Eco-Innovations in Global Markets: The Effect of Ecological (In)Congruence on Consumers’ Adoption Intentions

Abstract

Eco-innovations are increasingly manufactured and consumed across national borders. Although global outsourcing can be financially profitable, it is questionable whether consumers respond to eco-innovations manufactured in different countries in the same way. This article introduces the ecological country-of-manufacture (COM) concept, which reflects consumers’ perception of a country’s commitment to sustainable development policy and practices. Drawing on schema theory, the current research examines how consumer reactions to “ecological (in)congruence”—when the sustainability reputation of a COM is a (mis)match with product eco-friendliness levels—vary across product categories (Study 1a), consumption contexts (Study 1b), and national settings (Study 2). Consumers report more preferential evaluations when there is ecological incongruence for privately consumed products and ecological congruence for publicly consumed products. The results also demonstrate the differential moderating effects of socioeconomic development factors and cultural dimensions. In emerging markets with highly embedded, hierarchical, and high-harmony cultures, consumers require ecological congruence to justify their adoption decisions, whereas in developed markets with highly autonomous, egalitarian, and high-mastery cultures, consumers are more likely to adopt eco-innovations that are ecologically incongruent.

Not All Wrongdoers Are Equal in the Public Eye: A Moderated Mediation Model of Country Stereotypes, Condemning Emotions, and Retaliatory Intent in Corporate Crises

“…Although a great deal of research has investigated consumers’ responses to corporate crises, the underlying psychological mechanisms, and contingency factors (e.g., Cleeren, Dekimpe, and Van Heerde 2017; Gao et al 2015; Grappi, Romani, and Bagozzi 2013a, 2013b; Xie and Bagozzi 2019), little is known about the roles of the origin of offending companies and country stereotypes in this context. This is surprising given that a substantial body of international marketing research demonstrates that a company’s or brand’s COO (e.g., Allman et al 2015; Choi et al 2016; Herz and Diamantopoulos 2017; Tran and Paparoidamis 2020) and associated country stereotypes (e.g., Chattalas, Kramer, and Takada 2008; Chen, Mathur, and Maheswaran 2014; Diamantopoulos et al 2017; Halkias, Davvetas, and Diamantopoulos 2016; Magnusson, Westjohn, and Sirianni 2019) can shape consumer behavior toward companies and brands in noncrisis settings. The notion that a company’s COO might also matter in the context of corporate crises is supported by recent evidence showing that wrongdoings of foreign brands receive 80% more media coverage (in terms of number of stories) than wrongdoings of domestic brands (Stäbler and Fischer 2020).…”

SPICe—Determinants of consumer green innovation adoption across domains: A systematic review of marketing journals and suggestions for a research agenda

“…Researchers could conduct more longitudinal research focusing on the development of these determinants (Tran & Paparoidamis, 2020). Less is known about how motives for adoption among innovators develop over time.…”

“…(2020), Qian and Yin (2017), Song et al. (2021), Tran and Paparoidamis (2020), Wiedmann et al. (2011), White and Sintov (2017)…”

Well-Being in a Global World—The Role of International Marketing: An Editorial

“…In another example, Schill, Godefroit-Winkel, and Hughes (2021) introduce a novel connection between concepts not yet studied in tandem: climate change perceptions and country-of-origin effects. Relatedly, Tran and Paparoidamis (2020) explore the (in)congruence between a country's ecological image and products associated with that country and their ecological attributes. The authors developed the country-of-manufacture concept, which reflects consumers’ perception of a country's commitment to sustainable development policy and practices.…”