Research on the Impact of Environmental and Personal Appeals on Consumer Pro-environmental Behaviors

Abstract

As environmental issues such as climate change intensify, promoting pro-environmental behavior (PEB) has become a central global concern. In this context, information appeals that emphasize behavioral outcomes are widely used to encourage sustainable actions. Most existing research compares environmental appeals with personal appeals, but there is still limited systematic analysis of their relative effectiveness. This thesis addresses three key research questions: (1) What are the relative effects of environmental appeals versus personal appeals in promoting PEB? (2) What factors influence the relative effectiveness of these two types of appeals? (3) Through which psychological mechanisms do these appeals affect consumers’ pro-environmental behavior?

To answer these questions, the study first conducted a systematic literature review that synthesized research on environmental and personal appeals and summarized theoretical frameworks related to pro-environmental behavior, providing a foundation for empirical research.

Chapter 3 employed a meta-analysis to integrate 215 effect sizes from 101 studies, systematically comparing the relative effectiveness of personal and environmental appeals in promoting PEB. The results showed that environmental appeals were more effective than personal appeals in promoting behavioral intentions, although no significant differences were found in actual behaviors. Furthermore, key moderators such as outcome type and country-level individualism were identified. The study also showed that combining both appeal types was more persuasive than using personal appeals alone.

The subsequent experimental studies addressed gaps in the literature by focusing on emerging behaviors and information sources. Chapter 4 explored the relative effectiveness of monetary appeals versus environmental appeals on consumers’ decisions to purchase renewed products through four experimental studies. The findings suggested that environmental appeals were more effective in promoting the purchase of renewed products, with perceived product quality mediating this effect. The presence of quality assurance statements was identified as a boundary condition. Chapter 5 examined the effectiveness of personal health appeals versus environmental appeals in promoting organic food purchases in AI recommendation contexts through three experimental studies. The results showed that health appeals were more effective than environmental appeals, with perceived recommendation appropriateness and message credibility serving as mediators. The type of AI recommender played a moderating role.

The theoretical contributions of this thesis are threefold: (1) It advances the academic discussion on the comparative effectiveness of personal versus environmental appeals by identifying moderating factors across different pro-environmental domains; (2) It extends appeal effects to the domain of renewed products, introducing perceived risk theory to explain the impact mechanisms of appeals in this context; (3) It extends construal level theory and impression management theory in the context of AI-driven consumer behavior, identifying information sources as a key moderating factor in the relative effectiveness of health and monetary appeals.

The practical implications of this thesis include: (1) Marketers should tailor appeal types based on consumer cultural backgrounds and decision contexts when designing pro-environmental campaigns; (2) When promoting renewed products, marketers should avoid using monetary appeals without quality assurance statements; (3) Health appeals should be prioritized when promoting organic food, particularly in AI recommendation contexts.

Date of Award	13 Aug 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Xiaoling ZHANG (Supervisor), Liang DONG (Supervisor), Xinyue ZHOU (External Supervisor) & Zhilin YANG (Co-supervisor)