumers will be divided into sectors according to their material and financial standing. Consumers will strive for self-sufficiency and 'create ecovillages’ that will use e-services on a mass scale, and products will be further unified (Dąbrowska et al., 2015, p. 104–105).

Frequently, growing ecological awareness is related to food products. Consumers are increasingly keen to reach for local and traditional products, whose quality is related to the production area and its natural, geographical and cultural specificity (regional products). They often opt for ecological and organic products, i.e. food produced without the addition of artificial fertilisers or pesticides. Such a natural way of cultivating soil allows maintaining soil fertility and biological diversity, which is also associated with greater care for the environment in consumption acts. (Dąbrowska & Janoś-Kresło, 2017, p. 5–34). It is worth emphasising that the importance of social consumer competence manifests itself in particular in food consumption (Bylok, 2014, p. 30–42).

According to many European consumers, the high prices of organic food significantly limit consumer interest in purchasing it (Magnuson et al. 2001). This tendency was also confirmed by the findings of the survey carried out among Polish consumers (Dąbrowska & Janoś-Kresło, 2017, p. 32).

Consumer competence and environmental awareness are not the only determinants of consumer choice in terms of organic products. Ecological consumer behaviour can be motivated by, inter alia, governmental activities, activities of consumer movements and broadly perceived sociocultural changes (Dąbrowska et al., 2015, p. 148–173). The social responsibility of consumers also plays an important role in this regard.

Materials and Methods

The purpose of the study was to identify shopping preferences and selected consumer behaviours pertaining to the purchase of ecological/organic food products. The scope of the study, the number of questions and their form and wording, as well as the order of questions, were agreed upon as part of content-related consultations. The CAWI interview questionnaire was prepared using CADAS software to better visualise the questions and make online interviews more attractive, especially in the case of questions using the scale. The survey was conducted in Poland during Sep. 15–27, 2021, with the application of the CAWI technique and using online panels as part of the Omnibus survey. The interview questionnaire consisted of three sets of questions, as well as filtering questions and demographic data. The set of questions concerning ecological/organic food products consisted of four questions, including one demographic question (assessment of statements using a scale), two single-choice questions and one question with the option of indicating more than one answer. The filtering questions included five questions related to the respondents’ gender, age, education and their place of residence. Additional demographic questions were six questions characterising the respondent’s household.

The average time to answer all the questions of the omnibus study (three different question sets) was just over 6 min (6 min and 3 s). A total of 1,980 panellists responded to the request to complete the survey, out of which N = 1,000 respondents qualified for the survey and answered all the questions (success rate 50.5%). N = 980 respondents were not qualified for the study or were rejected at the control stage due to contradictory answers to the control questions, illogical answers to open and semi-open questions, refusal to participate in the study or failure to meet the criteria of filtering questions. The last group of survey participants not qualified for the study received remuneration for their willingness to participate in the study.

The ABR SESTA Institute implemented the control procedure in accordance with the ESOMAR and PTBRIO (Polskie Towarzystwo Badaczy Rynku I Opinii; ang. Polish Society of Market and Opinion Researchers standards and prepared collective result tables. The responses collected from the respondents were subject to control procedures consisting of several steps. The elements that were verified included, among others, the time it took to complete the survey questionnaire and the consistency and logic of the responses. The questionnaires that were filled in too fast or without due care were rejected. The control questions were also used in the survey questionnaire, i.e. the respondents were asked about the device used to complete the questionnaire. The responses of the survey participants who gave contradictory responses have been removed. In addition, a qualitative assessment of the responses was made. It included, among others, the analysis of answers to open-ended and semi-open questions. The respondents’ responses were arranged in interactive result tables prepared using Excel software. To determine whether the observed differences are statistically significant, Bonferroni tests were performed. The Bonferroni test is a statistic that compares all pairs of the independent variable with the Student’s t test while controlling the number of comparisons. The returned significance of differences between the groups includes a correction for the number of comparisons made. It produces more accurate results when there are few comparisons between pairs of measurements or groups. The Bonferroni test is used when the assumption of equal variance is satisfied.

The boundary amounts for gender, age and size of the place of residence were maintained in the study. The sample distribution is presented in Table 1.

Results

Food is considered the basis of human existence as it satisfies physiological needs. A new trend in consumption, i.e. taking care of health, prompts consumers to look for products with specific nutritional values. Such products include organic food produced with the use of ecological farming methods, without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers. Ecological/organic food includes fresh produce, meat and dairy products, as well as processed foods such as frozen meals. The respondents were asked whether they were buying organic products when buying food to satisfy the needs of their household. The frequency of making such decisions varied. More than every 10th respondent (10.8%) declared that they always or very often buy ecological/organic food products, while 7.1% never did so (Figure 1).

Ecological/organic products are perceived differently by consumers, and thus respondents were asked to comment on the following statements. For this purpose, a 5-point Likert scale was used, where 1 represented the response 'I strongly disagree’ and 5 'I strongly agree’ (Table 2).

A total of 57.3% of respondents strongly (’definitely yes’ and 'rather yes’) agreed with the statement that organic products are expensive but worth the price due to health benefits, which indicates the continual availability of these products in regions where there is a sustained demand for them.This opinion was confirmed by the responses to the second statement that 'organic products are expensive, so I buy less of them or do not buy them at all’. A total of 61.9% of Poles agreed with such a claim. Nevertheless, 41.0% of respondents believed that the price of organic products corresponded with their quality. It appears that the high prices of organic products make them inaccessible to many consumers. Such an opinion was expressed by 42.6% of respondents. Unaffordability causes consumers to be unable to meet their actual demand. As much as 63.7% of Poles would like to buy more organic products. Perceiving the prices of ecological/organic products as high can justify the behaviour of consumers who buy ecological/organic products when they are available for sale at discounted prices (61.3% of the responses including 'definitely yes’ or 'rather yes’).

The statements above were analysed in terms of the answer 'definitely yes’ according to the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents and using Bonferroni’s tests.

The statement 'organic products are expensive, but worth the price due to health benefits’ was more frequently indicated by women (16.4%) than men (14.1%), people aged 35–44 years (20.9%), people with lower secondary education or less (18.2%), people living in the city with more than 200,000 up to 499,000 residents (22.2%), and those coming from households of four people (20.5%). There were no statistically significant differences. The statement 'organic products are expensive, so I buy less of them or do not buy them at all’ was chosen by both women (21.2%) and men (20.1%), people aged 45–54 years (23.6%), and people with education at a secondary (20.6%) or higher level (21.4%). People living in a city with more than 500,000 residents (30.4%) also indicated it statistically significantly more frequently than in a city with 50,000–99,000 residents (11.6%) and people living in a single-person household (25.3%).

No significant differences were observed in terms of gender or age with respect to the statement 'the price of organic products is adequate for their quality’, except for the lowest and highest groups. This opinion was more common among respondents with lower secondary education (13.6%), people living in towns with 100,000–199,000 residents (15.8%) and individuals from three-person households (13.7%).

In the case of the statement 'organic products are too expensive, not available to me’, men (16.4%) agreed more often than women (11.0%) and it was a statistically significant difference. This response was also selected by people aged 45–54 years (16.1%), people with secondary or post-secondary education (14.7%), people living in the town with 100,000–199,000 residents (16.8%) and persons from single-person households (22.7%).

More women (25.3%) than men (18.9%) would like to buy more ecological/organic products more often (this is a case of a significant statistical relationship). The same claim was also selected by people in the 34–45-year age group (29.1%, statistically significantly more often than people in the 65–80-year age group-9.9%), people declaring lower secondary education level or below (27.3%), those living in a town with 200,000–499,000 residents (33.3%, statistically significantly more often than in towns of up to 9,000 residents — 18.5% and 10,000–49,000 residents — 16.1%), and those coming from four-person households (27.4%, statistically significantly more often than from two-person households — 15.6%).

Based on the data obtained, a profile of the average Pole, who often buys ecological/organic food products, was created. The created profile includes the following characteristics: it is a woman, aged 35–44, with a higher education level, living in a town with 200–499,000 residents and from a four-person household.

Conclusion

Awareness in the context of sustainability can be explained on two general levels. The first and oldest one is ecological awareness, also called environmental awareness, which means to be aware of the human impact on the environment, to feel responsible about the Earth and to take care of the so-called ecological issues (Naess, 1973). The higher and more general level is known as sustainability awareness, which — following the definition of sustainability — includes not only environmental but also socio-economic issues. This approach is now more often used and implemented as more suitable for solving (or rather trying to solve) contemporary world problems (Machnik & Królikowska-Tomczak, 2019). These considerations are regarded as particularly timely and appropriate in view of increasing environmental disasters, including those occurring in Poland.

Consumers usually experience no problem as far as deciphering the term 'ecological’ or 'environmentally friendly’ is concerned. This term is most frequently understood by individuals who care for the Earth, live in accordance with the laws of nature, do not litter, segregate waste, save electricity and water, use reusable paper bags rather than plastic ones, do not disturb the balance of the environment, pay attention to what they buy and how they use it, prefer organic food and ecologically friendly automobiles, and actively participate in the environmental movements. In Poland, 56% of Poles believe that ecology is a conscious choice, a sense of responsibility and an attitude that does not pass, while the remaining 44% is of the opinion that this is the current fashion that will soon be forgotten (Ekopolityka. Polityka ekologiczna w Polsce i na świecie).

However, when observing the changes taking place in the natural environment, the inference emerges that knowing the concept is not enough in itself. We need to change our approach and perception of the phenomenon, from a short — to long-term perspective and apply the five principles of zero waste, namely: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot (Izba Gospodarki Elektronicznej, 2020, p. 24–26). Collaborative consumption, also known as sharing consumption or collaborative consumption, can play an essential role in this context. The concept refers to the tradition of sharing goods, exchanging them, borrowing, renting and donating, and modern technology and the development of the information society assign a new meaning and a new role to this concept (Dąbrowska & Janoś-Kresło, 2018, p. 132–149).

The social responsibility of modern consumers can be viewed from the perspective of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). In the era of the coronavirus pandemic, our consumer decisions made during everyday purchases can be seen as decisive, which might affect the fate of people, the economy and the environment and which can support charitable activities and the local market and enterprises. The consumer’s inalienable right is the right to choose, and the conscious exercise of this right is associated with a responsibility for purchasing decisions and their effects. The uncertainty of the pandemic situation means that many consumers stock excessively, and this is especially the result of alluring offers made by large shopping networks and e-commerce websites. Excessive purchases of food, in particular, can lead to its wastage, and thus to the waste of resources, energy, water, etc., which are perceived as increasingly limited resources. Perhaps it is under such circumstances that it becomes particularly important to ask oneself the following questions: 'What are the products that I wish to buy made up of and how were they created?’; 'Who produced them and in what conditions, and how do their use and utilisation affect the natural and social environments?’ It is also worth remembering that according to the report of the International Ecological Organization (WWF, 2019), members of the European Union use almost 20% of the Earth’s biological potential. In addition, if every inhabitant of the planet consumed the same amount as an average resident of the EU, 2.8 planets would be needed to regenerate the ecosystem. This value greatly exceeds the world average, which is estimated at about 1.75 of the Earth.

Both consumers and business entities should behave in a responsible manner. As Jonas (Greisch, 1992, p. 105–105) notes, responsibility as a positive duty turns out to be, in essence, driven by the feeling of 'the sense of being responsible’. As Kotler (2010) observes, the modern consumer has gained a soul, and the goal set by the enterprise is to make the world a better place. The passage from material consumption to non-material consumption, and also from instrumental values to autotelic values connected with observing the right of all living creatures to a dignified life respecting their well-being, constitutes the indicators of the new model of society (Patrzałek, 2019).

If deconsumption might be seen as a permanent trend in the development of modern consumption (Bylok, 2017), perhaps Bauman’s words are still valid (1998) '…to become a fully feathered and full-fledged member of society, you need to efficiently and effectively respond to the excitement and the temptation of the consumer market’.

Every consumer and every entrepreneur needs to answer the questions about what matters to them, and which values they consider to be their priorities.

In the context of the above considerations, relevant conclusions can be drawn.

The concept of ecological consumption, similar to the one of a responsible consumer or a responsible enterprise, is evolving. It not only focuses on environmental issues, but also covers much broader issues, such as returning to our 'green’ roots, climate change and social responsibility. Households have a significant impact on the environment through consumption: energy, food, transportation, water and waste production (OECD, 2014; Manson, 2018).

First of all, one should be aware that ecological consumption concerns all generations, although sensitivity to ecology may vary in societies. Only joint activities supported by education and building proper competencies facilitate achieving the set goals. This is especially important if we consider the above-mentioned results of the study, which indicate that in Poland only 31% of Internet users are interested in the condition of the natural environment, and 44% of them consider Poland to be an ecologically endangered area.

Apart from governments and state institutions, the main role in shaping pro-ecological attitudes is played by consumers and enterprises offering goods and services on the market (Kuokkanen, Sun, 2016). The changes in attitudes, purchasing behaviour, values and everyday habits that would be required to initiate the transition of a consumer from consumption characterised by an attitude of apathy for the ecological situation to one by concern can be effected through involving them in programmes benefitting the environment, and the success with which these are implemented depends upon their scale and reach. It is worth remembering that regardless of the social and professional roles played, each of us is still a consumer.

Businesses and consumers create mutually dependent relations. Therefore, consumers should demand green goods and services from enterprises and, as prosumers, they should expect companies to implement practical and environmentally friendly solutions. Brands should increasingly undertake eco-initiatives. In formulating marketing campaigns to inform consumers about the product, the business should ensure that the message that is prepared for this purpose strongly explains not only the features and composition of the product but also whether it has been manufactured in an environmentally sustainable manner; this will enable the consumer to judge whether they are going to purchase environmentally friendly and ethical products. It is necessary to carry out more information — and education-based activities in line with the concept of sustainable consumption.

The survey of consumer attitudes towards organic products was conducted using the CAWI technique because of the ease and speed of reaching potential respondents, and because respondents are reached within a reasonable budget. The limitation of this technique is that we do not reach people who are not using the Internet. On the other hand, the number of people who do not use the Internet in Poland is decreasing year by year, and the CAWI technique is gaining popularity, due to the large number of potential respondents. ABR SESTA, through its cooperation with SYNO Poland, offers access to more than 1.8 million potential respondents to the CAWI technique in Poland. This allows us to more easily profile respondents and more easily map the structure for a representative sample.

As consumers, we are marked by constant change. Consumers and businesses operate in uncertain times, times marked by critical events. Therefore, it is important to repeat the survey at intervals of no less than 12 months in order to observe possible changes in consumer behaviour and business actions. Changes in consumer behaviour can be the result of producers’ actions or lack of producers’ actions. Keeping the survey cyclical will make it possible to observe these changes and make inferences based on them. What is important in cyclical measurements is the use of an unchanged methodology.

The authors regard this article as a contribution towards the furtherance of discussions and research on significant and topical issues connected with CSR.

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The circular economy (CE) is an increasingly popular approach to create sustainable business. The aim of a CE is to attain a sustainable society and economy by avoiding and minimising resource consumption through multiple product-and-material loops (Ellen MacArthur Foundation [EMF], 2015). Sustainable consumption (SC) is a complex and ambivalent concept composed of two visibly opposite terms-consumption and sustainability. Existing definitions nevertheless show that the main aim of SC is to reach the harmony between the satisfaction of consumer needs and preservation of the environment (Piligrimiene, Žukauskaite, Korzilius, Banyte & Dovaliene, 2020). SC entails satisfying consumer needs while reducing negative impacts caused during material extraction, production and consumption (Mont and Plepys, 2008; Cooper, 2013).

SC emphasises individual actions of consumers in the areas of acquisition, usage and disposal of goods, products and services, taking into account the impact on ecological and socioeconomic conditions for today’s and future generations (Geng, Mansouri & Aktas, 2017). According to Phipps et al. (2013), SC is a compromise between environmental, social and economic aims, acquiring, using and utilising products, seeking global welfare for the present and future generations. SC, representing the demand side of the consumption/production coin, should allow for potential changes in consumer behaviour (Phipps et al., 2013). SC patterns are necessary to realise a sustainable society and economy (Druckman & Jackson, 2010). Customer SC behaviours facilitate the efficient use of underutilised resources (e.g. sharing spare household resource) and extend the life cycle of accessed products (e.g. keeping items in good conditions for others), thereby reflecting the significant potential of sustainability in the sharing economy (SE) (Munoz & Cohen, 2017). Second-hand clothing is an example of recycling that extends the life of products by reusing. Reuse of clothing is associated with reducing the amount of disposed clothing, thereby reducing environmental pollution (Farrant, Olsen & Wangel, 2010). Second-hand and vintage clothes are getting popular due to environmental benefits and also for a personal style (Johansson, 2010).

The main purpose of this paper is to identify the importance and to determine the influence of selected types of motives on the attitudes towards using collaborative fashion consumption (CFC) applications/ platforms and willingness to use them in the future.

The Concept of CFC

Collaborative consumption (CC) is one of the new consumption trends in consumer behaviour that includes an alternative approach to meeting needs. This trend is based on access to goods without the need to own and transfer property rights. In Belk (2014), the term 'collaborative consumption’ was defined as 'people coordinating the acquisition and distribution of a resource for a fee or other compensation’. CC is dynamically developing in various areas of human activity. The popularity of CC has significantly increased due to the development of digitalisation. Owing to the dissemination of smartphones, the development of mobile technologies, Internet accessibility and the proliferation of online payment, the CC has never been so easy and widespread (Muangmee, Kot, Meekaewkunchorn, Kassakorn & Khalid, 2021; Kapoor & Vij, 2021). The growing consumer awareness of environmental concerns and anticonsumerist attitudes also contribute to the development of CC. The areas in which it is most developed include transport, tourism, education, food, clothing, healthcare and leisure (Paczka, 2020). CC is most often studied in the context of the SE (Belk, 2014), prosumption (Ritzer & Jurgenson, 2010), sharing (Belk, 2010; Lamberton & Rose, 2012), access-based consumption (Bardhi & Eckhardt, 2012) or connected consumption (Schor & Fitzmaurice, 2015). The principal idea behind all of these approaches is to promote the notion of using, as opposed to owning, products (Iran & Schrader, 2017).

According to Iran and Schrader (2017), CFC is a consumption trend 'in which consumers, instead of buying new fashion products, have access to already existing garments either through alternative opportunities to acquire individual ownership (gifting, swapping or second hand) or through usage options for fashion products owned by others (sharing, lending, renting or leasing)’. CFC can be between peers; then, we are talking about 'pure cooperation’, a form that has existed since forever, when clothes were shared between family members prior to the industrial revolution (Belk, 2014). Nowadays, it could be organised by peers themselves either through online or offline platforms. But it can also take place between businesses and end consumers; then, we are talking about 'trading cooperation’. There are companies offering either service as substitutes for product ownership (renting and leasing) or second-hand retail service to make the purchase of new products dispensable (Iran & Schrader, 2017). Finally, CFC can be mediated by a third party; then, we are talking about 'sourcing collaboration’ (Henninger, Brydges, Iran & Vladimirova, 2021). On the basis of the literature review, the following forms of CFC can be distinguished: sharing, borrowing, reuse, charity, second-hand market, SC, anti-consumption, swapping, resale, take-back schemes and repurpose. These practices result in reduced new product acquisitions, increased product reuse and extended product life cycle (Armstrong, Niinimäki, Lang & Kujala, 2016). Various forms of CFC are accepted and practiced by consumers. Some people accept one or more form(s) of CFC, while others reject the concept entirely and are against sharing their clothes (Iran, Geiger & Schrader, 2018). In the apparel industry, the SE enables consumers to have access to fashion products that would not be accessible otherwise, achieving more variety in apparel choice (Balck & Cracau, 2015).

CFC has gained an increasing amount of attention among not only consumers but also academia (Lang, Seo & Liu, 2019). Researchers identify that CFC serves to not only reduce waste and negative environmental impact (Gopalakrishnan & Matthews, 2018) but also increase sustainability in the apparel industry (Geissdoerfer, Savaget, Bocken & Hultink, 2017).

The emergence of new information and communication technologies has caused significant changes in the rules of fashion sharing. Such activities, initially carried out only with family members or friends and acquaintances, gradually began to be undertaken also with previously unknown people. Access to new technology and digital platforms makes it easier to communicate at a distance and to find people who have spare resources and those who would like to use them. More and more platforms for CFC have emerged around the world, e.g. Rent the Runway, Share Wardrobe, GlamCorner, Dress & Go, Vinted, Zalando Pre-owned and E-Garderobe.com (Lee, Jung & Lee, 2021). Such platforms are having a serious impact on the fashion industry. Contemporary SE applications create a market form in which strangers rather than kin and communities exchange garments, thereby creating new ways of provisioning goods and services as well as opportunities for CC. Many consumers are becoming more open to renting and thrifting and, as a result, businesses are adapting by making the shift from not only selling products but also offering subscription services. An individual who cannot afford to buy luxury goods can rent various designer fashion items at lower prices. It is worth noting that CFC applies to different consumer segments of the clothing market. According to experts, CFC could rapidly grow into one of the fastestgrowing segments of retail in the next 10 years (Chieng, 2021).

Hypotheses Development and Conceptual Model

Users’ motivation to participate in CFC has been the subject of research by scientists all over the world for many years. Guiot and Roux (2010) distinguished three main categories of motives for second-hand shopping: critical motivations (distance from the consumption system, ethics and ecology), economic motivations (gratificative role of price, searching for a fair price) and hedonic/recreational motivation (treasure hunting, originality, social contact and nostalgia). Padmavathy, Swapana and Paul (2019) proposed a scale to measure online second-hand shopping motivation and focussed on economic motivation (price orientation, bargaining power and critical orientation), convenience motivation (usefulness and ease of use) and ideological motivation (need to be unique, nostalgia, trust and assurances). Based on a literature review, Becker-Leifhold and Iran (2018) identified the drivers of CFC from a consumers’ perspective — hedonic motives (e.g. availability of rare items, excitement, fun, satisfaction, treasure hunting, nostalgia and social interaction), utilitarian motives (smart purchase behaviour, fair price, frugality and bargains) and biospheric motives (environment-friendly consumption, prevention of wasteful disposal and distance from the system). Zaman, Park, Kim and Park (2019) distinguished six consumer orientations relevant to second-hand clothing shopping: frugality, style consciousness, ecological consciousness, dematerialism, nostalgia proneness and fashion consciousness. Park and Armstrong (2019) classified five basic consumer motivations for collaborative apparel consumption: saving money, saving time, finding desirable product assortment, utility and no burden of ownership. Cervellon, Carey and Harms (2012) have studied the influence of nostalgia, fashion involvement, need for uniqueness, need for status, frugality and value consciousness and environmental-friendly proneness on the intention to purchase second-hand fashion pieces (and vintage pieces). Xu, Chen, Burman and Zhao (2014), in their cross-cultural study, distinguished four perceived values for purchasing second-hand clothing: economic value, hedonic value or treasure hunting, uniqueness and environmental value. The results of their study have shown significant differences in second-hand clothing consumption behaviour between US and Chinese consumers. This justifies the conduct of research in individual countries, as the behaviour of consumers from different countries may differ significantly from each other.

The subject scope of our study includes the recognition of the impact of economic and utility motives (e.g. promotions, convenience and saving time), social motives (e.g. being a part of a group of people with similar interests, image and following trends) and ecological motives (e.g. to protect/care for the natural environment, to limit excessive consumption and to extend the life of the products) on attitudes towards CFC applications and the willingness to use them in the future.

Economic and Utility Motives

The analysed literature on the consumption of used clothing suggests that pragmatic motivations based on time and money saving play an important role in shaping attitudes towards second-hand buying (Williams & Paddock, 2003). Guiot and Roux (2010) state that economic motivations are important incentives of second-hand purchase behaviour. The results of a study conducted by Cervellon et al. (2012) have shown that the main driver for the purchase of second-hand clothes is frugality. Studies indicate that economic factors play the most important role for clients when making decisions on the use of SE (Barnes & Mattsson, 2016). However, it should be noticed that the findings of the study by Won and Kim (2020) suggest that utilitarian motives (saving money or maximising utility) do not affect consumer attitude towards fashion-sharing platforms. On the other hand, the findings of Ek Styvén and Mariani (2020) indicate that economic motivations influence positively the attitude towards buying second-hand clothing on SE platforms. The study by Yan, Bae and Xu (2015) has shown that college students’ shopping frequency for second-hand clothing was predicted by price sensitivity.

Based on a review of previous research, the authors propose the following hypotheses.

Hypothesis 1a (H1a): Economic and utility motives positively influence the attitudes towards using CFC applications/platforms.

Hypothesis 1b (H1b): Economic and utility motives positively influence the willingness to use CFC applications in the future.

Social Motives

Social motives are incorporated for instance in the possibility of getting to know other people who have similar desires (Benoit, Baker, Bolton, Gruber & Kandampully, 2017). Findings from a study by Angelovska, Èeh Èasni and Lutz (2020) suggest that motives such as meeting with people and social responsibility are significant predictors of participation in the SE. A study by Yan et al. (2015) suggests that consumers who shopped for second-hand clothing might do so for social reasons (among others). Psychological factors promote people to interact on peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms and form the basis for borrowing and rental mechanisms, as well as transferring ownership through exchange, donation or purchase of used goods (Hamari, 2013; Hamari, Sjöklint & Ukkonen, 2016; Piscicelli, Cooper & Fisher, 2015).

Based on a review of previous research, the authors propose the following hypotheses.

Hypothesis 2a (H2a): Social motives positively influence the attitudes towards using CFC applications/platforms.

Hypothesis 2b (H2b): Social motives positively influence the willingness to use CFC applications in the future.

Ecological Motives

The SE is part of ethical consumerism, and participation in it can be perceived as a form of sustainable consumer behaviour (Perlacia, Duml & Saebi, 2017). Sold sales, transition, renting or transferring unwanted/unnecessary clothes contributes to the extension of the product life, reduction of production and fashion waste (Perlacia et al., 2017; Sarigöllü, Hou & Ertz, 2021). Although participation in the sharing economy may potentially have a positive impact on the environment (Botsman & Rogers, 2010) (no resource consumption), it does not seem to be a strong motivator for many consumers (Habibi et al., 2016). Furthermore, Leismann, Schmitt, Rohn and Baedeker (2013) show that 'use instead of having’ patterns may also have undesirable ecological side effects, because customers can abuse shopping, which can eliminate positive environmental effects. Some studies suggest that purchase of second-hand clothes is not driven by ecological consciousness directly but through the mediating effect of bargain hunting (Cervellon et al., 2012). Findings from the study by Won and Kim (2020) indicate that hedonic and ecological motivation affects consumer attitude towards fashion-sharing platforms. Ek Styvén and Mariani (2020) found that perceived sustainability influences positively the attitude towards buying second-hand clothing on sharing-economy platforms. On the other hand, the study by Yan et al. (2015) did not confirm the relationship between environmental attitudes and the shopping frequency for second-hand clothing among college students. Those authors noticed, however, that second-hand shoppers tend to be more environmentally conscious than non-shoppers.

The literature review findings regarding the impact of ecological motives on attitudes towards SE/CC and participation in SE/CC are ambiguous. The authors propose the following hypotheses.

Hypothesis 3a (H3a): Ecological motives positively influence the attitudes towards using CFC applications/platforms.

Hypothesis 3b (H3b): Ecological motives positively influence the willingness to use CFC applications in the future.

Attitude

According to the theory of planned behaviour, an individual’s intention to perform a certain behaviour is determined by a combination of three factors: attitudes towards the behaviour, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control (Ajzen, 1991). The assumption of the positive influence of the attitude towards CC or second-hand shopping on behaviour intention (participation in CC or buying second-hand fashion) is supported in the literature. In the study by Hamari et al. (2016), attitude had a significant positive effect on behavioural intentions to participate in CC. Ek Styvén and Mariani (2020) suggest that attitude towards buying second-hand fashion positively influences behavioural intention to buy second-hand goods on P2P-SE platforms. Won and Kim (2020) indicate that consumers’ attitudes towards fashion-sharing platforms have a positive effect on their purchase intentions.

Based on a review of past research, the authors assume that the attitude towards CFC positively affects behavioural intention and thus propose the following hypothesis.

Hypothesis 4 (H4): The attitudes towards using CFC applications/platforms positively influence the willingness to use them in the future.

The following conceptual research model is proposed (Figure 1):

Research Design

The data was collected through an online research panel (Nationwide Research Panel Ariadna) with the use of an online survey in 2021 on a total of 412 Polish respondents. The non-random sampling method was used in the selection of the research sample. The structure of the research sample corresponded to the structure of adult Poles in terms of gender, age, education level and place of residence. The dataset was created with SPSS, version 27 (IBM). A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed and a structural equation model (SEM) was developed using AMOS, version 21.0. Based on prior studies, a multi-item measurement scale was developed to measure motives and attitude. Economic and utility motives, social motives, ecological motives and attitude were each measured with four items and behaviour intention with one item. All items were measured utilising a five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree).

The selection of the research sample was carried out by the quota method (selection criteria: sex, age and place of residence). The structure of the research sample is presented in Table 1.

Measurement Model

Table 2 shows the results of the CFA, including factor loadings and descriptive statistics. Two of three motives to participate as a user of CFC platforms were of relatively high importance: economics and utility motives (EU) (meanEU = 3.88) and ecological (ECO) (meanECO = 3.65). Social (SOC) motives were considered by the respondents as less important (meanSOC = 3.22).

SEM was used to test the hypothetical relationships between observable and/or latent variables in experimental and non-experimental research (Konarski, 2009, p. 15). The SEM consisted of a structural and a measurement part — the structural part of the model describes the theoretical cause-and-effect relation or correlation between the studied phenomena, while the measurement part takes place when the analysed phenomena are not directly measurable (therefore, they are represented in the constructed model by unobservable/latent variables). This means that before starting the estimation of the SEM, its measurement part should be determined and verified. One of the methods of verification of the measurement model is by the use of CFA (Bedyńska & Książek, 2012, pp. 219–223). The reliability of the measurement instrument was tested using CFA, where the results showed acceptable model fit indices (Table 3).

The evaluation of the overall measurement model (Figure 2) and the assessment of reliability and validity of the constructs were performed with a CFA. In the process of evaluating the measurement model, the discriminant and convergent validities were verified — the discriminant validity measures the extent to which the factors intended to measure a specific construct are actually unrelated (Wang & Wang, 2012). The Fornell and Larcker approach for the assessment of discriminant validity was used (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Within this approach, the average variance extracted (AVE) for each research construct should be higher than the square of the correlation between the construct and other constructs (Ode & Ayavoo, 2020). The diagonal (shown in bold with asterisks — *) elements shown in the table are the squares of multiple correlations between the research variables. As shown in Table 4, the AVE ranges from 0.57 to 0.81, while the diagonal values range from 0.75 to 0.90, indicating that the diagonal variables are higher than the AVE values (in rows); this result suggests that all constructs have appropriate discriminant validity. The data presented in the table shows that the measurement model has satisfactory discriminant validity.

Convergent validity measures the degree to which the factors measuring single constructs are consistent with each other. Convergent validity was assessed using composite reliability (CR) and AVE — the minimum values adopted in the analysis were such that AVE should be >0.5 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981), factor loadings should be >0.6 and CR should be >0.6 (Hair, Black, Babin & Anderson, 2009; Ahmed, Romeika, Kauliene, Streimikis & Dapkus, 2020; Popa & Dabija, 2019; Szczepańska-Woszczyna, 2021). On the basis of the obtained results, all three minimum values were reached, which suggests that the reliability and validity of the model and the constructs used are acceptable.

Structural Model

Based on the research conducted in the literature review, the results of CFA and the proposed hypotheses, a research model was developed and is graphically illustrated in Figure 3. All the fit indices of the SEM allow us to proceed to the verification of the research hypotheses.

Testing the Hypotheses

The test results for the hypotheses are shown in Table 5. The results indicate that ATT was influenced by EU (β = 0.410, p < 0.001), SOC (β = –0.195, p = 0.002) and ECO (β = 0.455, p < 0.001). We found that EU (β = 0.255, p < 0.001), SOC (β = –0.223, p < 0.001) and ATT (β = 0.706, p < 0.001) influenced BI. ECO has been found to be not significantly associated with BI. It should be noticed that the hypothesis regarding social motives (H2a and H2b) were not supported due to the negative effect of those factors on ATT and BI.

Discussion

Our study allowed to identify the importance and to determine the effect of economic and utility motives, social motives and ecological motives on the attitudes towards using CFC apps/platforms and behavioural intention regarding the willingness to use them. We investigated also the influence of attitude towards using CFC platforms on behavioural intention. As assumed, our study confirmed the effect of attitude on willingness to use CFC applications in the future.

The findings suggest that economic and utility motives were considered by the respondents to be the most important type of motivation for participation as a user (consumer) of CFC applications. The results confirm previous findings wherein economic/utility/frugality motivation was suggested to be a main or important driver of secondhand fashion consumption (Guiot & Roux, 2010; Cervellon et al., 2012). Furthermore, economic and utility motives significantly affected the attitude towards CFC apps and the willingness to use them in the future. Those conclusions are in line with the works of other researchers (e.g. Ek Styvén & Mariani, 2020; Yan et al., 2015). It should be recalled that the overall findings of prior studies in this area are ambiguous. In some studies, utilitarian motives (saving money or minimalising utility) did not affect consumer attitude towards fashion-sharing platforms (Won & Kim, 2020).

Social motives turned out to be the least important factor (among the three types of motivation) for participation in CFC as a consumer. While analysis of the literature suggests that social motives might be an important reason for second-hand clothing shopping behaviour (Yan et al., 2015) or can be a significant predictor of participation in the SE (Angelovska et al., 2020), our findings seem to be quite interesting in that aspect. In our research, social motives significantly affected both attitude towards CFC platforms and intention to use them in the future; however, the effect on those variables was negative.

Ecological motives were considered to be a relatively important factor for buying second-hand clothing through CFC platforms. Our study findings confirm that ecological motives positively influence the attitudes towards using CFC applications/platforms, which is in line with previous studies by Won and Kim (2020) or Ek Styvén and Mariani (2020). It should be noted, however, that our results did not support the hypothesis that those motives positively influence the willingness to use CFC applications in the future, same as in Yan et al. (2015). Ecological motivation can be seen as a quite important factor regarding participation in CFC platforms, but they may not directly affect the behavioural intention to use them.

Conclusions

The results of our research have shown that there is significant evidence to conclude that the most important motives for using online applications for collaborative fashion consumption were economic and utility motives. Moreover, their impact on attitudes towards these applications and the willingness to use them was confirmed. Past research demonstrates that second-hand consumers are more likely to be price-sensitive and motivated by low prices. Saving money is a key driver for consumers. Thus, low prices exert a major influence on consumers’ willingness to purchase second-hand goods (Cervellon et al., 2012; Guiot & Roux, 2010; Isla, 2013; Williams & Paddock, 2003). Ecological motives emerged as relatively important determinants of the use of CFC applications. Environmental and ethical benefits of garment reuse are also significant drivers according to previous research (Guiot & Roux, 2010; Waight, 2013; Xu et al., 2014). Social motives not only were the least important determinants of participation in CFC, but they seem to have a negative impact on both ATT and willingness to use CFC platforms.

From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to the fashion literature by shedding light on the motivations for using CFC online platforms, especially in the context of the results on social motives. The findings presented in this article can be extremely valuable and useful in designing and implementing solutions to support CFC, such as mobile applications or dedicated websites. The results of our research can be used when designing activities in the field of marketing communication. In order to promote their applications/platforms, enterprises should first of all focus on economic and utility benefits, as well as on ecological aspects, and not focus on social benefits.

Limitations and future research directions

The study has several limitations. Because of the sample size and the selected method of sampling, the results cannot be treated as representative for the general population of Polish consumers who use CFC platforms to buy second-hand clothing. Due to the differences in consumer behaviour regarding various forms of participation in SE/CC, it should be kept in mind that the possibility of inference is limited only to CFC platforms. Our research was focussed on three types of motivation regarding the usage of CFC applications, so it would be a good idea to widen the spectrum of motives in future research. The research findings could be used to describe the consumer behaviour of Polish consumers; however, it should be noticed that due to cultural differences, the importance and the influence of motives for using CFC platforms can differ in other countries. It would be interesting to conduct cross-country research in that aspect. Future studies could also explore other forms of consumer behaviour regarding the usage of CFC platforms, e.g. consumer engagement.

Acknowledgements

The study was conducted within the research project Economics in the face of the New Economy financed within the Regional Initiative for Excellence programme of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of Poland, years 2019–2022, grant no. 004/RID/2018/19, financing 3,000,000 PLN.

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At the beginning of the 20th century, numerous studies were carried out showing that emotions are an inseparable element of contemporary marketing, and validation of the results of these studies led to the emergence of a new stream of knowledge — neuromarketing, which is the result of an interdisciplinary approach to marketing. It uses knowledge of medicine, physics, biology and chemistry to understand consumer purchase behaviour. However, the decisive influence on the development of neuromarketing came from the discoveries of neuroscience — a scientific discipline that emerged at the end of the 20th century, which deals with the study of the nervous system, revealing new discoveries about the structure of the brain and the functions performed by its various centres (Mruk, 2008; Gregor & Wdowiak, 2016).

Currently, support for creative marketing activities of enterprises emerges from the analysis of consumer behaviour using neuromarketing techniques, because as Fabris puts it, 'the consumer changes his views, seeking experiences more than products and sensations and emotions rather than utilitarian values’ (Fabris, 2003). These words indicate the nature of the changes in consumer buying decisions that present marketing is following. It is necessary to study not only consumer behaviour but also consumer minds — including their decision-making processes, as well as the role of emotions and perceptions triggered by brands, products, messages and advertising. Companies can therefore find new impulses, taking into account the fact that, in addition to systematic thinking, the consumer makes purchase decisions based on the emotions felt at the time of the decision. Therefore, an in-depth analysis of the surrounding reality is necessary, focussing on the hidden desires and emotions of consumers in order to predict their behaviour, and thus empower the business enterprise to adopt actions that are no longer only about the consumer as a business object that generates revenue for the company, but also about him as a human being, and his satisfaction and contentment (Gaczek, 2016).

The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly changed consumer behaviour and marketing agencies were forced to be more creative and engaging. Individual customers have increased their online shopping and, consequently, the emotions that accompany such purchases have also changed, as well as the moment and the level of perceived gratification and satisfaction with the purchase. This has inspired marketing researchers to use emotional memory, which is a combination of event memory and emotion, to build brand awareness and maintain a good and lasting relationship with customers (Pispers, Rode, & Fischer, 2021; Ziober, 2021).

Owing to the development of technology and the incorporation of techniques from medical science and psychology into the repertoire of marketing research, it is now possible to, so to speak, reach into the brains of consumers and thereby incorporate the complexity of the human mind into research. This gives a more realistic representation of the process that actually occurs within the consumer’s mind when making purchase decisions. This is what neuromarketing deals with, and its development is fostered by increased competition in the market for consumer goods and services, as well as the increasing reluctance of consumers to participate in classic research such as surveys and interviews (Disterheft, 2018).

Factors for the Development of Neuromarketing

Professor Ale Smidts — winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics — is considered to be the father of neuromarketing. In 2002, Smidts coined the term neuromarketing, defining it as 'a set of techniques for identifying brain mechanisms to better understand consumer behaviour for developing more effective marketing strategies’ (Diotto, 2020). Neuromarketing gained popularity in 2003 owing to the efforts of Read Montague, who conducted a series of experiments comparing consumer responses to two large wellknown brands, such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, using neuroscience technologies to study brain activity in order to compare consumer preferences and the responses they had previously given regarding these brands (McClure, Li, Tomilin, Montague, & Cypert, 2004). Since then, there has been an increase in the use of biometric and neuroscience techniques for marketing purposes, fuelled by companies’ and brands’ interest in the potential of these methodologies. Over time, the variety of methods used by companies and brands also started to develop. Due to the growing interest in this new field of research, books and articles have been published on marketing, biometrics and neuroscience (Lankjaer-Bain, 2011; Dooley, 2022).

As a result, four key factors can be identified that have contributed to the rapid growth in the use of biometric and neurological methodologies by companies:

• advances in neuroscience development and technological advances in the construction of neuroscience methodologies and tools;
• marketing’s growing interest in unconscious consumers and in measuring their emotional responses to marketing messages;
• increasing market competitiveness, which requires companies to develop effective communication (including advertising) to attract as many customers as possible and generate profits;
• increasing numbers of customers as a result of using neuroscientific methods in marketing.

It should be noted here that with the rise in popularity of neuromarketing, there are potential dangers associated with unauthorised and non-ethical use of neuromarketing techniques, which will also be discussed in the paper.

The Potential of Neuromarketing Knowledge

The concept of neuromarketing, in its strict sense, refers to the use of brain imaging techniques to identify areas of the brain associated with psychological phenomena such as cognitive activities, thoughts, emotions, sensations and perceptions, considered in their biological dimension, i.e. purely chemical and neuronal (Neff, 2011). However, a definition describing neuromarketing as a discipline that uses only brain activity detection techniques is reductive. Neuromarketing practices involve measuring biometric variables that detect changes in physiological parameters such as respiratory rhythm, skin conductance, pupil dilation, heartbeat, sweating, eye fixation point displacement and facial expression. Owing to technological progress, it is possible to monitor and study these parameters in real time. The measurement of biometric parameters takes place when a subject performs a task (cognitive or emotional) or is receiving stimuli such as watching an advertisement. These findings are indirect (passive) because they do not involve a verbal response from the subject. Consequently, they are objective measurements that produce new and higher quality information because they are not subject to the filtering of the individual’s reason.

In neuromarketing methodology, three basic parameters are studied: (1) concentration, i.e. the extent to which the subject’s brain is engaged in performing a task or viewing a stimulus; (2) in measuring the impact of advertising, since it is important to understand whether the part of the brain that is associated with the ability to remember has been activated while viewing the content; and (3) detecting the emotional engagement that an advertisement or experimental task arouses in the individual.

Neuroscience applied to marketing can, among other things, help identify key aspects of a product’s appeal and its compatibility with customer needs. Neuromarketing research on a product can be carried out as early as in the project planning phase and then in the subsequent phase of product launch, e.g. together with research on the effectiveness of the campaign being introduced. Using these techniques prior to a product launch, an advertisement (or any other message from the business enterprise directed at the consumer) allows to verify in advance whether the marketers’ efforts will produce the desired results, or at least enables a preliminary understanding of the level of attention and emotional engagement the efforts will elicit from the consumer. Neuromarketing techniques can therefore be applied in the selection of marketing communication tools and in other areas where emotional involvement and individual attention are important success factors (Lindrstrom, 2009). Other areas of application of this new knowledge are prevalent in: content construction and website navigation, engaging users of computer games, advertising, product placement in games and films, and 'in store’ marketing, including observation of in-store customer behaviour and visual merchandising (Pradeep, 2012; Swida & Kabaja, 2013).

Neuromarketing Tools

To better understand consumer behaviour over time, biometric instruments have been developed that record the impact of certain stimuli at the brain and emotional level. These are research techniques that are mainly based on the belief that the body cannot lie and for this reason can definitely provide more information than the traditional tools that have always been used to observe and study consumer behaviour. There are many tools belonging to the sphere of biometric research that can be used for marketing analyses. These are new instruments useful for understanding the functioning of the human brain and that are able to determine which cortical areas are activated in conjunction with specific consumer behaviours and experiences.

The research techniques currently used by neuromarketing experts fall mainly into three groups:

1. Techniques called brain imaging, which analyse and study human brain activity, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or electroencephalography (EEG);
2. Behavioural indicators such as eye-tracking or facial expression analysis, tools that are limited to the analysis of consumer behaviour in different situations;
3. Physiological indicators that analyse the often involuntary physical reactions of the subjects, such as galvanic skin response (GSR) or heart rate variability (HVR). These techniques aim to record the emotions that affect a person and their level of engagement and recall after exposure to a specific marketing stimulus. The greatest strength of these instruments is their ability to register even the smallest neurological and psychophysical changes: their extraordinary sensitivity in simultaneously detecting, on several individuals, parameters that also differ greatly from each other guarantees a deeper understanding of the type of emotions and the type of stimulus that is induced in consumers and makes it possible to carry out neuromarketing studies even on very large samples of the population (Chmielewska, 2013; Antoniak, 2020).

The latest, advanced neuroradiological techniques, called brain imaging, represent non-invasive research methods at the brain level, which are capable of recording areas of brain activation while subjects are making choices or performing a task. These tools allow experts to carry out mapping of the human brain, while providing information on brain function and the areas of the brain that are activated when making purchasing decisions. Brain imaging techniques differ from other tools used in neuromarketing mainly because of their optimal performance in terms of spatial resolution, millimetre accuracy and temporal millisecond precision, where the last two among these dimensions, respectively, describe the ability to understand brain activity by identifying individual elements that are even very close to each other spatially and using the shortest possible time to record the brain activity under study. The basic concept of brain imaging techniques, including, for example, fMRI or EEG, is that when one area of the brain is active, it consumes more glucose than another specific 'at rest’ area, characterised by a more intense metabolism and higher blood flow. Neuroimaging tools therefore make it possible to analyse changes in blood flow and create colour images characterised by different colours and degrees of intensity in relation to greater or lesser levels of activation of the brain area under study. By later comparing an image of a part of the brain 'at rest’ with an image of an area exposed to a stimulus, it is thus possible to identify the brain areas responsible for that precise cognitive processing activated in response to that particular stimulus. The most commonly used neuroimaging techniques according to Trenti (2019) are:

• functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI);
• electroencephalography (EEG); and
• magnetoencephalography (MEG).

Behavioural indicators are non-invasive techniques used to analyse consumers’ behaviour when they are in precise buying situations or when they are exposed to specific visual stimuli, such as advertisement or exposure to a particular brand. The following two are the most commonly used and widespread techniques in this field:

• Eye-tracking; and
• Emotion recognition.

Eye tracker is a tool designed to measure eyeball movement. More specifically, it monitors a number of factors that describe different stages of a person’s attention, including stages of eye exploration, eye fixation time, visual trajectory, pupil dilation and eyelid blink (closure). As already mentioned, eye-tracking was developed to enable an understanding of the functioning of human vision mechanisms, and it is capable of identifying what the human eye is looking at any time and with what degree of attention, by recording pupil dilation and contraction. Through eyetracking methodologies, it is possible to understand where the eye is most likely to stop, and thus understand which elements are able to attract the most attention. This technique, which is being used more and more intensively by market researchers, is based on the reflection of infrared light by the cornea: an eye tracker, mounted either on fixed positions in the laboratory or in spaces on simple glasses, directs infrared light, which is invisible to the naked eye, onto the subject’s face, and this light is reflected by the cornea itself. The reflection is then captured by cameras placed inside the instrument and analysed, allowing the position of the eye in relation to the observed object to be determined precisely at each moment of operation (Figure 1). In addition to presenting the path and direction the eye follows, the eye tracker also measures how long it takes before a person notices a product or how much time is spent observing it. Therefore, its applications are particularly relevant to the field of marketing — more and more companies are using this technology to monitor product performance and the communicative and promotional power of packaging. For example, just think of the countless applications of this technology in the area of largescale retail products — it is not difficult to imagine how useful it would be for many companies to have objective data that indicate, for example, how much time consumers spend looking at a particular product before buying it, or what the average consumer’s visual path along a supermarket shelf is before seeing the desired product and paying attention to it (Trenti, 2019).

Source: Two must methods packaging testing. Downloaded on Apr. 22, 2022 from https://medium.com/@eyesee/two-must-have-methods-for-package-testing6fea56a62883 http://eyesee-research.com/blog/two-must-methods-packaging-testing/

Understanding what emotions are evoked in consumers in response to specific stimuli or messages, such as promotional spots or price increases, is of growing importance to marketing. Recognising and analysing consumer emotions aroused by advertising messages can also be achieved through tracking the personalisation of promotional messages on a website or in social networks. In fact, focussing on people’s reactions and engagement on an emotional level seems to be an effective way for brands to stand out from the competition. It is no coincidence that the companies that are able to build solid brand loyalty today are in fact those that have historically been able to establish a kind of emotional bond with their customers.

One of the first researchers who focussed on studying facial expressions in relation to different emotional stages is psychologist Paul Ekman, who created an extensive catalogue of over 5,000 facial muscle movements, demonstrating that even a small movement of the eyebrow or nose reveals a different emotion. Following this database, he created models based on the relationship between a specific facial expression and its accompanying emotions, in an attempt to predict the different emotional reactions of the subjects. This is a thorough study that has been used in practice by many global brands (e.g. Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Apple) developing emotion recognition technology. The measurement of change in facial expression is a technique based on the high capacity of facial expressions to uniquely express the emotional states of individuals, transcending possible linguistic and cultural differences of the individuals studied (Ekman & Friesen, 1978). Today, there are well-established examples of brands using emotion recognition technology: just think, for example, of Facebook’s introduction of emotional responses to posts (Figure 2) or the use of negative facial expression recognition systems in many Japanese shops since 2014 to prevent theft (Baptista, 2016).

The techniques analysed so far in neuromarketing research can be complemented by physiological measurements, often involuntary and related to various emotional and cognitive processes, in order to conduct a more in-depth analysis of a person’s response to specific marketing stimuli, thus obtaining a more complete and reliable research result. Some of these psychophysiological indicators are represented, for example, by body sweating, heartbeat variability or changes in respiratory rhythm. All

Source: Baptista (2016). RIconoscere le emozioni dei consumatori dal volto: come cambia il marketing? Downloaded on Apr. 22, 2022 from https://www.insidemarketing.it/riconoscere-emozioni-consumatori-marketing/

signals occur after the subject is exposed to specific stimuli, and the techniques used by neuromarketing to analyse physiological signals are (Trenti, 2019):

• galvanic skin response (GSR);
• electrocardiogram (ECG); and
• electromyography (EMG).

GSR or skin conductance activity (SCA) represent one of the best known and most widely used physiological indicators, the basic principle of which is the measurement of continuous changes in the electrical characteristics of the skin, which are manifested as a consequence of the variation of the individual stages of skin perspiration. Skin perspiration is regulated by the autonomic nervous system, a system directly involved in regulating emotional behaviour, and changes involuntarily in the face of external factors that frighten or distress the individual due to the alternation between the sympathetic nervous system, which increases sweat production, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which decreases it. The guiding principle of GSR is based on the fact that sweat containing a conductive saline solution makes the skin moist and therefore better adapted to conduct electricity compared to dry skin: this phenomenon, referred to as skin conductance, is better known as the 'galvanic skin response’. The GSR signal is very easy to detect: usually only two electrodes connected to a display are needed, which, applied to the index and middle finger of the subject’s hand, pick up the flow of electrical current through the skin. If the value registered on the display increases, it means that there is more skin conductance due to the greater presence of sweat as a result of activation of the sweat glands managed by the sympathetic autonomic nervous system. By recording the reactions of subjects exposed to relaxing or stressful stimuli, it is thus easy to understand how useful it is to apply the GSR technique in marketing research to better understand subjects’ reactions when they are subjected to different tests, such as, for example, watching an advertising spot (Trenti, 2019).

The electrocardiogram is also a widely used tool in medicine, as it allows the electrical activity of the heart to be measured. There are many studies that confirm the existence of a correlation between the emotional and affective spheres and the electrical field of the heart: just think of situations of anxiety or fear, which inevitably cause changes in the rhythm of the heartbeat. Test results obtained from ECG are often used by neuromarketing experts to better understand how subjects’ emotional states change during a test — the heartbeat is actually related to an individual’s level of concentration: the lower it is, the more it indicates that the subject is in a mental state of attention and concentration (Chmielewska, 2013).

EMG is a technique that measures the state of contraction of muscles, such as those of the arms or face, as it has been found that the contraction of these muscles is strongly linked to certain emotional states. These are micro-contractions perceived by a sensor, useful in marketing research to identify changes in the emotional and affective levels of subjects under certain stimuli (Trojan & Gut, 2020).

Examples of practical application of selected methods and techniques of neuromarketing are presented in the synthetic Table 1.

EEG: Electroencephalography; fMRI, Functional magnetic resonance imaging.

The neuromarketing techniques discussed in the article are applicable to the implementation of corporate strategies for different product categories. In practice, they provide unique knowledge about consumer emotions evoked by brands, products, messages and advertisements. As noted earlier, this may pose potential risks, as evidenced by the discussion in the scientific community described below.

Source: Own study.

Discussion on the Ethics of Neuromarketing Research

Neuromarketing as an applied discipline has recently not only been the focus of industry experts debating the actual effectiveness of these methodologies, but has also raised many concerns of ethical nature. The researchers point out that the misuse of these tools by companies may be aimed at identifying consumer weaknesses, then leading to segmentation based on these, and exploiting these weaknesses for commercial purposes. The issue concerns the privacy of consumers, who are becoming increasingly aware, and wary, of the role that modern technology could play in making their data vulnerable to unauthorised sharing and usage. Therefore, companies have to pay particular attention to ethical data collection and to providing accurate information about the process to customers.

Many people believe that neuromarketing is an attempt to use our subconscious mind to force us into buying a particular product or service. Many ethical concerns focus on the use of neuroscience techniques to stimulate and promote the purchase of goods dangerous to humanity. Neuromarketing, similar to traditional marketing, can generate undesirable effects (e.g. effective alcohol advertising can lead to serious health problems for customers). However, neuroscience techniques can also encourage a range of positive behaviours, such as helping people to better understand health-promoting campaigns (Więckowska, 2019).

Doubts and concerns about the true effectiveness of neuroscientific tools used in marketing are fuelled by the secrecy surrounding the discipline. Large companies that have carried out neuromarketing research are in practice reluctant to disseminate the data and the results obtained, contributing to the misinformation of the public concerning this field. With the discovery and increasingly widespread application of neuromarketing, industry experts should commit together with companies towards making this discipline more transparent in the eyes of consumers by establishing measures that, on the one hand, protect consumers through the ethical, responsible and correct use of these techniques and, on the other, make it possible to verify their actual effectiveness.

Summary

Operating in a competitive environment, companies seek to strengthen their market position and achieve their marketing objectives by communicating the value of their products to existing and potential consumers. Marketing managers have always tried to achieve these objectives by gathering as much information as possible about the needs, preferences and expectations of customers through the traditional tools offered by marketing. Today, new methodologies have been developed to achieve these goals, taking advantage of technological advances and new discoveries in neuroscience. Nowadays, companies have access to much more information about how consumers’ minds work, and thus also about their choice processes; and as a result, the question arises as to how marketers can ethically use this body of knowledge gathered from observing consumer behaviour There are studies in the literature suggesting the need to be aware that capturing and predicting consumers’ emotional reactions and moods-in relation to products, brands or advertisements-might possibly undermine their individuality and subjectivity (Hernandez, 2017).

In order to deal with the fact that various ethical issues are associated with the extraction and use of the neuroscientific imaging data of consumers, as well as, more generally, with the application of neuroscience in marketing, an association was founded in 2012, being the first of its kind, which brought together experts in the field of neuromarketing from around the world. The NeuroMarketing Science & Business Association (NMSBA) is an international trade association for anyone with a professional interest in neuromarketing and is present in 42 countries around the world, including Poland. In order to protect the future of neuromarketing and the discoveries that will be made over the years in the field of neuroscience, as well as to protect consumers and defend the discipline of neuromarketing itself from the many criticisms raised by sceptics, the NMSBA has also developed a code of ethics regarding the use of instruments that commonly form part of the application of neuroscience to marketing (Hernandez, 2017).

The authors share the view that neuromarketing research should be treated with great caution, given the possibility of there being aspects of neuroscientific-imaging-oriented assessments of consumer behaviour that are at quite a distance from current knowledge and existing limitations characterising the process of studying, analysing and predicting human behaviour (Kahneman, Sibony, & Sustein, 2022). However, it is worth evaluating the unprecedented potential of this knowledge for further research on consumer behaviour in the marketing arena, both from the scientific and pragmatic points of view.

References

1. Antoniak, M. (2020). Benefits and threats of neuromarketing: Theoretical background and practical use. Zeszyty Naukowe Organizacja i Zarządzanie, Politechnika Śląska, 148, 9025. Pobrano 12 lutego 2022. z Retrieved from https://bazekon. uek.krakow.pl/rekord/171605155

2. Baptista, R. (2016). RIconoscere le emozioni dei consumatori dal volto: come cambia il marketing? Pobrano 22 kwietnia 2022 z. Retrieved from https://www.insidemarketing. it/riconoscere-emozioni-consumatori-marketing/

3. Chmielewska, N. (2013). Neuromarketing-cele,narzędzia i prognozy. Pobrano 22 kwietnia 2022 z. Retrieved from https://biotechnologia.pl/biotechnologia neuromarketing-cele-narzedzia-i-prognozy,13089

4. Diotto, M. (2020). Il neuromarketing per le aziende: che cos’e, definizione ed esempi. Pobrano 21 kwietnia 2022 z. Retrieved from https://www.marianodiotto.it /neuromarketing-aziendale/

5. Disterheft, A. (2018). Badania neuromarketingowe w przewidywaniu intencji zakupowych. Poznań: Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Poznaniu. Rozprawa doktorska. Pobrano 12 stycznia 2022 z. Retrieved from http://www.wbc.poznan.pl/ Content/466362/PDF/Disterheft_Aneta-rozprawa_doktorska.pdf

6. Dooley, R. (2022). Neuromarketing. Warszawa, Poland: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

7. Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. (1978). Facial action coding system: A technique for the measurement of facial movement. Pobrano 22 kwietnia 2022 z. Retrieved from https://www.scirp.org/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspx?ReferenceID=2207663 (tłum. własne)

8. Fabris, G. (2003). Il nuovo consumatore: verso il postmoderno. Milano, Italy: Franco Angeli Edizioni, s. 162.

9. Gaczek, P. (2016). Emocje czy rozum? Co kształtuje decyzje zakupowe nabywców? Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Poznaniu. Pobrano 20 listopada 2021 z. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317328940_Emocje_czy_rozum_Co_ksztaltuje _decyzje_zakupowe_nabywcow, s.2-8

10. Gregor, B., & Wdowiak, Ł. (2016). Istota oraz metody badań neuromarketingowych. Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu, 459, s. 51. 11. Hernandez, C. S. (2017). Neuroética: una visión crítica hacia el neuromarketing, Revista Digital INESEM. Pobrano 22 kwietnia 2022 z. Retrieved from https://revistadigital.inesem.es/gestion-empresarial/neuroetica/

12. Kanehman, D., Sibony, O., & Sunstein, C. R. (2022). Szum, czyli skąd się biorą błędy w naszych decyzjach. Warszawa, Poland: Media Rodzina.

13. Lankjaer-Bain, R. (2011). ARF reveals results from neuromarketing review and plans expert network. Pobrano 21 kwietnia 2022 z. Retrieved from https://www.researchlive. com/article/news/arf-reveals-results-from-neuromarketing-review-and-plans-expertnetwork/ id/4004844 (tłum. własne)

14. Lindrstrom, M. (2009). Neuromarketing. Attivita celebrale e comportamenti d’acquisto. Milano, Italy: Apogeo Education. S. 100-132.

15. McClure, S., Li, J., Tomilin, D., Montague, M., & Cypert, K. (2004). Neural correlates of behavioral preference for culturally familiar drinks. Pobrano 21 kwietnia z. Retrieved form https://fbri.vtc.vt.edu/content/dam/fbri_vtc_vt_edu/publications/montaguepublications/ McClureLi2004.pdf

16. Mruk, H. (2008). Neuromarketing jako obszar badań interdyscyplinarnych. Warszawa, Poland: PWE

17. Neff, J. (2011). ARF panel finds promise for neuromarketing, but also plenty of problems. Pobrano 21 kwietnia 2022 z. Retrieved from https://adage.com /article/news/arf-panel-finds-promise-problems-neuromarketing/149576

18. Pispers, R., Rode, J., & Fischer, B. (2021). Neuromarketing w Internecie. Pozytywne doświadczenia klientów w świecie cyfrowym. Łódź, Poland: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.

19. Pradeep, A. K. (2012). Mózg na zakupach. Neuromarketing w sprzedaży. Gliwice, Poland: Helion.

20. Świda, J., & Kabaja, B. (2013). Wykorzystanie technik neuromarketingowych do badań postrzegania opakowań produktów. Marketing i Rynek, 11(20), 26–30.

21. Trenti, G. (2019). Il secondo episodio della serie sul neuromarketing: gli strumenti. Pobrano 22 kwietnia 2022 z. Retrieved from https://www.neurexplore.com/it/secondoepisodioserie-neuromarketing-neurexplore.html

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23. Więckowska, A. (2019). When neuromarketing crosses the line. Pobrano 21 kwietnia 2022 z. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2019/01/when-neuromarketing-crosses-the-line

24. Ziober, P. (2021). Emocje w rękach współczesnego marketera. Pobrano 14 stycznia 2022 r. Retrieved from https://marketerplus.pl/emocje-w-rekach-wspolczesnego-marketera/

The attitudes and behaviors of food consumers have changed significantly over the last decade or so, including a trend towards healthy eating and an interest in the influence of nutrients on general health, as well as in the prevention and treatment of existing diseases. As a consequence of these changes, foods with potentially beneficial effects on health and weight control have become more common (de Boer, 2021, pp.2).

The information on food packaging can encourage consumers to make healthier food choices, facilitate selection of portions adequate for their actual nutrition needs, and support their education in healthy eating. Unfortunately, reaping such benefits makes it difficult for them to navigate the food market, the quantity and variety of food products and the abundance of information contained on their labels. As a consequence, consumers focus their attention on simple messages (e.g. health and nutrition claims) that will help them find a product that stands out for its health or nutrition values. This approach may unfortunately lead them to make the wrong purchasing decisions. Claims are increasingly used to increase the purchase attractiveness of a product by food producers, who in many cases do not act honestly and mislead consumers (Davidović, et al., 2021, 1–2).

Ensuring that consumers can safely rely on the information on food packaging, as well as the highest quality and appropriateness of this information, is particularly important in the face of increasing obesity rates. By creating a friendly environment for consumers to make the right food choices, the epidemic of obesity and related diseases can be prevented and claims and other information on food packaging are a key element in this regard. For most consumers, they are the primary source of nutrition knowledge. Their role should be primarily to raise consumer awareness of the composition and properties of food products, and thus encourage their interest in healthy foods. In practice, however, buyers do not use them sufficiently due to difficulties in understanding them and the limited amount of time to make purchasing decisions (Oostenbach, Slits, Robinson & Sacks, 2019, pp.2).

The impact of nutrition claims on consumer purchasing intentions and dietary choices has been the subject of research by many authors (e.g.
Steinhauser, Janssen & Hamm, 2019, pp. 4–14; Steinhauser & Hamm, 2018, pp. 1–33; Lynam, McKevitt & Gibney, 2011, pp. 2–6; Annunziata & Mariani, 2019, pp. 3–13). However, there are few studies in which conclusions about attitudes and behaviors towards participants’ statements are compared to their objectively verified knowledge about this form of marketing communication. There is also a dearth of studies that compare how consumers’ perception of claims differs depending on whether they are placed on a product or are separate information.

Therefore, the main purposes of this paper are:

1. Identifying factors related to food consumers and producers that determine the effective influencing of claims on the perception of food products bearing them.
2. Finding factors that negatively affect the purchase intentions of products with claims.
3. Determining how claims affect the perception of products by consumers.
4. Seeing whether there is a correlation between consumers’ knowledge of claims and their attitude towards them.
5. Understanding the determinants of effectively encouraging consumers to make healthier food choices through claims.

The use of health and nutrition claims in the light of European food law

Health claims describe or indicate the health-promoting effects of a given product or its ingredients. In turn, a nutrition claim is defined as any claim made on the label of a food product that relates to its nutritional value. The content of both health and nutrition claims must be comprehensible and transparent to consumers so that their interpretation will be truthful. One condition for making claims in accordance with European Food Law is that they must not imply that other foods are less healthy or less nutritious. It is also forbidden to use claims that imply that the consumption of a given product is necessary to cover the need for all essential nutrients. It is important that the regulations concerning claims also apply to symbols, trademarks or even product names, which should be supplemented by permitted statements (de Boer, 2021, p. 3). In addition, claims include not only health or nutrition messages placed on food packaging, but also those used in marketing campaigns and other promotional activities (OJEU, L 404, 30.12.2006, pp. 9).

Food law regulations regarding claims may vary depending on the laws and regulations issued in a given country. However, in the case of countries belonging to the European Union (EU), for example, they must meet certain standards and requirements. These conditions are primarily used to protect the health of consumers, as well as to minimize their being misled by the dishonest actions of producers (Szymura, 2012, pp. 1–3). The European Union has undertaken to achieve these objectives by issuing Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims (OJEU, L 404, 30.12.2006). However, in 2008 it issued Regulation (EC) No 107/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission (OJEU L 39, 13.2.2008, p. 8–10). In Europe, in addition to the regulations contained in this regulation, validation of claims by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is mandatory. Any claim that a given food producer wants to put on their product must indicate the nutrition or health properties supported by generally accepted, reliable scientific evidence (Szymecka-Wesołowska, 2011, pp. 21–22). Claims that pass EFSA verification are included in the publicly available list of approved claims. Currently, 30 nutrition claims listed in Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 are allowed on the food market. Any nutrition claim that a manufacturer wants to include on the packaging of their product must have the same meaning as any of the claims contained in the regulation and must meet the relevant nutrition criteria. For example, a product can be labeled „a source of protein” or a statement with the same wording may be used on its label only if at least 12 % of its energy value comes from protein.

In addition to indicating the source of the nutrient, nutrition claims can be formulated using the words (OJEU, L 404, 30.12.2006, pp. 9–25):

• Low/very low content/value…;
• High in…;
• Without, without additive, there is no, does not contain…;
• Contains…;
• With increased/reduced content…;
• Light;
• Natural/naturally…;

Moving on to health claims, 4 main types can be distinguished (de Boer, 2021, pp. 5):

I. Functional claims based on generally accepted scientific evidence;
II. Functional claims based on newly developed scientific insights;
III. Claims relating to the reduction of a risk factor in the development of the disease;
IV. Statements relating to the growth and development of children.

Although there are only 4 types of these claims, the number of claims that currently exist on the food market is 265. Examples of health claims include: Zinc helps to maintain a proper acid-base balance or magnesium contributes to the maintenance of proper energy metabolism (O. J. EU, L 136, 25.05.2012, pp. 4–40).

The conditions of use and the system for validating claims were checked during the European Commission’s Regulatory Fitness and Performance Program (REFIT) from 2013 to 2020. One of the results of REFIT was that health and nutrition claims currently do not fully perform their role and new regulations are required to take into account the problems identified (de Boer, 2021, p.2). In addition, there are frequent cases of fraud involving use of statements that are inconsistent with the actual nutritional value or health properties of a given product (Lorenzoni, et al., 2019, pp. 3–12).

Existing research on food consumers’ understanding and use of claims

In a study conducted on a group of 100 participants from five European countries — Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia and the United Kingdom — it was examined whether and how food consumers understand selected health and nutrition claims. Out of these 100 participants, 51% declared that they use statements quite often or very often, on a daily basis.

Distinguishing between claims in terms of their types and meaning was not a problem for most participants in this study. The exceptions were statements with difficult vocabulary, such as, for example, one concerning homocysteine metabolism. Difficulties in understanding the statements also appeared when they referred to nutrients that are not very well known to participants or not very popular. Nutrition claims were rated more positively for affordability, but at the same time, the respondents believed that they should be supplemented with information on the health benefits of consuming the product. In addition, respondents expressed skepticism about nutrition claims indicating that the product is a meal replacement and those with reduced sugar and fat content. The statements were also considered by some respondents to be marketing tricks urging them to make larger purchases. The correct interpretation and positive perception of the claims in this study also depended on whether they related to health benefits or nutritional values that were important to the participants.

Another important finding of this work is that in several cases respondents over-interpreted the statements by assigning them meanings that they did not objectively indicate (Hodgkins, et al., 2019, pp. 7–24).

In another paper — a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies conducted in 2014–2017, the impact of food labeling on food purchases, consumer health and the activities of producers was examined. The overall conclusion of this paper is that food labeling has a beneficial effect on protecting the health of consumers. Food labels have been shown to reduce fat consumption and the overall energy value of the diet. In addition, they encourage more frequent consumption of vegetables. However, they still do not affect the consumption of salt, carbohydrates, protein, saturated fats, fruits or whole grains (Shangguan, et al., 2019, pp. 7–10).

However, there are also papers whose results indicate that claims induce consumers to consume excessively. This may be the case for individual nutrients when consumers mistakenly believe that the more they consume, the better for their health, or are unaware that they are already consuming the ingredient in excess. It also happens that statements are not precise, which leads them to be misunderstood. This is so, for example, in the case of the statement „provides energy”, which only states that the product is not calorie-free (and often that it is high-calorie), but for some consumers this message may mean that the consumption of the product will have a stimulating effect on them (Chandon & Wansink, 2012, pp. 8).

Misinterpretation is also common in the case of claims regarding the content of a particular nutrient. This is mainly the case when the consumer judges the product based on the claim itself without analyzing the nutrition table or ingredient list. This is a particularly harmful approach, as the claims only draw attention to healthy ingredients, thereby diverting it from those that are dangerous to health. The same is true when the claim concerns the reduction of the risk of disease by consuming a particular product, while this product at the same time contains ingredients that increase this risk. An equally important problem for consumers is the so-called „Halo effect”, which in relation to products with claims refers to the phenomenon of attributing qualities to them that they do not have.

However, there is no doubt that not only consumers are to blame, but also producers who are fully aware of the presence and operation of these mechanisms (Talati, et al., 2017, pp.2).

Survey methodology — examining awareness and perception of claims among consumers

In the period from 20.04.2021 to 04.05.2021, a questionnaire with elements of experimental measurement was carried out. The study used the CAWI method using Google’s web forms. The selection of the sample was purposive and was performed using the „snowball sampling” method.

The sample consisted of 200 respondents of Polish nationality. The individual characteristics of the respondents are presented in Table 1.

In the initial questions in the survey, participants rated a food product presented to them in pictures, which contained various configurations of claims on their packaging. This section of the form was the only one that varied for individual participants. By sending the appropriate versions of the form, the respondents were divided into 4 groups of 50 people. Group 1 received a form with pictures of products bearing nutrition claims (NC), group 2 with health claims (HC), group 3 with both types of claims (NHC), and group 4 with pictures of products without claims, as the control group (C). The other packaging elements of the products presented in the pictures for all groups were identical and did not contain any advertising slogans, trademarks or names of manufacturers.

The evaluation criteria were:

• Health;
• Caloric value;
• Taste;
• The reliability of the information on the label;
• Willingness to purchase;
• Willingness to consume.

The rating scale was from 1 to 5. The ratings in each group were added up and then the average was drawn from them.

The next questions concerned the degree of interest in healthy eating and the information on food labels, as well as the level of respondents’
practical and theoretical knowledge about claims. This made it possible to explore the standard of knowledge concerning food law among the respondents, as well as to discover how this translates into the ability to interpret claims.

The study also examined the interpretation of claims as separate messages not appearing on a specific product. Participants were asked to choose answers in the form of sentences that most accurately describe their feelings about a specific health or nutrition claim presented to them. For statements, any number of responses could be selected from:

1. It is worth buying this product;
2. The information is reliable for me;
3. The information is understandable to me;
4. This product is healthy;
5. This product does not taste good;
6. The information encourages the consumption of the product.

The survey form was completed by collecting basic data on respondents, such as age, education, financial situation and health status, which are of great importance for making food choices and purchasing decisions.

To ensure the reliability of the results, the collected data were subjected to statistical tests. Statistical analysis was based, inter alia, on the Pearson correlation test or Student’s t test for two averages.

Results

The findings of the study are listed in the Tables and Charts below. The differences in the assessment of the products depending on the claims made on them were statistically insignificant. However, for some products, the impact of the claims on the participants’ product assessment was particularly evident:

83% of the sample rated their level of interest in healthy eating as medium and 20% as very high. The most important information for the respondents on food labels turned out to be: use-by date, the price of the product and nutrition information on the back of the packaging, such as the nutrition table or composition. Right behind them were: markings and information contained on the front of the pack.

29% of respondents stated they always pay attention to the detailed information presented on the packaging of food products, 41% that they do so usually, while only 4% that they never do so.

Slightly more than half of the participants could not point out the difference between a nutrition claim and a health claim, while the vast majority did not know what the real meaning of individual nutrition claims was.

It was also noted that respondents were skeptical of health-related information on food packaging. 36%, which is the largest proportion, believed that placing such information on the label is regulated by law, but the rules are often violated by manufacturers.
Statements presented as separate messages were most often associated by respondents with a healthy product, and the least often indicated to them that the product does not taste good.

Conclusions

The results of this study show that the impact of the claim on the perception of the health benefits of the product by consumers is strongly dependent on the specific product being assessed. The credibility and significance of the statement for the consumer may be limited by their previous prejudices. Therefore, the inclusion of a claim on a product should be preceded by promotional activities aimed at increasing the perception of its attractiveness by consumers.

The study also showed that the presence of claims affects the deterioration of the perception of the palatability of products considered to be the least healthy.

A significant percentage of the respondents declared that when shopping they pay attention not only to the front of the product packaging, but also to the back. Taking into account the fact that nutrition claims are usually found on the front of the packaging, while health claims on the back, it can be concluded that using both types of claims on labels may be more effective in promoting health than using only one type. Furthermore, based on the results of this work, it can be concluded that consumers now clearly expect information on labels detailing the health effects of a nutrient, so using nutrition claims alone will become increasingly unsatisfactory for them.

Consumers are actually more likely to analyze food labels. This is an important result for food producers, which suggests that they should pay particular attention to the appropriateness of the information provided on the product packaging. Clarifying the content of labels for a thorough analysis may be related to another phenomenon that has been demonstrated in this paper, namely that consumers show a low level of confidence in the credibility of statements. The study did not show that consumer distrust of the credibility of claims was correlated with low levels of knowledge about them.

Based on the respondents’ answers, it cannot be concluded that the presence of the claims meant that the product was seen as less caloric. It seems, therefore, that consumers’ awareness of the processes of maintaining and achieving a healthy body weight has increased significantly. However, it is important that participants reported a relatively high level of knowledge of healthy eating in this study.

Another conclusion is that greater interest in healthy eating does not translate into the ability to correctly interpret statements. The respondents had severe problems in indicating what specific and actually existing health and nutrition claims mean. Therefore, it can be concluded that educating consumers on healthy eating does not increase their ability to use claims and solutions are needed to help raise public awareness of the legal aspects of food labeling.

Limitations and future research

Only Polish food consumers took part in the study, most of whom were healthy women with higher education and declaring a good financial situation. The majority of respondents declared a high level of interest in healthy eating, as well as rating the quality of their diet as good or average.

Therefore, the results may have been significantly different if the survey had been conducted on respondents with other individual characteristics.

Moreover, it also unclear how the results of this study translate into food purchases in real-world shop conditions. There is a need for research involving larger and more diverse groups of consumers that reflect the real circumstances of food shopping to a greater extent.

References

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5. Hodgkins, C., E., Egan, B., Peacock, M., Klepacz, N., Miklavec, K., Pravst, I., … Raats, M., M. (2019). Understanding How Consumers Categorise Health Related Claims on Foods: A Consumer-Derived Typology of Health-Related Claims. Nutrients, 11(3), 539.
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Changes in the lifestyle of inhabitants, economic issues, and the growing importance of environmental issues in consumer choices are redefining mobility patterns in cities (Aguilera-García et al., 2019). For many years, changes in access to various forms of urban transport that are assumed to be consistent with the concept of sustainable development have been observed. An increasingly common trend around the world (including Poland) is the growing importance of low-emission transport and the introduction of short-term rental systems of bicycles, electric cars, e-scooters and moped e-scooters (Sojkin & Michalak, 2019). The shift from „ownership” to „usership” — using resources made available „on demand” or sharing them with others — observed on the mobility market is a response to the negative consequences caused by mass motorization and the rapid increase of the number of private vehicles (Jurczak, 2019; Machado et al., 2018). Despite the increasing development of electric moped scooter sharing services/systems, the subject literature includes far fewer studies on the conditions of their use than in the case of other „sharing” services/systems (Aguilera-García et al., 2021; Bieliński & Ważna, 2020; Eccarius & Lu, 2018, Wortmann et al., 2021). On a dynamically changing market of transport services, understanding the mobility patterns of inhabitants is crucial for urban planners, administrators and transport service providers in order to adapt their services to the evolving needs of consumers (Aguilera-García et al., 2019). The main aim of this paper is to identify and assess the motives for and barriers to the use of electric moped scooter sharing services among the inhabitants of selected Polish cities and to define the main travel destinations using this form of transport.

Electric moped scooter sharing services as a form of shared micro-mobility

In recent years, a certain evolution of the transport services market has been observed, within which two main trends should be noted — shared mobility and electrification (Liao & Correia, 2020). Among the forms of shared mobility, there are services related to shared micro-mobility, which is considered an innovative and „green” form of transport (Flores & Jansson, 2021). Micro-mobility is an innovative urban transport solution and relates to trips over a shorter distance for personal transport by using low-speed modes of transportation e.g., bike, scooter/e-scooter, moped e-scooter, Segway, etc. (Lee et al., 2021; Eccarius & Lu, 2020; Mitra & Hess, 2020). The essence of shared micro-mobility is the temporary use of goods and services by consumers without having to own them (Machado et al., 2018). The use of shared micro-mobility services by consumers may contribute to reducing the problems faced by the authorities and inhabitants of many cities, e.g. excessive transport costs, traffic jams, air pollution, shortage of (parking) spaces and noise (Bieliński & Ważna, 2020; Zhu et al., 2020). One of the results of the acceptance of this innovative form of urban transport may be a change in inhabitants’ attitudes towards the necessity for private vehicle ownership and thus the inhibition of mass motorization and a reduction in the number of private cars (Abduljabbar et al., 2021). It should be noted that the rapid increase in the popularity of shared micro-mobility services was and still is a certain challenge for city authorities and public administration, e.g. in terms of appropriate legal regulations regarding the use of various forms of micro-mobility, the issue of adapting transport infrastructure, and ensuring the safety of pedestrians who are at risk of being hit by users of micro-mobility modes (Milakis et al., 2020; Reck & Axhausen, 2021). In addition, attention is also drawn to the fact that rare metals as well as fossil fuel energy are used in the production of batteries to power micro-mobility electric modes (Milakis et al., 2020).
The motives for and barriers to using particular forms of micro-mobility differ from each other. For example, in the case of bike-sharing, the top facilitators to bikeshare use among users were: convenience, easy access to bikes, health benefits, economics benefits and fun/new experience. The top reported barriers were: no helmet, trouble with renting/returning, traffic safety concerns, bad weather and inconvenient stations (Franckle et al., 2020). On the other hand, the main benefits associated with the use of e-scooters by regular users in the USA include: they are faster than walking, they are convenient, they can be fun/relaxing, they are better in hot weather than walking and they allow users to reach places without the need to drive e.g. by car), are inexpensive to use, good for the environment or that users feel safer when using them (less likely to commit a crime on them). The main barriers to using e-scooters are related to safety concerns (e.g. hitting someone or being hit by someone, not enough safe places to ride, feeling unsteady / worrying about falling off), practicality-related barriers (e.g. no space for carrying luggage or transport other people, impractical for longer distances) and equipment-related barriers (e.g.
broken e-scooters, trouble finding one when needed, battery not always charged, worrying that equipment will break / malfunction (Sanders et al., 2020). The main reasons for using e-scooters in Taiwan were primarily environmental issues, as well as convenience, the ability to access without owning, saving money, flexibility and pricing. The main barriers to the use of e-scooters were concerns about their condition (cleanliness, technical condition), availability / distance to the next e-scooter, price, helmet hygiene, and vehicle speed (Eccarius & Lu, 2018).

Despite the fact that the availability and popularity of electric moped scooter sharing services is growing rapidly in Europe (Wortmann et al., 2021), in the literature on the subject, there are few studies on the motives for and barriers to using this micro-mobility mode. The main reasons for using a moped scooter-sharing system listed by Spanish consumers were: the benefits of easily parking the moped, flexibility mobility/avoiding traffic jams, a well-functioning system, competitive pricing and environmental awareness (Aguilera-García et al., 2021).
It should be borne in mind that the use of various modern urban mobility systems is possible after meeting certain criteria for a given form, e.g. in the case of bike-sharing in Poznań — people under the age of 13 may use bikes only under the care of a parent or legal guardian, for people from 10 to 18 years of age to drive an electric scooter, it is required to have the same qualifications as for cycling, i.e. a bicycle card or driving license of categories AM, A1, B1 or T, in the case of car-sharing it is obligatory to have driving license, and in the case of moped e-scooters legal age and the use of a helmet are required.

Research design

An empirical study verifying the motives, barriers and goals of using electric moped scooter sharing services was conducted in cooperation with Blinkee1 in the first half of 2021 using the online survey technique in Google Forms. The areas of empirical research included the following scopes:

a) subjective — electric moped scooter users (having an active account in the application, regardless of the frequency of using the moped scooters),
b) subject — frequency of using the selected form of urban transportation, motives, barriers and goals of using city electric moped scooter sharing services,
c) spatial — selected voivodeship capital cities of Poland: Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Katowice, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Poznań, Warsaw and Wrocław,
d) temporary — first half of 2021.

The size of the research sample was 352 observations (N = 352). In the process of selecting the research sample, purposive selection was used, where the basic criterion was to have an active account in the Blinkee application for renting electric moped scooters. The analysis of the empirical data obtained was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistics program — the response distribution indicators, statistical description indicators were calculated, and selected methods of analysis of variance and the method of exploratory factor analysis were used.
The research sample was dominated mainly by men (93.5% of all respondents) and people aged 25–34 (42.6% of all respondents), with higher education (64.8% of all respondents), with a material status above national average (52.6% of all respondents). The structure of the research sample, taking into account selected characteristics of the respondents, is presented in the table below (Tab. 1).

In assessing the motives for electric moped scooter sharing services, 17 factors were verified (tab. 2). The significance of the selected motifs was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale, on which the values were scaled from 1 — definitely not, to 5 — definitely yes. For the purposes of the study, it was assumed that the distances between the categories on the Likert scale are equal. Such an assumption is common in the social sciences and allows the use of parametric tests. The analysis of mean values allows the most and least important motives from the perspective of the respondents to be identified. The set of the most important motives included the flexibility of using moped e-scooters (mean7 = 4.19), making it easier to travel (mean8 = = 4.17), the possibility of reaching the destination point directly (mean11 = = 4.05), independence from public transport (mean16 = 3.91) and time savings compared to the use of other forms of urban mobility (mean17 = 3.86).

The average significance of all the identified motives for using electric moped scooter sharing services is presented in the table below (Tab. 2).

Additionally, the significance of the selected motives for using electric moped scooter sharing services was compared between the two groups of respondents — the first group includes respondents who do not use moped e-scooters or use moped e-scooters very rarely (less than once a month), while the second group includes respondents who declare more frequent use of moped e-scooters. The results obtained clearly indicate the higher importance of the surveyed motives in the group of respondents who use electric moped scooter sharing services at least once a month — the only motive, the importance of which is similar in both groups of the respondents, is the lack of the need to incur additional costs of parking in the city (mean4_N ≈ mean4_Y — Tab. 2).

The next step in the research procedure was to assess the importance of barriers to using electric moped scooter sharing services (the relevant data presented in Tab. 3). The significance of these examined barriers was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale, on which the values were scaled from 1 — definitely no, to 5 — definitely yes. In the context of barriers to using moped e-scooters, respondents primarily focused on the availability of scooters in places where they would like to use them (mean4 = 3.89), weather conditions (mean5 = 3.84), travel price (mean6 = = 3.36) and the concern about the cleanliness and hygiene of scooters (mean8 = 3.11).

The comparison of the significance of the identified barriers between the groups of respondents (not using or rarely using and using moped e-scooters at least once a month) allowed for the identification of only a few statistically significant differences — in the group of active scooter users, the number of scooters in places where they can be used (mean4_N < < mean4_Y) and the battery level in the scooter (mean14_N < mean14_Y) are more important, while in the group of people who do not or occasionally use moped e-scooters, preferences regarding other forms of urban transportation (mean9_N > mean9_Y) and difficulties in driving and using scooters (mean12_N > mean12_Y) are more important.

In the next step of the research procedure, based on the frequency of using electric moped scooter sharing services, the significance of the purposes of their rental was verified (data presented in Tab. 4). The assessment was made using a 5-point Likert scale, on which the values were scaled from 1 — not at all or very rarely (less frequently than once a month), to 5 — very often (every day or almost every day). The mean values obtained (mean values ≤ ≤ 2.33) indicate a relatively rare use of this method of urban transportation — the key importance in this context seems to be the time of the study coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic and the related remote work and teaching at all levels of education. Nevertheless, the results indicate that the use of electric moped scooter sharing services occurs most often when dealing with various matters (mean6 = 2.33), traveling to or from a place where you spend your free time (mean7 = 2.22), restaurants or cafes (mean9 = 2.09), cinema, theatre, opera or concert (mean8 = 2.07). It is relatively popular to use this micro-mobility urban transportation mode when „driving” (mean11 = = 2.06) and visiting family or friends (mean5 = 2.04).

The comparison of the average importance of the purposes of using electric moped scooter sharing services between groups of respondents who rarely or occasionally, or at least once a month, use this form of urban transportation clearly indicates a greater role played by all the goals studied in the group of active users. Such an assessment, despite the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, may indicate the purposefulness of the development of this micro-mobility form of urban transportation.
In the last step of the research procedure, the original sets of measurable variables (motives, barriers and purposes of using electric moped scooter sharing services) were reduced using the exploratory factor analysis method — this allowed the original sets to be reduced, including 17 variables to 5 components in the case of motives, in the case of barriers, 17 variables to 3 components, while for the purposes of using scooters, 11 variables to 2 components2. A semantic interpretation was given to new components (results presented in Tab. 5).

As in the case of measurable variables, the average values of the newly distinguished components were compared between the group of respondents who do not use scooters or use moped e-scooters very rarely (less than once a month) and the group declaring more frequent use of electric moped scooters (Tab. 6).

The analysis of the results confirms the regularities identified at the stage of the results analysis in terms of directly observable variables. The most important reasons for using the electric moped scooter sharing services included the convenience of this mobility mode (mean = 3.97) and no city parking costs (mean = 3.38). The biggest barriers to choosing this micro-mobility mode for Polish consumers were those related to the safety of use (mean = 2.83). The comparison of the mean values of the components between the groups of respondents surveyed indicates the greater importance of the motives and goals of using electric moped scooter sharing services in the group of respondents using them at least once a month. On the other hand, the analysis of the significance of the barriers did not allow the identification of statistically significant differences between the surveyed groups of respondents — the absence of differences in this respect may indicate the need to emphasize the advantages (motives) of using moped e-scooters as the basic determinants that can increase the popularity of this method of urban transportation.

Summary

The analysis of the results shows that there are specific challenges faced by administrators of electric moped scooter sharing services. In this context, the most important thing is to identify the most attractive routes for moped e-scooter users, which should ensure the availability of scooters and minimize the costs associated with their possible logistics to these places. This is confirmed by the analysis of the purposes of using electric moped scooters, which indicates the informal nature of scooter trips. At this point, however, attention should be paid to the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, which certainly influenced the way a typical work or study day was organized by residents of large cities.

The analysis of barriers, in turn, indicates the occurrence of concerns related primarily to the safety of use, the availability of moped e-scooters and weather conditions. The last of these barriers indicates fluctuations in the demand for this micro-mobility mode, both irregular (e.g. rainfall in summer) and seasonal (e.g. low temperatures in late autumn and early spring), which certainly translates into economic calculations for the businesses providing the infrastructure of electric moped scooters.

The analysis of the importance of the goals of using electric moped scooter sharing services shows the potential for the development of the scooter market in large cities in Poland — this is indicated by higher average values in terms of goals of using scooters in the group of people using electric moped scooter sharing services at least once a month. The relatively low average values in the assessment of the goals of using scooters indicate the need to emphasize the advantages and minimize the significance of the identified barriers to using scooters identified in the groups of current and potential users — this should allow for a growing substitution in comparison with other forms of mobility in large cities.

Limitations and future research directions

It should be noted that due to the lack of a large number of studies on the determinants and scope of use of moped e-scooters by consumers,
future studies should be conducted to advance knowledge on the topic and fill the research gap. Future research topics could focus on identification of a potential relationship between user experience and willingness to use electric moped scooter sharing services in the future. A certain limitation of the research carried out for the purpose of writing this paper is the spatialsubjective scope covering only Polish consumers, hence an interesting idea would be comparative research in other countries. Cross-Country comparative research could identify differences in consumer behavior between users in different countries. Due to the selection sampling method and the size of the research sample, the results are not representative of the entire population of Polish electric moped scooter sharing services users. It should also be remembered that the study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it is worth comparing the behavior of consumers regarding the use of electric moped scooter sharing services during and after the pandemic.

Endnotes

1 Blinkee is the leader of electric moped scooter sharing market in Poland. The company has over half a million registered users in Poland and its portfolio also includes other micro-mobility modes.
2 The minimum values of the factor loadings were set at the level of 0.6.

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