The Influence of Voluntary Eco-Labeling on Customer Loyalty: An Empirical Analysis of Success Factors Using the Example of the European Beauty and Personal Care Industry
Schiebold, Anna Lina (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024080224065
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024080224065
Tiivistelmä
Recently, the field of environmental marketing encountered legislative interventions imposed
by the European Union to protect consumers from misleading environmental claims. Ecolabels are used in environmental marketing to communicate credence attributes. Eco-labeling is common in the European Beauty and Personal Industry, which is a competitive and saturated industry. Customer loyalty is a key competitive advantage in competitive and
saturated industries. Existing literature finds a positive effect of eco-labeling on the purchase
decision. However, previous eco-labeling research has only focused on the influence of ecolabeling on the purchase decision. Therefore, this thesis aims at investigating the influence of voluntary eco-labeling on customer loyalty in the European Beauty and Personal Care Industry. Specifically, it aims at revealing the effect of the three eco-labeling success factors (awareness, knowledge, trust) on customer loyalty. The research includes a literature review, as well as the collection of quantitative data through an online survey with 170 respondents. For the statistical data analyses two exploratory factor analyses, two confirmatory factor analyses, and two linear regression analyses were employed. The results of the empirical study reveal that establishing customer loyalty in the examined
industry is challenging. Of the three eco-labeling success factors, only awareness (of ecolabels) shows a significant positive effect on customer loyalty. Three managerial implications were formulated: first, businesses should focus on employing eco-label awareness initiatives such as banners or digital screens at the point-of-purchase; second, QR codes should be placed next to the eco-labels and on the awareness initiatives to monitor the awareness; third, costs and benefits of the awareness initiatives should be carefully balanced and monitored, as the positive effect of eco-labeling awareness on customer loyalty is significant but limited.
by the European Union to protect consumers from misleading environmental claims. Ecolabels are used in environmental marketing to communicate credence attributes. Eco-labeling is common in the European Beauty and Personal Industry, which is a competitive and saturated industry. Customer loyalty is a key competitive advantage in competitive and
saturated industries. Existing literature finds a positive effect of eco-labeling on the purchase
decision. However, previous eco-labeling research has only focused on the influence of ecolabeling on the purchase decision. Therefore, this thesis aims at investigating the influence of voluntary eco-labeling on customer loyalty in the European Beauty and Personal Care Industry. Specifically, it aims at revealing the effect of the three eco-labeling success factors (awareness, knowledge, trust) on customer loyalty. The research includes a literature review, as well as the collection of quantitative data through an online survey with 170 respondents. For the statistical data analyses two exploratory factor analyses, two confirmatory factor analyses, and two linear regression analyses were employed. The results of the empirical study reveal that establishing customer loyalty in the examined
industry is challenging. Of the three eco-labeling success factors, only awareness (of ecolabels) shows a significant positive effect on customer loyalty. Three managerial implications were formulated: first, businesses should focus on employing eco-label awareness initiatives such as banners or digital screens at the point-of-purchase; second, QR codes should be placed next to the eco-labels and on the awareness initiatives to monitor the awareness; third, costs and benefits of the awareness initiatives should be carefully balanced and monitored, as the positive effect of eco-labeling awareness on customer loyalty is significant but limited.