Communicating complex environmental benefits in ways

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the future work and future-work section and stated challenges of the source papers, classified as general, spanning 3 journals.

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• From click to green choice: the influence of social media content type on green consumption intention (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi

  theory posits exhibit significantly greater sensitivity to perceived losses than equivalent gains, with this loss aversion tendency causing systematic dierences in decision-making preferences between gain and that decision-makers loss framing (Stewart et al., 2003). The framing eect, a key derivative concept of this theory, specifically refers to how logically equivalent information triggers distinct psychological responses and behavioral choices when presented through dierent framing approaches (gain/loss orientation) (Tversky and Kahneman, 1981; Lee and Aaker, 2004). This phenomenon provides a crucial theoretical framework for understanding information dissemination mechanisms in the green consumption domain, because green consumption is a typical “cost-benefit trade-o ” decision-making behavior, and consumers’ perception of the gains and losses of green consumption is directly aected by information framing. In green consumption research, scholars typically categorize environmental information into positive and negative messages based on their environmental impact attributes. Positive messages highlight the benefits of green consumption, such as energy eÿciency, cost reduction, and ecological improvement. These messages enhance consumers’ perceived behavioral eÿcacy, evoke positive emotions like pleasure and identification, and ultimately increase their willingness and inclination to participate in green consumption (Laskey et al., 1989; Stadlthanner et al., 2022; Grappi et al., 2024). The core mechanism of positive information is to reduce the perceived cost of green consumption and highlight its tangible benefits, thereby stimulating consumers’ active participation. Conversely, negative messages focus on environmental risks and behavioral losses, such as intensified climate disasters and ecosystem degradation. By triggering consumers’ loss aversion and moral negative emotions like guilt and shame, they create driving forces for environmental behavior under specific circumstances (Maheswaran and Meyers-Levy, 1990; Amatulli et al., 2019). The core mechanism of negative information is to enhance the perceived risk of non-green consumption and arouse consumers’ moral responsibility, thereby pushing them to engage in green consumption. Notably, existing research on framing eects in green consumption remains inconclusive, with some studies failing to identify optimal scenarios for either positive or negative messaging (Ropret Homar and Kneževi´ c Cvelbar, 2021). Evidence suggests that combining both types of information eectively enhances communication persuasiveness by clearly demonstrating the benefits of green consumption while emphasizing the environmental costs of inaction. However, a critical research gap persists: the optimal contexts and target consumer groups for these framing approaches remain unclear. Particularly in social media environments where information is presented through dierent behavioral agents (individuals or groups), the mechanisms linking framing types to behavioral agents and their synergistic eects on green consumption intention require systematic exploration. This gap provides a key research focus for our study: we argue that the eect of information framing is not isolated, but is constrained by the type of behavioral agent, and only the matching combination of the two can maximize the persuasive eect of green information. 2.1.3 Interaction between behavioral agent types and information framework In the context of green consumption communication on social media, there are significant dierences in the information focus and expression logic between individual and group subjects.

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: green consumption information framing behavioral consumers environmental positive negative perceived loss messages losses decision cost
• Economia Comportamental da Sustentabilidade: Vieses Cognitivos e Instrumentos Fiscais Verdes (2026) · Revista JRG de Estudos Acadêmicos · doi

  The paper suggests that future research should focus on investigating the effectiveness of green nudges and motivational reinforcement mechanisms in promoting pro-environmental behavior. The paper also suggests that future research should focus on understanding the interaction between multiple instruments, such as carbon taxes and subsidies.

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 5/5
  Keywords: paper suggests future research focus investigating effectiveness green
• Sustainable Marketing Strategies for Eco-Friendly Brands (2026) · International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology · doi

  Communicating complex environmental benefits in ways that are accurate, comprehensible, and persuasive to consumers - The risk of greenwashing accusations and the importance of substantiating environmental claims - The need for brands to balance economic performance with environmental responsibility and social equity

  generalstated challengesevidence 5/5
  Keywords: communicating complex environmental benefits ways accurate comprehensible persuasive

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