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The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of ad message framing (self-benefit vs other-benefit messages) and perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) on green advertising effectiveness.

The conceptual framework was borrowed from self-congruity theory and was tested with two between-subject design experiments; PCE was measured in the first study and manipulated in the second.

The findings show that both measured and primed PCE (low vs high) moderate the impact of a green ad’s message framing on consumer responses (i.e. attitude toward the brand and purchase intention). Specifically, an other-benefit message is more effective when consumers perceive that their individual actions can positively influence environmental issues (high PCE). In contrast, a self-benefit message is more effective when consumers perceive that their individual actions might not be enough to influence environmental issues (low PCE). This research also shows that the influence of message framing on consumer responses is mediated by the perceived social responsibility of the company.

This paper offers an outline for designing effective ad campaigns for green products. Managers can determine or manipulate the PCE level of their target market and frame the message in their ad campaign accordingly, which will positively drive perceived social responsibility and, in turn, the ad campaign’s effectiveness.

This paper contributes to both the green advertising and self-congruity literature by showing the moderating effect of PCE on the effectiveness of message framing in green advertising.

In the modern increasingly competitive milieu of cause marketing activities, both profit and nonprofit organizations expect their advocation of prosocial programs to gain the support of target customers. Previous research shows the effect from adding participant's personal attributes or social influence factors. This study considers the effects of benefit incentives and cost/reward influences to enhance prosocial behaviors.

Three between-subject experiments were conducted and SPSS Statistics ANOVA was employed to analyze the experimental results.

Rewarding time delays and prosocial efforts have no significant impact on the relationship between other-benefit incentives and willingness to engage in prosocial behaviors, but do significantly impact the self-benefit incentives condition. However, the negative effect of self-benefit condition can be mitigated by high rewards.

Since prosocial campaigns proposed by organizations in this study include both profit and nonprofit organizations, perhaps two category organization types should be attentively classified to evaluate the effects.

Under social marketing campaigns with self-benefit incentives conditions, the empirical findings of this study show that profit and nonprofit organizations can provide higher reward values to mitigate the adverse effects of high participating costs.

Social marketing campaigns with other-benefit incentives are less affected by high participating costs and highlight the value of altruism.

This study provides valuable suggestions for both profit and nonprofit organizations to use self-benefit/other-benefit incentives under cost related factors influence to encourage customers' prosocial behaviors.

Given that many consumers are skeptical about environmentally based advertising campaigns, the purpose of this study is to propose an optimized message strategy to facilitate consumer engagement with green messages in social media contexts.

Four empirical studies are conducted using self-report questionnaires to test proposed hypotheses with a focus on the interplay between claim specificity and benefit appeals in green advertising on social media.

The current study examines the interaction effects of claim specificity and benefit appeals on consumer engagement in social media. Specifically, the results reveal that when the message claim is abstract, using other-benefit appeals produces more positive consumer engagement than using self-benefit appeals. Moreover, the results illustrate that self-enhancement motivates consumers to engage with green product advertising messages when the advertising appeal is abstract and the advertising message is associated with benefits for others. Finally, it is found that consumers’ self-construal level moderates the interaction effect of claim specificity and benefit appeals type on consumer engagement on social media.

This paper has practical implications to both social media managers and advertisers in the green product industry: a match with advertising claim specificity and construal level (i.e. social distance: self-benefit vs other-benefit) should be ensured to increase consumer engagement on social media. In addition, self-enhancement and self-construal should be considered for a better message strategy in social media contexts.

The findings make important contributions to the literature in that we extend the applications of construal level theory to social media contexts as a valid theoretical tool to identify optimized green message strategies. As such, it provides future researchers and practitioners in the domain of green campaigns with useful guidelines to boost more consumption of green products.

When fast fashion brands launch corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, consumers may consider these brands to behave hypocritically as their business model is generally perceived as being inconsistent with sustainable practices. Built on construal level theory (CLT), this study aims to examine how the benefit appeals that are widely used in CSR initiatives affect perceived corporate hypocrisy and the CSR performance of fast fashion brands.

This study designed an online experiment with a 2 (fashion brand: fast fashion vs. unknown) × 2 (benefit appeal: self-benefit vs other-benefit) stimulus, using a virtual label named “Eco Care” for experimental manipulation. A total number of 298 Chinese consumers participated in the experiment and they answered an online survey.

It was found that the brand types (fast fashion vs unknown) and benefit appeals (self-benefit vs other benefit) did not elicit perceived corporate hypocrisy nor did them directly affect perceptions of CSR performance. However, there was a significant interaction effect of them. That is, fast fashion brand’s CSR performance was judged based on how the brand framed its sustainability claims. A fast fashion brand’s CSR label significantly increased hypocrisy perceptions when the label used a self-benefit appeal and the interactive effect of the fast fashion brand and the self-benefit appeal hindered the formation of a green brand image and brand purchase intentions.

This study adds a body of knowledge to the literature by examining the relationship between benefit appeals and perceived corporate hypocrisy from the perspective of CLT. The findings can help fast fashion marketers better understand the critical role of benefit appeals by acknowledging that the misuse of communication strategies may result in unfavorable consequences, thus ruining their efforts to improve their brand’s image.

Effective flow of data and communication at every stage of a construction project is essential for achieving required coordination and collaboration between the project participants, leading to successful management of the projects. In present scenario, when project participants are geographically separated, adoption of information communication technology (ICT) enables such effective communication. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to focus on ICT adoption for building project management.

It is difficult to quantitatively evaluate the benefits of ICT adoption in the multiple enterprise scenario of building project management. It requires qualitative analysis based on the perceptions of the construction professionals. The paper utilizes interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique to assess importance of perceived benefits and their driving power and dependence on other benefits.

The developed ISM model shows that all the categories of benefits, i.e. benefits related to projects, team management, technology, and organization are inter‐related and cannot be achieved in isolation. But, organization‐ and technology‐related benefits have high‐driving power and these are “strategic benefits” for the project team organizations. Thus, organizations are required to give more attention on strategically increasing these benefits from application of ICT.

This analysis provides a road map to managers or project management organizations to decide that if they are planning ICT adoption for achieving certain benefits then which are the other driving benefits that should be achieved prior to that and also which are the dependent benefits that would be achieved by default.

This paper aims to clarify the relationship between consumer accountability and responses to egoistic and altruistic appeals. It proposes that when consumers’ relationships with others are heightened in the form of accountability, different prosocial message appeals become effective. The study expands the understanding of how marketing may enhance the efficacy of prosocial campaign messages.

The study utilized three online experimental studies to test hypotheses across different population samples and health product categories. Self-benefit and other-benefit appeals were tested to decrease meat consumption (Study 1), increase vaccination intent (Study 2) and purchase oxybenzone-free sunscreen (Study 3). Results provide converging evidence for the proposed interaction between appeal type and accountability.

When consumers believe their choices will be known or discussed with others, they are more persuaded by other-benefit or altruistic appeals. Contrary to some existing research, Study 3 found that when public accountability was heightened, hybrid appeals were less effective than a solely altruistic appeal in generating purchase intent, digital engagement and attitude change, even controlling for social desirability.

Public accountability was manipulated only in an online setting, and future studies should replicate with greater ecological validity. Results inform how scholars, brands and organizations should approach message efficacy in prosocial campaigns, particularly when an individual’s relationship with others may become salient.

The paper includes implications for the development and deployment of various organizational strategies such as changing the appeal depending on where a message will be viewed by consumers. Importantly for digital campaigns, maximum digital engagement arises from an altruistic appeal in a public context.

This paper fulfills an identified need to understand how organizations can successfully encourage prosocial consumer behavior, as well as bridges literature gaps on accountability and appeal efficacy.

Greening existing buildings (GEB) considerably improves energy efficiency of old buildings, along with other benefits, but it is not widely practiced. As a part of a wider study, this paper aims to evaluate the perception of building dwellers/owners on the challenges and motivators to GEB in Brunei Darussalam.

A structured questionnaire survey collected 109 responses from building owners/dwellers. Cronbach's alpha tested the reliability of the data collected. One-sample t-test examined if sample means are consistent with population means. ANOVA examined if different respondent groups significantly agreed on the importance levels of individual factors. Moreover, factor analysis narrowed down the long list of factors in to a smaller number of components.

A set of 30 challenges and 19 motivators of GEB was identified. “Lack of a GEB infrastructure” was identified as the collective key challenge, leading dwellers to recognize lack of support and knowledge and develop wrong perception on GEB. However, “framework of supports,” as a summative motivator, improves knowledge and awareness on GEB, which allows recognizing other benefits and developing a momentum of practicing GEB. Factor analysis suggested a consolidated approach for challenges through six interrelated components, but for motivators to focus on somewhat four independent areas.

House/building dweller/owners' decision is the key to undertake GEB. This study, apparently for the first time, contributes to identifying the challenges and motivators that influence their decision-making.

The aim of this paper is to explore the driving forces and cost/benefit effects of introducing environmental management systems (EMS) and standards in education and nursing in five of the largest Norwegian cities. The relevant standard is the Eco‐Lighthouse program which offers a Norwegian environmental certificate.

Multivariate analyses of data on motivating factors and perceived costs/benefits from reported EMS adoption from a survey going to executives in 391 schools and 87 nursing homes.

The study confirms that EMS adoption is driven by resources and capabilities, rather than simply institutional pressure, and that managers in nursing and education perceive reduced costs and other benefits from EMS adoption. The value added of the Eco‐Lighthouse certification is ambiguous.

Since the study builds on survey data on perceived effects from EMS adoption, a potential limitation is non‐representativeness, although sampled and un‐sampled institutions are similar in relevant respects. Moreover, since data are cross‐sectional, dynamic effects from EMS adoption is difficult to assess.

The paper corroborates results from previous studies. A novelty in the study is its attempt to control for the effect of rationalization and/or social desirability bias in effects reporting. The likely impact of rationalization/social desirability bias is in general positive but not significant in analyses of cost reductions, although both positive and significant in analyses of other benefit effects.

Though public sector organisations have continuously borrowed human resource management practices from the private sector, there seems to be sparse evidence on the effectiveness of financial rewards for public sector employees, especially in developing countries where pay remains low. Therefore, the objective of this research is to test the effectiveness of financial rewards on the job performance of those working in the Maldives civil service from the perspective of a developing country where public sector pay, especially civil pay, remains comparatively low. Additionally, this study tested the mediating effect of organisational commitment on the relationship between financial rewards and job performance.

A cross-sectional study was conducted using quantitative design methodology, whereby data were collected from 341 employees working in the Maldives civil service and analysed using structural equation modelling.

The findings indicate that financial rewards negatively affect civil service employees’ job performance. However, financial rewards improve organisational commitment, which reduces the negative effects, although the effect sizes of the mediator are not very significant.

The results of this study present critical theoretical and practical contributions to public administration researchers on using financial incentives as a mechanism to boost job performance, particularly in developing countries, where salaries and other benefits remain low. Furthermore, it presents practical recommendations for managing employees in the Maldives and other countries, where the public sector is less developed and budget constraints remain a challenge.

In this chapter, the authors present a theoretical model useful for analyzing people’s perceptions of what they should do, should not do, and should be allowed to do at work. These perceptions create powerful motivational forces that shape workplace behavior. The authors describe various aspects of this model – a deonance perspective – as it relates to rights (permissible behavior) and responsibilities (behavioral prescriptions and proscriptions). The authors demonstrate how it offers new insights beyond those available from existing theoretical models, and the authors outline its implications for research and the practice of human resource management.