Consumer Responses to Corporate Environmental Actions in China: An Environmental Legitimacy Perspective

Jianxin Li (), Hao He (), Hongshen Liu () and Chenting Su ()
Additional contact information
Jianxin Li: Changsha University of Science and Technology
Hao He: Changsha University of Science and Technology
Hongshen Liu: Changsha University of Science and Technology
Chenting Su: City University of Hong Kong

Journal of Business Ethics, 2017, vol. 143, issue 3, No 9, 589-602

Abstract: Abstract As a result of the increasing public attention to environmental crises, corporate environmental actions and their effects are a current research hotspot. This study examines how two types of corporate environmental actions (symbolic and substantial environmental actions) influence consumers’ perceptions of environmental legitimacy and subsequent purchase intentions. Using experimental method, this study finds that (1) substantial environmental action induces significantly higher perceptions of environmental legitimacy than symbolic environmental action, (2) this effect can be attenuated by corporate environmental reputation, and (3) consumer-based environmental legitimacy has a significantly positive effect on consumers’ purchase intentions. These findings have interesting implications for both researchers and practitioners involved in green marketing.

Keywords: Consumer purchase intention; Environmental legitimacy; Environmental reputation; Substantial environmental action; Symbolic environmental action (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-015-2807-x Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:143:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2807-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... cs/journal/10551/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s10551-015-2807-x

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Business Ethics is currently edited by Michelle Greenwood and R. Edward Freeman

More articles in Journal of Business Ethics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().