Corporate claims about environmental performance have increased rapidly in recent years, as has the incidence of greenwash, that is, communication that misleads people into forming overly positive ...

The Means and End of Greenwash

How convenient is it? Delivering online shopping convenience to enhance customer satisfaction and encourage e-WOM

The aggravation of environmental problems has led companies to seek the development and commercialization of green products. Some companies mislead their stakeholders through a phenomenon called greenwashing. This paper aims to explore the phenomenon of greenwashing through a systematic literature review in search of its main concepts and typologies in the past 10 years. This research has followed the proceedings of a systematic review of the literature, based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). We identified a major classification of greenwashing: firm-level executional, firm-level claim, product-level executional, and product-level claim. It was possible to highlight and catalog the types of the phenomenon. A structure based on such type has been observed in the literature.

/pdf/concepts-and-forms-of-greenwashing-a-systematic-review-1tm3as3ntq.pdf

Concepts and forms of greenwashing: a systematic review

Causality analysis of media influence on environmental attitude, intention and behaviors leading to green purchasing

This paper focuses on consumer electronics products and observes the comparative effect of celebrity vis-a-vis expert influencers on consumers' online purchase intentions. The mediating role played...

The Effect of Influencer Marketing on Consumers’ Brand Admiration and Online Purchase Intentions: An Emerging Market Perspective

Agenda-setting theory is used to investigate if consumers' online opinions on “greenwashed” advertisements (misleading green advertisements) are influenced by the agenda set by online newspaper articles and environmental nongovernmental organization (NGO) blogs. Leximancer is initially used to obtain attributes and identify themes from four different online stakeholder discussions on greenwashing. Content analysis and cross-lagged correlations are further used to verify if blogs and news articles set the substantive attribute salience in the consumer discussions over a 12-month period (January–December 2009). We found two significant themes in the various stakeholder discussions on greenwashing: marketing communication credibility and impact on natural environment. Results also indicate a bidirectional agenda-setting relationship between consumers and other stakeholders from the same country.

If You Blog, Will They Follow? Using Online Media to Set the Agenda for Consumer Concerns on “Greenwashed” Environmental Claims

The purpose of this study is to compare online and in-store shoppers motivations based on product type.,Means-end approach was used to extract motivational factors that drive shoppers channel choice for hedonic and utilitarian products. A total of 100 respondents were interviewed using laddering technique. Hierarchical virtual maps were constructed to determine values associated with attributes and consequences identified by the consumer.,Shopping motivations differed for online and in-store shoppers based on product type. Variety, value for money and delivery were important attributes for online shoppers. In-store shoppers looked for social interaction and personalized attention. Convenience, affordability and gratification were unique online consequences, while nostalgia and loyalty benefits were specific to in-store hedonic purchases. Self-confidence, availability of wider choices and in-store shopping experience were the values sought for hedonic products. Control of shopping experience was the desired value for utilitarian purchases irrespective of channels.,This study contributes to shopping motivation research by comparing motives of online and in-store shoppers for hedonic and utilitarian products.,Retailers need to enhance online trust and strengthen in-store customer service for hedonic products. They should also work on the online delivery capabilities and in-store personalized services for utilitarian purchases.,Prior research on deconstructing channel choice motivations based on product type is sparse. This paper uses hierarchy of means-end elements to illustrate attributes and consequences that drive consumer motives and values.

Online or in-store: unravelling consumer’s channel choice motives

Second-hand/used goods channels compete with existing traditional channels to satisfy consumers’ needs that are unmet by traditional retail networks. However, most studies on online shopping have largely ignored online second-hand/used good purchases. This study aims to use Thaler’s mental accounting model, principal–agent perspective and contamination theory to highlight the differences in the value sought by online new goods and second-hand shoppers.,A conceptual framework linking perceived uncertainty, perceived acquisition value and e-loyalty was developed and tested using structural equation modelling. The moderating effects of product type (new vs second-hand) and frugality were also included.,The paper found strong support for the model. Results showed that online second-hand shoppers were more uncertain and perceived lesser levels of acquisition value when compared to new goods shoppers. They were also less frugal. Online shoppers are also more likely to buy products with sensory attributes (experience goods) in new goods websites and products with non-sensory attributes (search goods) from second-hand websites. The authors recommend various ways in which managers can increase perceived value for the online shopper.,Future studies can extend this investigation by including transaction value or other hedonic values to verify their impact on acquisition value and e-loyalty. While the authors found support for the notion that consumers who buy used goods online are less frugal, there is some research that could point to the opposite. Hence, research can investigate this topic in depth in more countries to throw more light on this.,To sustain themselves in a competitive online market, retailers need to understand the value sought by consumers. This study provides empirical evidence of the importance of acquisition value for new goods and second-hand shoppers.,No recent research has compared the value sought by online second-hand and new goods shoppers. This study contributes to the understanding of the acquisition value perceived by consumers in online new goods and second-hand shopping channels.

Comparison of perceived acquisition value sought by online second-hand and new goods shoppers

This study performs a systematic content analysis of Indian English green print advertisements for the years 2010 and 2011 to verify if greenwashing is prevalent. Green advertisements were analysed based on four dimensions – (1) claim specificity, (2) greenwashing category, (3) incidence of associative claims and (4) presence of certifications. The results indicate that 51.7% of the claims were greenwashed and most of them were vague or ambiguous (37.7%). Most claims lacked specificity (67.0%) and image claims (60.0%) were widely used. Very few advertisements (3.3%) employed certifications to substantiate their claims. Interestingly, we also found that more than half of the image-related claims (55.8%) were categorized as misleading and highly specific claims were considered acceptable. We suggest that either the self-regulatory body – the Advertising Standards Council of India – or the legal regulatory framework accommodate well-defined provisions for regulating green claims in advertisements to curb gre...

Nature of green advertisements in India: Are they greenwashed?

Purpose




Previous green research shows conflicting results regarding the relationship between environmental concern and persuasion. It has also largely overlooked the role of situational involvement. The purpose of this paper is to aim to show that message involvement influences attitude towards green advertisements.




Design/methodology/approach




To test the proposed model, an experimental study based on a sample of young adults in an emerging economy was used to investigate if situational involvement can produce favourable attitudes towards green advertisements.




Findings




Using PLS, it was found that fear and response efficacy increased message involvement which in turn was a significant predictor of attitude towards the advertisement. The findings show that advertisers can use these variables to increase message involvement.




Originality/value




This research extends previous studies on message involvement and expands current knowledge by showing that situational involvement predicts attitude towards green advertising.

Angeline Gautami Fernando

Papers

If You Blog, Will They Follow? Using Online Media to Set the Agenda for Consumer Concerns on “Greenwashed” Environmental Claims

Online or in-store: unravelling consumer’s channel choice motives

Comparison of perceived acquisition value sought by online second-hand and new goods shoppers

Nature of green advertisements in India: Are they greenwashed?

Message involvement and attitude towards green advertisements