The Power of Threat and Efficacy in Green Communication: Is Threat Still Effective?

Given the rising importance of sustainability in the marketplace, companies and consumers alike have recognised their responsibility. The study looks at green communication in the hospitality industry. Drawing on protection motivation theory and cognitive dissonance theory, the present study addresses how threat and efficacy influence message receivers’ pro-environmental attitude and intention. Cognitive dissonance and self-justification are found to significantly influence the formation of people’s pro-environmental intention. In addition, the results showed that the level of efficacy significantly increased people’s pro-environmental attitude and intention, whereas the effectiveness of threat was surprisingly not significant. Based on our empirical findings, we provide explanations and propose future research directions.