IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v125y2014i4p693-707.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceived Greenwashing: The Interactive Effects of Green Advertising and Corporate Environmental Performance on Consumer Reactions

Author

Listed:
  • Gergely Nyilasy
  • Harsha Gangadharbatla
  • Angela Paladino

Abstract

The current study investigates the effects of green advertising and a corporation’s environmental performance on brand attitudes and purchase intentions. A 3 × 3 (firm’s environmental performance and its advertising efforts as independent variables) experiment using n = 302 subjects was conducted. Results indicate that the negative effect of a firm’s low performance on brand attitudes becomes stronger in the presence of green advertising compared to general corporate advertising and no advertising. Further, when the firm’s environmental performance is high, both green and general corporate advertising result in more unfavorable brand attitudes than no advertising. The study’s counter-intuitive findings are explained by attribution theory. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Gergely Nyilasy & Harsha Gangadharbatla & Angela Paladino, 2014. "Perceived Greenwashing: The Interactive Effects of Green Advertising and Corporate Environmental Performance on Consumer Reactions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(4), pages 693-707, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:125:y:2014:i:4:p:693-707
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1944-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-013-1944-3
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-013-1944-3?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J. Vanhamme & B. Grobben, 2009. "Too good to be true ! : the effectiveness of CSR History in Countering Negative Publicity," Post-Print hal-00581630, HAL.
    2. Magali Delmas & Vered Doctori Blass, 2010. "Measuring corporate environmental performance: the trade‐offs of sustainability ratings," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 245-260, May.
    3. Folkes, Valerie S, 1988. "Recent Attribution Research in Consumer Behavior: A Review and New Directions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 14(4), pages 548-565, March.
    4. Kerton, Robert R. & Bodwell, Richard W., 1995. "Quality, Choice, and the Economics of Concealment: The Marketing of Lemons," Working Papers 9510, University of Waterloo, Department of Economics.
    5. Béatrice Parguel & Florence Benoît-Moreau & Fabrice Larceneux, 2011. "How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter ‘Greenwashing’: A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 15-28, August.
    6. Polonsky, Michael Jay, 2011. "Transformative green marketing: Impediments and opportunities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 1311-1319.
    7. Stephen J. Brammer & Stephen Pavelin, 2006. "Corporate Reputation and Social Performance: The Importance of Fit," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 435-455, May.
    8. 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.
    9. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4687 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Paladino, Angela & Pandit, Ameet P., 2012. "Competing on service and branding in the renewable electricity sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 378-388.
    11. Mizerski, Richard W & Golden, Linda L & Kernan, Jerome B, 1979. "The Attribution Process in Consumer Decision Making," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 6(2), pages 123-140, Se.
    12. Klein, Benjamin & Leffler, Keith B, 1981. "The Role of Market Forces in Assuring Contractual Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 615-641, August.
    13. Oliver, Richard L, 1993. "Cognitive, Affective, and Attribute BAses of the Satisfaction Response," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 20(3), pages 418-430, December.
    14. Matthew Walker & Bob Heere & Milena Parent & Dan Drane, 2010. "Social Responsibility and the Olympic Games: The Mediating Role of Consumer Attributions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(4), pages 659-680, September.
    15. 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.
    16. Weiner, Bernard, 2000. "Attributional Thoughts about Consumer Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 27(3), pages 382-387, December.
    17. Joëlle Vanhamme & Bas Grobben, 2009. "“Too Good to be True!”. The Effectiveness of CSR History in Countering Negative Publicity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 273-283, April.
    18. Shuangyu Xie & Kohji Hayase, 2007. "Corporate environmental performance evaluation: a measurement model and a new concept," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(2), pages 148-168, February.
    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. Simona Romani & Silvia Grappi & Richard P. Bagozzi, 2016. "Corporate Socially Responsible Initiatives and Their Effects on Consumption of Green Products," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 253-264, May.
    2. Whitney Ginder & Wi-Suk Kwon & Sang-Eun Byun, 2021. "Effects of Internal–External Congruence-Based CSR Positioning: An Attribution Theory Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(2), pages 355-369, March.
    3. Su, Lujun & Gong, Qi & Huang, Yinghua, 2020. "How do destination social responsibility strategies affect tourists’ intention to visit? An attribution theory perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    4. Won‐Moo Hur & Yeonshin Kim, 2017. "How Does Culture Improve Consumer Engagement in CSR Initiatives? the Mediating Role of Motivational Attributions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(6), pages 620-633, November.
    5. 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.
    6. Jahn, Johannes & Brühl, Rolf, 2019. "Can bad news be good? On the positive and negative effects of including moderately negative information in CSR disclosures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 117-128.
    7. Chang-Dae Ham & Jeesun Kim, 2019. "The Role of CSR in Crises: Integration of Situational Crisis Communication Theory and the Persuasion Knowledge Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 353-372, August.
    8. Jordy F. Gosselt & Thomas Rompay & Laura Haske, 2019. "Won’t Get Fooled Again: The Effects of Internal and External CSR ECO-Labeling," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 413-424, March.
    9. David Noack & Douglas R. Miller & Dustin Smith, 2019. "Let Me Make It Up to You: Understanding the Mitigative Ability of Corporate Social Responsibility Following Product Recalls," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 431-446, June.
    10. 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.
    11. Shawn Pope & Arild Wæraas, 2016. "CSR-Washing is Rare: A Conceptual Framework, Literature Review, and Critique," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 173-193, August.
    12. Sojin Jung & Stacy H. Lee, 2022. "The buffering effect of continuous corporate social responsibilities engagement on negative consumer responses toward brand crises," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1636-1646, September.
    13. Theophilos P. Michailides & Michael G. Lipsett, 2013. "Surveying Employee Attitudes on Corporate Social Responsibility at the Frontline Level of an Energy Transportation Company," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(5), pages 296-320, September.
    14. Francisco Javier Forcadell & Elisa Aracil, 2017. "European Banks' Reputation for Corporate Social Responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(1), pages 1-14, January.
    15. Ko, Kuan-Cheng & Nie, Jun & Ran, Rong & Gu, Yuan, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility, social identity, and innovation performance in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    16. Carolin Plewa & Jodie Conduit & Pascale Quester & Claire Johnson, 2015. "The Impact of Corporate Volunteering on CSR Image: A Consumer Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 643-659, March.
    17. Babatunde Ogunfowora & Madelynn Stackhouse & Won-Yong Oh, 2018. "Media Depictions of CEO Ethics and Stakeholder Support of CSR Initiatives: The Mediating Roles of CSR Motive Attributions and Cynicism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(2), pages 525-540, June.
    18. Alfonso Del Giudice & Silvia Rigamonti, 2020. "Does Audit Improve the Quality of ESG Scores? Evidence from Corporate Misconduct," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-16, July.
    19. Ghi-Feng Yen & Hsin-Ti Yang, 2018. "Does Consumer Empathy Influence Consumer Responses to Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility? The Dual Mediation of Moral Identity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, May.
    20. Jiaen Hu & Luis Miguel López-Bonilla & Jesús Manuel López-Bonilla, 2023. "CSR Perceptions and Brand Attitudes in Chinese Luxury Hospitality: The Moderating Effect of Ads vs. Media Reports," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-17, May.

    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:kap:jbuset:v:125:y:2014:i:4:p:693-707. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.