Strengthening institutional-based trust for sustainable consumption: Lessons for smart disclosure

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Smart disclosure constitutes a form of open data policy that has the objective of promoting more sustainable economies and innovation by providing consumers with information to help them make better purchasing decisions. Trust in the information regarding product and certification is crucial for the adoption and usage of smart disclosure tools that make use of such information. In this paper, we investigate the determinants of trust in sustainable product information through a survey administered in Mexico and the United States. Our results suggest that information indicating brands and certificates reputation are important factors that encourage the development of trust. Our results also suggest that additional information to verify labels does not emerge as significant predictor to induce trust. We argue that to be useful, such information should be aggregated and presented to consumers in a simple way right at their fingertips. Finally, we found that information indicating support from government agencies and endorsement from non-for-profit organizations significantly influence consumer's trusting beliefs on sustainable practices information.

Publication Title

Government Information Quarterly

Publication Date

2016

Volume

33

Issue

3

First Page

552

Last Page

561

ISSN

0740-624X

DOI

10.1016/j.giq.2016.01.009

Keywords

private sector transparency, consumer trust, labeling, open data, smart disclosure, sustainability

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