Green Marketing or Greenwashing: How Consumers Evaluate Environmental Ads
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33423/jabe.v26i1.6808Keywords:
business, economics, green marketing, greenwashing, green skepticism, environmental attitude strengthAbstract
Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases related to greenwashing. This research investigates how consumers develop green skepticism to react to greenwashing practices. In two studies, we demonstrate that environmental ads (either vague or specific ads) are more effective in persuading weak-attitude consumers resulting in lower green skepticism than strong-attitude consumers. In contrast, strong-attitude consumers exhibit a backfiring behavior when presented with vague ads, evidenced by their higher level of green skepticism and lower WTP for products featured in the ads. More interestingly, specific ads are effective among strong-attitude consumers, lowering their green skepticism and increasing their WTP. Our research has theoretical and managerial implications for green marketing communication.
References
Agley, J., Xiao, Y., Nolan, R., & Golzarri-Arroyo, L. (2022). Quality Control Questions on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (Mturk): A Randomized Trial of Impact on the USAUDIT, PHQ-9, and GAD-7. Behavior Research Methods, 54(2), 885–897.
Aguinis, H., Villamor, I., & Ramani, R.S. (2021). MTurk research: Review and recommendations. Journal of Management, 47(4), 823–837.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1977). Attitude-Behavior Relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. Psychological Bulletin, 84(5), 888–918.
Baierl, T.M., Kaiser, F.G., & Bogner, F.X. (2022). The supportive role of environmental attitude for learning about environmental issues. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 81, 101799.
Banerjee, S., Gulas, C.S., & Iyer, E. (1995). Shades of Green: A multidimensional analysis of environmental advertising. Journal of Advertising, 24(2), 21–31.
Berrone, P., Fosfuri, A., & Gelabert, L. (2017). Does Greenwashing Pay Off? Understanding the relationship between environmental actions and environmental legitimacy. Journal of Business Ethics, 144(2), 363–379.
Carlson, L., Grove, S.J., & Kangun, N. (1993). A Content Analysis of Environmental Advertising Claims: A matrix method approach. Journal of Advertising, 22(3), 27–39.
Corrado, L., Fazio, A., & Pelloni, A. (2022). Pro-Environmental Attitudes, Local Environmental Conditions and Recycling Behavior. Journal of Cleaner Production, 362, 132399.
Delmas, M.A., & Burbano, V.C. (2011). The Drivers of Greenwashing. California Management Review, 54(1), 64–87.
Dhir, A., Sadiq, M., Talwar, S., Sakashita, M., & Kaur, P. (2021). Why Do Retail Consumers Buy Green Apparel? A knowledge-attitude-behaviour-context perspective. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 59, 102398.
Dunlap, R.E., & Jones, R.E. (2002). Environmental Concern: Conceptual and measurement issues. Handbook of Environmental Sociology, 3(6), 482–524.
ESG RepRisk. (2022). Spotting Greenwashing with ESG Data. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.reprisk.com/news-research/reports/spotting-greenwashing-with-esg-data
ESG RepRisk. (2023). Reprisk Data Shows Increase in Greenwashing with One in Three Greenwashing Public Companies Also Linked To Social Washing. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.reprisk.com/news-research/news-and-media-coverage/reprisk-data-shows-increase-in-greenwashing-with-one-in-three-greenwashing-public-companies-also-linked-to-social-washing
Farooq, Y., & Wicaksono, H. (2021). Advancing on The Analysis of Causes and Consequences of Green Skepticism. Journal of Cleaner Production, 320, 128927.
Federal Trade Commission. (2012). Green Guides. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/press-releases/ftc-issues-revised-green-guides/greenguides.pdf
Federal Trade Commission. (2022, April 8). FTC Uses Penalty Offense Authority to Seek Largest-Ever Civil Penalty for Bogus Bamboo Marketing from Kohl’s and Walmart. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/04/ftc-uses-penalty-offense-authority-seek-largest-ever-civil-penalty-bogus-bamboo-marketing-kohls
Finisterra do Paco, A.M., & Reis, R. (2012). Factors affecting skepticism toward green advertising. Journal of Advertising, 41(4), 147–155.
Fitzsimons, G.J. (2008). Death to Dichotomizing. Journal of Consumer Research, 35(1), 5–8.
Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 228–240.
Ghaffar, A., Islam, T., Khan, H., Kincl, T., & Sharma, A. (2023). A Sustainable Retailer’s Journey to Sustainable Practices: Prioritizing the customer and the planet. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 74, 103388.
Guyader, H., Ottosson, M., & Witell, L. (2017). You Can’t Buy What You Can’t See: Retailer practices to increase the green premium. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 34, 319–325.
Hayes, A.F. (2017). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach (2nd Ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Krosnick, J.A., Boninger, D.S., Chuang, Y.C., Berent, M.K. & Carnot, C.G. (1993). Attitude Strength: One construct or many related constructs? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(6), 1132–1151.
Kumar, A., Prakash, G., & Kumar, G. (2021). Does Environmentally Responsible Purchase Intention Matter for Consumers? A predictive sustainable model developed through an empirical study. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, 102270.
Lee, J., Bhatt, S., & Suri, R. (2018). When Consumers Penalize Not So Green Products. Psychology & Marketing, 35, 36–46.
Lee, K. (2008). Opportunities for Green Marketing: Young Consumers. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 26(6), 573–586.
Leonidou, C.N., & Skarmeas, D. (2017). Gray Shades of Green: Causes and consequences of green skepticism. Journal of Business Ethics, 144(2), 401–415.
Lyon, T.P., & Montgomery, A.W. (2015). The Means and End of Greenwash. Organization & Environment, 28(2), 223–249.
Matthes, J., & Wonneberger, A. (2014). The Skeptical Green Consumer Revisited: Testing the relationship between green consumerism and skepticism toward advertising. Journal of Advertising, 43(2), 115–127.
Mohr, L.A., Eroǧlu, D., & Ellen, P.S. (1998). The development and testing of a measure of skepticism toward environmental claims in marketers’ communications. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 32(1), 30–55.
Mostafa, M.M. (2006). Antecedents of Egyptian Consumers’ Green Purchase Intentions: A hierarchical multivariate regression model. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 19(2), 97–126.
Murphy, M.C., & Dweck, C.S. (2016). Mindsets shape consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 26(1), 127–136.
Obermiller, C., & Spangenberg, E.R. (1998). Development of a scale to measure consumer skepticism toward advertising. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 7(2), 159–186.
Panopoulos, A., Poulis, A., Theodoridis, P., & Kalampakas, A. (2022). Influencing green purchase intention through eco labels and user-generated content. Sustainability, 15(1), 764.
Parguel, B., Benoit-Moreau, F., & Russell, C.A. (2015). Can evoking nature in advertising mislead consumers? The power of ‘executional greenwashing’. International Journal of Advertising, 34(1), 107–134.
Patagonia. (2023). Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.patagonia.com/our-footprint/
Petty, R.E., & Krosnick, J.A. (2014). Attitude Strength: Antecedents and Consequences. Psychology Press. Google-Books-ID: taWYAgAAQBAJ.
Pham, N., & Mandel, N. (2019). What Influences Consumer Evaluation of Genetically Modified Foods? Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 38(2), 263–279.
Polonsky, M.J., Vocino, A., Grau, S.L., Garma, R., & Ferdous, A.S. (2012). The impact of general and carbon-related environmental knowledge on attitudes and behaviour of US consumers. Journal of Marketing Management, 28(3–4), 238–263.
Prakash, G., Choudhary, S., Kumar, A., Garza-Reyes, J.A., Khan, S.A.R., & Panda, T.K. (2019). Do altruistic and egoistic values influence consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions towards eco-friendly packaged products? An empirical investigation. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 50, 163–169.
Reuters. (2023). Banks Behind 70% Jump in Greenwashing Incidents in 2023 Report. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/banks-behind-70-jump-greenwashing-incidents-2023-report-2023-10-03/
Rosenbaum, M.S., & Wong, I.A. (2015). Green marketing programs as strategic initiatives in hospitality. Journal of Services Marketing, 29(2), 81–92.
Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., & Naderer, B. (2018). Misleading consumers with green advertising? an affect-reason-involvement account of greenwashing effects in environmental advertising. Journal of Advertising, 47(2), 127–145.
Seele, P., & Schultz, M.D. (2022). From greenwashing to machinewashing: A model and future directions derived from reasoning by analogy. Journal of Business Ethics, 178(4), 1063–1089.
Shrum, L., McCarty, J.A., & Lowrey, T.M. (1995). Buyer characteristics of the green consumer and their implications for advertising strategy. Journal of Advertising, 24(2), 71–82.
Simon Kucher & Partners. (2021, October). Global Sustainability Study 2021: Consumers are key players for a sustainable future. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.simon-kucher.com/sites/default/files/studies/Simon-Kucher_Global_Sustainability_Study_2021.pdf
Szabo, S., & Webster, J. (2021). Perceived Greenwashing: The Effects of Green Marketing on Environmental and Product Perceptions. Journal of Business Ethics, 171, 719–739.
Torelli, R., Balluchi, F., & Lazzini, A. (2020). Greenwashing and Environmental Communication: Effects on Stakeholders’ Perceptions. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(2), 407–421.
Tormala, Z.L., & Petty, R.E. (2002) What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Stronger: The Effects of Resisting Persuasion on Attitude Certainty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(6), 1298–1313.
Ulusoy, E., & Barretta, P.G. (2016). How Green Are You, Really? Consumers’ Skepticism Toward Brands with Green Claims. Journal of Global Responsibility, 7(1), 72–83.
UN Environment Programme. (2023). Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.unep.org/championsofearth/
Visontay. (2023). Etihad Accused of Misleading Customers with Greenwashing in ‘Net Zero’ Ads. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/23/etihad-accused-of-misleading-customers-with-greenwashing-in-net-zero-ads
Winston, A. (2022). Sustainable Business Went Mainstream in 2021. Harvard Business Review, Government. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://hbr. org/2021/12/sustainable-business-went-mainstream-in-2021/
Zhang, L., Li, D., Cao, C., & Huang, S. (2018). The influence of greenwashing perception on green purchasing intentions: The mediating role of green word-of-mouth and moderating role of green concern. Journal of Cleaner Production, 187, 740–750.
