Understanding How Message Framing and Companies’ Trustworthiness Determine the Effectiveness of Green Marketing Communications

Framing green marketing messages on the possible benefits (versus drawbacks) deriving from the implementation (or not) of a given behavior may significantly influence the effectiveness of this form of communication. Existing research investigated this issue focusing mainly on pro-environmental behaviors implementable by message receivers (e.g., recycling, saving energy). Instead, very little attention has been devoted to the role of message framing from the company side. Thus, it is unknown whether managers should inform consumers about companies’ pro-environmental behaviors using positively-, rather than negatively-framed, messages. The present research demonstrates that, compared to positively-framed messages, negatively-framed messages about a company’s environmental actions appear more likely to trigger positive responses due to an increase in the company perceived trustworthiness. This effect is stronger for environmentally conscious consumers.