The effect of resource-conservation labelling on consumer preference for sustainable products

Abstract

Energy labels have long been adopted for the communication of sustainable products. However, lots of practitioners failed to properly understand the effect of information presented on the labels. Through one managerial intuition study and five experiments including a field experiment, the author demonstrated the counterintuitive difference in effects of different types of labels. Opposed to managerial intuition, consumers who evaluated the resource-conservation labels (i.e., “saves energy up to xx kWh”) showed a greater preference for efficient products, compared with cost-efficiency labels (i.e., “saves energy costs up to $xx”), carbon-reduction labels (i.e., “reduces carbon emission up to xx kg”), and environment-externality labels (i.e., “reduces carbon emission equivalent to carbon offset by xx trees”). This author further argued that the effect occurs because the resource-conservation labels facilitate greater dynamic imagery of energy conservation, which in turn enhances consumers’ intention to purchase and use sustainable products. Supporting the notion of mental simulation, in the usage context of workplaces, compared with households where the energy-consuming imagery is more pronounced, the effect of resource-conservation labels is mitigated. Present research makes theoretical contributions to research on energy labeling and mental stimulation, while also providing managerial implications for industrial practitioners.