MSIN0018
Assessment 2: Individual Research Proposal
Word Count: 1996
Project Type: Dissertation
Rationale
From 1990 to 2015, annual carbon emissions have increased by 60%(Gore, 2020). By 2030, our planet’s 1.5℃ carbon budget would be depleted, and by around 2049, carbon dioxide emissions would reach 2℃(Levin, 2018). What do these numbers represent? According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, when global warming reaches 1.5℃, there will be consequential risks disrupting the ecosystem, the resources, and the health of the planet's inhabitants(IPCC, 2018). Sustainability has been integrated in our daily lives ranging from sustainable energy to green consumption, but these measures are somewhat superficial in reducing carbon emissions. Scales (2014) claims that green consumption allows consumers to feel that they are acting responsibly, but has little impact on the environment. Green consumers, who publicly advocate sustainable consumption, continue to take part in high carbon footprint activities, for example, travelling globally(Rigby, 2020).
Lunde (2018) studied sustainability and marketing related papers from 1997 to 2016 observing that they lacked theoretical clarifications and had inconsistent definitions of sustainability, which leads to unreliable findings. He found that in the 1970s to 1980s, researchers focused on environmental considerations in the development and the impact of consumption behaviour on the environment. Since 1997, research transitioned considering constructs, such as, technology, politics (Scales 2014), economics(Nyborg et al. 2006), and ethics. However, little research studied why consumers continue to consume sustainably when there is little impact on the environment. When consumers make decisions, it is based on whether it appeals to their heart or brain(Ki m et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2014). To effectively communicate with the consumer and reduce the intention-behaviour gap(White et al., 2019), understanding the decision making process is essential. Thus, this paper will examine: “How do emotional and rational appeals influence sustainable consumption?” through the following research objectives:
1. To examine how emotional and rational appeals influence green consumption.
2. To evaluate the motivating factors behind green consumption decision making.
3. To investigate consumer mindsets in green consumption intentions.
Critical Literature Review
“Green consumption,” often referred to as “sustainable consumption,” is a multifaceted concept with numerous definitions. After reviewing definitions from multiple literatures, Lunde (2018) proposed a more comprehensive perspective on sustainability. “Green consumption” is the consumption of goods and services that lowers the harm to the environment, whilst ethically and equitably increasing the quality of life and well-being of the current and future generations(Lunde 2018).
According to the retail analytics company Edited, from 2016 to 2020, the word “sustainable” in retail products have quadrupled(Indvik 2020). According to the market research company IRI, 50% of the growth of consumer packaged goods was contributed by “sustainability-marketed products(Whelan and Kronthal-Sacco, 2019).” Across all industries, firms are adapting to become “green” and consumers are placing greater attention to sustainable consumption. However, carbon emissions levels continue to rise(Gore 2020). Even though firms adapted to selection of green products, it all comes down to the “intensity” of resource consumption, not the diversity(Scales, 2014). In addition, unlike the “organic” food label, the word “sustainable” is not regulated by the government and is open to interpretation(Indvik 2020). A lot of consumers are buying products under the guise of “sustainability.” Examined in extant literature, the ambiguity in the term “sustainable” and product descriptions have negatively influenced consumer perceptions and behaviours resulting in skepticism. This research will study information ambiguity as well as the emotional facet of green consumption behaviour.
Rational appeal, also referred to as “cognitive appeal” or “ rational involvement,” assumes traditional decision-making processing models where consumers would make logical decisions(Albers-Miller and Royne Stafford, 1999). It’s a straightforward presentation of factual information(Zhang et al. 2014), often conveying the product's benefits and function, such as its quality, value, and performance(Kim et al., 2020). In contrast, emotional appeal, also known as “affective appeal” or “emotional involvement,” derives from the experiential aspect of consumption, such as the feelings that are evoked and the connection towards a brand(Albers-Miller and Royne Stafford, 1999; King, 2016; Zhang et al. 2014),. According to White et al. (2019), positive emotions could act as a driving force, whilst negative emotions could act as an effective motivator.
Previous literature examined rational and emotional frameworks in marketing. Older literature compared both frameworks finding that informational appeal is more effective than emotional(Aaker and Norris, 1982), and that factual information is more credible and persuasive (Holbrook, 1978). Afterwards, literature studied how emotional and rational frameworks affect consumer attitudes. Chaudhuri and Buck (1995) found that electronic media appeals emotionally through forming an emotional connection, whilst printed media appeals rationally through comprehension. Alongside the changing consumer behaviours and technological advancement, Ki m et al. (2020) and Zhang et al. (2014) examined the emotional and rational appeals finding that hedonic values are associated with emotional appeal, whilst utilitarian values are associated with rational appeal. As evidence points to how marketing is more effective when it appeals rationally, it is hypothesized that
H1: The use of rational appeal is more effective in green product marketing than the use of emotional appeal.
Ki m et al. (2020) also expressed that due to technology, consumers are currently exposed to various information sources which are tailored to their preferences. As rational appeal is dependent on how the information is framed(White et al., 2019), the way information is presented is essential. Whilst green marketing and labels help consumers select and identify green products(Scales, 2014), misleading and vague information negatively influences perceived information credibility reducing consumer purchase intentions(Bae, 2018; Cho and Taylor, 2020; Holbrook, 1978; Luo et al., 2020); this is contradictory to Paço and Reis (2012) findings. However, Taber and Lodge (2006) identified that prior attitudes and beliefs affect how one processes new information causing individuals to distort and reframe information to support prior beliefs. Commonly exhibited when a smoker continues to smoke despite knowing the negative health risks (Koslow, 2000). Although this contradicts the rational appeal as consumers selectively retain information that supports their beliefs, one can argue that this disconfirmation bias occurs when the evidence is personal and is dependent on the consumer. Skepticism easily becomes ‘ bias’ when individuals unreasonably disregard information that would prompt them to change, but when consumers are motivated, rational appeal is more effective(Cho and Taylor 2020). As clear information congruent with consumer’s values rationally appeals to consumer promoting green consumption, it is hypothesized that
H2: The degree of information utility is positively associated with green purchase intentions.
On the other hand, emotional appeal derives from the “ psychological, social, and symbolic feelings that motivate consumers to purchase a product(Zhang et al., 2014).” Zhang et al. (2014) found that when the emotional intensity an individual experiences is high, emotional appeal is more influential encouraging green consumption. Other than the psychological and symbolic sentiments induced in green consumption, the social context also influences the emotional appeal and consumer attitudes. According to Yan et al. (2018), green consumption as part of prosocial behaviour that concentrates on helping the environment. Social identities and desirability(Cho and Taylor 2020) influence the decision making of green consumption. Pinto et al. (2016) found that the social context had more impact than consumer purchase intentions. Consumers, who consume sustainably, have an improved “self-image(Nyborg et al. 2006)” and are often perceived green consumers to be more “cooperative, ethical, and altruistic(Yan et al., 2020).” Social norms also influence green consumption (White et al. 2019). When behaviours are apparent and common practice amongst peers of the same group,
others will imitate those actions to conform. to social norms. Therefore, it is hypothesized that H3: The degree of social desirability is positively associated with green purchase intentions.
Research Design
Study 1: Online Questionnaire
Hypotheses will be tested on a random sample of 150 respondents through a questionnaire administered on SurveyMonkey(an online survey tool). Respondents would first be asked a set of demographic based questions which records their age, gender, and income levels. Then, respondents
will be presented a scenario where a conventional product(A) and its green option(B) is offered alongside information regarding the product followed by a series of questions that measure their green consumption intentions(Cho and Taylor, 2020; Koslow, 2000; Lunde, 2018). To moderate pre-existing conceptions and bias towards brands, product examples were fictional(Zhang et al., 2014) and measured variables unknown to respondents(Taber and Lodge, 2006). Each variable has at least two item measures to reduce the psychometric limitations seen with single item measures (Koenig-Lewis et al., 2014).
Emotional and rational appeal would be determined by the selection of product options, as well as two questions based on Albers-Miller and Royne Stafford (1999) and Ki m et al. (2020) definition of emotional and rational appeal. Moreover, Information utility would be measured by a 7 point Likert scale adapted from Zhang et al. (2014) perspectives on information seeking values. These items would measure if the product description is informational and fulfills the basic needs of the respondent. Furthermore, social desirability would be measured through an adaptation of Larson’s (2018) social desirability scale. According to Larson, although many social desirability scales used to be dichotomous (true/false questions), Likert scales are better in assessing social desirability. Finally, purchase intention would be adapted from Koenig-Lewis et al. (2014) measuring the likelihood of purchasing the product or switching to an alternative. However, although these scales are identified in the literature, they don't necessarily measure the true effect of these variables on green purchase intentions.
A multiple regression would test the hypotheses and answer research objectives 1 and 2 by examining how emotional and rational appeals influence green consumption and the motivating factors behind it, such as, information utility and social desirability.
Study 2: Interviews
The aim of these interviews is to understand the reasoning behind the questionnaire items and to answer the third research objective to find whether there are other explanations for consumer behaviour. Respondents who volunteer to participate in further research would be contacted and recruited for 45 minutes face-to-face interviews. Due to time constraints, 10 in-depth interviews will be conducted consisting of consumers that consumer sustainably and consumers that don’t. An interview guide would be constructed of the following themes: environmental concern, pro-social and pro-environmental behaviours, green consumption behaviour and attitudes, and the decision-making process and motivations behind purchasing green products (Koenig-Lewis et al., 2014). Throughout the interview, probes would encourage respondents to feel comfortable and clarify the respondent’s ideas through elaboration. In addition, broad questions would be asked in order to reduce bias whether it is implicit or explicit(YaleUniversity, 2015). The interview audio would be recorded and transcribed followed by a thematic analysis frequently used to identify, analyze, and report patterns in qualitative research(Braun and Clarke, 2006).
Ethical Concerns
To ensure research complies to the accepted ethical standards enforced by the UCL Research Ethics Committee, all participants are fully informed of the purpose of the study, as well as the potential risks and benefits. Participant’s data will remain anonymous and confidential throughout the research. For study 2, participants will be informed that the interviews are also recorded and a verbal consent would also be recorded. If participants have questions, it will be answered after the interview. Participants data used will be of those 18 or older in consideration of the protection of children.