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A narrative approach for overcoming the message credibility problem in green advertising

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  • (Anna) Kim, Eunjin
  • Shoenberger, Heather
  • (Penny) Kwon, Eunseon
  • Ratneshwar, S.

Abstract

Companies are going green, both to benefit the planet and to make their brands more appealing. But some green initiatives have a twofold nature: they require cooperative behaviors by consumers, but save costs for the company. In such situations, companies advertising green initiatives have to overcome a message credibility problem, because people suspect the initiatives are primarily designed to save company costs. This research examines different approaches for making green advertising more credible. Study 1 shows that a narrative (vs. non-narrative) message style is more credible and yields better green evaluations; further, these effects are amplified when the message has two-sided (vs. one-sided) claims. Study 2 confirms the positive effects of narrative (vs. non-narrative) messages and demonstrates the advantage of using messages with specific (vs. general) information about the green initiatives. Results also support the theorizing that the effects of the message variables on green evaluations are mediated by message credibility.

Suggested Citation

  • (Anna) Kim, Eunjin & Shoenberger, Heather & (Penny) Kwon, Eunseon & Ratneshwar, S., 2022. "A narrative approach for overcoming the message credibility problem in green advertising," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 449-461.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:147:y:2022:i:c:p:449-461
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.04.024
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zhengkai Wang & Debing Ni & Kaiming Zheng, 2022. "The Role of False-Claims Ban Regulation in Greenwashing of Firms with Imprecise Greenness Information," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-25, October.
    3. Jialing Lin & Yubo Huang & Mengyao Li, 2023. "Enhancing Green Purchase Intentions: The Effects of Product Transformation Salience and Consumer Traceability Knowledge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Jin Sun & Chen Chen & Junmei Lan, 2022. "Direct Expression or Indirect Transmission? An Empirical Research on the Impacts of Explicit and Implicit Appeals in Green Advertising," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-19, December.

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