Browsing by Author "Gungordu Belbag, Aybegum"

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Consumer Behavior and Sustainability: What Role Does Eco-Friendly Packaging Play in Emerging Markets
(Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, 2025) Gungordu Belbag, Aybegum
Purpose-This study aims to offer a systematic review of eco-friendly packaged products from the consumer perspective in emerging markets. Design/methodology/approach-This study analyzed 47 Web of Science and SCOPUS articles using the PRISMA and theory-context-characteristics-methodology (TCCM) framework. Findings-This systematic review shows that prior research was mainly quantitative and relied heavily on the theory of planned behavior. This study categorized the articles by personal, product, price, place, promotion and external factors. Research primarily focused on personal factors, especially values and attitudes. Place-related factors were the least studied. Few studies explored mediators and moderators of purchase intention. Originality/value-This study shifts the focus of eco-friendly packaging research toward the consumer perspective, which was underexplored in the existing literature, particularly in emerging markets. While prior studies have primarily centered on manufacturers, this review synthesizes prior research showing that consumer behavior, knowledge and perception play a critical role in advancing sustainability and circular economy goals. This systematic review is the first to address this gap in emerging markets and offers implications for policymakers and businesses aiming to promote sustainable consumption in diverse socioeconomic settings.
Living Between Belief and Consumption: Religiosity, Hedonism, and Life Satisfaction Among Turkish Youth
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2025) Gungordu Belbag, Aybegum; Erbil, Cihat
This study examines the relationships among religiosity, materialistic hedonism, control, discomfort, and life satisfaction among 256 young individuals in Turkey. Structural equation modeling shows that religiosity does not curb materialistic hedonism and positively affects control. Life satisfaction is positively influenced by control and materialistic hedonism, and negatively by discomfort. Turkish youth form hybrid identities and practices that integrate both faith and consumer desires. A few studies examine contexts like Turkey, where secularism and religiosity coexist, and religious beliefs fulfill broader social and economic functions. The co-existence of religious beliefs and consumerism -especially among middle and lower class youth- remains underexplored.
The "Trickle-Across" Phenomenon: Consumption-Mimicking in Emerging Markets in a Stress Environment
(Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, 2025) Gungordu Belbag, Aybegum; Deligonul, Seyda Z.; Uner, Mehmet Mithat; Cavusgil, S. Tamer
Purpose - This study conceptualizes a novel framework called the "trickle-across" phenomenon to understand how middle-class consumers in emerging markets adapt their consumer behavior during economic crises. Unlike the trickle-down model based on upward emulation, the study explores how risk and uncertainty drive consumers to mimic their in-group. Design/methodology/approach - The study employs a conceptual review approach, synthesizing the crisis literature on middle-class consumer behavior across emerging markets. It offers four novel propositions to explain the socio-psychological underpinnings of the shift in middle-class consumer behavior. Findings - Under normal, low-anxiety conditions, middle-class consumers seek upward mobility through aspirational consumption and class emulation, referred to as trickle-down theory. However, during crises, heightened risk anxiety triggers a shift from upward emulation to lateral mimicry, where individuals conform to the consumption norms of their immediate social cohort. Socio-cultural influences play a critical role in risk trivialization and adapting to economic hardships. Originality/value - The study proposes the trickle-across phenomenon as a defining pattern of middle-class consumer behavior in emerging markets during crises. It shifts the focus from aspirational models to cohort-based survival strategies and highlights how socio-cultural factors help middle-class consumers adapt to economic hardships and preserve identity. The framework provides new insights for marketers, policymakers, and scholars.