Greenwashing Awareness and Consumer Behavior among Economics Students
Abstract
In the context of increasing global concerns for sustainability and the proliferation of unfounded environmental claims in commercial communication, greenwashing represents an increasingly relevant challenge for consumers and regulatory institutions. This study analyzes the level of awareness of greenwashing practices in the agri-food sector among economics students in the Republic of Moldova, assessing the extent to which current economics education prepares them to identify deceptive commercial tactics and adopt responsible consumption behaviors. Through a structured questionnaire administered to a sample of 235 students aged 18-25 from economics faculties, the study measures greenwashing awareness, consumer confusion and purchase intention for organic products, using multiple regression techniques and mediation models. The results indicate that 92% of respondents correctly identify greenwashing practices, but the correlation between confidence in one's own abilities and actual performance is insignificant (r = 0.074), suggesting a Dunning-Kruger effect specific to this field. The perception of the benefits of organic products is the strongest predictor of purchase intention (r = 0.59), and awareness of greenwashing amplifies, not diminishes, the motivation to purchase authentic green products. Gender differences reveal significantly higher scores in women regarding the perception of ecological benefits, with no differences in detection ability. 63.8% of students support the introduction of courses dedicated to responsible marketing in the university curriculum. The study contributes to the specialized literature by highlighting a metacognitive paradox in economic education in emerging economies: the deficit of students is not cognitive, but resides in the lack of confidence in the skills already formed, providing empirical arguments for the curricular reform in economic education in the Republic of Moldova.
References
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Margariti, K., Hatzithomas, L., & Boutsouki, C. (2024). Elucidating the gap between green attitudes, intentions, and behavior through the prism of greenwashing concerns. Sustainability, 16(12), 5108. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16125108
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Promalessy, R., & Handriana, T. (2024). How does greenwashing affect green word of mouth through green skepticism? Empirical research for fast fashion business. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2389467. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2389467
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Timofei, O., Perciun, R., & Iordachi, V. (2025). Greenwashingul – amenințare în dezvoltarea durabilă a sectorului agroalimentar moldovenesc [Greenwashing: A threat to sustainable development in Moldova's agri-food sector]. Vector European, (2), 161–169. https://doi.org/10.52507/2345-1106.2025-2.25
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Wang, H., Ma, B., & Bai, R. (2019). The spillover effect of greenwashing behaviours: An experimental approach. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 38(3), 283–295. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-01-2019-0006
West, S. G., Finch, J. F., & Curran, P. J. (1995). Structural equation models with nonnormal variables: Problems and remedies. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 56–75). Sage.
Wickham, H. (2016). ggplot2: Elegant graphics for data analysis. Springer-Verlag. https://ggplot2.tidyverse.org
Álvarez-García, O., & Sureda-Negre, J. (2023). Greenwashing and education: An evidence-based approach. The Journal of Environmental Education, 54(4), 265–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2023.2238190
Apostolopoulos, N., Makris, I., Deirmentzoglou, G., & Apostolopoulos, S. (2025). The impact of greenwashing awareness and green perceived benefits on green purchase propensity: The mediating role of green consumer confusion. Sustainability, 17(14), 6589. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146589
Arayess, S., & de Boer, A. (2022). How to navigate the tricky landscape of sustainability claims in the food sector. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 13(4), 643–664. https://doi.org/10.1017/err.2022.6
Astuti, K. D., Zulfikar, R., Uzliawati, L., & Mulyasari, W. (2025). A bibliometric analysis of greenwashing research: Evolution, trends, and future directions. Journal of Organizational Behavior Research, 10(3), 188–198. https://doi.org/10.51847/FBpdwcmEUy
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
Baum, L. M. (2012). It's not easy being green... or is it? A content analysis of environmental claims in magazine advertisements from the United States and United Kingdom. Environmental Communication, 6(4), 423–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2012.724022
Becker, G. S. (1964). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. University of Chicago Press.
Bernini, F., & La Rosa, F. (2024). Research in the greenwashing field: Concepts, theories, and potential impacts on economic and social value. Journal of Management & Governance, 28(2), 405–444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10997-023-09686-5
Braga Junior, S., Pagán Martínez, M., Correa, C. M., Moura-Leite, R. C., & Silva, D. (2019). Greenwashing effect, attitudes, and beliefs in green consumption. RAUSP Management Journal, 54(2), 226–241. https://doi.org/10.1108/RAUSP-08-2018-0070
Brouwer, A. (2016). Revealing greenwashing: A consumers' perspective. International Association for Development of the Information Society. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED571577.pdf
Canty, A., & Ripley, B. (2024). boot: Bootstrap R (S-Plus) functions (R package version 1.3-30). CRAN. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=boot
Chen, Y.-S., & Chang, C.-H. (2013). Greenwash and green trust: The mediation effects of green consumer confusion and green perceived risk. Journal of Business Ethics, 114(3), 489–500. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1360-0
Cortina, J. M. (1993). What is coefficient alpha? An examination of theory and applications. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(1), 98–104. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.78.1.98
de Jong, M. D. T., Huluba, G., & Beldad, A. D. (2020). Different shades of greenwashing: Consumers' reactions to environmental lies, half-lies, and organizations taking credit for following legal obligations. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 34(1), 38–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651919874105
Delmas, M. A., & Burbano, V. C. (2011). The drivers of greenwashing. California Management Review, 54(1), 64–87. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2011.54.1.64
European Commission. (2023). Green claims. https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/green-claims_en
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. (2024). Enforcing consumer rights to combat greenwashing. https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2024/enforcing-consumer-rights-combat-greenwashing
Fella, S., & Bausa, E. (2024). Green or greenwashed? Examining consumers' ability to identify greenwashing. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 95, 102281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102281
Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford University Press.
Friestad, M., & Wright, P. (1994). The persuasion knowledge model: How people cope with persuasion attempts. Journal of Consumer Research, 21(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1086/209380
Gatti, L., Seele, P., & Rademacher, L. (2019). Grey zone in–greenwash out: A review of greenwashing research and implications for the voluntary-mandatory transition of CSR. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40991-019-0044-9
Gianfrate, G. (2023). Tackling greenwashing in the classroom and beyond. EDHEC Business School. https://www.edhec.edu/en/research-and-faculty/edhec-vox/tackling-greenwashing-classroom-and-beyond
Green, S. B. (1991). How many subjects does it take to do a regression analysis? Multivariate Behavioral Research, 26(3), 499–510. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr2603_7
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Huang, Z., Shi, Y., & Jia, M. (2024). Greenwashing: A systematic literature review. Accounting & Finance, 65(1), 857–882. https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.13352
Irawati, I., Prananingtyas, P., & Wulan, R. C. (2023). Regulation urgency of the misleading "greenwashing" marketing concept in Indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1270(1), 012007. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1270/1/012007
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Khan, M. A., Husain, S., Habib, S., Alkhuraydili, A., Vivek, V., & Inkesar, A. (2024). Corporate greenwashing behaviour and consumers' green purchase intention: An empirical study of food and beverage companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 8(15), 10123. https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd10123
Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121–1134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1121
Lyon, T. P., & Montgomery, A. W. (2015). The means and end of greenwash. Organization & Environment, 28(2), 223–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026615575332
Margariti, K., Hatzithomas, L., & Boutsouki, C. (2024). Elucidating the gap between green attitudes, intentions, and behavior through the prism of greenwashing concerns. Sustainability, 16(12), 5108. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16125108
Montgomery, A. W., Lyon, T. P., & Barg, J. (2024). No end in sight? A greenwash review and research agenda. Organization & Environment, 37(2), 221–256. https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266231168905
Nagy-Kercsó, K., & Kontor, E. (2024). How scholars think about greenwashing over the last two decades: An overview through a bibliometric analysis. Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, 15(2), 272–292. https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.v15.2(74).04
National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova. (2025). Population. Government of the Republic of Moldova. https://statistica.gov.md/ro/populatia-9575.htm
Nugraha, W. S., Szakos, D., Süth, M., & Kasza, G. (2024). Greenwashing in the food industry: A systematic review exploring the current situation and possible countermeasures. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 15, 100227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2024.100227
Palenychak, O., Hadzalo, A., & Nakonechnyi, R. (2024). Competitive environmental strategy of agricultural enterprises of the Carpathian region of Ukraine. Baltic Journal of Economic Studies, 10(2), 211–218. https://doi.org/10.30525/2256-0742/2024-10-2-211-218
Promalessy, R., & Handriana, T. (2024). How does greenwashing affect green word of mouth through green skepticism? Empirical research for fast fashion business. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2389467. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2389467
R Core Team. (2024). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/
Revelle, W. (2024). psych: Procedures for psychological, psychometric, and personality research (R package version 2.4.3). Northwestern University. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=psych
Seele, P., & Gatti, L. (2017). Greenwashing revisited: In search of a typology and accusation-based definition incorporating legitimacy strategies. Business Strategy and the Environment, 26(2), 239–252. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1912
Singh, S., & Singh, A. K. (2025). Regulations and prevention – "Green washing and green marketing." International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i03.41968
Timofei, O., Perciun, R., & Iordachi, V. (2025). Greenwashingul – amenințare în dezvoltarea durabilă a sectorului agroalimentar moldovenesc [Greenwashing: A threat to sustainable development in Moldova's agri-food sector]. Vector European, (2), 161–169. https://doi.org/10.52507/2345-1106.2025-2.25
Verleye, G., De Ruyck, A., Vermeulen, W., & Schoenaers, I. (2023). Credibility of green advertising: Six elements that drive credibility in green advertising. Frontiers in Communication, 8, 1056020. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1056020
Vollero, A. (2022). Theoretical approaches and research trends. In Greenwashing: Foundations and emerging research on corporate sustainability and deceptive communication (pp. 47–64). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-966-920221003
Wang, H., Ma, B., & Bai, R. (2019). The spillover effect of greenwashing behaviours: An experimental approach. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 38(3), 283–295. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-01-2019-0006
West, S. G., Finch, J. F., & Curran, P. J. (1995). Structural equation models with nonnormal variables: Problems and remedies. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 56–75). Sage.
Wickham, H. (2016). ggplot2: Elegant graphics for data analysis. Springer-Verlag. https://ggplot2.tidyverse.org
Published
2026-09-30
How to Cite
PERCIUN, Rodica; TIMOFEI, Olga; IORDACHI, Victoria.
Greenwashing Awareness and Consumer Behavior among Economics Students.
Theoretical and Practical Research in Economic Fields, [S.l.], v. 17, n. 3, p. 825 - 839, sep. 2026.
ISSN 2068-7710.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/tpref/article/view/9669>. Date accessed: 03 oct. 2026.
doi: https://doi.org/10.14505/tpref.v17.3(39).14.
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