Are co-created green initiatives more appealing than firm-created green initiatives? Investigating the effects of co-created green appeals on restaurant promotion

Abstract

This study investigates how co-created green appeals influence restaurant customers’ green behavioral intentions. Using a quasi-experimental design, this study investigates the effect of appeal type (i.e., co-created vs. firm-created) on customers’ green behavioral intentions and the two-way interaction between appeal type and customers’ green involvement. The study also examines how customers’ perceptions of restaurants’ green reputations moderate the joint effects between appeal type and customers’ green involvement. To explain the effects of co-creation appeal, the study identified a mediator (i.e., a restaurant’s perceived green innovativeness). The results reveal significant effects of appeal type; the two-way interaction between appeal type and customers’ green involvement; and the three-way interaction among appeal type, customers’ green involvement, and restaurants’ green reputations. The mediating effect of the perceived green innovativeness of restaurants was also confirmed by the results of this study. The study offers helpful suggestions for restaurant practitioners to develop effective green marketing strategies.