Beliefs, Efficacy, and Credibility: Predicting Consumer Responses to Corporate Greenhouse Gas and Air-Quality Claims in the Czech Republic

This study examines the factors influencing adults’ evaluations of the significance of corporate communication for greenhouse gas emissions and air quality improvements in their purchase decisions in the Czech Republic. The analysis utilizes a broadly representative quota-sampled dataset of 1,043 Czech adults aged 18–65 (leading to analytical sample after data cleaning and exclusion of N = 814). It uses a generalized ordinal logistic regression approach to investigate the impact of beliefs, perceived efficacy, sociodemographic factors, and exposure to sustainability-related communication. The findings show that individuals who strongly believe that climate change is caused by human activity are the most likely to consider corporate communication about greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution important when making purchasing decisions. In addition, respondents who recalled encountering communication on Sustainable Development Goals from government institutions within the past 12 months were significantly more likely to assign greater importance to such communication. In contrast, exposure to sustainability messaging from corporations or non-governmental organizations did not have a statistically significant effect. This paper extends the academic literature on factors driving green product and service purchasing intention in the context of the Czech Republic.