Halo Effect and Source Credibility in the Evaluation of Food Products Identified by Third-Party Certified Eco-Labels: Can Information Prevent Biased Inferences?

Abstract

Despite the growing awareness of the need to promote the consumption of organic food, consumers have difficulties in correctly identifying it in the market, making frequent cognitive mistakes in the evaluation of products identified by sustainability labels and claims. This work analyzes the halo effect and the source credibility bias in the interpretation of product attributes based on third-party certified labels. It is hypothesized that, regardless of their specific meaning, official labels lead consumers to infer higher environmental sustainability, quality and price of the product, due to the credibility attributed to the certifying entity. It also examines the extent to which providing the consumer with accurate labeling information helps prevent biased heuristic thinking. An experimental between-subject study was performed with a sample of 412 Spanish business students and data were analyzed using partial least squares. Findings revealed that consumers tend to infer environmental superiority and, consequently, higher quality in products identified by both organic and non-organic certified labels, due to their credibility. Label credibility was also associated with price inferences, to a greater extent than the meaning attributed to the label. Interestingly, providing accurate information did not avoid biased heuristic thinking in product evaluation.

A consumer perspective of AI certification – the current certification landscape, consumer approval and directions for future research

“…Consumers prefer the government over for-profit entities in the health and safety domain but not in the social and financial domains. One explanation could be that governmental agencies mostly regulate the health and safety domain in the UK (Nawaz, 2018; UK Government, 2023), possibly signalling existing expertise and credibility in these domains (Lanero et al , 2021; Janssen and Hamm, 2012; Roe and Teisl, 2007). The social and finance domains are coregulated in the UK, possibly leading to the participants’ lack of clear preference for these domains.…”

“…Besides, consumer trust is a multifaceted concept that is influenced by a variety of factors, including the credibility and expertise of the entity (Lanero et al , 2021; Janssen and Hamm, 2012; Roe and Teisl, 2007), as well as the consumer’s familiarity with the entity (Brach et al , 2018). As the AI landscape is yet to be defined, consumers may rely more on their perceived expertise than their familiarity, especially as AI requires specialised expertise to understand.…”

Are consumers willing to co-create value when focal firms' suppliers are proactive in green innovation? A chain liability and green halo effect

“…The chain liability effect means that consumers attribute everything in the supply chain to the focal firm (Hartmann and Moeller, 2014). Subsequently, consumers reward responsible focal firms by choosing their products over competitors, achieving value co-creation with these focal firms (Lanero et al, 2021;Valor et al, 2022). For example, when Changan Automobile Company recommended its new energy vehicle "Avatr" on its official website, it mentioned that CATL, the battery supplier, has plans for battery recycling and the application of large-scale The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/0960-0035.htm recycled materials for promoting low-carbon batteries.…”

“…, 2021), the so-called “chain liability effect.” The chain liability effect means that consumers attribute everything in the supply chain to the focal firm (Hartmann and Moeller, 2014). Subsequently, consumers reward responsible focal firms by choosing their products over competitors, achieving value co-creation with these focal firms (Lanero et al. , 2021; Valor et al.…”

Does Environmental Labelling Still Matter? Generation Z’s Purchasing Decisions

“…When making everyday purchases, the conscious consumer must struggle not only with the marketing activities of producers of goods or carefully thought-out sales strategies of stores but also with a huge amount of information contained on small and very colourful product packages. In this field, environmental labelling must compete with all the information on the packaging, because the main goal of it is to distinguish environmentally safe products throughout their lifecycle, and, after all, encouraging consumers to buy such products is crucial for the current far-reaching policy of sustainable development [1]. The increase in sales of ecological products and the elimination of those whose production or use causes a significant burden on the natural environment is possible thanks to the proper identification of these products by consumers.…”