Béatrice Parguel

Building brand equity with environmental communication: an empirical investigation in France

Purpose Using Kellers (1993, 2003) brand equity framework, this paper investigates the impact of the firms environmental communication on brand equity, and specifically its impact on brand image, through the strength and favourability of brand environmental associations. Design/methodology/approach A between-subjects experimental design tests the hypotheses with a generalisable sample of 165 French consumers. Findings Environmental communication positively influences the strength and favourability of brand environmental associations, therefore improving brand equity. Two moderators reinforce the impact of environmental communication on brand equity through the strength of brand environmental associations: the perceived congruence between the brand and the cause, and the perceived credibility of the claim. Practical implications In the context of greater consumer pressure regarding business ethics, managers should favour environmental arguments in their corporate communication to improve brand image through societal associations. Doing so, they should focus their communication on causes that are congruent with their brands to facilitate brand equity building, and ensure they are credible when proclaiming these arguments. Originality/value of paper Despite existing research on corporate social responsibility (CSR), no studies focus on the specific impact of CSR communication on brand equity. This research provides initial empirical evidence about the positive effect of environmental claims on customer-based brand equity.

Can evoking nature in advertising mislead consumers? The power of ‘executional greenwashing'

This paper examines the ‘executional greenwashing’ effect, defined as the use of nature-evoking elements in advertisements to artificially enhance a brands ecological image. Using classic models of information processing and persuasion, the research tests whether ‘executional greenwashing’ differs as a function of consumer knowledge about environmental issues in the product category and whether environmental performance information can counterbalance the effect by helping consumers form an accurate evaluation of the brands ecological image. Three experiments with French consumers reveal that evoking nature does mislead consumers in their evaluation of a brands ecological image, especially if they have low knowledge of environmental issues. Two indicators of environmental performance, based on current international policies, are tested to counteract ‘executional greenwashing’. Whereas a raw figure is not sufficient to help non-expert consumers revise their judgment, accompanying the figure with a traffic-light label eliminates ‘executional greenwashing’ amongst both experts and non-experts. Theoretical and regulatory implications are discussed.

Reconsidérer la discrétisation des variables quantitatives: vers une nouvelle analyse de modération en recherche expérimentale

En recherche expérimentale, les chercheurs en marketing discrétisent souvent les variables quantitatives pour tester leur caractère modérateur. Cet article pédagogique explique les limites d’une telle pratique et illustre les étapes des analyses spotlight et floodlight à conduire suivant que la variable modératrice considérée présente ou non des valeurs focales signifiantes.

The double-edge effect of retailers’ cause-related marketing: When scepticism cools the warm-glow effect

Purpose – Cause-related marketing – linking product sales with donations to a cause – are popular with consumers because they produce warm-glow feelings (the positive route). But when they involve large donations, they may trigger consumer scepticism, reducing the warm glow (the negative route). Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether large donations in cause-related marketing can produce consumer scepticism and reduce the warm-glow effect and positive attitude towards the retailer. Design/methodology/approach – An experiment varying the donation size (large, medium, small) in a cause-related marketing offer run by an office equipment retailer is set up. Hypotheses are tested using bootstrapping regression analyses. Findings – The negative route has the greater effect: scepticism towards the offer mediates the relationship between donation size and the warm glow. Furthermore, scepticism towards a large donation is higher (lower) for respondents scoring low (high) on altruism and high (low) on familiarity with cause-related marketing. Practical implications – When using cause-related marketing, retailers should choose their features and target audience carefully in order to reduce scepticism, e.g., small donations should be offered in promotions targeting consumers who are familiar with cause-related marketing and show low altruism. Originality/value – This study contributes to the recent research examining the negative effects of cause-related marketing by explicitly conceptualising and measuring scepticism towards cause-related marketing. The findings are also valuable because they indicate the importance of a shift in focus, away from the conventional question of cause-related marketing effectiveness to the more specific and under-investigated problem of the appropriate core target consumers.

Reconsidering the practice of discretizing quantitative variables: Towards a new analysis of moderation in experimental research

Experimental research scholars often discretize quantitative variables when testing moderation. This pedagogical article addresses the limitations of this approach and considers when and how spotlight and floodlight analyses should be used depending on whether the moderating variable at stake shows or does not show meaningful focal values.

Comment prévoir le succès d’une innovation de rupture ? Le cas du véhicule électrique

Prevoir la demande pour une innovation de rupture constitue un veritable defi pour les managers comme pour les chercheurs. Souhaitant le relever, cet article propose un modele de prevision spatial original, USIDDI (Usercentric SImulation for the Deployment of Disruptive Innovations), fonde sur l’etude de la compatibilite de chaque individu avec l’innovation. L’article utilise le marche du vehicule electrique pour tester empiriquement ce modele et illustrer la nature des recommandations qu’il permet de formuler a destination des industriels et des decideurs publics pour accelerer le deploiement des innovations de rupture.

Is It Really Worthwhile for a Brand to Eliminate Overpackaging? New Insights from Context Effects: An Abstract

Comparing an overpackaged product with a non-overpackaged product, experiments have shown that eliminating overpackaging may have an influence on brand image, consumers’ attitude and purchase intention. However, these experiments did not consider the potential effects of competitors’ strategies in terms of overpackaging when evaluating the impact of a target brand decision to eliminate overpackaging. In the present paper, we draw on context effects and attribution theories to consider that the influence of overpackaging elimination on consumers’ response may depend on the absence vs. presence of overpackaging on the competing product. An experiment was conducted on 218 consumers. It demonstrates that overpackaging elimination will only be interrogated and attributed to low quality (1) when non-overpackaged products cohabit with overpackaged ones in the store shelves and (2) by non-environmentally concerned consumers. These results bear interesting recommendations for public policy makers and for CSR-sensitive companies.

Lost in translation : la consommation de luxe comme révélateur de l'ajustement culturel du consommateur temporairement expatrié aux Emirats Arabes Unis

Cet article envisage le comportement sur le marche du luxe du consommateur temporairement expatrie aux Emirats Arabes Unis comme un revelateur de son processus d’acculturation. Plus particulierement, il etudie l’influence de la duree d’expatriation sur la consommation de produits de luxe. Au terme de deux etudes (qualitative et quantitative) conduites aupres de consommateurs francais expatries, il montre que ces derniers font d’abord l’experience d’une phase de « lune de miel », avant d’entrer dans une phase d’« ajustement peripherique » pendant laquelle la distance au marche se reduit au fur et a mesure de l’expatriation.

Counterproductive Environmental Performance Displays: Lessons from the Automotive Sector

Using classical models of information processing and persuasion, this study examines the efficiency of European Directive 1999/94/EC, pertaining to automotive carbon emission information, as a means to encourage more sustainable consumption patterns. The Directive requires European carmakers to display their vehicles’ carbon emissions prominently in advertisements. An experiment conducted with a representative sample of consumers reveals that this obligation is counterproductive among non-expert consumers. The display of environmental information might have better effects if it were to use a color-coded grading scale to help them. Beyond this recommendation, the authors discuss some implications for public policy makers.