Purpose: In an effort to extend current literature on consumers’ green consumption behavior, this study examines the difference in the effectiveness of green product advertising by types of green attributes: core and peripheral attributes. The relationship between green attributes and ad attitude toward green products is further analyzed through examining the moderating effects of consumer’s regulatory focus and construal level.Research design, data, and methodology: Data are collected through an online/offline survey with a sample of 328 adult consumers. A guideline is given to help participants understand the concept of green goods, and reliability test is performed to check for measurement reliability. Most of the measurement items are borrowed from the literature and measured using a 7-point Likert scale.Results: Results show that ad attitude toward green products presented with peripheral attributes was more positive than core attributes. In addition, it was found that consumers’ regulatory focus and construal level moderate the relationship between green attributes and ad attitudes. Specifically, consumers with a low construal level and prevention focus showed more favorable attitudes toward ad presented with peripheral attributes, while consumers with promotion focus and a high construal level showed no difference in ad attitudes according to the appeal types of green attributes.Implications: Theoretically, this study suggests that consumer responses to green products may differ depending on what type of appeal is presented (peripheral or core), and consumers’ regulatory focus and construal level also play a significant role in explaining consumers’ green consumption behavior. Practically, managers may need to consider the characteristics of consumers when developing marketing strategies for promoting green products and, differentiated market segmentation.
An et al. (2025) studied this question.