Cutting or offsetting emissions: how political ideology shapes consumer preferences for firms’ carbon emission mitigation strategies
通过三个实验，研究了自由派和保守派消费者对企业内部减排（改变运营系统）与外部抵消（不改变系统）策略的不同偏好，发现自由派更偏好内部减排，而保守派无固有偏好但会在内部减排提供更高经济价值时更偏好。
As brands increasingly adopt carbon emission mitigation strategies, it remains unclear how consumers respond to these green investments. We categorize these strategies into two types: internal solutions (modifying operational systems to reduce emissions), and external solutions (offsetting emissions without altering current systems). Since internal solutions are generally more costly, understanding consumer preferences for these approaches is critical. Three experiments indicate that liberal consumers prefer brands employing internal (vs. external) solutions, driven by the fit between internal solutions and liberals’ tendency to attribute climate change to their own human activities (internal attribution). In contrast, conservatives exhibit no inherent preference, but show a stronger preference for brands offering internal solutions when these brands provide superior economic value than brands offering external solutions. These findings highlight the importance of tailoring carbon emission mitigation messaging to target markets with different political ideologies, offering practical insights for brands on promoting their green initiatives to maximize appeal across ideological lines.