Greenwash and Green Purchase Intention: The Mediating Role of Green Skepticism

Thi Thu Huong Nguyen, Zhi Yang, Ninh Nguyen, Lester W. Johnson and Tuan Khanh Cao
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Thi Thu Huong Nguyen: School of Business Administration, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
Zhi Yang: School of Business Administration, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
Ninh Nguyen: Department of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Marketing, La Trobe Business School, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia
Lester W. Johnson: Department of Management and Marketing, Swinburne Business School, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
Tuan Khanh Cao: Faculty of Marketing, Thuongmai University, 79 Ho Tung Mau Road, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: Along with the acceleration of green marketing in recent years, greenwash has been utilized by firms to get ahead of their rivals. Underpinned by the cognition–affect–behavior (C-A-B) paradigm, this study examines a model linking greenwash and green skepticism with green purchase intentions. It also investigates the moderating role of information and knowledge on the relationship between greenwash and green purchase intentions. Data were obtained from 419 Vietnamese consumers who had been involved in purchasing green vegetables using an online survey. Multivariate data analysis demonstrated that greenwash was negatively associated with green purchase intentions and that green skepticism mediated this negative association. In addition, the moderating effect of information and knowledge was confirmed. These findings enrich the extant knowledge on the relationship between greenwash and green purchase intentions. They also have important implications for firms that aim to reduce consumers’ skepticism and increase their intentions to purchase green food.

Keywords: greenwash; green skepticism; green purchase intentions; information and knowledge; green marketing; green food (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (44)

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