Does Viewing Green Advertising Promote Sustainable Environmental Behavior? An Experimental Study of the Licensing Effect of Green Advertising

Current research on consumer behavior of green advertising mostly focuses on advertising attitude or consumer behavior, while few studies have extended the topic to explore the consumers’ behavior after green consumption. The “Licensing effect”, which is a paradoxical side effect of green advertising, has been verified to exist in the consumption context in many countries. This paradoxical effect between cognition and behavior refers to the circumstance that consumers show non-green behavior after green consumption, which is contrary to the original intention of green advertising. However, at present, few scholars have verified and deeply explored that effect in the context of China. This study explores the “licensing effect” of green advertising through two factors: environmental protection cognition and advertising appeal. Through a 2 × 3 experiment, we find that: 1. The licensing effect is applicable in the Chinese consumption context; 2. The licensing effect only exists in individuals with low environmental protection cognition; 3. The appeal mode of green advertising turns out to be an effective moderator, and rational appeal can effectively prevent the licensing effect. This research expands the research scope of green advertising and provides a new vision for the study of consumer behavior in green advertising. In addition, the moderation role of advertising appeal verified by our study has guiding significance for green advertising practice.