IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v88y2026ics0969698925001936.html

Green Specificity: Igniting curiosity and arousing emotional ambivalence

Author

Listed:
  • Tan, Ser Zian
  • Yang, Lin
  • Loo, Wee Hong

Abstract

This research investigates how the specificity of product claims influences consumers' purchase intentions for green products, using the cognitive-affective model to explain the roles of curiosity (cognitive dimension) and emotional ambivalence (affective dimension). While prior research has explored the impact of claim specificity on factors such as product efficacy, perceived risk, and perceptual fluency, this study shows that curiosity acts as a driver, motivating consumers to engage with green products, while emotional ambivalence serves as a barrier, dampening purchase intentions. Across three experimental studies using varied consumer goods (garment tag, dishwasher detergent, and soap bar), we find that precise green claims increase purchase intention, with curiosity mediating this effect, particularly among consumers with high prior product knowledge. Emotional ambivalence negatively impacts purchase intention, but only for consumers exhibiting low levels of green skepticism. High-skepticism consumers exhibit greater purchase intention for both vague and precise claims, with a stronger effect for precise claims. Practically, this research informs strategies for marketers to ensure verifiable and precise sustainability claims via QR codes or third-party certifications, while supporting policymakers to combat greenwashing by enforcing standards for claim specificity and transparency.

Suggested Citation

  • Tan, Ser Zian & Yang, Lin & Loo, Wee Hong, 2026. "Green Specificity: Igniting curiosity and arousing emotional ambivalence," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:88:y:2026:i:c:s0969698925001936
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104414
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698925001936
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104414?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sigurdsson, Valdimar & Larsen, Nils Magne & Pálsdóttir, Rakel Gyða & Folwarczny, Michal & Menon, R.G. Vishnu & Fagerstrøm, Asle, 2022. "Increasing the effectiveness of ecological food signaling: Comparing sustainability tags with eco-labels," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1099-1110.
    2. Park, JungKun & Gunn, Frances & Han, Sang-Lin, 2012. "Multidimensional trust building in e-retailing: Cross-cultural differences in trust formation and implications for perceived risk," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 304-312.
    3. Lee, Jaeha & Park, Kwangsoo, 2024. "The effects of hedonic shopping values on loyalty towards small retailers: The moderating role of trust," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    4. Dutta, Sujay & Banerjee, Somak & Johnson, Aaron & Biswas, Abhijit, 2022. "Overcoming the challenge of low familiarity: Can a weakly familiar brand signal quality with exceptionally strong warranty?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 737-754.
    5. Ashraf, Abdul R. & Razzaque, Mohammed A. & Thongpapanl, Narongsak (Tek), 2016. "The role of customer regulatory orientation and fit in online shopping across cultural contexts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 6040-6047.
    6. Kumar, Prashant & Utkarsh,, 2023. "Effects of in-store information quality and store credibility on consumer engagement in green retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    7. (Anna) Kim, Eunjin & Shoenberger, Heather & (Penny) Kwon, Eunseon & Ratneshwar, S., 2022. "A narrative approach for overcoming the message credibility problem in green advertising," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 449-461.
    8. Shehawy, Yasser Moustafa, 2023. "In green consumption, why consumers do not walk their talk: A cross cultural examination from Saudi Arabia and UK," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    9. Huang, Guei-Hua & Korfiatis, Nikolaos & Chang, Chun-Tuan, 2018. "Mobile shopping cart abandonment: The roles of conflicts, ambivalence, and hesitation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 165-174.
    10. Lee, Eun-Ju & Choi, Hanah & Han, Jinghe & Kim, Dong Hyun & Ko, Eunju & Kim, Kyung Hoon, 2020. "How to “Nudge” your consumers toward sustainable fashion consumption: An fMRI investigation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 642-651.
    11. Yang, Shuai & Carlson, Jeffrey R. & Chen, Sixing, 2020. "How augmented reality affects advertising effectiveness: The mediating effects of curiosity and attention toward the ad," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    12. Dhir, Amandeep & Sadiq, Mohd & Talwar, Shalini & Sakashita, Mototaka & Kaur, Puneet, 2021. "Why do retail consumers buy green apparel? A knowledge-attitude-behaviour-context perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    13. Zhang, Qi & Ariffin, Shaizatulaqma Kamalul & Richardson, Christopher & Wang, Yuling, 2023. "Influencing factors of customer loyalty in mobile payment: A consumption value perspective and the role of alternative attractiveness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    14. Jean-François Toti & Andrea Milena Sánchez Romero, 2023. "Understanding how ethical claims in advertising affect subjective ambivalence toward buying ethical products," Post-Print hal-04348588, HAL.
    15. Sadiq, Mohd & Adil, Mohd & Paul, Justin, 2021. "An innovation resistance theory perspective on purchase of eco-friendly cosmetics," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    16. Yu-Shan Chen & Ching-Hsun Chang, 2013. "Greenwash and Green Trust: The Mediation Effects of Green Consumer Confusion and Green Perceived Risk," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 489-500, May.
    17. Cho, Yoon-Na & Taylor, Charles R., 2020. "The role of ambiguity and skepticism in the effectiveness of sustainability labeling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 379-388.
    18. Christopher Berry & Scot Burton & Elizabeth Howlett, 2017. "It’s only natural: the mediating impact of consumers’ attribute inferences on the relationships between product claims, perceived product healthfulness, and purchase intentions," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 698-719, September.
    19. Donato, Carmela & Adıgüzel, Feray, 2022. "Visual complexity of eco-labels and product evaluations in online setting: Is simple always better?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    20. Jiewen Hong & Angela Y. Lee, 2010. "Feeling Mixed but Not Torn: The Moderating Role of Construal Level in Mixed Emotions Appeals," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(3), pages 456-472, October.
    21. Martenson, Rita, 2018. "Curiosity motivated vacation destination choice in a reward and variety-seeking perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 70-78.
    22. Gerrath, Maximilian H.E.E. & Biraglia, Alessandro, 2021. "How less congruent new products drive brand engagement: The role of curiosity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 13-24.
    23. Robinson, Stefanie & Eilert, Meike, 2018. "The role of message specificity in corporate social responsibility communication," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 260-268.
    24. Janssen, Catherine & Swaen, Valérie & Du, Shuili, 2022. "Is a specific claim always better? The double-edged effects of claim specificity in green advertising," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 435-447.
    25. Lee, Eung Jin & Bae, Joonheui & Kim, Kyung Hoon, 2020. "The effect of environmental cues on the purchase intention of sustainable products," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 425-433.
    26. Simonson, Itamar & Kivetz, Ran, 2000. "The Effects of Incomplete Information on Consumer Choice," Research Papers 1609, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    27. Flynn, Leisa Reinecke & Goldsmith, Ronald E., 1999. "A Short, Reliable Measure of Subjective Knowledge," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 57-66, September.
    28. Cho, Yoon-Na & Baskin, Ernest, 2018. "It's a match when green meets healthy in sustainability labeling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 119-129.
    29. Hill, Krista M. & Fombelle, Paul W. & Sirianni, Nancy J., 2016. "Shopping under the influence of curiosity: How retailers use mystery to drive purchase motivation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 1028-1034.
    30. Guyader, Hugo & Ottosson, Mikael & Witell, Lars, 2017. "You can't buy what you can't see: Retailer practices to increase the green premium," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 319-325.
    31. Szerena Szabo & Jane Webster, 2021. "Perceived Greenwashing: The Effects of Green Marketing on Environmental and Product Perceptions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(4), pages 719-739, July.
    32. Myungwoo Nam & Jing Wang & Angela Y. Lee, 2012. "The Difference between Differences: How Expertise Affects Diagnosticity of Attribute Alignability," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(4), pages 736-750.
    33. Ethan Pancer & Lindsay McShane & Theodore J. Noseworthy, 2017. "Isolated Environmental Cues and Product Efficacy Penalties: The Color Green and Eco-labels," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 159-177, June.
    34. Joseph R. Priester & Richard E. Petty & Kiwan Park, 2007. "Whence Univalent Ambivalence? From the Anticipation of Conflicting Reactions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(1), pages 11-21, March.
    35. Dixon, Darcie & Mikolon, Sven, 2021. "Cents of self: How and when self-signals influence consumer value derived from choices of green products," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 365-386.
    36. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    37. Li, Zhaotong & Wu, Min & Teo, Chee-Chong & Yuen, Kum Fai, 2024. "An investigation of consumer switching intention on the use of automated courier station from a signaling perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    38. Ginder, Whitney & Byun, Sang-Eun, 2022. "To trust or not to trust? The interplay between labor-related CSR claim type and prior CSR reputation of apparel retailers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    39. Ho-Young (Anthony) Ahn & Jin Seong Park & Eric Haley, 2014. "Consumers' Optimism Bias and Responses to Risk Disclosures in Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Prescription Drug Advertising: The Moderating Role of Subjective Health Literacy," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 175-194, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sadiq, Mohd & Fazal-e-Hasan, Syed Muhammad & Ahmadi, Hormoz & Mortimer, Gary & Murdy, Samantha & Dann, Susan, 2026. "Consumer hope and sustainable consumption: Integrating structural and configurational insights," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    2. Kumar, Prashant & Utkarsh,, 2023. "Effects of in-store information quality and store credibility on consumer engagement in green retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Orlowski, Marissa & Lefebvre, Sarah & Back, Robin M., 2022. "Thinking outside the bottle: Effects of alternative wine packaging," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    4. Anne Hamby & Cristel Russell, 2022. "How does ambivalence affect young consumers’ response to risky products?," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 841-863, July.
    5. Kumbargeri, Amogh & Tripathi, Sanjeev, 2025. "Price green inference: The role of green = higher production cost lay belief," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    6. Diletta Acuti & Marta Pizzetti & Sara Dolnicar, 2022. "When sustainability backfires : A review on the unintended negative side-effects of product and service sustainability on consumer behavior," Post-Print hal-04381310, HAL.
    7. Waites, Stacie F. & Farmer, Adam & Collier, Joel, 2024. "Good people good planet: Investigating the interconnection between social and environmental sustainability," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    8. Krittinee Nuttavuthisit & John Thøgersen, 2017. "The Importance of Consumer Trust for the Emergence of a Market for Green Products: The Case of Organic Food," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 323-337, January.
    9. Shehawy, Yasser Moustafa & Agag, Gomaa & Alamoudi, Hawazen O. & Alharthi, Majed D. & Brown, Abraham & Labben, Thouraya Gherissi & Abdelmoety, Ziad H., 2024. "Cross-national differences in consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) more for green hotels," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    10. Yunjeong Kim & Kyung Wha Oh, 2020. "Effects of Perceived Sustainability Level of Sportswear Product on Purchase Intention: Exploring the Roles of Perceived Skepticism and Perceived Brand Reputation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-16, October.
    11. Zhou, Cheng & Jiang, Bing, 2025. "How do consumers react to AI-generated green marketing content? A hybrid analysis using PLS-SEM and text mining," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    12. Sun, Jin & Keh, Hean Tat & Lee, Angela Y., 2019. "Shaping consumer preference using alignable attributes: The roles of regulatory orientation and construal level," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 151-168.
    13. 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).
    14. Jialing Lin & Yubo Huang & Mengyao Li, 2023. "Enhancing Green Purchase Intentions: The Effects of Product Transformation Salience and Consumer Traceability Knowledge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-21, August.
    15. Jeganathan, Kishokanth & Szymkowiak, Andrzej, 2025. "Bridging Digital Product Passports and in-store experiences: How augmented reality enhances decision comfort and reuse intentions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    16. Sabakun Naher Shetu, 2025. "Determinants of generation Z consumers’ mobile online shopping apps continuance intention to use during COVID-19 and beyond—an empirical study," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, December.
    17. Wang, Siqi & Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Lim, Xin-Jean & Leong, Yee Choy & Choo, Wei Chong, 2022. "Thanks COVID-19, I'll reconsider my purchase: Can fear appeal reduce online shopping cart abandonment?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    18. Wei Zheng & Hongliang Qiu & Alastair M. Morrison & Wei Wei & Xihua Zhang, 2022. "Landscape and Unique Fascination: A Dual-Case Study on the Antecedents of Tourist Pro-Environmental Behavioral Intentions," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-20, March.
    19. Tuğba Yeğin & Muhammad Ikram, 2022. "Analysis of Consumers’ Electric Vehicle Purchase Intentions: An Expansion of the Theory of Planned Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-27, September.
    20. de Lauwere, Carolien & Slegers, Monique & Meeusen, Marieke, 2022. "The influence of behavioural factors and external conditions on Dutch farmers’ decision making in the transition towards circular agriculture," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:88:y:2026:i:c:s0969698925001936. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.