Research

Examining Linkages between

Brand Image and Purchase
Intention of Green Products:
The Moderating Role
of Perceived Benefits
by Komal Nagar & Shivani Rana
Abstract
The present paper examines the moderating effects of perceived benefits by measuring the relationship among attitude
toward green advertising, brand image and consumers' intention to purchase green brands. The present study
enhances our understanding of the moderating role of perceived benefits and extends the existing literature on green
advertising. A dataset of 150 respondents has been used to examine the role of brand image and perceived benefits in
the context of green advertisements. The findings of the study reveal that consumer attitude towards green ads is
partially affected by the perceived benefits associated with such brands. The study also verifies that perceived benefits
do not moderate the relationship between brand image and purchase intention.
Keywords
Green Advertising, Perceived Benefits, Brand Image, Purchase Intention.

Introduction
The past several years have witnessed an explosion in commercial and research activities related to environment,
with focus changing from local problems to more global questions due to an imbalance in the ecological system caused by
excessive human consumption and behavior (Bonini & Oppenheim, 2008). Over a period of time, companies have changed
their attitudes towards environment and consideration for it has gained importance in recent years, leading companies to
carry out their business according to environmental principles.
The changed attitude has motivated enterprises to adapt their business strategies and environmental policies
according to the growing demands from consumers for responsible environmental behavior thereby creating value for
customers in a long-term perspective. Effective marketing techniques provide the information that consumers want and
need to make informed purchase decisions, through messages that communicate benefits of products or services to the
consumer. In recent times, more and more companies have started adopting green marketing practice to minimize wastage
by integrating their activities with the environment. The trend has spread to several countries including India where Indian
companies have become serious about building environmental sustainability into their business practices (Jamge, 2012).
Green marketing initiatives are continuing to grow in popularity, in large part due to the fact that consumers are increasingly
integrating concern for environmental values into their purchase decisions by preferring to buy products which do not have
a detrimental impact on the environment.
In this context, corporations have been pitching green advertising to promote integrated sustainability as opposed
to marketing green products only for green consumer segments. Thus, companies have shown interest in using green

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advertisement as a tool to develop a favorable corporate
identity, focusing particularly on green products
(Killbourne, 1998).
Although it is important to foresee the reaction
of consumers to green communication, it is also
important to find means that would enable to affect their
attitudes towards such green communications more
positively. With the help of the green communication
initiatives, companies hope to positively affect the brand
associations (Del Rio, Vazquez & Iglesias, 2001), i.e. the
perception of brand benefits in the consumers' mind
(Keller, 1998; Grace & O'Cass, 2002) so as to influence the
total meaning of a brand for the consumer. Furthermore,
Dressler & Duhm (2005) state that brand image is a
construct of attitudes that consumers develop over time
toward products. These attitudes are subjective
perception images and all images together form a holistic
and complex brand image.
This indicates that the concept of image is closely
related to the concept of attitudes, i.e. positive or negative
reactions of individuals aroused by a learned or constant
disposition to a specific stimulus (Schlagentweith, 2008).
An essential feature in an image is that it is always
subjective and personal. It is always based on a person's
attitudes and personal values and requirement and it is
not based on any objective truth. It is always a matter of a
personal opinion, in other words, what an individual
person thinks of a particular subject. The image can be,
for example, a country image, a corporate image, or a
brand image, to name a few (Rope & Mether, 2001). Based
on this understanding, one can infer that attitudes are
always directed towards something (e.g. a product or a
brand) and they can only emerge, if the person has had
any information, experience or interaction with this
object.
In this paper, we therefore propose to expand on
the existing framework and present a new scheme by
analyzing consumer's perception of green print
advertisements and how green advertising impacts
consumer's image of a brand and their purchase
intention towards the same.
Review of Literature
To target green consumers, marketers have
adopted different ways, including designing of new
products (Hinds, 1989), repositioning existing products
(Bremner, 1989), creating new corporate image (Iyer &
Banerjee, 1992) etc. The number of companies reacting
to the pro-environmental/green market is increasing for
reasons such as countering competitive green offerings,
preempting against potential regulations and
FIIB Business Review. Volume 4, Issue 2, April - June 2015
Research
“hardening” customer demands (Grant 2008), or
undertaking a complete corporate philosophical change
(Polonsky & Rosenberger 2001). Among the different
marketing activities, most visible in the corporate has
been the explosion in green advertising, both in print and
television media, aiming at positioning itself as a “green”
brand (Kangun et. al., 1991). Unfortunately, this
explosion in green advertising has not been accompanied
by a corresponding growth in the number of scholarly
studies on the subject (Kangun et. al., 1991), perhaps due
to the absence of a framework to clarify what green
advertising specifically signifies.
The role of advertising in informing consumers,
either directly (Grossman & Shapiro, 1984) or indirectly
(Milgrom & Roberts, 1986) about brand attributes
and/or prices, now includes terms such as recyclable,
environmentally friendly, ozone safe, biodegradable etc.
popularizing it as green advertisements and often
exposing consumers to such messages. As a result,
consumers develop feelings and judgments towards such
advertisement claims, which affects their attitude
towards the ad and beliefs about the brand (Batra and
Ray, 1986) and hence their intention to purchase.
Perceived Benefits
According to Cronin & Taylor (1992), consumers
are value driven and organizations need to understand
perceived value to achieve market place advantage.
Creation and transmission of value to the consumer is a
significant factor useful for sustained competitive
advantage in a given hyper competitive environment
(Ekrem & Fazil, 2007). Since perceived value significantly
influences satisfaction, trust and behavioral intentions,
exploring its dimensions can provide insights to
providers in understanding their consumers.
A more detailed analysis of the consumer value
of many environmentally friendly products reveals that
consumers do not generally experience immediate
individual benefit from the fact that a product has a
reduced impact on the environment. In most cases,
consumers will experience an improvement of
environmental quality only when major sectors of the
global population pursue generalized green consumer
behaviour. Thus, the perceived individual customer
benefit might not be a sufficiently powerful motivation to
green purchasing (Belz & Dyllik, 1996).
Several studies have shown that consumers do
take notice of the environmental performance of their
energy provider. For green power customers, their
objective might either be to make sure that their money
does not support unsustainable energy sources or to

contribute to climate protection and growth of renewable
energy in their personal choice (Wustenhagen & Bilharz,
2006). However, other empirical research have found
that people accept mark-ups on the price of green energy
brands because they want to feel better about
themselves, and are not primarily interested in the
objective environmental impact of their decision.
Brand Image (BI)
Brand image is a brand's style and integral brand
reputation, including characters, products, and concept
and how consumers feel about the brand i.e associated
brand-related feelings reflected for a brand within the
consumer's memory (Keller, 1993). Keller (1993)
proposed that brand image could arouse consumer's
association of brand and can influence consumer's
attitude towards it in a positive way (Dodds, Monroe &
Grewal, 1991). While brand benefits are the “personal
value” (i.e., what the consumer perceives the product
attribute will do for them) that consumers associate to a
brand, brand benefits can be classified into functional,
experiential, and symbolic, that motivates the needs that
drive consumption behavior (Park et al., 1986a; Keller,
1993).
Functional brand image, which most likely lead
to purchase intention as such products serve to satisfy
consumer's external consumption demand. It is based on
functional needs, that is, a desire for problem removal
and relate to a product's performance in satisfying this
need, leading to a more positive brand attitude.
Symbolic brand image, brand that emphasizes
satisfying consumer's internal need, for example, symbol
of social status, promotion of self-worth, role definition,
group fitting in, and self identification etc. thus when such
product associations symbolizes associations with
certain groups or individuals or derive a sense of
superiority, self worth and high social status, the attitude
towards such products turns positive.
Experiential brand benefits are based on the
satisfaction of sensory needs (i.e., what it feels like to use
a product), satisfying consumers' internal desire to go
after excitement and diversity and provides consumers
with positive feelings, such as feeling pleasant,
comfortable, or amiable, and consumers' inner demand is
satisfied, leading consumers' attitude towards the brand
to be more positive.
Purchase Intention (PI)
Purchase Intention (PI) refers to the
predisposition to buy a certain brand or product (Belch &
Belch, 2004) or how likely it is that the individual would
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purchase a product (Phelps & Hoy, 1996). The likelihood
that a consumer will buy a particular product results
from the interaction of his or her need for it, attitude
towards it and perceptions of it and that of the company
which produces it (Bradmore, 2004).
A report by the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection (2002) studied that one of the
barriers in the purchase of green products is the lack of
proper green communication, rendering it difficult to
identify and locate green products in the market. One way
to overcome this issue is the application of eco-labelling
(or green labelling) in the product's communication
strategy i.e. advertisement programs, so as to provide the
consumers with information while at the same time
addressing environmental issues.
Although consumers, in general, are concerned
about the environment, the previous literature found that
consumers are extremely price sensitive towards green
products (Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection, 2002) and might be unwilling to pay higher
prices for green products (Ottman, 1992), especially with
the risk of deceptive claims (green washing). Wahid &
Ahmed (2011) proposed a research to determine the
effect of green marketing tools on consumer's actual
purchase behavior and revealed that customer's trust in
eco-label and eco-brand and their perception of eco-
brand show positive and significant impact on their
actual purchase behavior. Also, studies have suggested
that consumers would purchase and are willing to pay
even more for green labeled products (Bigsby & Ozanne,
2002). However, green labeled products also contain
potential dangers and drawbacks, especially when
producers over-claim ecological responsibility or
performance (Cary, Bhaskaran & Polonsky, 2004). Few
researchers have studied and brought to light the
inaccuracy and deceiving communications ensuring that
consumers do not rely on these labels to make purchase
decisions toward green products (D'Souza et al., 2006).
Hypotheses Formulation
Killbourne (1998) studied the corporate
intentions behind going green and proposed that
companies embody in themselves the green marketing
context with the prime intention of developing a positive
Corporate Visual Identity (or Brand Image). Such
intentions have brought a flood of image enhancing green
adverts, thereby stealing the spotlight from the main
issue of manufacturing green products (Killbourne,
1998). Banerjee et al. (1995) proposed in their research
that majority of advertisers in the market are in the race
of promoting their Green Brand Image rather than
65

focusing on the actual environmental benefits of their
product or service.
Perceived
Benefits
Attitude
Brand
towards the
Image
Green Ad
Figure 1 : Graphical presentation of
Hypothesis 1
Also, brand image being a subjective perception
and mental representation of functional and non-
functional information regarding the product or service
(Patterson, 1999), it comes into prominence where it
seems difficult to differentiate among competitive
products or services based on tangible quality features in
the market (Mudambi et al., 1997). Hence, the novel
construct, ''Green Brand Image”, is defined as ''a set of
perceptions of a brand in a consumer's mind that is linked
to environmental commitments and environmental
concerns.''
Such set of consumer perceptions of a brand are
product of brand associations, which are the result of
product attributes and perceived benefits, relating to
underlying motivations (i.e., needs) that drive
Consumption Behavior or Consumer Purchase Intention.
Wessells et al. (1999) suggested that since environmental
attributes of a product are more difficult for a consumer
to assess compared to other easily observable product
attributes, the difficulty in identifying and locating green
products is one of the roughest barriers to green product
purchases. Therefore, it is required to provide the
customers with adequate information while at the same
time addressing environmental issues by apt portrayal of
green advertisements in terms of consumer awareness or
eco-labelling (or green labelling) programs.
H1: Perceived benefits moderate the effect of ad attitude on
Brand Image
Keller (1993) believed that brand image can help
create consumer's inclination towards the brand, and
such attitude towards the brand could enable consumers
to have positive attitude towards it too. Doyle (1994) also
pointed out that for products with better brand image,
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have lower perceived risk, and lower the perceived risk,
higher is the sense of trust consumers have. Hence, more
positive the brand attitude towards products greater is
the purchase intention (Mitchell & Olson, 1981;
Goldsmith, Lafferty & Newell, 2000). Therefore, when a
consumer feels that the image of a product/service is
better, the perceived risk of its failure reduces and lead to
have a positive brand attitude, which when combined
with brand recognition, enhances the purchase intention
of the consumers.
Perceived
Benefits
Brand Image
Purchase
of the
Intention
Green Ad
Figure 2 : Graphical presentation of
Hypothesis 2
Numerous studies in the past have attempted to
model the advertising effects that are assumed to happen
through the flow of casual relationship between (Aad-
Ab), (Aad-PI), and (Ab-PI) (Goldsmith et al., 2000). Also,
Goldsmith et al (2000) proposed that when consumers
possess a positive perception toward a company, it helps
to form his/her positive purchase intention (PI) towards
it because consumer perceptions of the trustworthiness
and expertise of a company are part of the information
they use to judge the quality of the company's products.
H2: Perceived benefits moderate the impact of Brand
Image on Purchase Intention.
Research Design and Methodology
Advertisement Stimulus
To achieve the objective of the study, a real
product advertisement was selected from a list of
products that appeared in print advertisements in Indian
newspapers and magazines. A well known brand Sony, a
manufacturer of world class electronics was chosen for
the experiment. Two different advertisements launched
by Sony Bravia LED Television were selected to represent
different levels of positioning aimed by the company. The
ads represent the environment friendly attributes. The
advertisements were used in the original print form as

launched by Sony, ensuring that the respondents
familiarity with the product, brand and the
advertisements.
Subjects
A total of 150 postgraduate university students
in business administration, from North India,
volunteered to participate in the study. The sample shows
strong internal validity, which is prioritized over external
validity in testing theory (Calder et al. 1982; 1983). Also,
respondents belonged to only one region, thereby
enhancing homogeneity among sample. The post
graduation students, with age demographics ranging 22-
25 were chosen because the product's consumption is
drastically affected by the opinion of the young
consumers. Youngsters make an explicit effort to select
such products, and even if they lack financial soundness
to buy that product, they are the major decision
influencers in this product category.
Procedure
This study uses an experimental design as this
design lends itself to establishing causal relationships
(Hoyle, Harris & Judd, 2002; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001).
All the subjects were first exposed to the green visual
print stimuli and were told that this was a research to
measure attitude of students toward advertising in
general. Next they were given 90 seconds to read the
stimulus ad. Further, they were asked to provide feedback
regarding the stimuli by checking what they thought was
a valid response to each item on the questionnaire. The
questionnaire contained items related to attitude toward
ad, perceived benefits, brand image and intention to
purchase.
Demographic items were also included and the
respondents were allowed to complete the questionnaire
at their own pace. The entire task took approximately 1
hour. The response sheets from each respondent was
compared and analyzed to identify the respondent's
attitude and perception of the advertising appeal.
Data Collection Form and Scale Development
The questionnaire contains a brief demographic
profile and a 7-point scale measuring attitude toward the
ad, perceived benefits, brand image and intention to
purchase. Each construct's development is briefly
discussed as follows.
Perceived Benefits
The perceived benefits scale encompassing the
five major dimensions of benefits was adopted. The five
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dimensions are : experiential, symbolic, social, functional
and appearance enhances. The items used for measuring
the emotional and social benefits were adapted from
Sweeney & Soutar's (2001) scales, whereas symbolic
benefit measurement was taken from Tsai (2005). For
functional benefits measurements, questions were
adopted from Del Rio, Vazquez, & Iglesias (2001) and
were adjusted in order to fit with the context of green
product. To accommodate the special nature of green
products, one functional benefits statement was self
developed in order to suit the definition described by
Park et al. (1986b). A total of 15 questions on perceived
benefits were asked and the respondents responded on a
scale from 1 (completely disagree) to 7 (completely
agree).
Brand Image
Brand image has been conceptualized and
operationalized in several ways (Reynolds & Gutman,
1984; Faircloth et al., 2001). This study referred to
Padgett & Allen (1997), and Cretu & Brodie (2007), and
defined “green brand image” as “a set of perceptions of a
brand in a consumer's mind that is linked to
environmental commitments and environmental
concerns”. The measurement of the green brand image
includes five items, measured on seven-point likert scale.
Purchase Intention
Finally, purchase intention was measured
specifically in the context of green products rather than
adopting a general scale to measure intention to
purchase. Green purchase intention was measured using
a 3- item scale adapted from Li (1997) and utilized by
Chan (2001).
Before the finalization of the questionnaire, pre-
testing of the questionnaire was carried out for
qualitative investigation. Ten percent of the total sample
was administered the questionnaire for this purpose.
Subsequently, the language of some of the questions was
simplified.
Data Analysis
Demographic Profile of the Respondents
The demographic profile constitutes the first
part of the questionnaire including Gender, Qualification
and Age group. Table 1 summarizes the demographic
profile of the respondents.
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insignificant interaction tells us that our presumed

Table 1 : Demographic Characteristics of moderator (experiential perceived benefits) does not
Respondents moderate the effects of the predictor (attitude) on the
S. % of outcome variable (brand image).
Respondent's characteristics
No. respondents
1 Age Group H1(b): Symbolic and Social perceived benefits
Below 20 29.3 from Green Advertisement positively moderate
20-25 68.7 the impact of attitude on Brand Image.
25-30 2.0
2 Gender
Table 3 : Model Summary: Symbolic and Social
Male 43.3
Perceived Benefits as the Moderator
Adju- Std. Error Change Statistics
Female 56.7
Model R R2 sted of the R2
f Sig. F
3 Education R2 Estimate Change change df1 df2 Change
Graduate 54 1 .597a .356 .348 .78866 .356 40.707 2 147 .000
Post Graduate 30 2 .609b .370 .358 .78267 .014 3.258 1 146 .073
Others 16
We focus on the Model Summary shown in SPSS
According to Table 1, males comprised 43.3 % Output. Under Change Statistics, we see that R2 Change is
while 54 % of students were graduates, 30 % post- 0.014 when the interaction variable is added to the
graduate students and remaining 16 % belonged to other predictor and moderator variables. This change is
courses. Out of total 150 respondents, 44 respondents insignificant, F(1,146)= 0.001, p = 0.073. The significant
belonged to the below 20 age group, leaving 103 to the interaction tells us that our presumed moderator
age group ranging 20-25. (symbolic and social perceived benefits) does not
moderate the effects of the predictor (attitude) on the
Testing H1: Perceived benefits moderate outcome variable (brand image).
the effect of ad attitude on Brand Image. H1(c): Functional perceived benefits from Green
The present study used SPSS 17.0 to investigate Advertisement positively moderate the impact
the relationship between brand image (dependent
variable) and attitude towards the ad (independent
of attitude on Brand Image.
variable, with moderating impact of perceived benefits
(moderator).
Table 4 : Model Summary: Functional Perceived
Benefits as the Moderator
H1(a) : Experiential perceived benefits from Adju- Std. Error Change Statistics
Green Advertisement positively moderate Model R R2 sted of the R2
f Sig. F
R2 Estimate Change change df1 df2 Change
the impact of attitude on Brand Image.
1 .627a .393 .385 .76567 .393 47.668 2 147 .000
2 .665b .442 .430 .73695 .048 12.682 1 146 .000
Table 2 : Model Summary: Experiential Benefits
as the Moderator
Adju- Std. Error Change Statistics Examining Model Summary shown in SPSS
Model R R2 sted of the R2 f Sig. F Output, under Change Statistics, we see that R2 Change is
2
R Estimate Change change df1 df2 Change 0.048 when the interaction variable is added to the
1 .574 .330 .321 .80476 .330 36.182 2 147 .000 predictor and moderator variables. The significant
2 .588 .346 .333 .79764 .016 3.635 1 146 .059 interaction i.e. F(1,146)= 12.68, p = 0.000, tells us that our
presumed moderator (functional perceived benefits),
predictor (attitude) and the outcome variable (brand
The Model Summary in Table 2 shows that R2 image) share the linear relationship, meaning there is a
Change is 0.016 when the interaction variable is added to 95 percent chance that the relationship among the
the predictor and moderator variables. The F change is variables is not due to chance. This has become the
insignificant, F (1,146)= 0.001, p = 0.059. This accepted significance level in most research fields.

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H1(d): Appearance enhancer perceived benefits H2(b): Symbolic and Social perceived benefits
from Green Advertisement positively moderate positively moderate the impact of Brand Image
the impact of attitude on Brand Image. on Purchase Intention.
Table 5 : Model Summary: Appearance Enhancer Table 7 : Model Summary: Symbolic and Social
Perceived Benefits as the Moderator Perceived Benefits as the Moderator
Adju- Std. Error Change Statistics Adju- Std. Error Change Statistics
Model R R2 sted of the R2
f Sig. F Model R R2 sted of the R2
f Sig. F
R2 Estimate Change change df1 df2 Change R2 Estimate Change change df1 df2 Change
1 .578a .334 .325 .80239 .334 36.831 2 147 .000 1 .617a .381 .373 1.00686 .381 45.268 2 147 .000
2 .595 b
.355 .342 .79220 .021 4.807 1 146 .030 2 .618 b
.381 .369 1.01010 .000 .057 1 146 .812

Examining Model Summary shown in SPSS
Output, under Change Statistics, we see that R2 Change is
0.021 when the interaction variable is added to the
predictor and moderator variables. The significant
interaction i.e. F(1,146)= 4.8, p = 0.030, which is less than
0.05, tells us that our presumed moderator (functional
perceived benefits), predictor (attitude) and the outcome
variable (brand image) share a linear relationship. This
Statistical significance at a .05 level means there is a 95
percent chance that the relationship among the variables
is not due to chance.
Testing H2: Perceived benefits moderate
the impact of Brand Image on Purchase
Intention.
H2(a): Experiential perceived benefits positively
moderate the impact of Brand Image on
Purchase Intention.
Table 6 : Model Summary- Experiential Benefits
as the Moderator
Change Statistics
Adju- Std. Error
Model R R2 sted of the R2
f Sig. F
R2 Estimate Change change df1 df2 Change
1 .621a .386 .377 1.00324 .386 46.125 2 147 .000
2 .621b .386 .373 1.00667 .000 .001 1 146 .970
We focus on the Model Summary shown in SPSS
Output. Under Change Statistics, we see that R2 Change is
0.00 when the interaction variable is added to the
predictor and moderator variables. This change is
insignificant, F(1,146)= .001, p = 0.970. The significant
interaction tells us that our presumed moderator
(experiential perceived benefits) does not moderate the
effects of the predictor (brand image) on the outcome
variable (purchase intention).
Again, under the changed statistics, we can see
that the R2 change is 0.00 when the interaction variable is
added in model to the predictor and moderator variables.
This change is completely insignificant, p = 0.812. The
interaction tells us that our presumed moderator
(symbolic and social perceived benefits) insignificantly
moderates the effects of the predictor (brand image) on
the outcome variable (purchase intention).
H2(c): Functional perceived benefits positively
moderate the impact of Brand Image on
Purchase Intention.
Table 8 : Model Summary: Functional Perceived
Benefits as the Moderator
Change Statistics
Adju- Std. Error
Model R R2 sted of the R2
f Sig. F
R2 Estimate Change change df1 df2 Change
1 .614a .377 .368 1.01053 .377 44.405 2 147 .000
2 .614b .377 .364 1.01378 .000 .060 1 146 .806
Again, under the changed statistics, we can see
that the R2 change is 0.00 when the interaction variable is
added in model to the predictor and moderator variables.
This change is completely insignificant, p = 0.806. The
interaction tells us that our presumed moderator
(functional benefits) insignificantly moderates the
effects of the predictor (brand image) on the outcome
variable (purchase intention).
H2(d): Appearance enhancer perceived benefits
positively moderate the impact of Brand Image
on Purchase Intention.

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Table 9 : Model Summary: Appearance Enhancer
Perceived Benefits as the Moderator
Adju- Std. Error Change Statistics
Model R R2 sted of the R2
f Sig. F
R2 Estimate Change change df1 df2 Change
1 .624a .389 .381 1.00020 .389 46.854 2 147 .000
2 .626b .391 .379 1.00193 .002 .492 1 146 .484
Again, under the changed statistics, we can see
that the R2 change is 0.02 when the interaction variable is
added in model to the predictor and moderator variables.
This change is completely insignificant, p = 0.484. The
interaction tells us that our presumed moderator
(appearance enhancing benefits) insignificantly
moderates the effects of the predictor (brand image) on
the outcome variable (purchase intention).
Discussion
Firstly, in the context of the first hypothesis, the
proposition that the impact of attitude towards the ad on
brand image is significantly moderated by perceived
benefits in terms of experiential, symbolic and social,
functional and appearance enhancer is partially
accepted. The results of the study reveal that consumer
attitude towards green ads is partially affected by the
perceived benefits associated with such brands. Detailed
analysis of individual factors of perceived benefits having
an impact between brand image and attitude toward the
ad reveals that even though the experiential and symbolic
benefits are completely overlooked by the consumers,
the functional benefits and appearance enhancing
benefits do share a linear relationship with the brand
image of the green product. This linear relationship and
its strength reveals that the consumer though might not
be interested in the greenness of the product, but if the
green product is loaded with functional benefits or some
features that may enhance the consumer's image in terms
of status and personality, the consumer can be reeled in.
Therefore a company can enjoy a positive brand image
which is need of the hour due to an ever increasing
awareness among consumer regarding the damage to the
natural resource which needs to be curbed.
Analysis of the second hypothesis, proposing the
moderated impact of perceived benefits between brand
image and purchase intention relation is rejected,
revealing the lack of acceptance among consumers. Even
if the consumer is wooed by the functional or appearance
enhancing benefits of the green product, they are
skeptical about the purchase of such products. The lack of
faith among consumers might be due to the rise of green
washing effect.
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Research
Managerial Implications
The study analyses the impact of attitude
towards green ad on brand image and intention to
purchase, moderated by the role of perceived benefits,
which was further factorized into experiential, symbolic
and social, functional and appearance enhancing
benefits. The study undertakes a profound review of
green print advertising in the context of high involvement
product categories of an already existing brand i.e Sony
Bravia. The effectiveness of the ad in terms of attitude
towards the ad and brand image is explored, moderated
by the effect of perceived benefits and the relationship
between attitude towards the ad, brand image and
perceived benefits.
The results of the present study provides an
understanding of specific aspects of small town youth
consumer's behavior and thus provide practitioners an
understanding of how the use of green print advertising
for the products with high involvement, which can result
in varying degrees of consumer's attitude toward
advertising (Aad) and their effect on the image of the
brand (BI).
The research findings may help advertisers,
marketers to understand what key factors would help
implement successful green advertisements in the
competitive market. These results are likely to help
academicians and marketers to collect information and
plan appropriate competitive advertising strategies. This
study will generate scope for other advertisers, who were
earlier not into the practice of environmental advertising,
especially in the Indian context.
Furthermore, it is very important to understand
the attitude dimensions from consumer's point of view,
and how these attitudes affect the image dimensions of a
brand. Knowledge of this may assist managers to develop
a marketing strategy based on consumer's perceptions
and meanings of the product, especially for the marketers
who are new to the market competition. The results of the
study provides useful insights into the minds of young
consumers and helps marketers with new unknown
brands, planning to sweep the market with the green
bow.
In the light of the growing demand for
environmentally-friendly consumer products and
increasing visibility of green advertisements, this
research sought to explore the concept of green
communication in the print media. It investigated the
'green' concept from the consumer's point of view,
tapping participant's perceptions of green ads in addition
to looking into their attitudes and beliefs about green ads
and the extent to which these attitudes could be

translated into actual brand building and consumption.
This study adopted a consumer perspective, offering a
wide spectrum of insights into the green advertising
phenomenon, supporting the view that an initially niche
trend which captured the hearts and minds of a narrow
group of environmentally-conscious consumers is here
to stay and has penetrated mainstream audiences.
Marketers need to understand that
environmental claims must not be overstated or
unrealistic expectations must not be established, and that
communication must be simple and through sources that
people trust. Though Indians lack sufficient knowledge
about environmental issues, there is a generally high
concern for the environment and Indians score very high
on environmentally friendly behavior, especially with
respect to conservation of resources and decision to
purchase green products (Jain & Kaur, 2004). Marketers
need to position their brands through promotion of their
green credentials and achievements or by publicizing
stories of the company's and employees' green initiatives.
Green communication strategies should be aimed at
changing consumer attitudes as consumers place more
trust in well-known and safe products and are a lot more
demanding regarding eco-friendly products (Pickett-
Baker & Ozaki, 2008).
Limitations and Future Research
There are some limitations of this study. Firstly,
the sampling frame for this study was limited only to a
small group of undergraduate, graduate and post
graduate students as subjects. Therefore, results must be
used with caution. Consequently, the results of this study
are not capable of generalization to all populations of
consumers, as the target population consisted largely of
young college students below the age of twenty-five,
thereby encountering only a fraction of actual
population. Therefore, there is a need for further
research taking multiple exposures into account with
more real existing brands, involving a larger and much
heterogeneous sample. Also, the use of only one media i.e.
print is assessed; while new advertising media such as
mobile and internet bringing evolutionary changes to the
way marketers reach the consumers have not been put
into consideration. The responses of the youngsters to
more tech-savvy media need to be put under
consideration. Thus, further research should be
conducted to reveal whether differences in media type
can influence our integrative model.
FIIB Business Review. Volume 4, Issue 2, April - June 2015
Research
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Author Profile

Dr. Komal Nagar is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in The Business School, University of Jammu, Jammu. Her major research interests are in the
area of advertising and marketing communications. Her research work has appeared in Vikalpa (IIM-Ahmedabad), Management Review (IIM-
Bangalore), Vision (MDI-Gurgaon), NICE Journal of Business and Journal of Services Research. She has presented research papers in various national
and international conferences within and outside the country. She can be reached at komalnagar@rediffmail.com

Ms. Shivani Rana, is a Senior Research Fellow in The Business School, University of Jammu, Jammu. She is currently pursuing her doctorate on Green
Marketing. Her research interests include advertising and consumer behavior. Her research work has been published in International Journal of
Management and Development Studies and she has presented research papers at several conferences. She can be reached at 2701shivani@gmail.com

FIIB Business Review. Volume 4, Issue 2, April - June 2015