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Cited by 65Environmental Sustainability in BusinessOrganic Food and AgricultureConsumer Attitudes and Food Labeling

Shoppers’ grocery choices in the presence of generalized eco-labelling

Bernard, Yohan, Bertrandias, Laurent, Elgaaied-Gambier, Leila·2015·International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
DOI 10.1108/ijrdm-12-2013-0218
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Abstract

Purpose:To encourage sustainable consumer practices, public policy makers introduce new ecological measures, including mandatory programmes that require companies to provide environmental information about their products, even if the information is not flattering. Few academic studies consider the potential impacts of such mandatory eco-labels on consumer behaviour; the purpose of this paper is to seek to identify conditions in which a generalized eco-label in stores might modify consumers’ purchase choices.Design/methodology/approach:Two quasi-experimental studies (n=333, 126) manipulate environmental information with a simple, traffic light – shaped eco-label. The measures focus on respondents’ choice or purchasing intentions, perceptions of the environmental harmfulness of each product, and individual characteristics (i.e. environmental concern, price sensitivity, familiarity with environmental information about the product category).Findings:The presence of an eco-label influences consumers’ beliefs about products’ environmental harm and thus choice. The effect of perceived harmfulness on choice is moderated by environmental concern and price sensitivity, though combined effects arise for only one of the two product categories tested (dish soap, not yoghurt). With a third product category (paper towels), Study 2 confirms the influence of familiarity with environmental information.Research limitations/implications:Familiarity with environmental information accounts for some differences across product categories, but other factors also come into play. These results must be interpreted carefully due to the use of a fictive eco-label.Originality/value:This paper examines the potential effects of a generalized, mandatory programme. It also addresses the lack of consistent label effectiveness across product categories, with a possible explanation based on perceived familiarity with environmental information.

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  • Consumers exhibit different levels of green knowledge depending on their scale of involvement in the purchase process, even for low-involvement products.

    “It is natural that consumers exhibit different levels of green knowledge, depending on their scale of involvement in the purchase process, even for low-involvement products (Bernard et al., 2015).”

    From Internal factors influencing customer attitude, purchase intention and purchase behaviour with regard to green personal care products. A literature review (2023) · cites this paper as Bernard et al., 2015

    The Information processing theory section (p. 6) describes familiarity with environmental information as a form of subjective knowledge, and Theoretical contributions (p. 15) says that familiarity varies across product categories. The paper does not establish that green knowledge varies according to consumers’ level of involvement in the purchase process, or specifically make that claim about low-involvement products. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Bernard, Y., Bertrandias, L., & Elgaaied-Gambier, L.
Affiliations
  • Université de Franche-Comté (FR)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Publisher
Emerald
Published
2015-05-11
Volume
43
Issue
4/5
Pages
448-468
ISSN
0959-0552 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1108/ijrdm-12-2013-0218
OpenAlex
W1553357521
Cited by
65
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2
FWCI
10.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.emeraldinsight.com/page/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management (publishedVersion)
  • Toulouse 1 Capitole Publications (Université Toulouse I Capitole) (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Environmental Sustainability in Business
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Organic Food and Agriculture
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
Keywords
environmental labelling, grocery shopping, consumer choice, green products, sustainable consumption

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