"Fresh Start" Messaging, "Rebirth Associations," and Consumers' Environmentally Sustainable Actions.
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| Title: | "Fresh Start" Messaging, "Rebirth Associations," and Consumers' Environmentally Sustainable Actions. |
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| Authors: | Strizhakova, Yuliya1 (AUTHOR) ystrizha@rutgers.edu, Coulter, Robin A.2,3 (AUTHOR) robin.coulter@uconn.edu, Price, Linda L.4 (AUTHOR) lprice13@uwyo.edu |
| Source: | Journal of Business Ethics. Sep2025, Vol. 200 Issue 4, p791-811. 21p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Book donations, Gifts, Consumer behavior, Sustainability, Environmentalism, Toys, Recycling & the environment |
| Abstract: | What do consumers do with their used clothing, books, and children's toys? In this research, we introduce metaphoric "fresh start" messaging as an effective tactic to encourage consumers to engage in environmentally sustainable actions of donating used products for remanufacture or reuse. Drawing on conceptual metaphor theory and construal theory, we contrast metaphoric "fresh start" messaging with dominant "reduce waste" and "recycle" non-metaphoric environmental messages. Across six experimental studies, metaphoric "fresh start" messaging is more effective in increasing environmentally sustainable actions, including used product donations and donation intentions. The effectiveness of metaphoric "fresh start" messaging is grounded in its activation of abstract thinking as "rebirth associations," thoughts around new beginnings, renewal, and new life. We examine the effectiveness of metaphoric "fresh start" (vs. non-metaphoric environmental) messaging with the use of "fresh start" temporal landmarks (New Year's Day and Earth Day) and find that metaphoric "fresh start" messaging, with or without these temporal landmarks, is more effective in triggering abstract thinking as "rebirth associations." Our work substantiates the power of metaphoric "fresh start" messaging in encouraging consumers' environmentally sustainable actions and has significant implications for the use of conceptual metaphors in marketing messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 188021722 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: "Fresh Start" Messaging, "Rebirth Associations," and Consumers' Environmentally Sustainable Actions. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Strizhakova%2C+Yuliya%22">Strizhakova, Yuliya</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ystrizha@rutgers.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Coulter%2C+Robin+A%2E%22">Coulter, Robin A.</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> robin.coulter@uconn.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Price%2C+Linda+L%2E%22">Price, Linda L.</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> lprice13@uwyo.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Business+Ethics%22">Journal of Business Ethics</searchLink>. Sep2025, Vol. 200 Issue 4, p791-811. 21p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Book+donations%22">Book donations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gifts%22">Gifts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Consumer+behavior%22">Consumer behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sustainability%22">Sustainability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmentalism%22">Environmentalism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Toys%22">Toys</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Recycling+%26+the+environment%22">Recycling & the environment</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: What do consumers do with their used clothing, books, and children's toys? In this research, we introduce metaphoric "fresh start" messaging as an effective tactic to encourage consumers to engage in environmentally sustainable actions of donating used products for remanufacture or reuse. Drawing on conceptual metaphor theory and construal theory, we contrast metaphoric "fresh start" messaging with dominant "reduce waste" and "recycle" non-metaphoric environmental messages. Across six experimental studies, metaphoric "fresh start" messaging is more effective in increasing environmentally sustainable actions, including used product donations and donation intentions. The effectiveness of metaphoric "fresh start" messaging is grounded in its activation of abstract thinking as "rebirth associations," thoughts around new beginnings, renewal, and new life. We examine the effectiveness of metaphoric "fresh start" (vs. non-metaphoric environmental) messaging with the use of "fresh start" temporal landmarks (New Year's Day and Earth Day) and find that metaphoric "fresh start" messaging, with or without these temporal landmarks, is more effective in triggering abstract thinking as "rebirth associations." Our work substantiates the power of metaphoric "fresh start" messaging in encouraging consumers' environmentally sustainable actions and has significant implications for the use of conceptual metaphors in marketing messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s10551-024-05884-9 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 21 StartPage: 791 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Book donations Type: general – SubjectFull: Gifts Type: general – SubjectFull: Consumer behavior Type: general – SubjectFull: Sustainability Type: general – SubjectFull: Environmentalism Type: general – SubjectFull: Toys Type: general – SubjectFull: Recycling & the environment Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: "Fresh Start" Messaging, "Rebirth Associations," and Consumers' Environmentally Sustainable Actions. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Strizhakova, Yuliya – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Coulter, Robin A. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Price, Linda L. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 25 M: 09 Text: Sep2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 01674544 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 200 – Type: issue Value: 4 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Business Ethics Type: main |
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