From green advertising to sustainable behavior: a systematic literature review through the lens of value-belief-norm framework

Abstract

In the current ecological context, advertising and communication emerge as valuable tools for raising awareness and encouraging sustainable behavior. For this communication to be effective, it is necessary to understand the process through which a green message translates into sustainable decisions and how it interacts with individuals’ pro-environmental predispositions and intrinsic motivations. From this perspective, we conducted a systematic review of the literature linking two bodies of research related to the effectiveness of green advertising, on the one hand, and the determinants of pro-environmental behavior, on the other. The main contribution of this article is the development of a conceptual framework that is specific to green advertising. This framework combines the stages of cognitive processing of persuasive messages and the value-belief-norm theory of environmentalism, as well as other internal and external factors (e.g. personal capabilities, contextual factors, and affective variables). Based on our results, we identify gaps and opportunities for future research.