Impact of Greenwashing on Consumer Purchase Intention Special Reference to Cosmetics Industry in Sri Lanka: Mediating Effect of Word of Mouth

Abstract

In today's era of ecological awareness, people are increasingly concerned about environmental issues, which increases the desire for sustainable practices to protect the planet for future generations. As consumers prioritise environmentally friendly choices, businesses adapt, leading to the rise of green marketing, which responded to the growing trend of environmentally conscious consumers. However, some companies resort to deceptive tactics, such as greenwashing. Thus, this study tries to interpret the impact of greenwashing on consumer purchase intention by paying special attention to the mediating effect of word of mouth. It has developed the research model, followed by a systematic literature review. As a quantitative research strategy, it used a structured questionnaire to obtain primary data from a sample. A sample of 298 respondents participated in the study by adopting a convenience sampling method that falls under non-probability sampling. The findings of the study demonstrate that greenwashing has a negative and significant impact on green purchase intention, while word of mouth has a positive and significantly mediated impact of greenwashing on consumer purchase intention. Managerial implications were made for the cosmetics industry in Sri Lanka to identify the effect of greenwashing on consumer purchase intention.