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Does sustainability sell? The impact of sustainability claims on the success of national brands’ new product introductions

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  • van Doorn, Jenny
  • Risselada, Hans
  • Verhoef, Peter C.

Abstract

In the hope of benefiting from the increasing focus on sustainability in Western markets, national brands are introducing new sustainable products. We investigate the success of new sustainable products with a unique dataset combining household panel data, consumer survey data, expert panel survey data, and advertising expenditure data. We show that sustainable new product introductions achieve lower sales than their conventional counterparts. Investing in corporate social responsibility activities compensates for this negative effect and is therefore a viable strategy to boost sales of new sustainable products. Importantly, making sustainable new products clearly innovative mitigates the negative effect of a sustainability claim on new product sales, whereas price promotions aggravate the negative effect. We furthermore caution that the negative effect of sustainability may not decrease as sustainability becomes more mainstream, even if our data covers a period before the currently increased interest in sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • van Doorn, Jenny & Risselada, Hans & Verhoef, Peter C., 2021. "Does sustainability sell? The impact of sustainability claims on the success of national brands’ new product introductions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 182-193.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:137:y:2021:i:c:p:182-193
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.08.032
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    3. Camelia Grădinaru & Daniel-Rareș Obadă & Ioan-Alexandru Grădinaru & Dan-Cristian Dabija, 2022. "Enhancing Sustainable Cosmetics Brand Purchase: A Comprehensive Approach Based on the SOR Model and the Triple Bottom Line," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-22, October.
    4. Gleim, Mark R. & McCullough, Heath & Sreen, Naman & Pant, Logan G., 2023. "Is doing right all that matters in sustainability marketing? The role of fit in sustainable marketing strategies," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Hongfan Zhang & Qurat Ul Ainn & Iram Bashir & Junaid Ul Haq & Mark A. Bonn, 2022. "Does Greenwashing Influence the Green Product Experience in Emerging Hospitality Markets Post-COVID-19?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, September.
    6. Guangying Xie & Shengyan Wu & Zhengjiang Song, 2022. "Focus on Innovation or Focus on Sales? The Influences of the Government of China’s Demand-Side Reform during COVID-19 and Their Sustainability Consequences in the Consumer Products Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-21, October.

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