Archana Mannem and Andrea Tangari’s paper on how brand messaging encourages pro-environmental behavior accepted for publication
Mike Ilitch School of Business PhD candidate Archana Mannem and Professor Andrea Tangari have been accepted for publication in The Journal of Business Research, which aims to publish rigorous, relevant and impactful research on a wide variety of business contexts.
The article, titled “I’ve got the power: Encouraging pro-environmental behavior through messaging,” was co-authored by Megan Baran, an alum of the Ilitch School’s MBA program.
Abstract
Manufacturers and retailers are introducing pro-environmental alternatives (such as alternative meat products) to more conventional and less environmentally friendly products in order to encourage sustainable consumption. In this research, we test the impact of product-related environmental information, self-efficacy, power messages, and green consumption values (GCV) on purchase intentions and choice of pro-environmental alternatives. Our findings suggest that the effect of environmental information on purchase intentions for pro-environmental alternatives is stronger for individuals with high self-efficacy. We show that using power messages in marketing communications as an intervention has an effect similar to self-efficacy on purchase intentions toward the alternative. We also show that the power message manipulation interacts with GCV in enhancing perceptions of the individual’s environmental impact, which further influences purchase intentions and choice of the pro-environmental option. This research has implications for the literature on environmental messaging, advertisers, and marketers of sustainable products.
