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The Dilution Effect: A Barrier to Sustainable Consumption in B2B Markets? An Experimental Study of B2B Decision-Makers' Evaluation of a Sustainable Printer

Christiansen, Kristine Rettedal; Selvik, Filip Svendsen
Master thesis
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URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3090857
Date
2023
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  • Master Thesis [4657]
Abstract
Previous research indicates that individuals have a tendency to perceive sustainable and

functional attributes as mutually exclusive, even if this perception does not objectively reflect

reality. This misconception can lead them to prefer conventional products over green

alternatives, under the belief that businesses prioritizing sustainability might compromise the

functionality of the product. This perception has contributed to a discrepancy where individuals

express a demand for green products, but this is not necessarily reflected in their purchasing

decisions. In this research, we propose the psychological phenomenon known as the ‘dilution

effect’ as a possible explanation for this misconception. It suggested that individuals may

categorize the functional attribute of a product as ‘diagnostic’ or relevant information, while

perceiving the sustainable attribute as ‘nondiagnostic’ information (irrelevant). As a result,

when marketers present both attributes, the nondiagnostic information dilutes the diagnostic

information, leading to the perception that the product’s functionality is diminished.

We conduct a single study to investigate the presence of a dilution effect and a potential method

to avoid it within the business-to-business (B2B) market by testing the relationship between

communication types and brand attitude. We use an A/B/C monadic testing approach ( n = 100)

and ask respondents to evaluate an advertisement of a fictional printer. We first examine the

presence of the dilution effect by testing whether communicating a mix of unrelated functional

and sustainable attributes lowers the brand attitude compared to the presentation of only the

functional attribute. Within the same study, we also explore whether communicating that the

sustainable benefits support the functional benefits can be a method to prevent decisions-makers

from experiencing the dilution effect.

Our findings challenge our predictions; in fact, they are inconsistent with our initial

expectations. The results suggest that when companies in B2B markets communicate a mix of

unrelated functional and sustainable, the effects of the functional attributes on brand attitude

are higher than communication focusing only on functional benefits. Interestingly,

communicated related benefits seems to result in the lowest brand attitude.

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