Green Market Segmentation: A Case of Airline Customers in Taiwan

Abstract

Green marketing has evolved in line with an increase in consumers' concern with the environment. This study explores whether an environmentally-oriented market niche exists within the airline transport market in Taiwan. Based on a survey of 416 airline customers, this study uses factor analysis and cluster analysis to segment customers based on their environmental behaviors. Three distinct clusters were identified (i.e., the environmentally indifferent, the enlightened environmentalists, and the active environmentalists) and further profiled with respect to the socio-demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal characteristics. The results suggest that the segment of green consumers is large enough to warrant airline marketers' attention and the enlightened and the active  environmentalists appear to represent the most promising target markets. The practical implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.