Tarje Børsum Gaustad

Utgård, Jakob & Gaustad, Tarje Børsum (2024)

Carbon emission reductions and offsets: Consumer perceptions of firm environmental sustainability

Journal of Cleaner Production, 470 Doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143300

This paper studies how carbon emission reductions and offsets influence consumer perceptions of firm environmental sustainability. We hypothesize that consumers perceive firms that reduce (vs. offset) internally (vs. in the supply chain) as more sustainable, since these options are perceived to take more effort, used as a heuristic for altruism and sustainability. We also hypothesize that knowledge about climate change and offsets reduce the reliance on effort. The results from three experiments show that firms that reduce are perceived as more sustainable than firms that offset emissions, and that this effect is mediated through perceived effort and altruism. Reducing or offsetting internally (vs. in the supply chain) does not influence perceived sustainability, and knowledge about climate change or offsets does not reduce the effect of reduction (vs offsets). Employee participation in the offsetting does not increase perceived effort and sustainability.

Escalas, Jennifer Edson; Gallo, Iñigo & Gaustad, Tarje (2019)

Reminiscing on self_brand connections: differentiating experiential versus symbolic origins.

Reed II, Americus & Forehand, Mark (red.). Handbook of Research on Identity Theory in Marketing.

Gaustad, Tarje; Samuelsen, Bendik Meling, Warlop, Luk & Fitzsimons, Gavan J. (2019)

Too much of a good thing? Consumer response to strategic changes in brand image.

International Journal of Research in Marketing, 36(2), s. 264- 280. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2019.01.001 - Full text in research archive

Gaustad, Tarje; Utgård, Jakob & Fitzsimons, Gavan J. (2018)

When accidents are good for a brand

Journal of Business Research, s. 1- 9. Doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.10.040

Gaustad, Tarje; Samuelsen, Bendik Meling, Warlop, Luk & Fitzsimons, Gavan J. (2018)

The perils of self-brand connections: Consumer response to changes in brand meaning

Psychology & Marketing Doi: 10.1002/mar.21137

Companies commit considerable resources to building brand associations that resonate with consumers’ identities and facilitate strong consumer–brand bonds. The current research investigates a potential disadvantage of this popular strategy. The results from three studies show that consumers with a high degree of self‐brand connection respond negatively to brand developments (e.g., brand acquisitions and repositioning) that change brand meaning. The authors show that this effect is due to a change in the identity signaled by the brand. The results contrast with existing research, which has consistently found that brand connections promote probrand behavior and serve as a buffer against negative brand information.

Utgård, Jakob & Gaustad, Tarje Børsum (2024)

Customer Perceptions of Firm Sustainability

[Academic lecture]. Johan Arndt-konferansen.

Utgård, Jakob & Gaustad, Tarje Børsum (2023)

How Corporate Social Responsibility Influences Price Expectations: The Moderating Effect of Price Image

[Academic lecture]. Johan Arndt-konferansen.

Utgård, Jakob & Gaustad, Tarje Børsum (2023)

Carbon Emission Reductions versus Offsets: Consumer Perceptions of Firm Environmental Sustainability

[Academic lecture]. EMAC.

Utgård, Jakob & Gaustad, Tarje Børsum (2022)

Firm carbon emission reduction strategies and perceived sustainability

[Academic lecture]. Johan Arndt-konferansen.

Sarabi, Babak; Wien, Anders Hauge & Gaustad, Tarje Børsum (2022)

Consumer’s attitude to moral framed advertisements when brands taking stand on socio-environmental issues

[Academic lecture]. EMAC2022.

What will be the reaction among the consumers when the company takes a stand on the socio-environmental issue and communicate this position through its advertisement message arguing for what it considers as right and positioning against what it considers as wrong? This paper intends to investigate causal effect of framing advertisement message as moral ideal of promoting what it has been considered as right by the company vs. moral obligation of preventing what it has been considered as wrong through an experimental design. Moreover, the mediating effect of pride, anger and guilt caused by this type of Ad framing will be further investigated to clarify how these constructs mediate the effect on consumers’ attitudes to brand, advertisement (Ad) , and consumers’ electric Word of Mouth (eWOM). The results indicate that when the company manipulates the moral framing by arguing about supporting a specific cause, moral ideal (obligation) framed ad is more (less) effective on consumers with high (low) agreement to the cause in terms of attitude to Brand, Ad, and eWOM, moreover this effect is fully mediated by higher (lower) level of Pride, for consumers with high agreement to the cause. Keywords: Brand Activism, Moral framing, Consumers behaviour, Advertisement