Environmental sustainable development through modeling and ranking of influential factors of reference groups on consumer behavior of green products: The case of Iran

This study aims to extract, model, and rank reference groups on green consumer behavior to achieve environmentally sustainable development. This research was conducted in Iran in four stages. In the first stage, thematic factors were extracted through the research literature. These factors were expressed in 26 factors using expert opinions. A questionnaire containing 26 factors affecting the subject was designed in the second stage. This questionnaire was distributed among 404 people in the Iranian consumer community. In the third stage, the results of the questionnaires were reviewed, and the relevant model was presented using exploratory factor analysis. Finally, the factors were ranked using a neural network toolbox in MATLAB software and a random forest algorithm. Twenty-six factors were extracted in the effect of reference groups on green consumer behavior. The results of the statistical sample showed the effect of these factors on the research topic. With studies performed by exploratory factor analysis, a model related to how factors affect the subject was presented in seven applied components. Finally, they were ranked to evaluate the effectiveness of the factors. This study attempts for the first time to investigate the impact of reference groups on green consumer behavior with such a wide range of factors to promote sustainable environmental development.