Effect of Perceived Risk of Greenwashing on Consumers’ Willingness to Pay a Price Premium: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Since China released the timetable of ‘dual carbon’, domestic enterprises have taken relevant measures to facilitate the development of a national green low-carbon economy. However, some of the enterprises have misled consumers by marketing communication of the so-called ‘green’, and this phenomenon of greenwashing should be addressed urgently. From the demand-side perspective, the correlation between perceived risk and willingness to pay a price premium is investigated in this study, and the moderating effect of green innovation identification and the mediating effect of consumers’ negative emotions are verified. As revealed by the empirical results: (1) Greenwashing perceived risk has a significant negative effect on premium payment intention. (2) Greenwashing perceived risk exerts a significant adverse effect on the willingness to pay a price premium on the basis of consumers’ negative emotions, in which consumers’ negative emotions have a partial mediating effect. (3) Green innovation identification is found to have a moderating effect, i.e., the higher the level of green innovation identification of consumers, the more the positive effect of greenwashing perceived risk on their negative emotions will be weakened. The conclusions of this study can help enterprises regulate their own behavior and elevate the market realization level of green premium.