Role of Green Practices on Consumer Buying Behavior Of 4-5 Star Restaurants in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

As customers’ have the ability to shape and influence products options with their buying power, it is critical for restaurant shareholders to understand consumer motivations and their decision-making processes. There are few empirical studies on green consumer behavior in restaurants with a special focus on green promotion and consumer behavior and green certification and customer purchasing behavior. The aim of the study was to investigate the contribution of green practices on consumer buying behavior in 4-5-star restaurants in Nairobi City County in Kenya. The research findings contributed to new knowledge on the area of the influence of environmental practices on consumer purchasing. Cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used by the researcher to acquire data describing the current situation on the phenomena. The target population was 20 4-5-star restaurants which comprised of restaurant managers, supervisors, waiters and waitresses in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The researcher conducted a census because of the small target population. Purposive sampling was used on restaurant managers, supervisors, waiters, and waitresses to attain crucial data whereby 79 respondents were sampled. The researcher used content validity and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient to assess appropriateness of research instruments and examine internal reliability of research instruments consecutively. Well-structured questionnaires, observation schedules and secondary data such as articles and newspapers were used as research instruments. Data was analyzed using Pearson Moment product correlation to measure the associations between the variables and multiple regression analysis to measure the effect of one variable on the other. Additionally, data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and qualitative analysis. Descriptive Statistics was used to measure intervals and tendencies. Anova was used to test the mean difference between green practices and mean consumer buying behavior. The results were presented in tables, pie charts, and graphs. The response rate was at 71%. The results of the study show that there is a relationship between green practices and consumer buying behavior in 4-5-star restaurants in Nairobi City County; hence consumer buying behavior is determined by green product, green certification, and green promotion respectively. Hypotheses of the study were formulated and tested at 0.05% level of significance. The results show that the study rejected all the null hypotheses and concluded that at 95% confidence level a significant relationship exists between green practices and consumer buying behavior in 4-5-star restaurants in Nairobi City County. In conclusion, the study found out that; consumer buying behavior has a positive association with green practices.