Marketing the sustainable - Fostering behavioral intentions through information transparency
by Vüsal Hasanzade
Date of Examination:2022-06-03
Date of issue:2022-07-01
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Waldemar Toporowski
Referee:Prof. Dr. Welf Weiger
Referee:Prof. Dr. Yasemin Boztug
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Abstract
English
Reshaping our diets to sustainable forms represents a powerful lever in meeting the impending challenge of climate change. While labels have predominantly been used in the past to reveal sustainability-related product information in an aggregated way, recent research has questioned their influence on consumer behavior. Yet, practitioners and research alike have largely neglected this rationale, still focusing on labels as means of affecting consumer behavior. Meanwhile the inflationary use of these labels is taking its toll. As consumers cannot always grasp the meaning of each label, they lose interest in sustainable food products. Thus, understanding and addressing consumers’ (mis-) conceptions and finding ways to encourage their choice for environmentally and socially friendly food could be a more effective approach. Against this background, this dissertation was motivated to shed light on what information consumers require in regards to making sustainable food choices and how alternative ways of providing sustainability-related product information can counteract the negative effects of information asymmetry in retail environments. The overarching goal is to empower consumers to make well informed choices. To fill this research gap, the studies of this dissertation investigated consumers’ needs for detailed sustainability-related product information and the impact of their deliberate provision on consumer’s choice behavior. Drawing on a diverse set of theoretical approaches, the findings of this dissertation are able to shed light on consumer preferences for sustainable, especially local, food product information and how alternative ways of providing product-related information (e.g. through QR codes or apps) can foster desired behavioral intentions. Taken together, the findings of this dissertation highlight the need for retailers to establish a more elaborate provision of information in order to bolster consumers’ purchase intention towards local food, which ultimately contributes to more sustainable food consumption patterns.
Keywords: information preferences; sustainable product information; sustainable decision making; ethical consumption; local food; geographical proximity; social proximity; choice-based conjoint analysis; labels; sustainability; digital product information; perceived information quality