Abstract
Green brand advocacy, a unique phenomenon wherein regular customers champion environmentally conscious businesses, constitutes a vital extension of pro-environmental goals. This research extends prior research in green marketing by investigating the interplay between environmental activists and brands. Specifically, this research delves into the influence of attributing human-like qualities to nature and specific emotions evoked by nature on green brand advocacy in the scope of environmental activism. The research adopts the Simulation Theory to frame five pivotal concepts: nature anthropomorphism, ecological injustice, nature love, green trust, and green brand advocacy. Employing purposive sampling, this research gathered data from 303 environmental activists in Indonesia. A two-step analysis, utilizing the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) via SPSS and AMOS software, was conducted to interpret the data. This research yields several theoretical contributions: firstly, nature anthropomorphism indirectly affects green brand advocacy through its positive relationship with ecological injustice and nature love. Secondly, this research uncovers that green trust negatively moderates the relationship between ecological injustice and green brand advocacy, emphasizing the need to effectively manage green trust to foster pro-environmental behaviors. The findings also carry noteworthy managerial implications: Businesses targeting environmental activists should customize their marketing content to align with activists’ anthropomorphic perspective of nature. However, businesses must also consider the potential adverse effects of green trust in their green marketing campaigns. Therefore, a balanced approach is advised, focusing on cultivating customer trust while promoting eco-friendly products. Overall, this research sheds light on the determinants influencing green brand advocacy in the context of environmental activism.
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Syahrivar, J., Manurung, S.P., Genoveva, G. et al. Advocating for mother nature: the roles of anthropomorphism, nature-evoked emotions and trust. Int Rev Public Nonprofit Mark (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-023-00390-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-023-00390-6