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Author: Kuan-Hsueh Lai

Trans.: Ming Henn Chai 

 

With the global rise in environmental awareness, have you found yourself gradually integrating this idea into your everyday lifestyle choices? Have these considerations influenced your purchasing behavior, altering the types of products you’re willing to buy? As more companies align with this trend to create eco-friendly products, one must ask: are consumers truly willing to purchase these green options? The increasing frequency of extreme weather events and the steadily rising global temperatures have compelled individuals to think more deeply about issues surrounding environmental protection, resource recycling, and ecological reconstruction, collectively recognized as pillars of sustainability. The emphasis on sustainability has significantly influenced governments, businesses, and consumers alike, creating a shared preference for products and services with strong green credentials. This shift has further catalyzed the rise of green marketing. Green marketing, as a concept, integrates environmental consciousness into marketing strategies, prioritizing the promotion of products and services that are friendly to the environment. This paper introduces a research study that delves into various factors influencing green marketing while also examining the potential issue of greenwashing within green marketing practices.

Citation

Su, W.-C., & Cheng, L.-K (2021). Does green product information always increase purchase intention? A moderated mediation model of amorality and green awareness. Management Review, 40(1), 93-109. https://doi.org/10.6656/MR.202101_40(1).ENG093

 

Paper Inquiry 

Taiwan Citation Index-Humanities and Social Sciences

Airiti Library (English Paper)

Management Review website

 


 

Introduction to the Research Study

Published in early 2021, the article “Does Green Product Information Increase Purchase Intention? A Moderated Mediation Effect of Moral Ignorance and Green Knowledge,” seeks to build upon previous studies on green marketing. Inspired by past research, the article aims to investigate whether consumers’ awareness of green product information influences their attitudes toward green products. Additionally, the study explores how a consumer’s tendency to ignore moral issues affects green knowledge, thereby impacting purchase intentions. This research study serves as a reference for companies looking to enhance consumer willingness to purchase green products through effective green marketing strategies. To thoroughly test the assumptions in this area, the research team designed a set of three experiments, each structured to examine the following four hypotheses: Hypothesis 1, consumers are more inclined to purchase green products containing clear environmental claims than general products that lack such claims. Hypothesis 2, there exists a positive correlation between environmental claims and purchase intent, with this effect being entirely mediated by consumers’ awareness of green product information. Hypothesis 3, the relationship between environmental claims and green awareness is influenced by the extent to which consumers tend to ignore moral issues. Hypothesis 4, green awareness mediates the relationship between environmental claims and purchase intention, with this mediation further moderated by consumers’ inclination toward moral ignorance.

 

The researchers selected “amorality” within the framework of Machiavellianism as a dimension of morality to examine. The reason for this is that amorality, as a trait, applies universally across individuals and contexts without adhering to strict definitions of morality. The researchers categorized amoral tendencies into two distinct groups: individuals with high-amorality and those with low-amorality. High-amoral individuals prioritize their self-interest above all else, remain relatively unrestricted by traditional moral considerations, and generally exhibit subjective thinking patterns. Conversely, low-amoral individuals are more likely to adhere to moral standards, uphold actions that reflect these values, and tend to engage in more objective thinking. Based on this categorization, the researchers hypothesized that an individual's tendency toward moral ignorance would influence their awareness of green product information, as well as the mediating effect of this awareness on their purchase intentions.

 

The research study used three specific products, “laptops,” “running shoes,” and “scarves” as the test items in each of the three experimental groups with similar order of operations. Each experimental group contained two conditions for comparison: one that provided only functional product descriptions, and another that included both environmental claims and general functional information about the product. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of these two conditions and asked to respond to survey questions regarding their purchase intentions, awareness of green information associated with the product, and the extent of their moral ignorance. In Experiment 1, this experiment primarily aimed to test the first two hypotheses. In Experiment 2, this experiment repeated the first two hypotheses’ tests and added a moral ignorance scale to assess the third and fourth hypotheses. In Experiment 3, this experiment incorporated fear as an emotional variable to examine whether moral ignorance would lose its moderating effect under conditions of environmental fear.

 

 Experimental Findings and Analysis

 

The results of these experiments are outlined below. Through simple regression analysis in Hypothesis 1, the researchers confirmed that consumers generally exhibited a higher willingness to purchase products with environmental claims compared to products without such claims. Next, the researchers employed Hayes’ PROCESS Model 4 to analyze the data in Hypothesis 2. Through bootstrapping they created 5,000 samples, revealing that consumers’ awareness of green product information entirely mediates the relationship between environmental claims and purchase intention. In other words, consumers must first recognize the environmental information in an advertisement for it to influence their purchasing behavior, supporting Hypothesis 2. Using Model 7 of the PROCESS model in Hypotheses 3 and 4, the researchers divided respondents into high- and low-amoral groups, based on the median score of their moral ignorance tendencies. They found that high-amoral individuals were less likely to recognize environmental information in advertisements with both environmental claims and general product information, sometimes even assuming that green claims existed in purely functional advertisements. This finding supported Hypothesis 3. For Hypothesis 4, analysis showed that the mediating effect of green awareness on purchase intention was stronger for low-amoral individuals than for high-amoral individuals, further confirming Hypothesis 4.

 

These findings challenge the traditional notion that consumers generally prefer green products. Instead, the study highlights that the determining factor in influencing consumers’ willingness to purchase green products lies in their ability to perceive and understand green information within advertisements. Moreover, the tendency toward moral ignorance plays a moderating role in green awareness, indicating selective attention and interpretation when processing information. Therefore, companies should consider adjusting their green marketing strategies based on the unique characteristics of different consumer groups, if companies overlook the importance of facilitating accurate consumer understanding of green information, incorporating environmental elements into advertisements may not yield the desired increase in purchase intention. For instance, high-amoral consumers may choose to selectively ignore or distort green claims, potentially leading to a decrease in purchase intent. In such cases, companies might focus on highlighting the product’s functional features. Conversely, for low-amoral consumers, companies could prioritize green marketing elements, emphasizing the product’s environmentally friendly attributes. By doing so, these consumers can feel that purchasing the product contributes positively to environmental protection, which aligns with their moral standards and may increase their willingness to buy.

 

Related Issues

 

 

As companies align with sustainability trends to produce eco-friendly products and disclose relevant environmental information to attract consumers, they create a cycle of mutual benefit for the environment, corporations, and consumers. However, a darker issue we cannot ignore has gradually emerged within this framework known as greenwashing.

 

Greenwashing is a form of deceptive marketing that involves manipulating advertising and media to make the public believe a company’s products, services, and goals are aligned with green and eco-friendly concepts. In other words, it is when a company or organization redirects resources and budgets that could be used for sustainable actions or strategies toward promoting a green brand image or engaging in public relations activities that emphasize eco-friendly messaging.

 

According to research from the European Union, approximately 50% of European companies have been suspected of exaggerating or falsifying their climate commitments, making greenwashing not merely a corporate ethics issue but a growing societal concern. The rising frequency of extreme weather events further incentivizes companies to greenwash, as they seek to attract investment by cultivating a positive green image. However, greenwashing ultimately exacerbates environmental harm, as companies use misleading marketing practices to hide their lack of true environmental action, resources that could be effectively invested in sustainable innovation and promotion are misallocated, potentially overshadowing genuinely environmentally friendly companies and diverting the focus of environmental protection away from long-term development goals. Although greenwashing may yield short-term profits, it often damages a company’s reputation and long-term development. When consumers realize that a company has misled them with greenwashed messages, they lose trust in the brand, which damages the company’s reputation and may lead to legal consequences if the company violates government regulations. This cycle of negative effects diminishes the company’s competitiveness. Last but not least, the information asymmetry between companies and consumers makes it challenging for consumers to distinguish genuinely eco-friendly products from those that are greenwashed, this barrier hinders environmentally conscious consumers from achieving their eco-conscious goals and erodes trust in both corporations and institutions. Consequently, individuals who wish to make positive contributions to environmental protection often find it challenging to do so effectively. In conclusion, greenwashing not only undermines the long-term development of companies themselves but also exacerbates environmental issues, in some cases even obstructing progress toward sustainability. Greenwashing is an issue that deserves more attention and stricter regulatory oversight, as it affects all stakeholders invested in achieving sustainable development.

 

 

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