The Role of Skepticism and Transparency in Shaping Green Brand Authenticity and Green Brand Evangelism

Abstract

Green brand evangelism builds an important psychological and behavioral basis on promoting the positive interaction between green brands and consumers, as well as on realizing the co-creation of green brand value. This study selects brand authenticity issues as the entry point and investigates brand authenticity on green brand evangelism. In particular, this study tests the effects of green transparency and green skepticism on brand authenticity, as well as the role of self-brand connection and the need for cognition on the relationship between brand authenticity and green brand evangelism. With a sample of 641 Chinese respondents of green building materials, the dimension and scale of green brand evangelism were acquired by utilizing the grounded theory, and the hypothesized relationships were tested by employing structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that green transparency and green skepticism yield an influence on brand authenticity, and brand authenticity exerts a great influence on green brand authenticity. Moreover, brand authenticity positively affects self-brand connection, which in turn positively influences green brand authenticity, and the relationship between brand authenticity and green brand evangelism is regulated by the need for cognition.