Consumer Response to Green Advertising: Investigating the Moderating Impact of Product Involvement

Abstract

The present research aims to propose a framework posing involvement as the moderating variable between consumer’s attitude towards the advertising (Aad) and brand image (BI), in the context of green communications in the form print advertisements. How such green advertising impacts consumer’s Aad and whether this attitude results in positive BI is the aim of this study. Based on the extensive review of literature, two group experimental models are derived from research investigations of Aad and BI, investigating the moderating role of the involvement on BI. Each respondent was assigned randomly to one of the levels of experimental manipulation exposing them to visual stimuli in the form of one of two print advertisements, followed by responding to questionnaire framed which included measures of demographics, involvement, attitude towards the ad and brand image. The post-analysis results for model 1 reveal consistency with previous literature reviewed, showing that consumer Aad, irrespective of the level of involvement, is significantly correlated to the BI formations among the respondent groups. However, the results of the second hypothesis for moderation, tested under the steps given by Baron and Kenny, show major inconsistency with the past literature. The change statistics show that the sample consumers actually did not consider involvement a major factor while developing image perceptions for the experimental product. However further research is essentially required to identify the scenario in the context of purchasing behaviors, as involvement largely affects the process of buying even if it fails to change the perceptions about the image of the product.