The first essay extends Cronin, Brady and Hult's (2000) model of quality, satisfaction and purchase intentions to include the antecedent of environmental responsiveness. The findings support those of Cronin, Brady and Hult (2000) in that there is a positive, direct relationship between quality, satisfaction and purchase intentions. The findings also suggest that environmental responsiveness leads to positive assessments of satisfaction and quality. It is thereby suggested that environmentally responsive organizations' products lead to high quality assessments because "green" products are viewed as being technologically advanced and quality is defined as having technological excellence. Therefore, "green" products, by definition, are perceived to be of high quality. Also, it is suggested that environmentally responsive organizations' products lead to greater customer satisfaction because of individuals' intrinsic motivations to act in the least detrimental way possible. Therefore, "green" products are preferred because they fulfill this response to engage in beneficial activities. The second essay considers the effects of four promotional types (i.e. advertising, public relations, word of mouth and expert testimonials) on the relationships between environmental responsiveness, quality, satisfaction and purchase intentions. The findings suggest that environmental responsiveness has positive affects on quality and purchase intentions, but that the relationships are not highly effected by the different forms of promotion. Advertising, public relations and word of mouth promotions suggest a weak relationship between environmental responsiveness and satisfaction, whereas expert testimonial is the sole promotion to strengthen this relationship. A possible explanation to this finding is the high level of credibility associated with expert testimonials that is not associated with the other forms of promotion. This high level of credibility eases the skepticism consumers' associate with environmental claims, which increases their level of satisfaction with the "green" product. / A Thesis Submitted to the College of Communication in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2009. / April 6, 2009. / Sustainability, Marketing / Includes bibliographical references. / Jay D. Rayburn, Professor Co-Directing Thesis; J. Joseph Cronin, Jr., Professor Co-Directing Thesis; Gary R. Heald, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_180597 |
| Contributors | Bybee, Jacquelyn R. (authoraut), Rayburn, Jay D. (professor co-directing thesis), Cronin, J. Joseph (professor co-directing thesis), Heald, Gary R. (committee member), School of Communication (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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