The effectiveness of environmental advertising: the ...

International Journal of Advertising The Quarterly Review of Marketing Communications

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The effectiveness of environmental advertising: the role of claim type and the source country green image Ricky Y.K. Chan To cite this article: Ricky Y.K. Chan (2000) The effectiveness of environmental advertising: the role of claim type and the source country green image, International Journal of Advertising, 19:3, 349-375 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2000.11104806

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The effectiveness of environmental advertising: the role of claim type and the source country green image Ricky Y.K. Chan Hong Kong Polytechnic University This study examines how environmental claim type may affect the communication effectiveness of environmental advertising, and how the source country's green image may moderate the claim type-effectiveness relationship. By applying a 4 X 2 factorial research design to investigate 800 subjects in Guangzhou, China, the study demonstrates that environmental claim type and the source country's green image both exert a significant main effect on the effectiveness. This study also demonstrates that these two factors in combination exhibit a significant interaction effect on the effectiveness. These empirical findings remind marketers of the importance of adopting a situational perspective when designing their environmental claims. When deciding which environmental claim type they should apply, marketers should, among others, also take into consideration how their target customers actually perceive the eco-friendliness of the relevant source country. Given consumers' increasing scepticism about products with alleged eco-friendly attributes in the wake of an influx of various misleading green advertisements, environmental claims which are incongruent with their extant perceptions are unlikely to be effective.

INTRODUCTION Recently, organisations have been increasingly targeting consumers who are concerned about the environment (Carlson et a/., 1996a; Davis, 1994b; Ottman, 1993; Polonsky eta/., 1998; Roberts, 1996). As these organisations keep on placing more and more emphasis on the 'green' consumers (Stafford et a/., 1996), interest into the nature of environmental advertising is rising (Banerjee eta/., 1995; Kangun eta/., 1991 ). In particular, both practitioners and academics are attracted

International Journal of Advertising, 19, pp. 349-375 © 2000 Advertising Association Published by NTC Publications Ltd, Farm Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 lEJ, UK

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING, 2000, 19(3)

towards exammmg the communication effectiveness of environmental advertising and to identify important factors which may affect such effectiveness (Cude, 1993; Davis, 1993, 1994a; 1994b; Harrison, 1993; Morris et aL, 1995). Although environmental advertising has been the focus of a number of recent studies (Easterling et aL, 1996), most of them have only been conducted in the West or in developed countries (Carlson et aL, 1993, 1996b; Davis, 1993, 1994a; Kangun et aL, 1991). Nevertheless, with increasing affluence derived from the rapid industrialisation throughout the past few decades, inhabitants of fast developing Asian countries have begun to realise the hazardous impacts of environmental degradation on their long-term well-being (East Asian Executive Reports, 1995). This realisation has also provided advertisers with ample opportunity to apply green advertising there. Given that consumers from different nations may respond differently to environmental issues in general (Carlson et aL, 1996b), and to environmental advertising messages in particular (Dowling, 1980; Lanon, 1986; Weinberger and Spotts, 1989), research on environmental advertising in these newly emerging Asian markets is thus considered to be timely. Hopefully, this kind of research can provide green advertisers with some useful insights into how they can finetune their operations within the Asian region.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY Against the foregoing background, the purpose of this study is to examine the communication effectiveness of different types of company-sponsored environmental claims (i.e. environmental claim type) in China. China was chosen for investigation as it is one of the fastest growing markets in Asia as well as in the world (Drobis, 1996). In addition to examining the impact of environmental claim type on traditional effectiveness measures such as attitudes towards the advertisement, brand attitudes and purchase intentions, this study also investigates whether the perceived eco-friendliness of the source country in question (i.e. the source country's green image) will moderate the claim type-effectiveness relationship. Given that country image is one of the most important evaluative cues for Chinese consumers (King, 1989; Li et aL, 1997; Siu and Chan, 1997), its inclusion in this study should enhance understanding of the possible 350

EFFECTIVENESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ADVERTISING

'chemistry' between claim type and country image in the context of environmental advertising.


THE GREEN MOVEMENT IN CHINA An awareness of environmental degradation has taken a long time to emerge in China (Head, 1996). Sharing the industrialisation experience of most advanced nations, China has been paying a high ecological price for its rapid economic growth in terms of worsening pollution and an accelerating depletion of many critical resources (Chen, 1998; Ho eta/., 1994). On average, China has spent less than 1 per cent of its GDP on environmental protection. This figure is below Hong Kong's 1.5 per cent even though the territory has already been named as 'the most ecologically unsound place in the world' (Martinsons eta/., 1997; Ming Pao Daify, 1996). When compared with the corresponding percentage of ecologically advanced nations such as the US (2.5 per cent) and Australia (5 per cent), China's apathy towards ecology is apparent (Martinsons eta/., 1997). As the environment continues to worsen, the Chinese government has begun to evaluate the severity of the problem (Chan and Wong, 1994; Chen, 1998; Head, 1995, 1996; Ho et al., 1994). Measures such as the recent enactment of various anti-pollution laws, and the preparation of new criminal codes on environmental offences have shown the country's determination to act more proactively to tackle its ecological problems (Head, 1996; Martinsons et a/., 1997). In the marketplace, increasingly affluent and educated Chinese consumers have also begun to recognise the importance of eco-friendly purchases to their long-term well-being (Liu, 1994). Lately, Chan (1999) has reported that Chinese consumers do express a strong emotional attachment to ecological issues though their actual commitment to green purchases is still low. These empirical findings, in turn, urge green marketers to look for more effective ways to convert Chinese consumers' pro-environment feelings into corresponding purchases.

ENVIRONMENTAL ADVERTISING CLAIMS Although the use of environmental claims for advertising has become increasingly popular, studies on how they should be classified are still 351



limited. Among the few studies, Banerjee et aL (1995) have examined the underlying structure of environmental advertising by employing the multidimensional scaling technique. Based on content analysis, Carlson et aL (1993) have proposed four typologies to categorise environmental information typically conveyed in green advertisements. These are: (1) product orientation (e.g. 'This product is biodegradable'), (2) process orientation (e.g. 'Twenty per cent of the raw materials used in producing this good are recycled', (3) image orientation (e.g. 'We are committed to preserving our forests'), and (4) environmental fact (e.g. 'The world's rain forests are being destroyed at the rate of two acres per second'). Overall, this classification scheme has reported a high degree of inter-judge reliability (Carlson et aL, 1993). The same scheme has subsequently been adopted to study environmental advertisements in the US, UK, Australia and Canada (Carlson et aL, 1996b). Lately, a modified version of this scheme has been applied to study the environmental claims on product packaging as well (Polonsky et aL, 1998). When examined carefully, the product and process orientations mentioned above demonstrate an organisation's interventions in the marketplace that have a positive or at least a benign effect on the environment (Carlson et aL, 1996b). They can be regarded as 'substantive' claims that present more concrete information about the environmentally responsible efforts of an organisation (Carlson et aL, 1993; Ottman, 1995). On the other hand, the image orientation and environmental fact can be conceived to be 'associative' claims that are less tangible in nature. These claims help an organisation to establish an environmentally friendly facade by tying it with some positive environmental information, but without directly mentioning how it actually contributes to ecological well-being (Carlson et aL, 1996b). In studying the effects of claim specificity on consumer responses, Davis (1993) has noted that specific environmental claims which provide detailed, relevant, understandable and supported information on green products' environmental benefits are better received by consumers. In other words, to make product choices more consistent with their environmentally responsible desire, consumers would prefer to have more concrete information about the eco-friendly attributes of green products. When examined these empirical results along with the notions of substantive and associative claims, it appears that substantive claims would generate more favourable consumer responses than associative claims.

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THE RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL ADVERTISING In general, research conducted in developed countries shows that green consumers are sceptical about advertisers' environmental claims (Dold, 1991; Manrai et aL, 1997; Mohr et aL, 1998; Zinkhan and Carlson, 1995). In addition, Schuhwerk and Lefkoff-Hagius (1995) have noted that although green appeals are not significantly more influential than non-green appeals for environmentally involved individuals, they are much more persuasive than non-green appeals for environmentally uninvolved individuals. Alongside these findings, several researchers and commentators maintain the importance of making honest advertising claims to market eco-friendly products to the general public (Buchholz, 1993; Roberts, 1996). While the relevant Western literature is relatively abundant, research specifically on Chinese consumers' responses towards environmental claims is virtually non-existent. One exception, Chan (1999) has reported that China's urban residents, like most of their Western counterparts, are also sceptical about environmental claims made by green advertisers. The findings point to the importance of developing a comprehensive eco-certification scheme in the country so as to closely monitor the practices of green advertisers. Despite the lack of directly relevant literature, further light can still be shed on the topic by referring to previous research on Chinese people's reactions towards advertising in general (e.g. Ho and Chan, 1989; Ho and Sin, 1986; Kwan et aL, 1981; Parsons, 1993; Semenik et aL, 1986; Stross, 1990; Zhao and Shen, 1995). Of particular interest, Pollay et aL (1990) have reported that Chinese consumers demonstrate a very positive response towards advertising and would like advertising claims to be honest, informative and substantiated. Based on comprehensive surveys in China, Zhao·and Shen (1995) conclude that Chinese consumers are inclined to pay more attention to the informational contents than entertaining features of the advertisement. The findings also suggest that Chinese consumers view advertising as one of the most important sources for more concrete product information. Should Chinese consumers' responses towards environmental advertising not greatly deviate from their reactions towards advertising in general, it is likely that they will also express a higher degree of preference for substantive than for associative environmental claims.

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However, the above inference should be qualified. For instance, even though substantive environmental claims are used to advertise a product, they are unlikely to be effective if the alleged 'greenness' contradicts sharply with consumers' extant perceptions about that product. Indeed, if consumers interpret such claims as deliberate deception, the communication effectiveness will even be hampered. On the contrary, if associative environmental claims are employed in the foregoing situation, consumers will probably feel less annoyed, as the vague nature of these claims can help avoid any sharp perceptual incongruity that may arise when substantive environmental claims are In use. The above analysis draws upon theories concerning perceptual selection (cf. Assael, 199 5) and will be further discussed in the 'hypotheses' section later. In any event, the analysis suggests that consumers' extant perceptions about products are likely to affect the effectiveness of different claim types. Given that the perception about products is often influenced by the perceived image of their country of origin (Li et aL, 1997; Manrai et aL, 1997), country image, in turn, is believed to play a significant role in moderating such effectiveness.

COUNTRY IMAGE Since the mid-1960s, numerous studies have been devoted to investigating how country image might affect consumers' perceptions of the product (Han, 1989). In general, these studies have confirmed the influence of country image on product evaluation (Han and Terpstra, 1988; Kim and Chung, 1997; Roth and Romeo, 1992; Thakor and Katsanis, 1997). Relating specifically to Chinese consumers, it has been reported that their perceptions of Japanese, American and European products are significantly more favourable than those of Chinese products (King and McDaniel, 1989). Similar findings have also been noted in a more recent survey on how Chinese consumers perceive the image of products originating from the US, Japan and their motherland (Li et aL, 1997). Despite the general consensus as to the influence of country image on product evaluation, two distinct explanations have been proposed on how this influence may take place (Han, 1989, 1990; Li et aL, 1997). The first explanation draws inputs from the halo model which posits that consumers may use country image as an information cue to infer 354



the quality of a brand when they are not familiar with products of the source country in question (Cattin et aL, 1982; Han, 1989, 1990; Huber and McCann, 1982; Li et aL, 1997; Shapiro, 1982; White, 1979). The second explanation or the summary model owes its genesis to classic information-processing theories in which consumers are postulated to simplify their information processing through abstracting individual elements of information into higher order information 'chunks' (cf. Alba and Hutchinson, 1987; Miller, 1956; Simon, 1974; Wright, 1975). In other words, this model treats the perceived image of a source country as a synthesis of consumers' perceptions about various aspects of that country, including the goods it produces (Han, 1989; Johansson, 1989; Li et aL, 1997; Samiee, 1994). In short, while the halo model suggests the influence of country image on overall product evaluation through specific product attributes, the summary model suggests that country image has a direct influence on overall product evaluation (Han, 1989; Manrai et aL, 1997). All in all, regardless of which model may be operative, it is widely accepted that a source country's perceived image will prompt consumers to engage in greater cognitive elaboration about its products (cf. Cordell, 1992; Hong and Wyer, 1989, 1990; Manrai et aL, 1997). Logically, the aforementioned perceived country image should also include consumers' perceptions about the eco-friendliness of the source country.

HYPOTHESES Hypotheses concerning the relationships among environmental claim type, the source country's green image and communication effectiveness were developed according to selective perception theories. In general, these theories advocate that consumers often perceive information in such a way that could conform to their extant beliefs (Assael, 1995; Schiffman and Kanuk, 1997). Of all the major theories, the social judgment theory seems to be particularly relevant to this discussion (Sherif and Hovland, 1961, 1964; Sherif et aL, 1965). This theory states that if an individual is highly involved in an issue, he will accept very few alternative opinions. In other words, he will have a narrow latitude of acceptance and a wide latitude of rejection. An individual is said to be highly involved in a purchase if he regards that purchase to be very important to him (in terms of perceived risks such

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as social risks, financial risks, etc.) and hence provokes elaborate thought (Assael, 1995; Petty and Cacioppo, 1981; Petty et aL, 1983). Another central premise of the social judgment theory is its assertion that a highly involved individual will interpret a message that is congruent with his opinions as more positive than it actually is. This reaction represents an assimilation effect. Similarly, the theory also posits that a highly involved individual will interpret a message that is not congruent with his opinions as more negative than it actually is. This reaction is called a contrast effect. In view of the social judgment theory and the literature discussed above, it is expected that the source country's green image would moderate the effectiveness of different environmental claim types. For instance, if an advertised product is from a country perceived as ecofriendly, consumers will probably project this 'green' country image to the product as well. Hence, if a substantive environmental claim is used to describe the eco-friendly attributes of the product, the more concrete information provided by the claim will be highly congruent with consumers' beliefs about the greenness of the product (that derived from the eco-friendly country image). Due to the assimilation effect mentioned above, it is therefore expected that consumers will perceive the product as even 'greener' than it actually is. As a greener product image often leads to more effective communication in terms of more positive attitudinal and conative responses (cf. Buchholz, 1993; Liu, 1994; Martin and Simintiras, 1995; Schuhwerk and LefkoffHagius, 1995), the first hypothesis is thus formulated as follows: H 1:

In a high involvement purchase, a substantive environmental claim will be more effective than an associative environmental claim if the advertised product is from a country perceived as eco-friendly.

Conversely, if an advertised product is from a country perceived as eco-unfriendly, a substantive environmental claim that provides more concrete environmental information about the product may simply augment consumers' perceptual incongruity. Due to the contrast effect mentioned above, it is expected that consumers will express more negative views about the product than it actually is. On the other hand, if an associative environmental claim is used, consumers' views on the product may be less negative. This is because an associative environmental claim does not relate the advertised product directly to any specific eco-friendly attributes. The vague nature of this claim

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Environmental claim type Substantive claim

Associative claim

++

+

--

-

Eco-friendly image

Assimilation effect


Source country's perceived eco-friendliness

Eco-unfriendly image

Contrast effect

Notes ECT and SCGI represent environmental claim type and the source country's green image respectively. + indicates the degree of positive influence on communication effectiveness; more + signs represent more positive influence - indicates the degree of negative influence on communication effectiveness; more - signs represent more negative influence

FIGURE 1 HYPOTHESISED ETC x SGCI INTERACTION EFFECT ON COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS

type allows consumers a wider latitude to avoid any sharp incongruity between the advertised message and their beliefs about the greenness of the product (that derived from the eco-unfriendly country image). In light of this, it is thus expected that a substantive claim will be less effective than an associative claim if the advertised product is from a country perceived as eco-unfriendly. Based on this analysis, the second hypothesis is developed as follows: H 2: In a high involvement purchase, a substantive environmental claim will be less effective than an associative environmental claim if the advertised product is from a country perceived as eco-unfriendly. To depict the relationships put forward by these two hypotheses, Figure 1 has been constructed accordingly. As shown in Figure 1, the upper left-hand cell of the matrix suggests the possible assimilation effect that may result from putting a substantive claim and an ecofriendly country image together (H 1). Similarly, the lower left-hand cell

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of the matrix suggests the possible contrast effect that may result from the combination of a substantive claim with an eco-unfriendly country image (Hz). All in all, H 1 and H 2 both postulate that environmental claim type and the source country's green image will exert a significant interaction effect on the effectiveness of environmental advertising. To verify the conventional views on the respective influence of these two factors, two additional hypotheses concerning their main effect on the effectiveness have also been developed accordingly: H 3: In a high involvement purchase, substantive environmental and associative environmental claims will generate different degrees of communication effectiveness. H 4: In a high involvement purchase, source countries having different green images will generate different degrees of communication effectiveness.

METHODOLOGY Design The above four hypotheses were subjected to an empirical test. All the instruments used in this test were first developed in English and subsequently translated into Chinese to facilitate respondents' understanding. The linguistic equivalence between the English and Chinese versions was ensured by employing Bhalla and Lin's (1987) suggested back translation techniques. The test was in the form of a 4 X 2 factorial research design. The two factors were environmental claim type (ECT) and the source country s green image (SCGI). The first factor was manipulated at four levels to represent the two different types of substantive claims (product orientation, process orientation) and associative claims (image orientation, environmental fact) respectively. The use of a more refined four-level factor is considered to be better than that of a consolidated two-level factor (simply substantive claim and associative claim) as the former can also help to examine whether there are any variations between different versions of substantive or associative claims. The factor concerning the source country's green image was manipulated at two levels, namely eco-friendly image and 358



eco-unfriendly image. This factor was a measured variable to assess attitudes towards the source country's eco-friendliness at an individual level (cf. Manrai et aL, 1997). Two countries of origin, namely the USA and Japan, were involved in the measurement of this factor. These two countries were selected as they were perceived to have similar levels of development in the literature (cf. Manrai et aL, 1997) and in the pre-test (described below). Moreover, it was believed that the use of more than one source country in calibrating the factor can enhance the robustness of the measurement. The detailed procedure for measuring this factor will be described in the 'main study section' below.

Stimuli Eight printed advertisements (i.e. test advertisements) for a fictitious anti-dandruff shampoo, Loving Hair Anti-Dandruff Shampoo, were developed to represent the eight initial treatment conditions formed by the four-level environmental claim-type factor and the two selected countries of origin. As will be elaborated on below, these initial treatment conditions were employed to develop the 4 X 2 factorial research design for the main study. The use of a fictitious product was aimed to control for influences of prior advertiser or brand perceptions (Perrien et aL, 1985); whereas the selection of a shampoo for investigation is due to its wide popularity among consumers (Davis, 1994b). In addition, the specific confinement to an antidandruff shampoo is because this product category involves high perceived social risks and thus represents a high involvement purchase (Schiffman and Kanuk, 1997, p 217). With reference to Davis' (1994b) approach, a standardised pictorial representation of the advertised shampoo and an identical product claim were first placed in each of the eight advertisements. The product claim reads as follows: Loving Hair Anti-Dandruff Shampoo contains special formula which is clinically proven to effectively control dandruff and itching for great looking hair. The formula is extra-mild and suitable for daily use. It helps nourish hair to make it smooth and manageable. Loving Hair AntiDandruff Shampoo contains special blends of conditioning ingredients to moisturise, replenish and protect colored, permed, dry or damaged hair, giving hair natural and healthy shine.

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In addition to the pictorial representation and product claim, each of the eight advertisements was inserted with information concerning one environmental claim-type/ country of origin combination. To this end, the author and two other researchers specialising in green marketing first developed four environmental claims representing the four different claim types. Four other researchers in the fields of green marketing or environmental studies then assessed their appropriateness. The finalised environmental claims read as follows: CLAIM 1 -PRODUCT ORIENTATION

'Unsurpassed concern for the environment. There is nothing more important to mankind than the environment. So we have utilised biodegradable formula in the production of this product. It also contains no petrochemicals or pesticides.' CLAIM 2- PROCESS ORIENTATION

'Unsurpassed concern for the environment. There is nothing more important to mankind than the environment. So 20 per cent of the raw materials used in producing our bottles are post-consumer recycled plastic, and are recyclable.' CLAIM 3- IMAGE ORIENTATION

'Unsurpassed concern for th~ environment. There is nothing more important to mankind than the environment. So we are always committed to making our Earth a better place for ourselves and our children to live in.' CLAIM 4- ENVIRONMENTAL FACT

'Unsurpassed concern for the environment. There is nothing more important to us than the environment. Our natural resources are scarce too; if current consumption rates continue, all virgin tropical forests will be gone within 50 years.' Effectiveness measures Three dependent variables, namely attitudes towards the advertisement (AAd), brand attitudes (BA) and purchase intentions (PI), were included in the research to measure the communication effectiveness. All scales used to measure the communication effectiveness were seven-point semantic differential scales. They were coded in such a

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way that higher scale values indicated more pos1t1ve responses. Attitudes towards the advertisement and brand attitudes were both assessed by requesting respondents to indicate their feelings on three scales anchored by: (1) bad/ good, (2) negative/ positive, and (3) unfavourable/favourable (cf. Davis, 1994a; Seven et aL, 1990). Purchase intentions were measured by three scales having the following anchor points: (1) unlikely/likely, (2) improbable/probable, and (3) impossible/possible (cf. Manrai et aL, 1997).

The pre-test Before conducting the main study, two premises were verified empirically in a pre-test. The first premise concerns whether an antidandruff shampoo really relates to a high involvement purchase, and thus requires a high amount of elaborate thought to make the purchase decision. The second premise concerns whether the two selected countries of origin (i.e. the USA, Japan) have a similar level of development. Since the present study is aimed to treat the source country's green image (SCGI) as a measured variable to reflect consumers' different attitudes at an individual level, it is more appropriate to include countries which share a similar level of development for investigation. If such similarity could be established, it would facilitate the creation of the two-level SCGI factor according to individuals' attitudinal differences instead of nationwide developmental differences (see below). The participants in this pretest were 200 adult respondents (aged 18 or over) selected in Guangzhou, China. To verify the first premise, respondents were asked to express their views on the following two seven-point semantic differential scales (1 =very low; 7 =very high). These two scales concerned: (1) the amount of elaborate thought involved in buying an anti-dandruff shampoo, and (2) the perceived risks involved in buying an anti-dandruff shampoo. To verify the second premise, the respondents were requested to rate each of the two countries according to three dimensions, namely the level of economic development, environmental protection technologies and shampoo manufacturing technologies. Respondents' views on these dimensions were measured on a seven-point scale (1 = very low, 7 =very high). To summarise, the composite involvement score of the pre-test was 5.09 (Cronbach Alpha = 0. 90) with 92 per cent of all the raw scores equal to 4.0 or above. As for the second premise, the relevant paired 361



t-test did not detect any significant difference between the two selected countries on any one of the dimensions at p = 0.05. These pre-test findings provided further support for the appropriateness of the product and countries chosen in this research. Finally, the pre-test was also employed to further assess the appropriateness of the four different types of environmental claims developed above. To this end, the 200 respondents were randomly assigned to four groups of equal size. Each group was then asked to look at one of the four environmental claims and rate its degree of substantiation on a seven-point semantic differential scale (1 = least substantive; 7 =most substantive). The mean substantiation scores for claims representing product orientation, process orientation, image orientation and environmental fact were 5.34, 5.54, 3.66 and 3.34 respectively. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the four mean scores were significantly different at p = 0.00. The post-hoc Scheffe's pairwise comparisons also highlighted that the two substantive claims (product orientation, process orientation) were significantly different from the two associative claims (image orientation, environmental fact) at p = 0.05. On the contrary, no significant difference was detected between the two substantive claims or between the two associative claims. This empirical evidence supplemented the aforementioned experts' opinions and provided further support for the appropriateness of the four test claim types.

The main study The main study was conducted in Guangzhou, one of the most developed and polluted cities in China (East Asian Executive Reports, 1995). There were a total of 800 Chinese subjects participating in the main study. Due to the relative newness of such concepts as environmental protection and green consumption in China, minors (aged under 18) were excluded from the study as they might not be able to fully comprehend the issues under investigation (Chan, 1999). Except for this, the demographic composition (gender, age and education) of the sample was balanced to reflect that of the whole country. Overall, the whole sample had approximately equal numbers of male and female subjects and a median age range of 25-29. In addition, 58 per cent of all the sampled subjects had received high school education or above (cf. China Statistics Yearbook, 1998). As regards the research procedure, all the subjects were first told that the study was aimed to determine their level of interest towards a 362



new anti-dandruff shampoo. The subjects were then randomly assigned to eight groups of equal size. The subjects of each group were requested to view one test advertisement. After viewing the advertisement, they were requested to answer questions concerning the source country's green image (SCGI) and communication effectiveness (i.e. AAd, BA, PI). Relating specifically to the measurement of the source country's green image, subjects' attitudes towards the greenness of the USA or Japan were operationalised by three seven-point (1 = strongly disagree, 7 =strongly agree) statements. These statements were: (1) 'The USA/ Japan is an environmentally friendly country', (2) 'The American/ Japanese government has been doing a lot to improve the ecological well-being of its country', and (3) 'American/Japanese people are, in general, environmentally conscious'. The Cronbach Alpha value for the above three statements was 0.83, which far exceeded the satisfactory threshold of 0.70 (Nunnally, 1978). In view of this, composite scores were calculated from raw scores of these statements to represent the SCGI factor. Moreover, as the pre-test did not detect any significant difference in the level of development between the USA and Japan, composite scores of these two countries were pooled together. By employing the median spilt technique (cf. Manrai et aL, 1997), the two-level (eco-friendly image, eco-unfriendly image) SCGI factor was then created. By crossing the four-level environmental claim-type factor with this two-level factor, the 4 X 2 factorial research design for the main test was constructed accordingly.

RESULTS Reliability tests for dependent variables The scales employed to operationalise the three effectiveness measures (i.e. AAd, BA and PI) were first subjected to the Cronbach Alpha reliability test (Cronbach, 1951). The test rendered Alpha values of over 0.98 for all the three measures. In view of the highly satisfactory Alpha values (Nunnally, 1978), composite scores of these measures were thus compiled to represent the three dependent variables of the 4 X 2 factorial research design.

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Multivariate and univariate analyses Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to test the hypotheses developed above. Since no particular problems relating to normality, linearity or heteroscedasticity were detected for the sample (cf. Hair eta/., 1995), the three effectiveness measures were analysed multivariately using the aforementioned 4 X 2 factorial research design. The multivariate statistics of Table 1 showed that environmental claim type (EC1) and the source country's green image (SCGI) both exerted a significant main effect on all the effectiveness measures at either p =0.00 or p = 0.01. The two factors combined (ECT X SCGI) also demonstrated a significant interaction effect on all the effectiveness measures at p =0.00. To assist interpretation, univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also performed. Save for one exception, the univariate statistics of Table 2 revealed that environmental claim type and the source country's green image exhibited significant main and interaction effects on each of the three effectiveness measures at either p = 0.00 or p =0.02. The exception concerned the main effect of environmental claim type on purchase intentions. Such a main effect was only significant at p = 0.09 instead of at the more conservative 0.05 level. Further insights were also derived from the corresponding post-hoc pairwise comparisons. As observed from the last column of Table 2, TABLE 1 SUMMARISED MANOVA RESULTS (N = 800) Approximate F-value

Factor

Statistics assessing multivariate difference

Environmental claim type (ECT)

Pillai's Trace Wilks' Lambda Hotelling's Trace Roy's Largest Root

2.61 2.62 2.62 6.33

O.ot O.ot

Source country's green image (SCGI)


767.30 767.30 767.30 767.30

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Environmental claim type source country's green image (ECT x SCG I)


13.63 14.34 14.90 42.93

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

X

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Significance level

0.01 0.00


TABLE 2 SUMMARISED UNIVARIATE ANOVA RESULTS (N = 800)


Factor

Dependent Fvariable value

F-significance 'Post-hoc' pairwise comparison level on factor"• b

Environmental claim type (ECI)

AAd BA PI

5.12 3.16 2.19

0.00 0.02 0.09

Product orientation> image orientation Process orientation>image orientation Not significant at p 0.05

Source country's green image (SCGI)

AAd BA PI

1817.75 1152.38 561.66

0.00 0.00 0.00

Eco-friendly image>eco-unfriendly image Eco-friendly image>eco-unfriendly image Eco-friendly image>eco-unfriendly image

Environmental claim type X source country's green image (ECTx SCGI)

AAd BA PI

37.92 23.00 4.63

0.00 0.00 0.00

Analysed in more detail later Analysed in more detail later Analysed in more detail later

=

Notes AAd, BA and PI represent attitudes towards the advertisement, brand attitudes and purchase intentions respectively ' Pairwise test significant at p = 0.05 b Scheffe's test was performed on the four-level environmental claim type factor

the contention (i.e. H~ that the effectiveness between substantive and associative claims is different is not totally conclusive. In summary, only two pairs of claim types were found to be significantly different at p = 0.05. The first pair concerned the significant difference in attitudes towards the advertisement between product orientation and image orientation; whereas the second pair concerned the significant difference in brand attitudes between process orientation and image orientation. Conversely, advertisements with eco-friendly country image were perceived as significantly more effective (at p = 0.05) than those with eco-unfriendly country image in terms of all the three effectiveness measures. This provides strong empirical support for hypothesis 4. To investigate the possible moderating role of country image (i.e. the source country's green image or SCGI), the whole sample was split into the 'eco-friendly image' and 'eco-unfriendly image' subgroups for more detailed analysis. After controlling the country image effect, MANOVA was again performed on each subgroup to examine how different environmental claim types might affect the communication effectiveness. The relevant results are presented in Tables 3 and 4. The upper part of Tables 3 and 4 further demonstrates how environmental claim type influ.enced the three effectiveness measures multivariately

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TABLE 3 INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIM TYPE ON COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS BY CONTROLLING THE COUNTRY IMAGE EFFECT: THE 'ECO-FRIENDLY IMAGE' SUBGROUP (N =400)


(a) Multivariate analysis (MANOVA) Factor


Environmental claim type


(ECT)

Approximate F-value

Significance level

11.02 11.76 12.30 33.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

(b) Univariate analysis (ANOVA) Environmental claim type (mean value) Effectiveness measures

PTO

PSO

10

EF

FF-sig. 'Post-hoc' pairwise value level comparisona

AAd

5.76

5.74

5.05

4.94

30.18

0.00

PTO > 10; PTO > EF; PSO > 10; PSO > EF

BA

5.14

5.24

4.57

4.69

19.60

0.00

PTO > 10; PTO > EF; PSO > 10; PSO > EF

PI

4.11

4.10

3.78

3.95

6.14

0.00

PTO > 10; PSO > 10

Notes PTO, PSO, 10 and EF represent product orientation, process orientation, image orientation and environmental fact respectively AAd, BA and PI represent attirudes towards the advertisement, brand attitudes and purchase intentions respectively Mean values were derived from 7 -point composite scores with higher score values indicating more positive responses ' Scheffe's test significant at p = 0.05

when the country image effect was kept constant. As noted, both the 'eco-friendly image' and 'eco-unfriendly image' subgroups reported a significant multivariate difference at p =0.00. The lower part of Tables 3 and 4 reports the relevant univariate analyses for the 'eco-friendly image' and 'eco-unfriendly image' subgroups respectively. In the first subgroup (cf. Table 3 (b)), different environmental claim types were found to generate significantly different communication effectiveness in terms of attitudes towards the advertisement, brand attitudes and purchase intentions (p = 0.00). The corresponding post-hoc pairwise comparisons also highlighted that in terms of generating positive attitudes towards the. advertisement

366


TABLE 4 INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIM TYPE ON COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS BY CONTROLLING THE COUNTRY IMAGE EFFECT: THE 'ECO-UNFRIENDLY IMAGE' SUBGROUP (N =400)


(a) Multivariate analysis (MANOVA) Factor


Environmental claim type


(EC1)

Approximate F-value

Significance level

4.40 4.55 4.67 14.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

(b) Univariate analysis (ANOVA) Environmental claim type (mean value) Effectiveness measures AAd

BA Pl

PTO

PSO

10

EF

FF-sig. 'Post-hoc' pairwise value level comparisona

2.94 2.96 2.89

2.85 2.92 2.90

3.12 3.17 2.94

3.08 3.36 3.00

10.76 6.96 0.65

0.00 0.00 0.59

EF > PTO; EF > PSO EF > PTO; EF > PSO Not applicable

Notes PT< ), PS< ), 1