The Sustainability Liability: Potential Negative Effects of Ethicality on Product Preference
Luchs, Naylor, Irwin and Raghunathan propose that sustainability is not always an asset for a product, even if most consumers care about social and environmental issues. How much it raises preference depends on the type of benefit consumers most value in the product category. They show that consumers associate higher ethicality with gentleness-related attributes and lower ethicality with strength-related attributes, and that this shapes preferences where strength is valued.
Luchs, Naylor, Irwin and Raghunathan propose that sustainability is not always an asset for a product, even if most consumers care about social and environmental issues. How much it raises preference depends on the type of benefit consumers most value in the product category. They show that consumers associate higher ethicality with gentleness-related attributes and lower ethicality with strength-related attributes, and that this shapes preferences where strength is valued.
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Luchs, M. G., Naylor, R. W., Irwin, J. R., & Raghunathan, R. (2010). The Sustainability Liability: Potential Negative Effects of Ethicality on Product Preference. Journal of Marketing, 74(5), 18-31. doi:10.1509/jmkg.74.5.018.