Do consumers prefer sad faces on eco-friendly products? How facial expressions on green products in advertisements influence purchase intentions

Ke Zhang, Siqi Wang, Huan Yang, and Long Chen

This study investigates the effects of advertising appeals on consumers’ intentions to purchase environmentally friendly products and services.
Zhang et al

Management Slant

  • Functional appeal is more effective than emotional appeal in promoting green purchase intention.
  • Consumers exposed to positive (versus negative) expression report higher green purchase intention for functional (emotional) appeal.
  • The moderating effect of product facial expressions works partly through the two mediators—processing fluency and greenwashing perception.
  • Consumers exposed to positive (versus negative) expression with utilitarian (versus hedonic) products report higher green purchase intention for functional (emotional) appeal.

Introduction

Human activities, as the main driver of ecological problems, have severely constrained the sustainable development of society (Li, Zhou, and Wang, 2019). The key to implementing sustainable...

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