Eco-Innovations in Global Markets: The Effect of Ecological (In)Congruence on Consumers’ Adoption Intentions

Abstract

Eco-innovations are increasingly manufactured and consumed across national borders. Although global outsourcing can be financially profitable, it is questionable whether consumers respond to eco-innovations manufactured in different countries in the same way. This article introduces the ecological country-of-manufacture (COM) concept, which reflects consumers’ perception of a country’s commitment to sustainable development policy and practices. Drawing on schema theory, the current research examines how consumer reactions to “ecological (in)congruence”—when the sustainability reputation of a COM is a (mis)match with product eco-friendliness levels—vary across product categories (Study 1a), consumption contexts (Study 1b), and national settings (Study 2). Consumers report more preferential evaluations when there is ecological incongruence for privately consumed products and ecological congruence for publicly consumed products. The results also demonstrate the differential moderating effects of socioeconomic development factors and cultural dimensions. In emerging markets with highly embedded, hierarchical, and high-harmony cultures, consumers require ecological congruence to justify their adoption decisions, whereas in developed markets with highly autonomous, egalitarian, and high-mastery cultures, consumers are more likely to adopt eco-innovations that are ecologically incongruent.