How does greenwashing affect green branding equity and purchase intention? An empirical research

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship among greenwashing, green brand equity, brand credibility, green brand associations and purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach As an object to study, two brands were chosen: a high-involved brand and a low-involved brand. Data were collected from 500 consumers by survey method, and structural equation modeling was run to test the research hypotheses. Findings As a result, it was found that green brand associations and brand credibility positively affect green brand equity, and green brand equity has a positive and strong impact on purchase intention of consumers. In addition to that greenwashing negatively affects green brand associations and brand credibility, and therefore, indirectly influence green brand equity and purchase intention. Research limitations/implications Previous studies conceptualize greenwashing and examine its effects on company performance and skepticism. This study is a first attempt to explore the effects of greenwashing on green branding strategies. Practical implications Managers should be aware of that greenwashing not only negatively affects purchase intention but also generates negative outcomes for the relationship with the brands. Originality/value There is no other study, at least to the author’s knowledge, testing the effects of greenwashing on green brand perceptions and green purchase intention.

Understanding consumers' purchase intentions toward natural‐claimed products: A qualitative research in personal care products

“…Greenwash is widely used to describe the untruthful green claims or advertising of a company (Parguel et al, ). The definition of greenwashing is “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service” (Aggarwal & Kadyan, ; Akturan, ; Budinsky & Bryant, ; Parguel et al, ; Schmuck, Matthes, Naderer, & Beaufort, ; TerraChoice, ). It involves a variety communication application that misleads people who adopt positive beliefs about the company's environmental practices or products.…”

“…Claim greenwashing is generating false and manipulating claims through lying, lying by omission, or lying through lack of clarity to exclude necessary information. Executional greenwashing is about using naturalness‐evoking elements (colors, sounds, and landscape) in advertisement (ads; Akturan, ; Parguel et al, ). Table shows the list of related greenwashing literature.…”

“…This type of ambiguous, inaccurate messages and claims causes customers to perceive these messages as greenwashing (Genc, ; Laufer, ; Sullivan, ). When a company cannot fulfill its claims of being green, greenwashing arises as an important problem (Akturan, ; Parguel, Benoît‐Moreau, & Russell, ). Greenwashing is a corporate green practice that used to promote the perception of a company's policies or products are environmentally friendly (Lewis, ; Shacklett, ), to generate strong environmental and social effect (Payne, ).…”

The effect of greenwashing on online consumer engagement: A comparative study in France, Germany, Turkey, and the United Kingdom

“…In another U.S. study, it is stated that 95% of the comments on Volkswagen on Twitter after the crisis are negative (Stewart, ). Although there are studies about the emission crisis in Turkey, the crisis management of Volkswagen has mostly been handled on social media (Akbayir & Kuşay, ; Akturan, ; Şoray & Bozkurt Bekoğlu, ; TerraChoice, ). It is seen that there are limited numbers of studies about the consumer engagement or activities on social media in France and England where passenger car sales of Volkswagen and consumption of diesel fuel has reached up to high‐sales figures.…”

“…Greenwashing can make a company look more environmentally friendly than it really is. The failure of businesses to fulfill their claims about sustainability and environmentalism may bring along important problems, as well (Akturan, 2018). Businesses engaged in greenwashing are exposed to certain legal sanctions (Sun & Zhang, 2019) and also may cause consumers to exhibit negative attitudes toward their own businesses (Braga Junior, Martínez, Correa, Moura-Leite, & Da Silva, 2019;De Jong, Harkink, & Barth, 2018;Kahraman & Kazançoğlu, 2019) and the overall market (Chen, Lin, & Chang, 2014).…”