Sustainable consumption and third-party certification labels: Consumers’ perceptions and reactions

Simon Brach, Gianfranco Walsh and Deirdre Shaw

European Management Journal, 2018, vol. 36, issue 2, 254-265

Abstract: Compared with conventional products, sustainable products continue to attract relatively lower market shares. To increase customer acceptance, many sustainable products feature third-party certification labels (TPCL), yet it is unclear whether TPCL are effective and what processes and boundary conditions define their role in consumer decision making. Across three experimental studies, this research determines that sustainable products are characterized by credence qualities, associated with increased perceptions of risk, which negatively influence consumers' purchase intentions. Drawing on signaling theory, this study also shows that TPCL on sustainable products provide brand-like information cues that reduce the perceived risk of sustainable products. Finally, a third experimental study demonstrates that consumers must perceive TPCL as credible for them to reduce consumers’ risk perceptions.

Keywords: Information economics; Mediation; Moderation; Perceived risk; Sustainable products; Third-party certification labels (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eurman:v:36:y:2018:i:2:p:254-265

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DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2017.03.005

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