The mere green effect: An fMRI study of pro-environmental advertisements

Abstract

Self-report evidence suggests that consumers prefer green products (i.e., pro-environmental) to standard products, but this is not reflected in purchase behaviors. To understand this disconnect, we exposed participants in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to green and standard ads. After viewing each ad, participants rated liking and perceived sustainability. Ratings were more favorable for green ads than for control ads, but the functional MRI data suggested an opposite pattern-participants showed greater activation in regions associated with personal value and reward (ventromedial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum) in response to control ads relative to green ads. In addition, participants showed greater activity in these regions to the extent that they reported liking control ads, but there was no such trend for green ads. In line with a neuroeconomic account, we suggest that activity in these regions may be indexing a value signal computed during message exposure that may influence downstream purchase decisions, in contrast to self-reported evaluations that may reflect social desirability concerns absent at the point of purchase.

The Effects of Green Restaurant Attributes on Customer Satisfaction Using the Structural Topic Model on Online Customer Reviews

“…While previous studies identified the impacts of green practices in the restaurant setting [17,21], only a few studies included common restaurant practices to identify the relative impacts of green practices [67]. Without considering the competing values (e.g., price, quality of other attributes), the previously suggested effects of green practices may not have the same impact on the actual purchase [68,69]. For example, customers who value taste more than green attributes are less likely to be satisfied with a restaurant that serves food with poor taste despite the excellent green attributes provided by the restaurant [10].…”

“…For example, customers who value taste more than green attributes are less likely to be satisfied with a restaurant that serves food with poor taste despite the excellent green attributes provided by the restaurant [10]. However, structured survey questions are often limited in terms of specifically asking about all possible obstacles that keep people from accomplishing a green behavior [68]. Therefore, it is meaningful to uncover natural customer perceptions and reactions to green practices in a manner that lowers potential bias by using post-visit UGC about green restaurants.…”

Beyond Self-Report: A Review of Physiological and Neuroscientific Methods to Investigate Consumer Behavior

“…Previous research also suggests that fMRI is sensitive to consumer purchase decisions that may not be evident from self-report measures. In one study ( Vezich et al, 2017 ), researchers investigated the marketing of environmentally friendly products after noting that self-reported preference ratings for ‘green’ products often did not translate into actual purchasing behavior. During the scanning procedure, participants viewed advertising posters for a range of environmentally friendly products and matched control products.…”

Living wage in the framework of corporate social responsibility: Analyzing its impact on consumer response

“…At the methodological level, the findings highlight the importance of applying a combination of self-reports and an objective means of measuring the impact of CSR messages on consumers. This methodological strategy is relevant to contexts greatly influenced by social desirability such as the current case (Vezich, Gunter, & Lieberman, 2016). In addition, this strategy leads to considering the influence of automatic and nonconscious features involved in processing information difficult to capture exclusively through selfreports (Schwarz, 2004).…”