ETHICAL EVALUATION AND EXPLORATION OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN THE SALES SECTOR ON THE PRINCIPLE OF THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

Etika u poslovanju je vaţna, a moţda je još i vaţnija prilikom kupnje i potrošnje u potrošaĉkom sektoru. Humanistiĉke znanosti koriste brojne teorije i modele koji se bave poslovnom etikom i predviĊaju kako će se pojedinci ponašati u odreĊenim situacijama. Danas takoĊer ţivimo u društvu koje je svjesno svog uĉinka na okoliš ali ne postupa uvijek u skladu s onim što je optimalno. Automobilska industrija predstavlja vaţan sektor u istraţivanju ljudskog utjecaja na okoliš budući da znatno utjeĉe na emisiju CO2. TakoĊer, posjedovanje automobila predstavlja osobnu odgovornost svakog vozaĉa, pa je prema tome izbor vozila znaĉajan pokazatelj kako potrošaĉi doista 'brinu' o okolišu. Cilj rada je istraţiti odluke potrošaĉa prilikom kupnje automobila te u kojoj mjeri stavovi prema okolišu utjeĉu na odluku o kupnji. Postavljene su dvije hipoteze: (1) Potrošaĉi koji brinu o okolišu biraju ekološke opcije u sluĉaju kupnje automobila te (2) Ţenski potrošaĉi su skloniji ekološkim automobilima u odnosu na muške potrošaĉe. Za potrebe rada proveden je sustavni pregled literature koji je ukljuĉio ukupno 23 studije te je na temelju rezultata konstruiran anketni upitnik. Upitnik je distribuiran putem Interneta i ukupno 126 odgovora je ukljuĉeno u analizu. Rezultati rada općenito pokazuju da su hrvatski potrošaĉi trenutno u prijelaznom razdoblju gdje još uvijek radije biraju 'standardni' automobil naspram 'ekološkog' automobila. Rad ima vaţne implikacije za marketinšku strategiju i daje preporuke kako komunicirati s potrošaĉima da se potakne interes i potraţnja za ekološkim automobilima.Business ethics is important, and perhaps even more important is consumers‟ ethical behaviour when buying and spending. Human sciences use a number of theories and models that deal with business ethics and predict how individuals will behave in certain situations. Today, we also live in a society that is aware of its impact on the environment but does not always act in accordance with what is optimal. The automobile industry is an important sector in the research of human impact on the environment as it significantly affects CO2 emissions. Also, owning a car is a personal responsibility of each driver, so the choice of vehicle is a significant indicator of whether consumers really 'care' about the environment. The aim of this study is to investigate consumer decisions when buying a car and the extent to which attitudes towards the environment influence their purchase decisions. Two hypotheses have been posed: (1) Consumers who care about the environment choose eco-friendly options when buying a car, and (2) Female consumers are more inclined to eco-friendly cars than male consumers. For the purpose of the study, a systematic review of the literature was conducted, which included a total of 23 studies, and a questionnaire was constructed based on the results. The questionnaire was distributed online and a total of 126 responses were included in the analysis. The results generally show that Croatian consumers are currently in a transitional period where they still prefer to choose a 'standard' car over an 'eco' car. The study has important implications for marketing strategies and provides recommendations on how to communicate with consumers to stimulate their interest and demand for eco-friendly cars