Consumer Perceptions of Greenwashing: The Role of Third-Party Labels, Brand Positioning, and Type of Ad Appeal

Numerous companies today engage in greenwashing, which tends to create confusion for consumers and leads to negative consumer responses. Yet, current literature seldom investigates how consumers’ perceptions of greenwashing emerge. This research seeks to address this gap. Through two experiments, we show that the positioning of the company with respect to CSR and the type of appeal (emotional versus rational) used appear to play key roles in determining consumers’ perceptions of greenwashing, whereas the use of third-party labels has no main significant effect on consumers’ greenwashing perceptions, and can even lead to negative consumer responses.