Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/317853 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Citation: 
[Journal:] Marketing Letters [ISSN:] 1573-059X [Volume:] 35 [Issue:] 4 [Publisher:] Springer US [Place:] New York [Year:] 2024 [Pages:] 589-602
Publisher: 
Springer US, New York
Abstract: 
Abstract Do true cost campaigns (TCCs)—which display prices at the point of purchase that include social and environmental negative externalities—nudge consumers toward more expensive sustainable products? From a theoretical point of view, the answer is promising: Communicating true costs means introducing external reference prices that provide a benchmark for consumers to assess price acceptability. Showing true costs triggers a general reference to the price of sustainability, and the higher price of sustainable products becomes at least partially explained by their lower “hidden costs” (i.e., costs to compensate for all environmental and social impacts). In two empirical studies, we demonstrate that for TCCs to be effective, the hidden costs for the sustainable products must be lower than those for the conventional alternatives. Interestingly, under this condition, TCCs have an effect in markets characterized by a larger (study 1) and a smaller (study 2) green gap. In both studies, we find that increased perceived price fairness explains the effect of TCCs, as measured by the relative preference for the sustainable compared to the conventional product. In addition, we see that the price difference between the two products plays a significant role in forming this preference judgment, independent of other factors included in the model and especially independent of TCC.
Subjects: 
True costs of products
Sustainable consumption
Dual role of price
External reference prices
Price fairness
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version
Appears in Collections:

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.