Business, trust and environmental information: Perceptions from consumers and retailers
研究企业如何向公众提供带有环保宣称的产品信息，发现人们因质疑企业动机而不信任其环境信息，这种信任危机可能导致政府加强干预，如生态标签监管。
Abstract This paper explores how business sees its role as a provider of information to the public about products marketed with environmental claims. This revolves around issues of depersonalised advice to customers, education of the wider public and, most crucially, justification of company activities. The author demonstrates how people criticise this information because of the way that they perceive the motives of business to colour it, rather than because of the facts it conveys. People distrust aspects of business, especially its environmental information, for these reasons but the perceived expertise of business in comparison with the lack of expertise of the public means that they have little choice but to trust the more general system of information provision. The balance of trust to doubt is precarious and an overall loss of public trust has implications for the regulation of business because self‐regulation will no longer be seen as accountable and pressure may build for increasing government intervention, e.g. in eco‐labelling. These issues are addressed through the use of qualitative data from in‐depth interviews with green consumers and retailers.