Florence Benoît-Moreau

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.

Une lecture socio-technique des effets des systèmes d’encaissement automatique: quand la technologie reconfigure les relations sur le point de vente

Les systemes d’encaissement automatique (caisses libre-service dites « self-check out » et systemes de « self-scanning ») connaissent un developpement accelere en France depuis une dizaine d’annees. Au travers d’une etude qualitative menee aupres de clients de la grande distribution, cet article permet de mieux comprendre les effets de ces nouveaux dispositifs sur les relations entre les acteurs sur le point de vente. Loin de deshumaniser le point de vente, ils reconfigurent les relations du client avec son entourage, avec les autres clients, ainsi qu’avec les hotesses de caisse. Plus largement, a l’echelle de la societe, ils suscitent des questionnements sur la transformation des liens et le partage du travail. Des recommandations sont proposees aux managers pour faciliter l’integration de ces dispositifs dans le point de vente.

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.