Framing Numerical Attributes in Daily vs. Yearly Terms and Addressing Consumers Individually vs. Collectively in Environmental Brand Messages: An Exploration of Independent, Interactive, and Conditional Effectiveness
摘要
Brands are increasingly showcasing their sustainability efforts in environmental claims. These messages often contain numerical information alongside other elements that can be expressed in different ways. In an online experiment (n = 200), we explore the influence of temporal (day vs. year) and address (individual vs. collective) framing on perceived eco-friendliness and purchase intentions. Main effects are non-significant, but there is a crossover interaction between the two factors such that a more granular temporal format (daily) increases purchase intentions when consumers are addressed collectively (using first-person plural) in a pro-environmental call-to-action, while more aggregate framing (yearly) is more effective for green brand messages that use wordings directed at consumers individually (using second-person singular). We also consider three consumer characteristics as potential boundary conditions and find that environmental knowledge does not play any role, green skepticism does not act as a moderator but instead directly reduces purchase intentions of ethically-branded products, and environmental concern is part of a three-way interaction with temporal and address framing in determining product eco-friendliness perceptions. In other words, the interplay of both types of framing is not uniform, but varies depending on how environmentally concerned consumers they are. These results yield important theoretical and managerial implications.