Effects of CSR messages on Perceived Greenwashing & Green Brand Equity : The interaction of message frames and industry stereotypes

Abstract

Given the paradigm shift towards environmentalism, stakeholders, especially consumers, are exerting pressure on companies to be more transparent with their business practices. Companies in turn are responding through CSR to demonstrate the legitimacy of their business operations. However, this legitimacy has been called into question time and time again by consumers, as some companies have been known to falsely engage in CSR activities or greenwash to maximize profits and gain customer loyalty under the guise of philanthropy. This thesis tests the effects of CSR message frames (warmth and competence) and industry stereotypes (high and low perceived contribution to a sustainability problem) to see if there is any impact on perceived greenwashing and green brand equity. A 2 x 2 factorial design and a one-way MANOVA analysis were conducted to test for the main effect and the interaction effects on both perceived greenwashing and green brand equity, which serve as the dependent variables. The study found that there were no significant interaction effects between the PCP level of a company and the effects of warmth versus competence frames of CSR messages on perceived greenwashing as well as greenwashing, demonstrating the complexity of how stakeholders evaluate sustainability claims.