Exploring green consumer experiences: Developing a theoretical model using the grounded theory approach

The aim of this study is to explore in depth the experiences of individuals aged 18 and over with certain green consumption habits living in Aksaray, a medium-sized city in Türkiye, using the theoretical lenses of green consumption experience and the Stimulus-Organism Response theory, and to reveal the conceptual relationship patterns between these experiences and green attitudes, emotions, and behavioral tendencies, thereby developing a culturally specific theoretical model of green consumption experience. Within this scope, the experiences of individuals in the green consumption process were examined in depth to understand how they gain meaning within a cultural context and how these experiences are shaped in consumers' lifeworlds through subjective, emotional, and rational dimensions. In this study, green consumption behavior is approached not merely as a choice based on environmental awareness, but as an experiential process intertwined with the individual's search for meaning, value orientations, and the construction of social identity. The research was designed using the grounded theory approach of qualitative research. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and photo-based interviews with 20 participants selected through purposive sampling from among individuals living in Aksaray, aged 18 and over, who possessed certain key green consumption habits relevant to the central phenomenon under study. The collected data were analyzed using an inductive approach through thematic, axial, and selective (theoretical) coding methods. The findings reveal that green consumption experiences are structured around two main experiential domains (categories): rational and emotional. Rational experiences encompass evaluations related to sustainable product use, cost consciousness, personal health, and business practices, whereas emotional experiences are shaped through symbolic, spiritual, aesthetic, nostalgic, cultural, socialization-based, and learning-oriented meanings. Furthermore, it has been determined that these experiences are conceptually related to participants' attitudes, emotions, and behavioral tendencies with green consumption, including green satisfaction, green trust, voluntary simplicity, green loyalty, tendency to purchase, tendency to recommend, and life satisfaction. By foregrounding cultural context and experiential depth, this study offers a conceptual contribution to the literature and proposes a framework for the development of a green consumption experience theory specific to the Türkiye context. It is believed that this culturally specific framework is noteworthy both for the insights it provides into the field of application and for future research.