4C's of Marketing and Going Green:Will it Work with Malaysian Consumers ?

Development of knowledge on consumer behavior needs an appropriate understanding of factors that can influence their purchases. This study investigates factors that can possibly influence sustainable food consumption among young and educated population in Malaysia with the objective to gain overall insight on attitudes toward consumption, forces influencing sustainable consumption and factors inhibiting environmental friendly green marketing. The study also analyzes how the marketing strategy of 4Cs (Consumer needs, Cost, Convenience and Communication) can be adopted to change consumer behavior and how this marketing strategy is likely to impact on sustainable consumption. The study is based on the theoretical concept of planned behavior model (Ajzen, 1988). A questionnaire method of survey was administered for a sample of 456 young educated adults from three universities of Malaysia. Results reveal that Consumers' needs, Cost, Convenience and Communication (4CS) influence people's concerns for sustainable food consumption which may not transform into actual purchases. Therefore, this research finds the need for adopting marketing strategies to orient young educated population towards sustainable food consumptions.