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KEEPING THE FAITH: CONSUMER
TRUST, GREEN MARKETING CLAIMS
AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
Prof. Lucy Atkinson
Department of Advertising & Public Relations
College of Communication
University of Texas at Austin
Consumption trends…

Organic food sales:

2009: $24.8 billion
 1990: $1 billion
Made in America
 3/5 Americans say more likely to purchase something if it’s
made in USA

Product (RED) has raised $150 million



But spent $100 million on advertising
Automakers are introducing dozens of new models of
electric cars
Socially Conscious Consumption



Consumer choices that are made with broader social
goods or benefits in mind
Sometimes called:
 ethical consumerism, political consumerism,
responsible consumerism, green consumerism,
sustainable consumption
Consumer choices can be politicized
“Now, the American people have got to go
about their business. We cannot let the
terrorists achieve the objective of frightening
our nation to the point where we don't
conduct business or people don't shop.”
President George W. Bush (Oct. 11, 2001)
Consumption & Citizenship

Theoretical underpinnings:
Declining political engagement, rising consumerism
 Changing media environment
 Globalization and postmodernism
 Alternative politics
 Shift from politics of loyalties to politics of choice (Norris,
2002)
 Changing citizenship norms
 Socially conscious consumption as citizenship
 Citizen v. consumer

Consumption & Prosocial Orientations

Consumer socialization as a component of political
socialization
 ARC

– Transformative Consumer Research
Consumer socialization among preschoolers
 AEJMC

– Mass Communication & Society
Green advertising claims and consumer
interpretations
Consumption & Prosocial Orientations

Attitude-behavior gap

(Kalafatis & Pollard 1999; Peattie 2010; Vermeir & Verbeke 2006)
Consumption & Prosocial Orientations
Consumption & Prosocial Orientations
Corporations & Sustainability
(Lacy, Peter, Tim Cooper, Rob Hayward & Lisa Neuberger (2010). A New Era of Sustainability: UN Global Compact-Accenture.)
Corporations & Trust
Consumers & Trust

Persuasion depends on trust


(Boush et al. 1993; Hovland & Janis 1959; McGuire 1968)
Salient for sustainability issues

Credence claims = benefits or attributes that cannot be
verified through information or personal experience


(Teisl, Rubin & Noblet 2008)
Green trust gap
Consumer concern ≠ purchase
 Greenwashing:

7 in 10 Americans think “green” is a marketing tactic
 TerraChoice study: 99% of claims were greenwashing

Eco-labels

Certification
 Leading
to market differentiation, greater purchase
intent and a willingness to pay a premium for ecolabeled products.

Kinds:
 Sponsored/administrated
by governments or
corporations or non-profits (NGOs)
 Single-item or multi-attribute
Eco-labels
Eco-labels

Backlash


Lack of empirical research


(McEachern 2008)
Inconsistencies


(Crane 2000; Prothero 1990)
(Lirtzman & Avichai 1986; Sheffet 1983)
Conceptual or methodological shortcomings
 Operationalizing
variables like trust, label source
 Sampling

(Beltramini and Stafford1993; Teisl, Rubin & Noblet 2008)
Objectives

To clarify the role of eco-labels and account for the
influence of consumer trust
 Methodologically
rigorous approach
 How does trust predict eco-label perceptions?
 Which labels are most effective?

Method:
 Experiment
embedded in a survey
 Knowledge Networks
 Probability-based, representative sample (n=400)
Survey

IVs:
 Trust
(advertising, government, corporate)
 PCE
 Environmental
knowledge and behaviors
 plus demographics

DVs:
 Eco-label
awareness
 Eco-label attitude
 Eco-label use
Experiment


Eco-label factors that influence message processing and
persuasion
ELM (Petty and Cacioppo)

Source credibility
Corporate vs. government
 (Lirtzman & Avichai 1986; Ozanne &Vlosky 1997; Parkinson
1975; Sheffet 1983)


Argument quality
High v. low
 (Boer, Huurne & Taal, 2006; Tang, Fryxell & Chow 2004; Teisl et
al. 2002)

Experiment
Experiment

DVs:
Eco-label
credibility
 Product attitude
 Purchase intent

Experiment
Experiment
Experiment: Discussion

DV: Eco-label trust
 Main

effect of Argument quality
DVs: Product attitude and purchase intent
 Interaction
 Government
sources must be high quality
 Purchase most likely
Implications

Labels are useful
 Must

be done “right”
Consumer trust
 Where

to focus efforts: advertising v. corporate trust
Future research
 Third
label source
 Different products
 Cross cultural
Future Plans



SCP’s Advertising and Consumer Psychology
Conference in Eugene, OR in May
Summer research funding
Aim for journal submission in August
Thank you!
Questions?