Engaging Consumers with Environmental Sustainability Initiatives: Consumer Global–Local Identity and Global Brand Messaging

Abstract

Environmental sustainability is a common practice of global brands, with 90% of the top 100 Interbrand global brands making statements about environmental efforts on their websites. In this research, we explore how a consumer’s global-local identity can affect consumer engagement with a global brand’s environmental sustainability initiative. Specifically, we examine consumer engagement in response to environmental messaging based on regulatory focus, spatial construal, and temporal construal. We theorize and find, across six experimental studies, that consumers with a strong global identity are more engaged with environmental sustainability initiatives when messaging includes frames congruent with their global identity, specifically promotion frames coupled with distant spatial frames and with proximal temporal frames. For consumers with a local identity, these regulatory and construal messaging frames do not impact consumer engagement with environmental sustainability initiatives. Consumer environmental mindset mediates the effect of global-local identity on consumer engagement with environmental sustainability initiatives when such congruent frames are used, and consumer eagerness to act provides additional process explanation for the asymmetric spatial (distant) and temporal (proximal) construal effects. Our findings have significant implications for the design of global brand and environmental policy messaging, particularly for consumers with a strong global identity.

Mapping the sustainability branding field: emerging trends and future directions

“…Personal values, self-transcendence and altruism are important antecedents (Follows and Jobber, 2000). Universal values are associated with global lifestyles and connectedness in cultural identities (Salnikova et al, 2022)…”

“…Personal values, self-transcendence and altruism are important antecedents (Follows and Jobber, 2000). Universal values are associated with global lifestyles and connectedness in cultural identities (Salnikova et al , 2022). Findings show that more globally oriented consumers tend to amplify their green materialism tendencies and are more responsive to green messaging.…”

How does goal framing effect influence household low-carbon behavior: The roles of environmental self-efficacy and global–local identity

“…Although one person can have both identities simultaneously, one identity will still be dominant and thus has a greater impact on human behavior, depending on individual characteristics and specific situations (Ng et al, 2021). Research has indicated that consumers with a strong global identity have concerns about the environment because they can easily relate to one unifying global cause of protecting the planet's environment (Salnikova et al, 2022). In our context, a local identity activates residents' mental associations with people in the local community and climate change within their community, whereas a global identity activates associations with people around the world and climate change worldwide.…”

The nudge effect to change the previous users' misbehaviors to stewardship behavior in personal mobility platforms

“…regionally-based brands, luxury brands, etc.) and price sensitivity, but more recently, studies linked to social issues, such as environment and corporate social responsibility, have been conducted (Puncheva-Michelotti et al ., 2018; Bonaiuto et al ., 2002; Salnikova et al ., 2022). Global identity associated with more contextual and holistic thinking, for instance, appears to have had a more positive effect on new consumption activities (Nie et al ., 2022).…”