How Sustainable Should the Product Be? The Impact of Central and Peripheral Sustainable Cues on Product Choice
(A2025-126468)

AUTHORS

Rafael Demczuk, Universidade Católica Portuguesa; Rita Coelho do Vale, Universidade Católica Portuguesa

ABSTRACT

Sustainable products can constitute a dyad where consumers ask for sustainable options, and sellers, in a trial to respond to this demand, raise the availability of items containing sustainable characteristics. Therefore, understanding how adopting central (related to the core product) versus peripheral (product packaging) sustainable cues impacts consumers' preference and choice for products is relevant. Across three studies, we show that consumers make distinct evaluations concerning sustainable cues for hedonic and utilitarian products. Precisely, we demostate that hedonic (vs. utilitarian) items that contains core (vs. peripheral) sustainable features will will enhance consumers’ likelihood of purchase and willingness to pay.