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Beyond the Sustainability-Liability Effect: Developing Sustainable Brand Strategies by Understanding Sustainability as an Asset

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Abstract

Arguably more than ever, global societal aspirations are demanding more sustainable consumption and production patterns. However, the “sustainability-liability effect” poses a significant challenge for brand managers: When it comes to product categories in which functionality and strength are key attributes, consumers are likely to equate sustainability with inferior performance. Our experiment with a random German nat. rep. sample reveals promising strategies along the brand-product marketing continuum to eliciting a “sustainability-asset effect” that enhances consumers’ product evaluations. We also find that consumers’ perceived credibility of sustainability claims and generational differences in feeling overloaded vs. reassured are likely to influence the strength of the sustainability-asset effect. Our findings show that sustainability can now be perceived as an asset, if interwoven in an effective brand-product communication strategy.

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Correspondence to Michael Fretschner .

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Appendix: Visual Materials Used in the Study

Appendix: Visual Materials Used in the Study

Fig. A.1
figure a

Strength-dependent product with no sustainability claim treatment (control group), showing two product category-typical effectiveness guarantees. The product shown is fictitious with no reference to an existing all-purpose cleaner (original illustration)

Fig. A.2
figure b

Strength-dependent product showing a product-related sustainability claim and a commensurate verbal message, as well as two product category-typical effectiveness guarantees. The product shown is fictitious with no reference to an existing all-purpose cleaner (original illustration)

Fig. A.3
figure c

Strength-dependent product showing a brand-related sustainability claim and a commensurate verbal message, as well as two product category-typical effectiveness guarantees. The product shown is fictitious with no reference to an existing all-purpose cleaner (original illustration)

Fig. A.4
figure d

Strength-dependent product showing combined (i.e. product- and brand-related) sustainability claims and commensurate verbal messages, as well as two product category-typical effectiveness guarantees. The product shown is fictitious with no reference to an existing all-purpose cleaner (original illustration)

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© 2023 Der/die Autor(en), exklusiv lizenziert an Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature

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Dreyer, J., Fretschner, M. (2023). Beyond the Sustainability-Liability Effect: Developing Sustainable Brand Strategies by Understanding Sustainability as an Asset. In: Schuster, G., Wolter, LC. (eds) Nachhaltiges Markenmanagement. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-42569-2_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-42569-2_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-42568-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-42569-2

  • eBook Packages: Business and Economics (German Language)

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