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How Corporate Sharewashing Practices Undermine Consumer Trust

Author

Listed:
  • Florian Hawlitschek

    (Department of Economics and Management, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany)

  • Nicole Stofberg

    (Faculty International Strategy and Marketing, University of Amsterdam Business School, 1018 TV Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Timm Teubner

    (Einstein Center Digital Future, Technical University of Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany)

  • Patrick Tu

    (Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 80539 München, Germany)

  • Christof Weinhardt

    (Department of Economics and Management, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany)

Abstract

Sharewashing describes a platform’s act of misleading consumers by purposely portraying an image of social and ecological principles while the platform’s business model does not necessarily involve them. Drawing on Corporate Social Responsibility and Green Marketing literature, we propose and evaluate a research model for investigating the impact of sharewashing perceptions on consumer trust. Based on survey data from 145 millennials, our results reveal a significant negative effect of sharewashing perceptions on consumer trust, partially mediated by perceptions of risk and confusion. We discuss our findings in view of their practical and strategic relevance to sharing economy platform operators.

Suggested Citation

  • Florian Hawlitschek & Nicole Stofberg & Timm Teubner & Patrick Tu & Christof Weinhardt, 2018. "How Corporate Sharewashing Practices Undermine Consumer Trust," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:8:p:2638-:d:160235
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    Cited by:

    1. Stella Yiyan Li & Antje R. H. Graul & John Jianjun Zhu, 2024. "Investigating the disruptiveness of the sharing economy at the individual consumer level: How consumer reflexivity drives re-engagement in sharing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 164-195, January.
    2. Small, Felicity & Mehmet, Michael & Miles, Morgan P., 2019. "Applying a causal ambush marketing framework to social media: The ‘Pleasure is Diverse’ campaign and the Australian marriage amendment," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 149-157.
    3. Francesco Pasimeni, 2020. "The Origin of the Sharing Economy Meets the Legacy of Fractional Ownership," SPRU Working Paper Series 2020-19, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    4. Elfriede Penz & Barbara Hartl & Eva Hofmann, 2018. "Collectively Building a Sustainable Sharing Economy Based on Trust and Regulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-6, October.
    5. Tetrevova Libena & Kopriva Jan & Zahorska Alexandra, 2023. "A Systematic Literature Review of the Context of the Sharing Economy and CSR in 2017–2021," TalTech Journal of European Studies, Sciendo, vol. 13(1), pages 87-106, June.
    6. Nadeem, Waqar & Al-Imamy, Saifeddin, 2020. "Do ethics drive value co-creation on digital sharing economy platforms?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).

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