Does advertising the green benefits of products contribute to sustainable development goals? A quasi‐experimental test of the dilution effect

Abstract

Using two studies, we examine the dilution effect for green products, by testing whether advertising green benefits decreases their perceived instrumentality and thus harms sustainable development. We use a between-subject design and ask participants to evaluate the efficacy of a pen (Study 1) and a dish detergent (Study 2) with and without environmental attributes. Our results are inconsistent with the predictions of the dilution model because the perceived instrumentality of both products does not decrease when environmental benefits are added. Our findings are relevant for eco-labeling given anecdotal evidence suggesting that adding green information can harm the perceived quality of products. KEYWORDSbehavioral economics, dilution model, eco-label, environmental information, green products, quality "Things are what people think they are". (Hayek, 1948)

The dance between darkness and light: a systematic review of advertising’s role in consumer well-being (1980–2020)

“…Although prosocial attitudes were positively associated with green values and receptivity to green advertising, green advertising only generated a weak positive association with green buying behavior (Paco, Shiel, and Alves 2019). Similarly, advertising positive green information did not alter consumer perceptions about claim credibility or product efficacy (Grolleau, Mzoughi, and Sutan 2019).…”

When is sustainability an asset? The interaction effects between the green attributes and product category

“…Although much research has discussed consumer preference for products or services with environmental attributes (Grolleau et al , 2019; Lin and Chang, 2012), consumer preference for products with environmental attributes is equivocal. Our study advances the understanding of whether and when green attributes may serve as an asset and further provide empirical evidence to support the sustainability asset in different product categories.…”

“…Taking the notion of Zero-sum heuristic, consumers believe the resource invested in one product dimension is automatically compensated by the loss of resources in other dimensions (Chernev, 2007;Chernev and Carpenter, 2001). Regarding products with green attributes, consumers hold similar stereotypical views that devoting resources to achieve environmentally friendly goals implies that firms sacrifice other functional dimensions (Grolleau et al, 2019;Newman et al, 2014). Notably, for utilitarian products, consumers particularly value the tangible functional features pertaining to quality, durability as well as credibility, and typically evaluate product performance the efficiency-maximizing principle (Babin et al, 1994).…”

“…The literature suggests that consumer’s decision-making towards products with green attributes is complex (Grolleau et al , 2019). Consumers may prefer sustainable products because they perceive products with green attributes to be more effective than conventional alternatives.…”

Evaluation of critical constructs for measurement of sustainable supply chain practices in lean‐agile firms of Indian origin: A hybrid ISM‐ANP approach

“…Further, Yang, Li, Yu, Zeng, and Sun () found environmental strategy as more useful than economic strategy in order to enhance firm's green performance through an empirical investigation of 214 Chinese manufacturing organizations. Grolleau, Mzoughi, and Sutan () carried out quasi‐experimental test to check whether green advertisement dilutes perceived value of conventional products and found non‐presence of any such behaviour. Thus, it could be treated as promotion for eco‐ labelling.…”