European Journal of Business Science and Technology 2025, 11(1):5-22 | DOI: 10.11118/ejobsat.2025.001

Influence of Product Price on Consumer Perceptions of the Authenticity of Sustainability Labels

Julian Hoesen1
1 Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic

In the German-speaking food market, a significant gap exists between consumer preference for sustainable options and purchasing behavior, primarily due to skepticism about the authenticity of sustainability claims. In a study involving 368 participants from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the influence of price on the perceived authenticity of sustainability labels was examined. Participants were surveyed on their explicit attitudes, while their implicit attitudes were assessed using the implicit association test (IAT). Results show that a higher price significantly improves the perception of a product's authenticity. Socioeconomic factors, such as nationality and gender, are significant, with Swiss nationality and female gender showing strong correlations with higher perceived authenticity. This study uniquely examines initial attitudes and reactions to reflect heuristic consumption decisions. Insights can be used to develop pricing and marketing strategies tailored to different markets and target groups, effectively addressing consumer skepticism through targeted communication and pricing.

Keywords: sustainability, labelling, communication
JEL classification: M30, M31, M37

Received: May 9, 2024; Revised: December 20, 2024; Accepted: January 3, 2025; Published: June 30, 2025  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Hoesen, J. (2025). Influence of Product Price on Consumer Perceptions of the Authenticity of Sustainability Labels. European Journal of Business Science and Technology11(1), 5-22. doi: 10.11118/ejobsat.2025.001
Download citation

References

  1. Ammann, J., Arbenz, A., Mack, G., Nemecek, T. & El Benni, N. 2023. A Review on Policy Instruments for Sustainable Food Consumption. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 36, 338-353. DOI: j.spc.2023.01.012 Go to original source...
  2. Arouri, M., El Ghoul, S. & Gomes, M. 2021. Greenwashing and Product Market Competition. Finance Research Letters, 42, 101927. DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2021.101927 Go to original source...
  3. Bastounis, A., Buckell, J., Hartmann-Boyce, J., Cook, B., King, S., Potter, C., Blanchi, F., Rayner, M. & Jebb, S. A. 2021. The Impact of Environmental Sustainability Labels on Willingness-to-Pay for Foods: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Discrete Choice Experiments. Nutrients, 13 (8), 2677. DOI: 10.3390/nu13082677 Go to original source...
  4. Bibliographisches Institut. 2017. Duden: Die Deutsche Rechtschreibung. Berlin: Bibliographisches Institut.
  5. Bickart, B. A. & Ruth, J. 2012. Green Eco-Seals and Advertising Persuasion. Journal of Advertising, 41 (4), 53-69. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2036977 Go to original source...
  6. BÖLW. 2023. Anteil von Bio-Lebensmitteln am Lebensmittelumsatz in Deutschland in den Jahren 2011 bis 2021 [online]. Available at: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/360581/umfrage/marktanteil-von-biolebensmitteln-in-deutschland/
  7. Bundesamt. 2024a. Ergebnis Zensus 2022 - Demografie. Wiesbaden: Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder.
  8. Bundesamt. 2024b. Ergebnisse des Zensus 2022 - Bildung und Erwerbstätigkeit. Wiesbaden: Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder.
  9. Bundesamt für Statistik. 2023. Wirtschaftliche und soziale Situation der Bevölkerung [online]. Bundesamt für Statistik.
  10. Bundesverband. 2022. Label online [online]. Available at: https://label-online.de/
  11. Capgemini Research Institute. 2020. How Sustainability is Fundamentally Changing Consumer Preferences [online]. Available at: https://www.capgemini.com/de-de/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/07/Final-Web-Report-Sustainability-In-CPRD.pdf
  12. Carmela Aprile, M. & Punzo, G. 2022. How Evironmental Sustainable Labels Affect Food Choices: Assessing Consumer Preferences in Southern Italy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 332. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.130046 Go to original source...
  13. Caswell, J. A. & Mojduszka, E. M. 1996. Using Informational Labeling to Influence the Market for Quality in Food Products. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 78 (5), 1248-1253. DOI: 10.2307/1243501 Go to original source...
  14. Choi, S. & Feinberg, R. A. 2018. The LOHAS Lifestyle and Marketplace Behavior. In Handbook of Engaged Sustainability. Springer, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-53121-2_10-1 Go to original source...
  15. Cook, B., Costa Leite, C., Rayner, M., Stoffel, S., van Rijn, E. & Wollgast, J. 2023. Consumer Interaction with Sustainability Labelling on Food Products: A Narrative Literature Review. Nutrients, 15 (17), 3837. DOI: 10.3390/nu15173837 Go to original source...
  16. Darby, M. R. & Karni, E. 1973. Free Competition and the Optimal Amount of Fraud. The Journal of Law and Economics, 16 (1), 67-88. DOI: 10.1086/466756 Go to original source...
  17. Deloitte. 2023. Consumer Insights 2023: Sustainability [online]. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/de/de/pages/consumer-business/articles/consumer-insights-2023-sustainability.html
  18. Duden. 2022. Synonyms [online]. Available at: https://www.duden.de/
  19. Edelman. 2022. Edelman Trust Barometer [online]. Available at: https://www.edelman.com/trust/2022-trust-barometer.
  20. Garcez de Oliveira Padilha, L., Malek, L. & Umberger, W. J. 2021. Sustainable Meat: Looking through the Eyes of Australian Consumers. Sustainability, 13 (10), 5398. DOI: 10.3390/su13105398 Go to original source...
  21. GfK. 2024. Umsatzanteil von Discountern im Lebensmitteleinzelhandel in Deutschland in den Jahren 2020 bis 2023.
  22. GIM. 2020. Ergebnisse: VKE-Nachhaltigkeitsstudie [online]. Available at: https://www.g-i-m.com/_Resources/Persistent/050b843cc8fb76d6ca2e6c2b7e2b241a372155d3/GIM-VKE-Nachhaltigkeitstudie-2020.pdf
  23. Gorton, M., Tocco, B., Yeh, C.-H. & Hartmann, M. 2021. What Determines Consumers' Use of Eco-Labels? Taking a Close Look at Label Trust. Ecological Economics, 189. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107173 Go to original source...
  24. Greenwald, A. G., Nosek, B. A. & Banaji, M. R. 2003. Understanding and Using the Implicit Association Test: I. An Improved Scoring Algorithm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85 (2), 197-216. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.197 Go to original source...
  25. Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E. & Schwartz, J. L. K. 1998. Measuring Individual Differences in Implicit Cognition: The Implicit Association Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74 (6), 1464-1480. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1464 Go to original source...
  26. Gutierrez, A. M. J., Chiu, A. S. F. & Seva, R. 2020. A Proposed Framework on the Affective Design of Eco-Product Labels. Sustainability, 12 (8), 3234. DOI: 10.3390/su12083234 Go to original source...
  27. Hong, Y., Al Mamun, A., Masukujjaman, M. & Yang, Q. 2024. Sustainable Consumption Practices among Chinese Youth. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11. DOI: 10.1057/s41599-024-03582-5 Go to original source...
  28. Hughner, R. S., McDonagh, P., Prothero, A., Shultz, C. J. & Stanton, J. 2007. Who Are the Organic Food Consumers? A Compilation and Review of Why People Purchase Organic Food. Consumer Behaviour, 6 (2-3), 94-110. DOI: 10.1002/cb.210 Go to original source...
  29. Jahn, S. 2018. Wie verarbeiten Verbraucher Nährtwertinformationen? In Teitscheid, P., Langen, N., Speck, M. & Rohn, H. (eds.). Nachhaltig außer Haus essen, pp. 305-314). Oekom.
  30. Li, S. & Kallas, Z. 2021. Meta-Analysis of Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Food Products. Appetite, 163. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105239 Go to original source...
  31. Marette, S., Messéan, A. & Millet, G. 2012. Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Eco-Friendly Apples Under Different Labels: Evidences from a Lab Experiment. Food Policy, 37 (2), 151-161. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2011.12.001 Go to original source...
  32. Nielsen, GfK, BÖLW, bioVista & BNN. 2023. Statista [online]. Available at: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/4109/umfrage/bio-lebensmittel-umsatz-zeitreihe/
  33. Parker, C., Carey, R., Haines, F. & Johnson, H. 2021. Can Labelling Create Transformative Food System Change for Human and Planetary Health? A Case Study of Meat. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 10 (12), 923-933. DOI: 10.34172/ijhpm.2020.239 Go to original source...
  34. Pennington, C., Ploszajski, M., Mistry, P., Ngombe, N., Back, C., Parsons, S. & Shaw, D. J. 2023. Relationships between the Race Implicit Association Test and Other Measures of Implicit and Explicit Social Cognition. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1197298 Go to original source...
  35. Rivera-Toapanta, E., Kallas, Z., Èandek-Potokar, M., Gonzalez, J., Gil, M., Varela, E., Faure, J., Cerjak, M., Ur¹ka, T., Aquilani, C., Lebret, B., Karolyi, D., Pugliese, C. & Gil, J. M. 2022. Marketing Strategies to Self-Sustainability of Autochthonous Swine Breeds from Different EU Regions: A Mixed Approach using the World Café Technique and the Analytical Hierarchy Process. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 37 (1), 92-102. DOI: 10.1017/S1742170521000363 Go to original source...
  36. Schmuck, D., Matthes, J. & Naderer, B. 2018. Misleading Consumers with Green Advertising? An Affect-Reason-Involvement Account of Greenwashing Effects in Environmental Advertising. Journal of Advertising, 47 (2), 127-145. DOI: 10.1080/00913367.2018.1452652 Go to original source...
  37. Schoenheit, I. 2014. Corporate Social Resposibility und Konsumenten. In Hilty, R. M. & Henning-Bodewig, F. (eds.). Corporate Social Responsibility: Verbindliche Standards des Wettbewerbsrechts?, pp. 41-48. Heidelberg: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-54005-9_5 Go to original source...
  38. Schütz, K., Klüsener, K. & Mergenthaler, M. (2021). Opportunities and Risks of Market Differentiation Through Innovative Supply Relationships for More Animal Welfare and Sustainability in Agricultural Livestock Farming in North Rhine-Westphalia from the Perspective of Industry Representatives. Berichte uber Landwirtschaft, 99 (1). DOI: 10.12767/buel.v99i1.318 Go to original source...
  39. SoSci. 2022. Impliziter Assoziationstest (IAT) [online]. Available at: https://www.soscisurvey.de/help/doku.php/de:create:questions:iat
  40. Statistics Austria. 2024. Results of the Register-based Census.
  41. United Nations. 2023. Achieving SDG 12: Bridging the Intent-Action Gap among Young Consumers.
  42. Van Loo, E. J., Caputo, V., Nayga, R. M. & Verbeke, W. 2014. Consumers' Valuation of Sustainability Labels on Meat. Food Policy, 49 (1), 137-150. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.07.002 Go to original source...
  43. Vaude & Appinio. 2023. Hast du bereits von dem Begriff "Greenwashing" gehört? [online]. Available at: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1418561/umfrage/umfrage-zur-bekanntheit-des-begriffs-greenwashing-in-deutschland/
  44. Vega-Zamora, M., Torres-Ruiz, F. J. & Parras-Rosa, M. 2018. Towards Sustainable Consumption: Keys to Communication for Improving Trust in Organic Foods. Journal of Cleaner Production, 216, 511-519. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.129 Go to original source...
  45. Ziesemer, F., Hüttel, A. & Balderjahn, I. 2021. Young People as Drivers or Inhibitors of the Sustainable Movement: The Case of Anti-Consumption. Journal of Consumer Policy, 44, 427-453. DOI: 10.1007/s10603-021-09498-x Go to original source...

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.