Are consumers really decided to make green choices? Explaining the perceived environmental harmfulness / behaviour consistency

Laurent Bertrandias (1) , Leïla Elgaaïed (1) , Y. Bernard

1 marketing

Beliefs about the environmental harmfulness of consumer goods are often considered as a crucial determinant of green purchasing behaviour. Accordingly, ecolabels are expected to provide consumers with the necessary information in order to distinguish between environmentally friendly products and more harmful products. However, no research so far examined the mechanism through which perceived harmfulness influences decision making. Based on a quasi-experimental design, this study tests the effect of environmental labelling on participants' choice between a store brand and a national brand, in two different product categories. Our findings confirm that differences in perceived harmfulness have a significant impact on choice. This link is moderated by product category, environmental concern and price sensitivity

Mots clés: Environmental labelling; pro-environmental consumer behaviour; Perceived harmfulness; environmental concern; "Environmental labelling"; " pro-environmental consumer behaviour"; " Perceived harmfulness; "environmental concern; price sensitivity

Domaines: Gestion et management

Laurent Bertrandias, Leïla Elgaaïed, Y. Bernard. Are consumers really decided to make green choices? Explaining the perceived environmental harmfulness / behaviour consistency. 41st European Marketing Academy Conference, May 2012, Lisbonne, Portugal. pp.1. ⟨halshs-00743485⟩