Paradoxical side effects of green advertising: how purchasing green products may instigate licensing effects for consumers with a weak environmental identity
Abstract Research into green advertising has mainly investigated how green appeals can enhance product attitudes, sales, and brand image. But what happens after people have purchased a 'green' product advertised in a green ad? In two experiments, we show that purchasing a green product may have paradoxical post purchase effects, such that it may lower intentions to engage in subsequent environmentally friendly behaviour (a so called licensing effect) Importantly, our results show that these post purchase effects are moderated by environmental identity: only people with a weak environmental identity show these paradoxical post purchase licensing effects, people with a strong environmental identity are more likely to continue behaving in an environmentally friendly way.
International Journal of Advertising