Consumers have become much more attentive and demanding about corporate social responsibility (CSR), and companies are now gradually becoming aware that receiving consumer favor could depend on conducting business in a sustainable manner. Moreover, in order to gain returns from their CSR investments, such as company reputation, customer loyalty and customer–company identification, firms must also provide effective communication of their CSR efforts to the consumers. This study explores the potential of packaging color for conveying CSR to consumers, focusing in particular on consumer packaged goods. For this purpose, a quantitative study was conducted on a representative sample of consumers (n = 2000) in the form of a structured questionnaire, administered using face-to-face interviews. Three different stimuli were created through fictitious images of a nonexistent brand product. Only the color of the packaging varied, while all the other graphic elements were left unchanged. The results show that, despite the prevailing association of green with the concepts of sustainability and CSR, it is not the most suitable color to clearly and credibly convey a CSR message to consumers. Thus, it is important to examine whether different colors could serve better to improve the clarity and credibility of CSR claims.

Barchiesi, M.a., Castellan, S., Costa, R. (2018). In the eye of the beholder: Communicating CSR through color in packaging design. JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS, 24(7), 720-733 [10.1080/13527266.2016.1224771].

In the eye of the beholder: Communicating CSR through color in packaging design

BARCHIESI, MARIA ASSUNTA;CASTELLAN, SILVIA;COSTA, ROBERTA
2018-01-01

Abstract

Consumers have become much more attentive and demanding about corporate social responsibility (CSR), and companies are now gradually becoming aware that receiving consumer favor could depend on conducting business in a sustainable manner. Moreover, in order to gain returns from their CSR investments, such as company reputation, customer loyalty and customer–company identification, firms must also provide effective communication of their CSR efforts to the consumers. This study explores the potential of packaging color for conveying CSR to consumers, focusing in particular on consumer packaged goods. For this purpose, a quantitative study was conducted on a representative sample of consumers (n = 2000) in the form of a structured questionnaire, administered using face-to-face interviews. Three different stimuli were created through fictitious images of a nonexistent brand product. Only the color of the packaging varied, while all the other graphic elements were left unchanged. The results show that, despite the prevailing association of green with the concepts of sustainability and CSR, it is not the most suitable color to clearly and credibly convey a CSR message to consumers. Thus, it is important to examine whether different colors could serve better to improve the clarity and credibility of CSR claims.
2018
Pubblicato
Rilevanza internazionale
Articolo
Esperti anonimi
Settore ING-IND/35 - INGEGNERIA ECONOMICO-GESTIONALE
English
Senza Impact Factor ISI
Corporate social responsibility (CSR); CSR marketing; communication tools; consumer packaged goods (CPG); packaging design.
Barchiesi, M.a., Castellan, S., Costa, R. (2018). In the eye of the beholder: Communicating CSR through color in packaging design. JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS, 24(7), 720-733 [10.1080/13527266.2016.1224771].
Barchiesi, Ma; Castellan, S; Costa, R
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2108/176468
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