An Experimental Evidence on Eco-Friendly Advertisement Appeals and Intention to Use Bio-Nanomaterial Plastics: Institutional Collectivism and Performance Orientation as Moderators

Abstract

Plastic waste management has become a serious environmental and health concern owing to large amounts of plastic deposits globally. Recently, innovative and sustainable solutions have been introduced (e.g., bio-nanomaterial plastics) to overcome the growing environmental threats. Hence, green marketers need to develop effective advertising campaigns to enhance the usage of bio-nanomaterial plastics. Past literature has suggested that cultural value-laden advertising appeals can give sustainable behavioral cues to consumers. Hence, this research unfolds the underlying cultural dimensions between the value-laden eco-friendly advertising appeals and intention to use bio-nanomaterial plastics (henceforth IBP). The present study proposes a moderating model in which two dimensions presented in the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (henceforth GLOBE) framework interact with the individuals’ perception of eco-friendly advertising appeals (henceforth IPEA) to drive bio-nanomaterial plastics usage. The model was tested by conducting an experimental study on a sample of 364 Pakistani consumers. Findings of structural equation modeling show a significant difference in the relationship between IPEA and IBP, which is moderated by the performance orientation (henceforth PO) and institutional collectivism (henceforth IC) dimensions with diverse intensity. These findings validate the effectiveness of PO and IC (as cultural dimensions) and eco-friendly advertisements that can potentially promote the consumption of bio-nanomaterials plastic.