Abstract
Environmental labels are useful from an environmental policy perspective only if they are noticed by the consumer in the shopping situation and next – what is more – understood, trusted, and valued as a tool for decision-making. In this paper, a psychological model explaining variations in consumer attention towards environmental labels is developed and its ability to predict attention towards environmental labels in various European countries is tested.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
REFERENCES
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Bech-Larsen, T. (1996). Danish consumers' attitudes to the functional and environmental characteristics of food packaging. Journal of Consumer Policy, 19, 339-363.
Bekholm, M., & Sejersen, B. (1997). Mærkeanvendelse og associationer. Personlig omnibus 44. Udarbejdet for Forbrugerstyrelsen. Tabel-og kommentarrapport. (Use of and associations provided by labels). København: AIM Nielsen.
Berger, I. E., & Corbin, R. M. (1992). Perceived consumer effectiveness and faith in others as moderators of environmentally responsible behaviors. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 11, 79-89.
Berger, I. E., Ratchford, B. T., & Haines, G. H., Jr. (1994). Subjective product knowledge as a moderator of the relationship between attitudes and purchase intentions for a durable product. Journal of Economic Psychology, 15, 301-314.
Biel, A., & Dahlstrand, U. (1998). Habits and the establishment of ecological purchase behavior. Gothenburg: Göteborg University, Department of Psychology.
Buchtele, F., & Holzmuller, H. H. (1990). Die Bedeutung der Umweltvertraglichkeit von Produkten für die Kaufpräferenz. Jahrbuch der Absatz-und Verbrauchsforschung, 36(1), 86-103.
Celsi, R. L., & Olson, J. C. (1988). The role of involvement in attention and comprehension processes. Journal of Consumer Research, 15, 210-224.
Eagly, A. H., & Chaiken, S. (1993). The psychology of attitudes. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Eden, S. (1994/95). Business, trust and environmental information: Perceptions from consumer and retailers. Business Strategy and the Environment, 3(4), 1-7.
Ellen, P. S., Wiener, J. L., & Cobb-Walgren, C. (1991). The role of perceived consumer effectiveness in motivating environmentally conscious behaviors. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 10, 102-117.
Enger, A. (1998). Miljøargumentasjon i markedsføring (Environmental arguments in marketing). Lysaker (Norway): National Institute for Consumer Research. SIFO Rapport nr. 1 1998.
Enger, A., & Lavik, R. (1995). Eco-labelling in Norway: Consumer knowledge and attitudes. In: E. Stø (Ed.), Sustainable consumption-Report from the International Conference on Sustainable Consumption, pp. 479-502. Lysaker (Norway): National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO).
EPA (1998). Environmental labeling issues, policies, and practices worldwide. Washington DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Eurostat et al. (1995). Europe's environment: Statistical compendium for the Dobris assessment. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
Fazio, R. H. (1986). How do attitudes guide behavior? In: R. M. Sorrentino & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), The handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behavior, pp. 204-243. New York: Guilford Press.
Fazio, R. H. (1990). Multiple processes by which attitudes guide behavior: The MODE model as an integrative framework. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 23), pp. 75-109. New York: Academic Press.
Forbrugerstyrelsen (1993). Mærkning rettet til forbrugerne (Labeling directed at consumers). Copenhagen: The Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Geyer-Allély, E., & Eppel, J. (1997). Consumption and production patterns: Making the change. In: Sustainable Development: OECD Policy Approaches for the 21st century. Prepared by the OECD Task Force on Sustainable Development. Paris: OECD.
Grunert, S. C., & Juhl, H. J. (1995). Values, environmental attitudes, and buying of organic foods. Journal of Economic Psychology, 16, 39-62.
Guagnano, G. A., Stern, P. C., & Dietz, T. (1995). Influences on attitude-behavior relationships. A natural experiment with curbside recycling. Environment and Behavior, 27, 699-718.
Hansen, U., & Kull, S. (1994). Öko-Label als umweltbezogenes Informationsinstrument: Begründungszusammenhänge und Interessen. Marketing, 4, 265-273.
Heiskanen, E., Kärnä, A., Niva, M., Timonen, P., Rosenschöld, E. M., Pripp, L., & Thidell, Å. (1998). Environmental improvement in product chains. Copenhagen: Nordic Council/Nordic Council of Ministers. TemaNord 1998: 546.
Herr, P. M., & Fazio, R. H. (1993). The attitude-to-behavior process: Implications for consumer behavior. In: A. A. Mitchell (Ed.), Advertising exposure, memory, and choice. Advertising and consumer psychology, pp. 119-140. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Jacoby, J. (1984). Perspectives on information overload. Journal of Consumer Research, 11, 569-573.
Jöreskog, K. G., Sörbom, D., de Toit, S., & de Toit, M. (1999). LISREL8: New statistical features. Chicago: Scientific Software International.
Kinnear, T., Taylor, J. R., & Ahmed, S. (1974). Ecologically concerned consumers: Who are they? Journal of Marketing, 38(2), 20-24.
Kokkinaki, F. (1997). Involvement as a determinant of the process through which attitudes guide behaviour. In: Proceedings from the IAREP XXII Conference, pp. 52-67. Valencia, Spain: Corpas, C.B.
Konsumentverket (1995/96). The consumer and the environment: Results of a survey into awareness of the environment amongst Swedish consumers. Stockholm: The Swedish Consumer Agency. Report 1995/96:54.
Konsumentverket (1998). Allmänhetens kunskaper, attityder och agerande i miljøfrågor (Knowledge, attitudes and behaviour with regard to the environment). Stockholm: The Swedish Consumer Agency. Rapport 1998:7.
Kotler, P. (1991). Marketing management. Analysis, planning, implementation, and control (7th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Kuhre, W. L. (1997). ISO 14020s: Environmental labelling-marketing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall PTR.
Lindberg, K.-E. (1998). Nordisk omnibus svanemerket. Utarbeidet for Nordisk Miljömärkning. Tabelrapport (A report on the Nordic Swan). Oslo: Markeds-og Mediainstituttet.
MacKenzie, D. (1991). The rise of the green consumer. Consumer Policy Review, 1(2), 68-75.
Mayer, R. W., & Gray-Lee, J. (1995). Environmental marketing claims in the U.S.A.: Trends since issurance of the FTC guides. In: E. Stø (Ed.), Sustainable Consumption-Report from the International Conference on Sustainable Consumption, pp. 407-426. Lysaker (Norway): National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO).
Miljø-og Energiministeriet (1995). Natur-og miljøpolitisk redegørelse 1995 (Nature and environment in Denmark). Copenhagen: The Ministry of Environment and Energy.
Miljøstyrelsen (1996). En styrket produktorienteret miljøindsats. Et debatoplæg (Strengthening the environment by improving products. A discussion paper). Copenhagen: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency.
Morris, L. A., Hastak, M., & Mazis, M. B. (1995). Consumer comprehension of environmental advertising and labeling claims. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 29, 328-350.
Naturvårdsverket (1997). En studie ar hur olika styrmedel påverkat skogsindustrin. (A study of the impact of different means of regulating on the forest industry). Stockholm: The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Rapport 4724.
Nilsson, O. S., Nissen, N. P., Thøgersen, J., & Vilby, K. (1999). Rapport fra “forbrugergruppen” under Erhvervsministeriets mærkningsudvalg (A report from the consumer study group to the Labels Committee). In: Mærkningsudvalgets redegørelse, pp. 152-199. Copenhagen: The Ministry of Trade and Industry, The Consumer Agency.
Norwegian Ministry of Environment (1994a). Summary of issues raised at the symposium on sustainable consumption. In: Symposium: Sustainable consumption. 19-20 January 1994, Oslo, Norway, pp. 22-25. Oslo: The Norwegian Ministry of Environment.
Norwegian Ministry of Environment (1994b). Symposium: Sustainable consumption. 19-20 January 1994, Oslo, Norway. Oslo: The Norwegian Ministry of Environment.
OECD (1991). Environmental labelling in OECD countries. Paris: OECD.
OECD (1997). Sustainable consumption and production. Paris: OECD.
Ölander, F., & Thøgersen, J. (1995). Understanding of consumer behaviour as a prerequisite for environmental protection. Journal of Consumer Policy, 18, 317-357.
Palm, L., & Windahl, S. (1998). How Swedish consumers interpret and use environmental information: A study of quantitative environmental product declarations. Stockholm: The Swedish Consumer Agency. Report No. 1998:28.
Peattie, K. (1995). Environmental marketing management: Meeting the green challenge. London: Pitman Publishing.
Peter, J. P., Olson, J. C., & Grunert, K. G. (1999), Consumer behaviour and marketing strategy. European edition. London: McGraw Hill.
Petty, R. E., & Krosnick, J. A. (Eds.) (1995). Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Pieters, R. G. M. (1991). Changing garbage disposal patterns of consumers: Motivation, ability, and performance. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 10, 59-76.
Regeringskansliet (1999). Märk Väl! Betänkande av Utredningen gällande konsumentinformation om dagligvaror (White Paper on how to provide consumers with information about non-durable goods). Stockholm: Swedish Government Official Reports 1999:7.
Roskos-Ewoldsen, D. R., & Fazio, R. H. (1992). On the orienting value of attitudes: Attitude accessibility as a determinant of an object's attraction of visual attention. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 198-211.
Scammon, D., & Mayer, R. N. (1993). Environmental labelling and advertising claims: International action and policy issues. In: European advances in consumer research, Vol. 1, pp. 338-344. Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research.
Schlegelmilch, B. B., Bohlen, G. M., & Diamantopoulos, A. (1996). The link between green purchasing decisions and measures of environmental consciousness. European Journal of Marketing, 30(5), 35-55.
Sitarz, D. (Ed.) (1994). Agenda 21: The earth summit strategy to save our planet. Boulder: Earth Press.
Sparks, P., & Shepherd, R. (1992). Self-identity and the theory of planned behavior: Assessing the role of identification with “green consumerism”. Social Psychology Quarterly, 55, 388-399.
Stern, P. C., Dietz, T., Abel, T., Guagnano, G. A., & Kalof, L. (1999). A valuebelief-norm theory of support for social movements: The case of environmentalism. Human Ecology Review, 6, 81-97.
Thøgersen, J. (1996). The demand for environmentally friendly packaging in Germany. Aarhus: The Aarhus School of Business, Department of Marketing. MAPP Working Paper 30.
Thøgersen, J. (1998a). The norm-attitude-behavior relationship. Theory and applications in the environmental domain. Aarhus: The Aarhus School of Business, Department of Marketing. Working Paper 98-3.
Thøgersen, J. (1998b). Understanding behaviours with mixed motives. An application of a modified theory of reasoned action on consumer purchase of organic food products. Aarhus: The Aarhus School of Business, Department of Marketing. Working Paper 98-2.
Thøgersen, J. (1999). The ethical consumer. Moral norms and packaging choice. Journal of Consumer Policy, 22, 439-460.
Thøgersen, J., & Andersen, A. K. (1996). Environmentally friendly consumer behavior: The interplay of moral attitudes, private costs, and facilitating conditions. In: R. P. Hill & C. R. Taylor (Eds.), Marketing and Public Policy Conference Proceedings, Vol. 6, pp. 80-96. Chicago: American Marketing Association.
Tufte, P. A., & Lavik, R. (1997). Helse-og miljøinformasjon. Forbrukernes behov for informasjon om skadelige stoffer i produkter (Information about health and environment. Consumers' need for information on dangerous substances in products). Lysaker (Norway): Statens Institutt for Forbruksforskning (SIFO). Rapport 4-1997.
Verplanken, B., & Weenig, M. W. H. (1993). Graphical energy labels and consumers' decisions about home appliances: A process tracing approach. Journal of Economic Psychology, 14, 739-752.
Witherspoon, S., & Mohler, P. P. (1995). Research into environmental attitudes and perceptions. Final report. Mannheim: Compass c/o Zuma.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thøgersen, J. Psychological Determinants of Paying Attention to Eco-Labels in Purchase Decisions: Model Development and Multinational Validation. Journal of Consumer Policy 23, 285–313 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007122319675
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007122319675