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Sustainability Claims and Perceived Product Quality: The Moderating Role of Brand CSR

Author

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  • Jenny van Doorn

    (Department of Marketing, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, Paviljoen 136, P.O. Box 800, NL-9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands)

  • Peter C. Verhoef

    (Department of Marketing, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, Paviljoen 136, P.O. Box 800, NL-9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands)

  • Hans Risselada

    (Department of Marketing, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, Paviljoen 136, P.O. Box 800, NL-9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands)

Abstract

In this research, we focus on the presumed negative effect of a sustainability claim on product quality. We propose that a brands’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) can reduce this negative effect. We conduct an experiment to test our hypotheses for a newly introduced detergent brand with an ecolabel vs. without one for high and low brand CSR levels. The experiment was conducted among 304 participants. Our results show that the ecolabel of the detergent can indeed trigger quality concerns. These quality concerns are reduced for brands high in CSR. This suggests that a brand’s sustained commitment to sustainability is important in overcoming negative effects of sustainability claims on product quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Jenny van Doorn & Peter C. Verhoef & Hans Risselada, 2020. "Sustainability Claims and Perceived Product Quality: The Moderating Role of Brand CSR," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-8, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:9:p:3711-:d:353748
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Salma Khalil & Ayman Ismail & Seham Ghalwash, 2021. "The Rise of Sustainable Consumerism: Evidence from the Egyptian Generation Z," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-25, December.
    2. van Doorn, Jenny & Risselada, Hans & Verhoef, Peter C., 2021. "Does sustainability sell? The impact of sustainability claims on the success of national brands’ new product introductions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 182-193.
    3. Christoph Bey & Dirk C. Moosmayer, 2023. "Making a Brand Loved Rather Than Sustainable? Cosmopolitanism and Brand Love as Competing Communication Claims," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-13, July.
    4. Remigiusz Gawlik & Dominika Siwiec & Andrzej Pacana, 2024. "Quality–Cost–Environment Assessment of Sustainable Manufacturing of Photovoltaic Panels," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Xinhua Zhao & Hui An, 2023. "Research on the Mechanism of Heterogeneous Corporate Environmental Responsibility in Z-Generation Consumers’ Sustainable Purchase Intention," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-19, June.

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