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Does advertising the green benefits of products contribute to sustainable development goals? A quasi‐experimental test of the dilution effect

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  • Gilles Grolleau
  • Naoufel Mzoughi
  • Angela Sutan

Abstract

Using two studies, we examine the dilution effect for green products, by testing whether advertising green benefits decreases their perceived instrumentality and thus harms sustainable development. We use a between‐subject design and ask participants to evaluate the efficacy of a pen (Study 1) and a dish detergent (Study 2) with and without environmental attributes. Our results are inconsistent with the predictions of the dilution model because the perceived instrumentality of both products does not decrease when environmental benefits are added. Our findings are relevant for eco‐labeling given anecdotal evidence suggesting that adding green information can harm the perceived quality of products.

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  • Gilles Grolleau & Naoufel Mzoughi & Angela Sutan, 2019. "Does advertising the green benefits of products contribute to sustainable development goals? A quasi‐experimental test of the dilution effect," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 786-793, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:28:y:2019:i:5:p:786-793
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2280
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    Cited by:

    1. Clot, Sophie & Grolleau, Gilles & Ibanez, Lisette, 2022. "A reference point bias in judging cheaters," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
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    3. Abhijeet Digalwar & Rakesh D. Raut & Vinay S. Yadav & Balkrishna Narkhede & Bhaskar B. Gardas & Ashwini Gotmare, 2020. "Evaluation of critical constructs for measurement of sustainable supply chain practices in lean‐agile firms of Indian origin: A hybrid ISM‐ANP approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1575-1596, March.
    4. Alice Falchi & Gilles Grolleau & Naoufel Mzoughi, 2022. "Why companies might under‐communicate their efforts for sustainable development and what can be done?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1938-1946, July.
    5. Kanishka Pathak & Gyan Prakash & Monika Jain & Reeti Agarwal & Rekha Attri, 2024. "Do eco labels matter for green business strategy and sustainable consumption? A mixed method investigation on green products," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4271-4291, July.
    6. Tantawy Moussa & Amir Allam & Mahmoud Elmarzouky, 2022. "Global modern slavery and sustainable development goals: Does institutional environment quality matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2230-2244, July.
    7. Lotte Hallez & Yara Qutteina & Filip Boen & Tim Smits, 2021. "The ABC’s of Ecological and Nutrition Labels. The Impact of Label Theme and Complexity on the Environmental Footprint of Online Grocery Choices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-28, February.

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