Greenwashing Detection

The main aim of this research paper is to answer the following question: To what extent does the perceived greenwashing knowledge of respondents from Argentina and The Netherlands, affect greenwashing detection in different types of claims in advertisements? To investigate whether the amount of knowledge respondents have between two different countries influences the detection of greenwashing in advertisements, Argentina and The Netherlands were chosen as case studies. This was partially due to the respondent’s different levels of education (different knowledge levels regarding greenwashing) and UAI (Uncertainty avoidance index) scores. With regards to academic relevance, many studies, such as Zhang et al. (2018) and Akturan (2018), suggested in their limitations and future studies suggestions section, that it was necessary to replicate the study across countries and that definitions regarding greenwashing should be more clear cut. Furthermore, the research would therefore societally help both Argentina and The Netherlands regulate and control companies when greenwashing is detected and should help consumers make better future decisions when buying any product which tries to mislead them with regards to sustainability. Three different hypotheses have been formulated: H1: Vague and false claims in green advertising score higher on consumer’s greenwashing detection compared to the true claim. H2a: Dutch consumers score higher on greenwashing perceived knowledge compared to Argentine consumers. H2b: Dutch consumers score higher on greenwashing detection, compared to Argentine consumers. H3: Dutch consumers score higher on greenwashing perceived knowledge and greenwashing detection when presented with advertisements containing false and vague claims, compared to true claim advertisements, than their Argentine counterparts. For this thesis, a mixed (within subject and between) design was used and surveys had been sent to both countries. After analysing the survey’s results, through the use of a mixed ANCOVA repeated measures model, only one hypothesis had been accepted. This being Hypothesis 1, as all data showed that vague and false claims in green advertising scored higher than on greenwashing detection compared to true claim.