Green Advertising Research Articles

Green with Arrogance: Dominant Brands Benefit from Arrogant Appeals

Consumers increasingly expect brands to contribute positively to the environment. This trend has created a race for brands to establish their “green” credentials. Asserting their superiority—a strategy we refer to as an arrogant appeal—may allow some brands to connect with this consumer preference if perceived as credible; however, when this brand communication lacks credibility, consumers lose trust and suspect brands of greenwashing. Applying expectancy violation theory and signaling theory to green advertising, we find a specific message source (level of brand dominance) influences the effectiveness of an arrogant appeal. Specifically, via the use of two experiments, we demonstrate that consumers use market dominance as a cue to establish the credibility of an arrogant appeal. This research (a) builds on comparative advertising literature to introduce the concept of arrogant appeal to the literature, (b) identifies a new credibility signal—brand dominance—for the effectiveness of green advertising appeals, (c) extends marketing research on arrogance to message design and source characteristics, and (d) discusses the ethical ramifications of consumers inferring credibility based on market dominance. A critical finding is that more dominant brands have earned the right to deploy an arrogant appeal based on a consumer heuristic.

Green Ads, Green Hearts: How Ads and Caring for The Planet Boost Your Eco-Friendly Shopping Goals

Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, this research investigates the relationship between green advertising, green purchase intention, and environmental concern, employing a structural model analysis to explain their complex dynamics. Through careful examination of empirical data, it is established that green advertising exerts a significant positive influence on both green purchase intention and environmental concern. However, contrary to initial hypotheses, environmental concern does not act as a mediator between green advertising and green purchase intention which is unexpected, nor does it directly influence green purchase intention. These findings highlight the complex nature of consumer behavior in the context of sustainability, highlighting the interplay between advertising stimuli, environmental attitudes, and purchasing intentions. By shedding light on these dynamics, this study contributes to the scholarly discourse surrounding environmentally responsible consumption patterns, providing valuable insights for marketers, policymakers, and researchers alike.

The Relationship between Green Hiring Process and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the Banking Sector

The objective of this research is to determine the effects of adopting eco-friendly hiring processes on Organizational Citizenship Behavior. The study was carried out on nine bank head offices situated in Karachi, Pakistan's financial capital. A questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 355 participants who were selected via the snowball sampling technique. The study had one dependent variable and four independent variables. The results of all the hypotheses confirmed that there is a positive correlation between Green Advertisement (GA), Green Screening/Shortlisting (GSL), Green Interviews (GI), Green Selection (GS), and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (GSB). This implies that incorporating eco-friendly practices in hiring procedures can help cultivate organizational citizenship behaviors in the workforce.

Digital and Green Behaviour: An Exploratory Study on Italian Consumers

This paper aimed to understand consumer behaviour based on different constructs of buying behaviour antecedents, which included attitudes towards social aspects, green values, the value placed on digital channels, and green advertisements. Through an online survey of 650 respondents, we investigated the characteristics that affect consumer behaviour in Italy. A structural equation modelling (SEM) method was then used to explore the effects of the identified constructs on people’s buying behaviour, as well as evaluate their relative importance. On the one hand, the findings showed that among the identified constructs, attitudes towards social aspects have a direct effect on eco-friendly consumption, while green values positively impact both buying behaviour and openness to green publicity. On the other hand, green publicity only shows a weak impact on buying behaviours, while peoples’ attitudes towards digital channels have a positive effect on both eco-friendly consumption and on buying behaviour. In other words, the results suggest that people’s digital propensity, paired with environmental sensibility, may affect the online purchase of sustainable food. In light of the above, these results should be important for makers and experts dealing with green products, particularly sellers. In fact, sellers and marketers should consider our results as insights into their segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies in markets.

Exploring the roles of green marketing tools and green motives on green purchase intention in sustainable tourism destinations: a cross-cultural study

ABSTRACT This study explores the impact of green marketing tools (green advertising and eco-labelling) and green motives on green purchase intention, subsequently enhancing green satisfaction and WOM, with brand experience as a moderator. Data from 391 participants in China and 337 in India were analyzed. Findings reveal (a) green marketing tools positively affect green brand image and trust, (b) green brand image and trust mediate the relationship between green marketing tools, motives, and green purchase intention, (c) green purchase intention brings greater satisfaction and WOM, and (d) brand experience moderates the relationship between green brand image, trust, and green purchase intention.

Fewer but better: Chinese consumers’ responses to luxury brands using green demarketing

ABSTRACT Environmental issues in China have induced widespread concerns since China is the biggest manufacturer in the world, and a large consumer country. Luxury consumers care about whether their consumption is environmentally friendly, but also the prestige of luxury brands. This study focused on luxury brands, investigating the relationship between the green advertising appeal (demarketing vs. traditional green) and Chinese consumers’ attitudes toward the brands. The results of the 2 × 2 study demonstrate that the demarketing advertising appeal can contribute to more positive brand attitudes of consumers because it creates an image of a company that genuinely cares about the environment and thus activates consumers’ impression management concerns. Furthermore, adding conspicuous environmental oriented anti- consumption (EOA) information to advertising can enhance the relationship. Focusing on the previously underexamined Chinese market, these results theoretically contribute to the literature on luxury brands’ green advertising and green demarketing research. In practice, they also provide enlightenment for luxury brands’ marketers to use demarketing as a strategy to attract consumers and public policymakers to reduce consumption and protect the environment at a societal level.

How green advertising and power structures affect competition between green and non‐green manufacturers?

AbstractConsidering scenarios with and without green advertising, we compare the optimal solutions and performance of both green and non‐green manufacturers under three power structures. Green manufacturers who invest in green advertising experience enhanced output and profits, with the highest level of green advertising and profit improvement when they dominate market. In most cases, green advertising investment tends to decrease the output and profits of non‐green manufacturers. However, under specific circumstances, such as when non‐green manufacturers dominate market and the production cost of green products exceeds a certain threshold, investing in green advertising can unexpectedly stimulate demand for non‐green products.

Sustainable Flying? The Effects of Greenwashed Claims in Airline Advertising on Perceived Greenwashing, Brand Outcomes, and Attitudes Toward Flying

ABSTRACT To respond to consumers’ rising concerns about environmental topics, airlines increasingly use green advertising. However, due to the environmental impact of flying, many green advertisements by airlines can be considered as “greenwashing” practices. In an experimental study with a quota-based sample (N = 329), we investigated the effects of two types of greenwashed advertisements for airlines: concrete compensation and abstract compensation (compared to a control condition). Following the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), we also explored the moderating role of environmental knowledge in the ability of consumers to perceive greenwashing in airline advertising. Results indicated that concrete compensation claims did not increase greenwashing perceptions compared to the control condition. However, abstract compensation claims did, which, via perceived greenwashing, were negatively associated with brand outcomes and assessments of flying. Environmental knowledge did not moderate these effects. Implications for research on greenwashing, as well as practical conclusions for environmental communication, are discussed.

How green advertising drives pro-environmental willingness to pay? Evidence from a within-participant between-group experiment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influences of positive-framed and negative-framed green advertising on pro-environmental WTP. This study also explores the impacts of regulatory focus, environmental concern and pleasant level on green advertising effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachData are collected from a within-participant between-group online experiment in China. The generalized estimating equation (GEE) is employed to investigate the impact of green advertising on WTP. Grouped regression and mediation analyses are conducted to explore the influences of regulatory focus, environmental concern and pleasure on advertising efficacy.FindingsThe experimental outcomes indicate that green advertising significantly increases participants’ pro-environmental WTP, and negative-framed advertising is more effective than its positive-framed counterpart. Prevention focus heightens receptivity to green advertising, and the relation of environmental concern to advertising effectiveness is inverted U-shaped. Pleasure mediates the effect of green advertising on the WTP, and this mediating role is influenced by emotional intensity when advertising is negatively framed.Originality/valueEvidence suggests that green advertising may propel pro-environmental WTP by raising environmental awareness, but such a relationship remains severely understudied. As such, this study pioneers in exploring the impact of different-framed green advertising on pro-environmental WTP, extending the concept of green advertising to environmental management. By considering the influences of regulatory focus, environmental concern and pleasure, this study raises practical implications for designing green advertisements, such as increasing the usage of visual elements.

Vietnamese consumer's perspective on green beauty care products: Exploring the impact of animal welfare concerns and skepticism toward green advertising

Green consumers increasingly consider animal welfare (AW) in their decision-making, demonstrating a growing awareness of ethical considerations beyond conventional environmental concerns. However, with an increase in greenwashing, skepticism has grown among consumers. Regardless of manufacturers' efforts to enhance consumer awareness via green advertising, consumer skepticism toward these advertisements creates doubt and consequently reduces positive attitudes and intentions to buy green products. This study investigated the variables that impact Vietnamese consumers' decision-making processes toward green beauty care products. Specifically, we focused on the role of AW concerns and skepticism toward green advertising. For this study, we adopted the timulus-response organism (SOR) framework, which is known for its ability to analyze the impact of environmental stimuli (S) on personal perceptions (O), leading to specific responses (R). We elucidated the relationship between concern for AW and green advertising skepticism (GAS) as stimulus factors, green brand trust (GBT) and attitude toward green products (ATT) as organism factors, and three sub-dimensions of behavioral intentions (BI): green purchase intention (GPI), word-of-mouth (WOM), and willingness to pay (WPP) as response factors. We explored the mediating effect of ATT on the relationship between GAS-GPI and AW-GPI. This study involved 386 Vietnamese participants surveyed using convenience sampling. Smart PLS v3.2.9 software was used to analyze the data using structural equation modeling. The hypothesis test using PLS-SEM confirmed that (a) GBT had a positive effect on BI and ATT; (b) ATT had a positive effect on BI; (c) GAS had a negative effect on GBT and WPP, but not on GPI and WOM; and (d) AW had a positive effect on GPI and WOM, but not on ATT and WPP. Surprisingly, this study found insufficient statistical evidence to support the mediating role of ATT in the relationship between GAS-GPI and AW-GPI. This study highlights the importance of integrated advertising and education campaigns in increasing customer awareness toward green products and the significance of comprehending the cultural context when developing marketing strategies, especially in emerging markets such as Vietnam, where environmental concerns are skeptical and AW issues are relatively new. The study delved into the Vietnam market and specifically examined beauty care products labeled as “not tested on animals.” Additionally, we addressed a gap in the existing research by investigating the combined influence of AW concerns and GAS on the formation of green behavioral intentions (GBI).

The Effect of Green Advertising on Environmental Attitudes and Purchase Intention in Buying Environmentally Friendly Products (Studies on Garnier Products)

Objectives This study aims to determine green advertising on purchase intention in buying environmentally friendly products through mediating environmental attitudesMethodology: This research employed a causality research design, utilizing a quantitative approach. Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed via Google Forms to residents of DKI Jakarta. Sampling was conducted using the Non-Probability Sampling technique, specifically employing a purposive sampling method. The sample size for this study was 100 participants. Subsequently, the questionnaire responses were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method, facilitated by SmartPLS 3.0 software.Finding: The results of this study found that Garnier’s green advertising and environmental attitudes had a positive and significant effect on purchase intentions in buying Garnier’s environmentally friendly product, and environmental attitudes had a positive and significant effect in mediating green advertising towards purchase intention in buying environmentally friendly product.Conclusion: The better implementation of green advertising increases consumer interest in buying environmentally friendly products, the higher the consumer's environmental attitude, and the greater the individual's interest in buying environmentally friendly products.

Effects of Greenwashing Practices on Consumer Behavior

Environment friendly, or green advertisingincreasingly gained popularity, and businesses are continuallylookingfor the most effective strategies to spread their green message to consumers. Consumershave raised their expectations and begun to take environmental concerns more seriously. Because human demands are limitless and limited resources are available, it is crucial for companies to make effective, waste-free use of resources in order to meet organizational goals. Green advertising is therefore necessary. Evidence from throughout the globe shows that people are concerned about their surroundings and are altering their behavior. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of greenwashing practices on consumer behavior. The study was undertaken with a sample size of 345 respondents. The statistics has been accumulated through questionnaires and analyzed by SPSS and AMOS. Customers are assumed for being aware of greenwashing strategies employed by businesses, which include employing terminology like “herbal”, “organic”, and “natural”, yet when it relates to their behavior, they frequently don’t develop educated decisions and become duped. Consumers who are predisposed to purchase the goods find green persuasive logos, photos, wordings, and package appealing.

The First-person Effect of Green Advertising

Abstract Research on people’s perceptions of media effects had been focused on third-person effect of negative information, whereas the first-person effect of positive information was less explored. This paper aims to investigate the drivers of the first-person effect of green advertising and its behavioral consequences. An online questionnaire survey was used to collect data, obtaining 414 valid questionnaires that were analyzed using Partial Least Squares structural equation modeling. The result indicates that (1) the first-person effect existed in green advertising; (2) social desirability, environmental involvement, and advertising involvement had positive impact on the first-person effect, which in turn, led to green supportive behavior. In addition, this study proposes relevant theoretical implications and practical applications, as well as suggests for future research directions. JEL classification numbers: M37. Keywords: First-person effect, Social desirability, Environmental involvement, Advertising involvement.

Generation Z's green purchase behavior: Do green consumer knowledge, consumer social responsibility, green advertising, and green consumer trust matter for sustainable development?

AbstractGeneration Z (Gen‐Z), representing a demographic cohort of persons born from 1995 to 2010, has demonstrated their concerns for environmental protection. On September 20, 2019, for example, millions of Gen‐Zs from over 150 different countries across the globe embarked on a protest to pressure decision‐makers and governments to help save the planet. Such campaigns have caused firms to rethink how they operate by adopting green operations in their production and distribution of products. The footwear industry is not left out. The problem this research sought to address is the assessment of the effect of green consumer knowledge on green purchase behavior among Gen‐Z consumers towards footwear while assessing the roles of consumer social responsibility, green advertising, and green consumer trust. The study was quantitative in nature and used an online questionnaire to survey 559 Chinese Gen‐Z consumers. Findings revealed that although green consumer knowledge had a direct effect on green purchase behavior, this effect was partially mediated by consumer social responsibility. The effect of consumer social responsibility on green purchase behavior was positively moderated by green advertising, and the moderating effect of green advertising was further strengthened by green consumer trust. Finally, the mediating effect of consumer social responsibility was conditional on the moderating effects of green advertising and green consumer trust. It was concluded that green consumer knowledge is an essential ingredient in enhancing Gen‐Z consumers' green purchase behavior towards footwear, as such, advocacy and pressure groups must increasingly conscientize consumers.

Pride Appeals and Temporal Framing Compatibility Effects in Green Advertising

Pride Appeals and Temporal Framing Compatibility Effects in Green Advertising

From Aisles to Ethics: Investigating the Role of Green Advertising in Shaping Consumer Behavior

Green advertising has piqued the attention of scholars as consumers and business organizations have become more concerned about environmental protection and green practices in recent years. However, many customers consider that there is a general lack of confidence and trust in advertising, particularly when it comes to environmental needs. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of green advertising (Green messages, eco-labeling, and environmental claims) on consumer purchase behavior of supermarket shoppers in Akure south local government, Ondo state. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design, while a simple random sampling technique was used to select one hundred and eighty-five (185) respondents. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for the analysis of data collected through the administration of a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. The findings revealed green messages, eco-labeling, and environmental claims have significant effects on consumer purchase behavior. The study concluded that green advertising had a significant effect on consumer purchase behavior. The study recommended that companies should incorporate green messages and obtain recognized eco-label certifications to attract environmentally conscious consumers and gain a competitive edge.

Decoding demarketing advertising effects through the IMC lens: the role of earned and paid media

Green demarketing has received attention as a viable strategy in response to consumers’ demand for sustainable marketing. Only a few studies focused on testing demarketing at the product level. This study tested the synergistic effects of earned and paid media as part of the overarching company’s integrated marketing communications (IMC) efforts. Company background information, such as CSR activity magnitude appearing in press releases, CSR credibility from third-party organizations, and publicity congruency along with advertising was tested to gauge how consumers thread a company’s demarketing efforts. In Study 1, higher CSR credibility increased advertising performance for green and demarketing advertising under certain conditions (i.e. smaller CSR activity magnitude and demarketing advertising; larger CSR activity magnitude and green advertising). Further, perceived company integrity was a significant mediator that drove consumer ratings. Study 2 found that when demarketing publicity is shown first, a follow-up demarketing (vs. green) ad is crucial in increasing perceived congruency, contributing to more positive downstream effects. Demarketing strategies can potentially positively impact society while building a positive consumer relationship. The current study continues this critical line of research by testing its effect in conjunction with other company background information to identify further important IMC elements that might influence the success of demarketing strategies.

The effects of visual design on eco-labels evaluations: guidelines for effective green advertising

ABSTRACT Through three survey designs using 15 real eco-labels we explored four design elements on consumers’ attitude toward the eco-label logo, showing that visual complexity, text amount, and green color increased attitude toward the eco-label whereas conceptual complexity decreased it. Besides, the impact of conceptual complexity on conceptual fluency was positive only when the labels contained more text and predominantly green, which resulted in no decrease in the attitude toward the eco-label. Moreover, while visual complexity was positively related to attitude toward the eco-label due to increased perceptual fluency, conceptual complexity was negatively related to it due to decreased conceptual fluency.

Green Advertising through the Eyes of the Youth: A Study on Environmentally Responsible Behaviour

Green advertising aims to highlight environmentally friendly products or the advertiser's corporate environmental responsibility towards environment. Considering the importance that responsibility of organisations towards environment and environmental behaviour of consumers have in modern market circumstances, green advertising is a crucial theoretical and practical idea in modern advertising. The goal of undertaking present research was to know the opinion of the youth of Vadodara city regarding green advertisement and their environmentally responsible behaviour. The research was descriptive in nature. Questionnaire was prepared to collect the data using the survey approach wherein 200 youth from Vadodara City made up the study's sample, sample size, and locale. The study's conclusions demonstrated that majority of respondents (80%) were undergraduates belonging to nuclear families (78%) where only 9% of the respondents were men and 90% were women. It was also found that majority of respondents (80%) were students and television was the source of medium from which highest number of respondents heard about green advertising. Results showed that the majority (98.50%) of respondents showed most favourable opinion towards green advertisements. Majority (94%) of the respondents showed somewhat environmentally responsible behaviour. Further, the sub section “emotional response to environmental problems” (31.50%) showed highest environmentally responsible behaviour and the sub section “emotional response to environmental problems” (4.50%) again showed least environmentally responsible behaviour. The results of the study implies that targeting youth through television advertisements may be an effective strategy to garner favorable opinions and encourage environmentally responsible behavior, with a specific focus on emotional engagement with environmental problems as a key driver. Thus, green advertising is becoming a crucial component of the advertising industry to promote company’s products in an innovative way and attract customers who would eventually purchase eco-friendly goods. The long-term benefits and necessity of it will make it profitable through increased customer satisfaction, which will positively affect consumer purchasing intentions.

Sustainability communications via sponsorship: Potential, characteristics and managerial challenges

AbstractSustainability communications have become a key issue for organisations. While most studies have focused on sustainability reporting and green advertising, other communication tools such as sponsorship are under‐researched. The present study addresses this void by exploring the potential and identifying key characteristics and challenges of sustainable sponsorships, theoretically conceptualised as a social contract between sponsorship contractors and society. As such, it is the first to identify the potential and key characteristics of sponsorship for sustainability communications. The authors took an explorative, qualitative research approach, conducting 13 in‐depth interviews. The interviewees highlighted eight characteristics that determined sustainable sponsorships across all three sustainability dimensions. Sustainability was identified as a key driver in managing sponsorship effectively. In light of the study's findings, it is recommended that sponsors and sponsees should adapt their sponsorship management to incorporate sustainability. Measuring the outcome and success of sustainable sponsorships could be a subject for future research.