IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i13p5678-d1683347.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unverifiable Green Signals and Consumer Response in E-Commerce: Evidence from Platform-Level Data

Author

Listed:
  • Shibo Zhang

    (School of Automobile & Transportation, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
    Vehicle Measurement, Control and Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610039, China
    Provincial Engineering Research Center for New Energy Vehicle Intelligent Control and Simulation Test Technology of Sichuan, Chengdu 610039, China)

  • Chengcheng Wu

    (School of Automobile & Transportation, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
    Vehicle Measurement, Control and Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610039, China
    Provincial Engineering Research Center for New Energy Vehicle Intelligent Control and Simulation Test Technology of Sichuan, Chengdu 610039, China)

  • Xinzhu Yan

    (School of Automobile & Transportation, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China)

  • Yingxue Chen

    (School of Automobile & Transportation, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
    Vehicle Measurement, Control and Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610039, China
    Provincial Engineering Research Center for New Energy Vehicle Intelligent Control and Simulation Test Technology of Sichuan, Chengdu 610039, China)

  • Hongguo Shi

    (School of Transportation and Logistics, Southwest Jiaotong University, 111 2nd Ring Rd North Section 1, Jin Jinniu District, Chengdu 610039, China)

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of unverifiable green signals—vague environmental claims, trust-substitute cues, and function-stacking—on consumer purchasing behaviors in e-commerce settings. Using detailed product-level data collected from two major Chinese online platforms, Taobao and Pinduoduo, during the peak shopping period in November 2023, we analyze the impact of these signals on product sales using ordinary least squares (OLS), instrumental variable (IV), and propensity score matching (PSM) methods. Results indicate that vague environmental language and function-stacking significantly boost sales across platforms, highlighting consumers’ preference for easily interpretable and seemingly comprehensive products. However, trust-substitute signals exhibit mixed effects, with them being beneficial on platforms with stronger credibility frameworks (Taobao) and less effective or even detrimental on platforms characterized by price competition and weaker governance (Pinduoduo). This study contributes to the literature on consumer trust and digital greenwashing by identifying platform-specific responses to unverifiable eco-claims and underscoring the importance of heuristic processing theories and trust formation mechanisms in digital marketing contexts. These findings underscore the complex dynamics of greenwashing strategies and stress the necessity for enhanced regulation and clearer communication standards to protect consumers and genuinely support sustainable consumption.

Suggested Citation

  • Shibo Zhang & Chengcheng Wu & Xinzhu Yan & Yingxue Chen & Hongguo Shi, 2025. "Unverifiable Green Signals and Consumer Response in E-Commerce: Evidence from Platform-Level Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-15, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:5678-:d:1683347
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5678/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5678/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yongbo Sun & Binbin Shi, 2022. "Impact of Greenwashing Perception on Consumers’ Green Purchasing Intentions: A Moderated Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-15, September.
    2. Friestad, Marian & Wright, Peter, 1994. "The Persuasion Knowledge Model: How People Cope with Persuasion Attempts," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 21(1), pages 1-31, June.
    3. Xiaoyun Zhang & Feng Dong, 2020. "Why Do Consumers Make Green Purchase Decisions? Insights from a Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-25, September.
    4. Shulan Yu & Zhen Zhong & Yalin Zhu & Jing Sun, 2024. "Green Emotion: Incorporating Emotional Perception in Green Marketing to Increase Green Furniture Purchase Intentions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-24, June.
    5. Andrea Mangani & Barbara Pacini, 2025. "The Impact of Fines on Deceptive Advertising: Evidence from Italy," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 23-50, March.
    6. 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.
    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. Chen, Yanpeng & Masron, Tajul Ariffin, 2025. "The role of media visibility in mitigating greenwashing driven by executive environmental cognition: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. Robert G. Magee, 2022. "Understanding worldview beliefs to allay skepticism toward CSR advertising," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(6), pages 538-555, November.
    3. Nikolaos Apostolopoulos & Ilias Makris & Georgios A. Deirmentzoglou & Sotiris Apostolopoulos, 2025. "The Impact of Greenwashing Awareness and Green Perceived Benefits on Green Purchase Propensity: The Mediating Role of Green Consumer Confusion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-15, July.
    4. Lee, Alice J. & Ames, Daniel R., 2017. "“I can’t pay more” versus “It’s not worth more”: Divergent effects of constraint and disparagement rationales in negotiations," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 16-28.
    5. Zhifeng Zhang & Fariha Sami & Irfan Ullah & Sami Ullah Khan & Salahuddin Khan, 2024. "Analyzing the green marketing approaches and their impact on consumer behavior toward the environment in China: a logistic regression approach," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 29453-29474, November.
    6. Suwelack, Thomas & Hogreve, Jens & Hoyer, Wayne D., 2011. "Understanding Money-Back Guarantees: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Outcomes," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 462-478.
    7. Xiulan Jiang & Yukun Li & Jun Yang & Sen Wang & Chunjia Han, 2024. "Host–Guest Interaction and Sustainable Consumption Behaviour on Sharing-Accommodation Platforms: Using a Big Data Analytic Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-22, June.
    8. Jong Yoon Lee & Jae Hee Park & Jong Woo Jun, 2019. "Brand Webtoon as Sustainable Advertising in Korean Consumers: A Focus on Hierarchical Relationships," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-10, March.
    9. Skarmeas, Dionysis & Leonidou, Constantinos N., 2013. "When consumers doubt, Watch out! The role of CSR skepticism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 1831-1838.
    10. Fayyaz, Muhammad Shahzeb & Abbasi, Amir Zaib & Kumar, Sanjeev & Qureshi, Ammar & Hussain, Khalil & Muhammad, Lakhi, 2025. "Integrating digital influencer persuasion model and theory of planned behavior: The mediating role of consumer involvement in endorsed brands," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    11. Mark Groza & Mya Pronschinske & Matthew Walker, 2011. "Perceived Organizational Motives and Consumer Responses to Proactive and Reactive CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(4), pages 639-652, September.
    12. Aaker, Jennifer L. & Brumbaugh, Anne M. & Grier, Sonya A., 2000. "Non-target Markets and Viewer Distinctiveness: The Impact of Target Marketing on Advertising Attitudes," Research Papers 1578, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    13. Guosen Miao & Guoping Chen & Fan Wang & Anupam Kumar Das, 2023. "The Effect of Corporate Greenwashing on Employees’ Environmental Performance: Person–Organization Values Fit Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    14. Antonino Galati & Giuseppina Migliore & Alkis Thrassou & Giorgio Schifani & Giuseppina Rizzo & Nino Adamashvili & Maria Crescimanno, 2023. "Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Agri-Food Products Delivered with Electric Vehicles in the Short Supply Chains," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 12(2), pages 193-207, June.
    15. Simonson, Itamar & Drolet, Aimee L., 2003. "Anchoring Effects on Consumers' Willingness-to-Pay and Willingness-to-Accept," Research Papers 1787, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    16. Candan Özgün-Ayar & Murat Selim Selvi, 2025. "A Scale Development Study on Green Marketing Mix Practice Culture in Small and Medium Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-40, July.
    17. Román, Sergio & Riquelme, Isabel P. & Iacobucci, Dawn, 2023. "Fake or credible? Antecedents and consequences of perceived credibility in exaggerated online reviews," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    18. Rosbergen, Edward & Wedel, Michel & Pieters, Rik, 1997. "Analyzing visual attention tot repeated print advertising using scanpath theory," Research Report 97B32, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    19. Ryan W. Buell & Michael I. Norton, 2011. "The Labor Illusion: How Operational Transparency Increases Perceived Value," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(9), pages 1564-1579, February.
    20. María Luisa Pajuelo‐Moreno & María Jesús Barroso‐Méndez & Dolores Gallardo‐Vázquez, 2024. "Relationship between sustainability disclosure and corporate reputation: Evidence from a meta‐analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 8593-8615, December.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:5678-:d:1683347. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.