Unravelling the true drivers for eco-certified wood consumption by introducing scarcity

Abstract This paper empirically investigates to what extent consumers of eco-certified wood are driven by self-interest instead of environmental or altruistic concerns. This is done by making use of a questionnaire. The questionnaire allows to establish distinct consumer profiles in terms of demographics, attitudinal and behavioral characteristics. The profiles are formed using a two-step segmentation process combining hierarchical and K-means segmentation. The perceived consumer effectiveness does not drive eco-certified consumption. This is explained by the low frequency of wood purchases, which results in a low Perceived Consumer Effectiveness for wood. In addition, this paper observes decreasing support for Green Public Procurement with negative consequences, especially among consumers with a high environmental concern. The high level of involvement implies that consumers want to perform sustainable purchases themselves, instead of transferring this responsibility to governments. This suggests that the traditional methods to probe for a consumer’s environmental (altruistic) concern capture an element of self-interest, which appears to be an important driver for eco-certification.