Co-creation as a tool to develop trustand intention to purchase green products

Abstract

Consumers expect companies to become more ecological conscious and to develop more green alternatives products. However, the skepticism towards companies’ green claims, have putting consumers unwilling to trust and purchase this type of products. Literature shows that co-creation increases levels of trust and intention to purchase among consumers. Individuals tend to have higher levels of attraction towards people with similar attitudes. Furthermore, companies that develop co-creation are perceived as being more consumercentric, causing positive attitudes that will lead to higher intentions to purchase. However there is little information about the impact of co-creation is the green industry. Therefore, this investigation aims to examine if using co-creation in green products will lead to higher levels of trust and intention to purchase. Through an online survey, our findings where that consumers had a higher level of trust as well as higher level of intention to purchase when it was said the product was developed by co-creation than when it was mentioned that the product was only developed by the company. Previous studies had reported that perceived brand greenness causes impact on trust and intention to purchase, however, surprisingly, our results confirm that brand greenness didn’t have any impact. By understanding the outcomes of this study, companies can start using co-creation in the development of green products to foster trust and sales. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Date of Award	15 Jul 2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Cláudia Isabel de Sousa Costa (Supervisor)