Credibility assessment for sustainable consumption: A laboratory study

Abstract

Sustainable consumption has the potential to hold firms accountable for the negative externalities they impose on society and the environment, but consumers are often unsure whether to believe that the products and companies promoted as being sustainable are truly sustainable. This research investigates novices’ credibility assessments of online sustainability ratings reports using a laboratory experiment and a dual-process theoretical lens. It identifies and operationalizes two new heuristic cues that theory suggests should be influential in this process: the For-profit status of the company that produced the expert reports, and its Strategic Ties. Each participant looked up companies’ sustainability ratings on two databases, one of which was perceived to be significantly easier to use and more credible than the other. Database Credibility and the For-profit status of the company producing the database both significantly affected perceptions of content usefulness. The impact of the Strategic Ties heuristic was inconclusive and merits further research. We are beginning to accumulate significant research on the effects of explicit labels and standards on consumer behavior. This research points to the need to understand the effects of available implicit heuristics as well, and offers many potential avenues for future research.

Keywords

• consumer ethics
• business ethics
• credentials
• release of information