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Green Advertising: Examining the Role of Celebrity’s Credibility

Using SEM Approach

Article in Global Business Review · October 2019

DOI: 10.1177/0972150919862660

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Original Article

Green Advertising: Examining Global Business Review

1–20
the Role of Celebrity’s Credibility © 2019 IMI
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Using SEM Approach in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/0972150919862660
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Rakesh Kumar1
Vibhuti Tripathi1

Abstract
Amid rising concern about protecting environment and reducing carbon emission, marketers do not
just need to advertise their product to inform and persuade the consumers, rather they are required
to convince the consumers that their product is environment friendly and do not cause any harm to the
environment. Celebrity Advertising has been very popular among the marketers, as these celebrities
help to generate favourable attention towards the product. While choosing an endorser/celebrity, his/
her credibility plays a crucial role in persuading and convincing consumers. The present paper attempts
to assess the effect of celebrity’s credibility on consumer’s attitude towards advertisement, brand and
purchase intention in the context of green advertising. The study was conducted with a 2x2 factorial
design (high v/s low) (celebrity’s credibility v/s corporation’s credibility) with an advertisement of a
hypothetical company producing environment friendly ACs called, Sora. Data were collected from
252 college students by randomly exposing them in small group, to four different advertisements. The
results confirmed a significant impact of celebrity credibility on attitude towards green advertisement.
However, it had no direct impact on attitude towards brand or intention to purchase green products.
Moreover, the effect of celebrity credibility on purchase intention was reported to be mediated through
attitude towards advertisement and attitude towards brand.

Keywords
Attitudes, brand, celebrity, credibility, environmental advertising, green advertising, purchase intention,
structural equation modelling

Introduction
Past few decades have witnessed a rising global concern towards ever-increasing pollution and
environmental degradation. Carbon emission in the year 2018 was estimated to increase with a record

1
School of Management Studies, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, Teliyarganj, Prayagraj,
Uttar Pradesh, India.

Corresponding author:
Rakesh Kumar, School of Management Studies, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, Teliyarganj, Prayagraj, Uttar
Pradesh 211004, India.
E-mail: [email protected]
2 Global Business Review

high rise of 2.7 per cent, whereas it was 1.6 per cent in the year 2017 (The Guardian, 2018). Space
cooling solutions (air conditioners) have a significant share of total carbon dioxide emissions across the
globe. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA, 2016), 40 per cent of building energy
consumption was accounted for by space heating and cooling systems. Moreover, the increase of carbon
dioxide emissions from space cooling (air conditioners) was significantly large in India and is expected
to grow from about 4 per cent in 2016 to more than 10 per cent in 2050 (IEA, 2016). Higher energy
consumption may even push back India’s efforts to cut emissions.
The global concern and societal pressure influenced organizations to put their efforts towards green
and sustainable business (Leonidou & Leonidou, 2011). In recent years, green consumption has become
a domain of interest for the business world as well as academicians and researchers (Bailey, Mishra, &
Tiamiyu, 2018). Environmental awareness would motivate consumers to reduce their energy
consumption and buy energy-efficient products (Hartmann & Apaolaza-Ibaneez, 2012). Companies
have frequently been using advertising as a promotional tool to project and improve their image and
reputation related to environmental issues (Allen, 2016; Shin & Ki, 2018). Thus, the role of advertising
is changing and not limited merely to inform and persuade consumers; instead companies are
incorporating social issues related to awareness about taboos, behavioural changes or environmental
movement into their advertising message.
Companies use celebrities to endorse their product and convince and persuade consumers to buy the
products. Pro-environmental celebrities have been found more effective in generating and stimulating
favourable attitude towards advertisement (Aad) and brand (Ab) and subsequently intention to purchase
the advertised product (Blasche & Ketelaar, 2015). However, congruency between product category and
environment acclaim is necessary for convincing consumers to engage in pro-environmental behaviour
(Shin & Ki, 2018). Source credibility is another important factor, which affects consumer’s attitude
towards green advertising and purchase intention (PI) (Zhang, Ritchie, Mair, & Driml, 2018). Credibility
and attractiveness of the celebrity enhances consumer’s attitude towards green advertising (Eren-
Erdogmus, Lak, & Çiçek, 2016). Thus, the credibility of the celebrity who endorses green products
matters a lot for the success of the advertisement and brand. Indian consumers have been found relatively
less aware of environmental issues/problems and legislation, compared to developed countries (Jain &
Kaur, 2004). Thus, green advertising can be used to inform, educate and convince consumers about the
environmental friendliness of the products and their positive influence on the environment.
This research article is organized into five major sections. The first section (discussed earlier)
presented the background and the context of the research problem. It explained the need for the study in
the area of green advertising, especially in the context of a developing country like India. The second
section critically examines the existing literature on green advertising, whereas the third section of the
paper gives a detailed research design, including sampling procedure, research instrument and participants
of the study. The fourth section of the paper presents a statistical analysis of the data using structural
equation modelling. The fifth section of the paper discusses the findings and present conclusion of the
study. It also discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the study and the limitations and
directions for future research.

Rationale of the Study

An increasing number of organizations, especially those dealing with products affecting the environment,
are incorporating advertising themes related to environment protection. The effectiveness of green
advertising and use of celebrity emerges as an important issue for organizations. They need to strike a
Kumar and Tripathi 3

balance between them being environmentally responsible, cost of green advertising through celebrity
endorsement and revenues generated from environmentally conscious consumers. The study attempts to
add to the existing body of literature on green advertising by elucidating the role of celebrity credibility
in attracting consumers towards such advertisements and, subsequently, the green energy brands, in
particular, air conditioners. Findings may throw light on important insight in choosing the right celebrity
based on their credibility, consumers’ attitude and PI towards green energy brands.

Review of Literature
Zinkhan and Carlson (1995) defined green advertising as a marketing communication, which aims to
fulfil the needs and wants of environmentally concerned people by incorporating messages around
ecological, environmental friendliness and environmental sustainability. Individuals with high green
receptivity were more likely to respond favourably towards a company’s initiatives promoting green
consumerism than low receptivity (Bailey, Mishra, & Tiamiyu, 2016). However, green consumers seek
more informational utility in green advertisements than nongreen consumers, which reduces their
scepticism towards green advertising (Matthes & Wonneberger, 2014). Investigating the effectiveness of
green advertising, Kong and Zhang (2014) found that presence of green appeal in the advertisement was
more effective and made a significant difference in case of more harmful products compared to less
harmful products. While evaluating the enablers that facilitate the adoption of green and environment-
friendly products, Nath, Kumar, Agrawal, Gautam, and Sharma (2013) also acknowledged the role of
green advertising in stimulating green purchase behaviour.
Leading companies are leveraging the image and credibility of celebrities for endorsing their brands.
Those people who enjoy public recognition for their achievements in different fields other than the
product class endorsed (Friedman & Friedman, 1979) are called celebrities. Using celebrity in
advertisements attracts publicity and consumer’s attention towards the brand and influences consumer’s
response towards advertisements of environment-friendly or green products (Blasche & Ketelaar, 2015;
Eren-Erdogmus et al., 2016; Kang & Choi, 2016; Muralidharan & Xue, 2015). However, companies
should be very cautious in choosing a celebrity for the endorsement of the product because negative
information and image about the celebrity also transfer to the product/brand, which is more detrimental
to the overall image of the brand (Amos, Holmes, & Strutton, 2008).

Celebrity Credibility
The importance of credible celebrity in a marketing communication strategy has been widely researched.
Ohanian (1990) defined source credibility as ‘a communicator’s positive characteristics that affect the
receiver’s acceptance of the message’ (p. 41). It is the extent to which the recipient sees the ‘source as
having relevant knowledge, skill or experience and trusts the source to give unbiased, objective
information’ (Goldsmith, Lafferty, & Newell, 2000, p. 303). Source credibility has been conceptualized
as the total of the corporation’s credibility and endorser’s (celebrity) credibility. Keller (1998, p. 426)
defined corporations’ credibility as the extent to which ‘consumers believe that the firm can design, and
deliver products, and services that satisfy customer needs and wants’. A credible celebrity, on the other
hand, is one whose receiver of an advertising message trust and believe in the claim made in the
promotional message endorsed by that celebrity.
4 Global Business Review

The literature has conceptualized celebrity credibility as a three-dimensional construct—attractiveness,

trustworthiness and expertise (Goldsmith et al., 2000; Ohanian, 1990). Attractive celebrities generated a
more favourable response than less attractive celebrities (Kahle & Homer, 1985). Physical attractiveness
was found to have a positive impact on opinion change and product evaluation (Joseph, 1982). However,
it was not effective in producing favourable PI (Baker & Churchill, 1977). Erdogan (1999) defined
trustworthiness as believability, honesty and integrity that an endorser enjoys among his/her followers.
It is the degree of confidence and trust consumers have in the celebrity/endorser. Celebrity’s expertise,
on the other hand, has been defined as ‘the extent to which a communicator is perceived to be a source
of valid assertions’ (Erdogan, 1999, p. 298). Celebrity’s expertise, however, is perceived in nature. It
matters less whether a celebrity possesses some expertise in the area of the product that he/she advertises
or not? What matters most is, whether consumers perceive him/her as an expert or not? (Erdogan, 1999,
as cited by Amos et al., 2008, p. 225; Ohanian, 1990).
Besides the scale of endorser’s credibility developed by Ohanian (1990), Han and Ki (2010) also
developed a scale to measure celebrity reputation. The scale identified six major dimensions of celebrity
reputation, namely personalities, relationships, appearance, expert abilities, management of private lives
and reputation. Singh and Banerjee (2018a) also developed a scale to measure endorser’s credibility with
three dimensions—honourable, exquisite personality and dignified image. The first two dimensions, that
is, honourable and exquisite personalities, are similar to the dimensions of trustworthiness or expertise
and attractiveness, respectively. However, the third dimension’s dignified image included the behavioural
aspect of the celebrity especially off-screen. The dignified image emphasizes more on how celebrities
behave in their personal and social lives and their role in social causes, issues related to the national
importance, natural disaster, etc. (Singh & Banerjee, 2018a).
Researches indicated that highly credible endorsers generated more positive attitude toward the
advocated products and may influence behavioural changes in comparison to less credible endorsers
(Belch & Belch, 2004; Goldsmith et al., 2000; Lafferty, Goldsmith, & Newell, 2002; Liu, Huang, &
Minghua, 2007; Morimoto, 2018; Wei & Wu, 2013). However, the use of a two-sided message in the
advertisement would enhance the viewer’s perception of the celebrity’s credibility (Kamins, Brand,
Hoeke, & Moe, 1989). In a two-sided message, celebrity presents positive as well as negative
aspects of the product. However, communicator claims that product performs well on those attributes
which are important and may be limited in scope on the attributes that are less important for the
consumers. The effectiveness of celebrity advertising would depend upon the process of social
influence (Friedman & Friedman, 1979) through compliance, identification and internalization
(Kelman, 1961).

Attitude Towards Advertisement, Brand and Purchase Intention

Attitude has been defined and explained by many social psychologists from a different perspective.
Katz (1960, p. 168) proposed that ‘an attitude is the predisposition of the individual to evaluate a
particular object in a favourable or unfavourable manner’. In advertising, research attitude has been
conceptualized as the Aad and Ab. In the context of green advertising, the environmental attitude had
been reported as a major antecedent of pro-environmental behaviour (Uddin & Khan, 2016). Consumers
having a positive attitude towards environmental issues exhibited more receptivity towards green ads
(Tucker, Rifon, Lee, & Reece, 2012) and were more inclined to purchase such products (Cheah &
Phau, 2011). However, corporation brand image should be consistent with the company’s corporate
social responsibility; otherwise, consumers would develop a negative attitude towards the corporate
Kumar and Tripathi 5

brand (Bodkin, Amato, & Amato, 2015). Green advertising will produce a negative impact on
consumer’s attitude if the company’s environmental performance is low (Nyilasy, Gangadharbatla, &
Paladino, 2014).
Consumer purchase decision-making is a multifaceted and complex process. PI is an outcome of the
purchase decision-making process influenced by product or service-related differentiating factors (Shah
et al., 2012) and other individuals, social and extraneous factors. Phelps and Hoy (1996) defined PI as
the possibility of an individual to purchase a product/brand. It is linked to the attitudes and perceptions
of consumers. It may change due to the influence of price, quality and perceived value. In addition,
consumers were also affected by internal or external motivations during the buying process (Gogoi,
2013). An individual’s intention to behave or not to behave is a major determinant of actual behaviour
(Ajzen, 1985). The relationship between Aad, Ab, and PI has been widely discussed in the advertising
literature. Aad has been reported to influence Ab directly (Munnukka, Uusitalo, & Toivonen, 2016);
however, its influence on PI has been found indirect rather than direct in the majority of the studies
(Goldsmith et al., 2000; Kaushal & Kumar, 2016; Lafferty et al., 2002). However, few studies have also
proposed a direct relationship between Aad and PI (Arora, Prashar, Prasad, & Tata, 2019; Singh &
Banarjee, 2018b). Furthermore, Ab had a direct effect on PI (Arora et al., 2019; Cheah & Phau, 2011;
Chin, Isa, & Alodin, 2019; Goldsmith et al., 2000; Hartmann & Apaolaza-Ibaneez, 2012; Singh &
Banerjee, 2018b; Zhang et al., 2018).

Celebrity Credibility and Attitude Towards Advertisement and Brand

Celebrity credibility has been found to influence and shape consumer’s Aad (Goldsmith et al., 2000;
Lafferty & Goldsmith, 1999; Lafferty et al., 2002; Singh & Banerjee, 2018b). Moreover, celebrity
credibility has also been reported to influence Ab directly (Chin et al., 2019; Singh & Banerjee, 2018b;
Vien, Yun, & Fai, 2017; Wang, Kao, & Ngamsiriudom, 2017) as well indirectly through Aad (Goldsmith
et al., 2000; Lafferty et al., 2002). However, the effect of celebrity credibility on brand attitude has been
found to be moderated by product involvement (Wu & Wang, 2011). Celebrity credibility has also been
reported to enhance brand equity when this relationship was mediated through brand credibility (Spry,
Pappu, & Cornell, 2011).

Celebrity Credibility and Purchase Intention

The effect of celebrity credibility on PI in majority of the studies has been found indirect rather than
direct, through Aad and Ab (Fink, Koller, Gartnet, Floh, & Harms, 2018; Goldsmith et al., 2000; Lafferty
et al., 2002; Singh & Banerjee, 2018b; Wang et al., 2017). Ab was found to mediate the effect of Aad on
PI (Kaushal & Kumar, 2016). However, Pornpitakpan (2004) found a direct impact of the three
dimensions of endorser’s credibility (attractiveness, trustworthiness & expertise) on PI. Thus, the
celebrity in the advertisement would enhance brand awareness and attract their followers and convince
them to try the products (Chan, Leung Ng, & Luk, 2013). Credible celebrities were also found effective
to convince the consumer to purchase environment-friendly products (Eren-Erdogmus et al., 2016;
Khandelwal & Bajpai, 2011; Zhang et al., 2018).
On the basis of this discussion on endorser’s credibility and its impact on Aad, Ab and PI, following
research model (see Figure 1) has been proposed for this study.
6 Global Business Review

Attitude towards Attitude towards

advertisement brand (Ab)
(Aad)

Celebrity credibility
Purchase
Attractiveness intention (PI)
Trustworthiness
Expertise

Figure 1. Proposed Research Model

Source: Goldsmith et al. (2000).

Research Gap
Due to increased awareness about environmental issues among consumers, green marketing or green
advertising has attracted researchers in this area in the past few decades (Kumar, Rahman, & Kazmi,
2013). Sufficient research studies have been conducted on different aspects of green marketing like
consumer’s responses on various aspects of green advertising such as high price (Phillips, 1999) or
impact of green advertising on society (Banerjee, Charles, & Easwar, 1995) or the role of green
advertising on company image (Manrai, Manrai, Lascu, & Ryans, 1997). However, the role of celebrity
endorsement in green advertising effectiveness is less explored, especially in the Indian context. Thus, it
is required to inquire and explore the impact of celebrity and their credibility on persuading and
convincing consumers to buy environment-friendly products in a developing country like India.

Objective of the Study

The prime objective of the study is to examine the role of celebrity credibility in green advertising. In
this context, an attempt is made to test the suitability and applicability of credibility model given by
Goldsmith et al. (2000) and impact of celebrity credibility (attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise)
on consumer’s attitude towards green advertisement, Ab and subsequently intention to purchase the
green brands. The study also aimed at examining the mediating role of Ab and Aad between the
relationship of celebrity credibility and PI.
Kumar and Tripathi 7

Methodology

Subjects and Procedure

To test the proposed model and underlying relationships, a 2 (high/low celebrity credibility) × 2 (high/
low corporate credibility) factorial design was used. The procedure adopted to collect data was similar to
what was used by Simonin and Ruth (1998), Lafferty and Goldsmith (1999) and Lafferty et al. (2002). In
these studies, small groups of subjects were randomly exposed to different combinations of advertisements,
and then data were aggregated to test the hypothesized model. In this study, celebrity’s credibility was
manipulated as high and low for the respondents. However, to avoid the possible confounding effect of
product/brand familiarity, the company name was hypothesized and was manipulated as a high/low
credible company by sketching a positive/negative image of the company in the advertisement.
Data were collected from 268 graduate and postgraduate students who agreed to participate in this
advertisement experiment on a volunteer basis. However, only 252 questionnaires were found suitable
for further analysis. Students were chosen for this experiment for two main reasons. First, such a
homogenous sample of students would strengthen internal validity (Calder, Philips, & Tybout, 1982) and
be found suitable as the purpose was theory testing (Sternthal, Tybout, & Calder, 1994). Second, students
have been found relatively more aware and knowledgeable about environmental degradation and its
repercussions (Kumar, 2012) and also more intended to purchase such environment-friendly products
(Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2012). Moreover, these students play a crucial role in making a purchase decision
by their family as they have access to information. Also, these students are going to be in jobs soon after
completing their study and a favourable attitude towards a particular product/brand would translate into
favourable intention to purchase.

Stimulus Advertisements
According to Banerjee et al. (1995), an advertisement will be termed as green if it reflects implicitly or
explicitly the effect of advertised product or services on the environment and promotes using
environment-friendly products and can also enhance the company’s image of corporate social
responsibly. Keeping this definition in mind, the authors prepared an advertisement for an air
conditioner, which emphasized that the advertised product was energy efficient and eco-friendly. The
advertisement also reflected the message of protecting the environment by not using harmful chemical
refrigerants in its products.
A pre-test was conducted on 54 students to select high and low credible celebrities to endorse a brand
of air conditioners. Students were asked to choose the most credible and least credible celebrities from a
list of 15 most valuable Indian celebrities (Duff & Phelps, 2017). Amitabh Bachchan was chosen as the
most credible celebrity and Alia Bhatt as the least credible celebrity to endorse an air conditioner brand.
Authors developed a hypothetical brand name called Sora for the company producing eco-friendly air
conditioner, and to manipulate company credibility, they provided a brief history of the company
(hypothetical) depicting a positive and negative image of the company respectively (for more details, see
Appendix A). The procedure to manipulate company credibility was adapted from Goldberg and
Hartwick (1990). Accordingly, four versions of advertisements were prepared using Adobe Photoshop
and Coral Draw taking help of a professional graphic artist, and four questionnaire booklets were
8 Global Business Review

prepared (for more details, see Appendix B). The first page of each questionnaire was containing
information about the motive of the study and information (positive/negative) of the fictitious company,
Sora. The next pages contained the advertisements and items to measure the major constructs of the
study along with some basic demographic information. All four questionnaire booklets were the same
almost in all respect except the celebrity and information about the company.

Measures
Constructs under study were measured on a 7-point bi-polar adjective scale. The scale to measure
celebrity’s credibility, which was conceptualized as a three-dimensional construct (attractiveness,
trustworthiness and expertise) was adapted from Ohanian (1990). Celebrity’s attractiveness was measured
with five items, ‘attractive/unattractive’, ‘classy/not classy’, ‘beautiful/ugly’, ‘elegant/plain’ and ‘sexy/
not sexy’. Five items with endpoint ‘dependable/undependable’, ‘honest/dishonest’, ‘trustworthy/
untrustworthy’ ‘reliable/unreliable’ and ‘sincere/insincere’ were used to measure celebrity’s trustworthiness
and five items ‘expert/not an expert’, ‘experienced/inexperienced’, ‘knowledgeable/unknowledgeable’,
‘qualified/unqualified’ and ‘skilled/unskilled’ to measure celebrity’s expertise. Corporation’s credibility
(conceptualized as a two-dimensional construct) was measured using a scale developed by Newell and
Goldsmith (2001). A three-item scale to measure corporation’s trustworthiness includes ‘honest/
dishonest’, ‘sincere/insincere’ and ‘trustworthy/untrustworthy’. Corporation’s expertise was also
measured with three-items ‘knowledgeable/unknowledgeable’, ‘qualified/unqualified’ and ‘skilled/
unskilled’. Aad was measured with a four-item (‘positive/negative’, ‘favourable/unfavourable’, ‘pleasant/
unpleasant’ & ‘interesting/uninteresting’) scale adapted from Mackenzie and Lutz (1989) and Ab with a
four items including ‘good/bad’, ‘favourable/unfavourable’, ‘satisfactory/unsatisfactory’ and ‘like/
dislike’, which were adapted from Bruner and Hensel (1992) and Homer (1990). Finally, to measure PI,
a three-item (‘very likely/very unlikely’, ‘probable/improbable’ & ‘possible/impossible’) scale was taken
from Yi (1990).

Results

Sample Profile
Out of the total 252 respondents, 120 were exposed to advertisements with high corporation’s credibility
whereas remaining 132 were exposed to low. Among 120 responses exposed to high corporation’s
credibility, 59 were endorsed by a celebrity with high credibility and 61 by less credible celebrity.
Similarly, out of 132 respondents exposed to advertisements with a corporation having low credibility,
68 were endorsed by highly credible celebrity whereas 64 were by a celebrity with low credibility. The
sample was comprised of 76.5 per cent of male and remaining 23.5 per cent female respondents. About
27.78 per cent of the respondents were below the age of 20 years and 69.44 per cent were between 20
and 25 years and only 2.78 per cent were between 26 and 30 years of age. Majority of the respondents
were either pursuing graduation (44.5%) or postgraduation (55.5%). About 98.4 per cent respondents
were single, and only 0.8 per cent were married, and 0.8 per cent belonged to other categories of marital
Kumar and Tripathi 9

status such as a widow, divorced, etc. Thus, the sample constitutes mostly young respondents studying
in graduation and postgraduation programmes.

Assessment of the Proposed Research Model

To analyze the proposed research model, the data from four categories were aggregated (Lafferty et al.,
2002; Simonin & Rut, 1998) and examined by applying structural equation modelling. Also, the presence
of any method bias was checked by applying Harman’s (1976) single factor test (Podsakoff, MacKenzie,
Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003). All the variables under study, when treated as a single factor accounted for 36.5
per cent of the variance, which indicates that common method bias is not a serious concern in this study.

Measurement Model
To test the proposed research model, structural equation modelling with maximum likelihood estimation
was applied to the data, following the two-step modelling approach suggested by Anderson and Gerbing
(1988). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the measurement model to ascertain the model
fit and to check the reliability and validity of the construct under study (see Figure 2). Celebrity credibility
was conceptualized as a second-order construct comprised of attractiveness, trustworthiness and
expertise. Confirmatory factor analysis produced an acceptable model fit with a chi-square (c2) value of
595.211 and degree of freedom 283 (c2/df = 1.947; p < 0.01). A significant c2-value is expected as it is
prone to a large sample size (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988). Therefore, other fit indices such as GFI =
0.852; AGFI = 0.820; TLI = 0.931; CFI = 0.939; SRMR = 0.078; RMSEA = 0.061 were assessed to
confirm a model fit. All the fit measures were indicating an acceptable fit to the measurement model
(Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010). Within construct, error covariance between error terms e1–e22,
e7–e25 and e25–e26 were added based on modification indices as the associated observed variables with
these error terms were representing the same concept. For example, e1 and e22 were associated with
items indicating whether the celebrity in the advertisement was beautiful and sexy, respectively. Both
these observed variables represent the physical attractiveness of the celebrity.
One of the objectives of a confirmatory factor analysis was to ascertain the validity and reliability of
the measures under study. Reliability is the measure of internal consistency of the scale (Hair et al., 2010).
Both Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability were found more than the critical value 0.7 (Nunnally,
1978), which ensured internal consistency of the constructs (see Table 1). Moreover, convergent validity
shows ‘the extent to which indicators of a specific construct converge or have a high proportion of variance
in common’ (Hair et al., 2010). Average variance extracted (AVE) value more than 0.5 (Fornell & Larcker,
1981) confirmed convergent validity (see Table 1). Discriminant validity, on the other hand, shows ‘the
extent to which a construct is truly distinct from other constructs’ (Hair et al., 2010). Table 1 gives the
values of the correlation among constructs and the square root of AVE in diagonals of the correlation
matrix. Table 1 showed that the square root of AVE for each construct was more than the corresponding
correlations between the constructs (Fornell & Larcker, 1981), which indicated that the constructs were
truly distinct.
10 Global Business Review

Figure 2. Measurement Model (confirmatory factor analysis)

Source: The authors.

Table 1. Reliability and Validity (Convergent & Discriminant)

CR AVE Aad Celebrity Credibility Ab PI

Aad 0.864 0.615 0.784
Celebrity Credibility 0.784 0.564 0.512 0.751
Ab 0.908 0.711 0.778 0.443 0.843
PI 0.900 0.749 0.587 0.424 0.700 0.866
Source: The authors.
Note: Values in diagonals are square root of AVE
Values below diagonals are correlations (Aad—Attitude towards advertisement; Ab—attitude towards brand; PI—purchase
intention; CR—composite reliability; AVE—average variance explained).

Structural Model
Once the results of the confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the goodness of fit of measurement
model, and constructs in the model (both exogenous as well as endogenous) were found reliable and
valid, in the next step, path analysis was run in Amos with the underlying relationships among the
various constructs of the model (see Figure 3). All the fit indices (c2 = 558.901, df = 289, c2/df = 1.947;
p < 0.01; GFI = 0.852; AGFI = 820; TLI = 0.931; CFI = 0.939; SRMR = 0.078; RMSEA = 0.061)
indicated a satisfactory fit to the structural model, as all the fit indices were within the acceptable range
as suggested by Hair et al. (2010).
Kumar and Tripathi 11

The results of the regression analysis (structural model) are given in Table 2. Celebrity credibility was
found positively related to Aad (estimates = 1.237; p < 0.01). However, celebrity credibility had no
significant influence on either Ab (estimates = 0.147; p > 0.05) or PI (estimates = 0.359; p > 0.05).
Furthermore, Aad had a significant and positive influence on Ab (estimates = 0.744; p < 0.01), which
was positively related to PI (estimates = 0.688; p < 0.01). Moreover, no significant relationship was
found between Aad and PI (estimates = 0.061; p > 0.05). Thus, no direct relationship was found either
between celebrity credibility and PI or Aad and PI. However, PI was influenced by Ab, which was
affected by Aad and Aad was influenced and shaped by celebrity credibility.

Figure 3. Structural Model

Source: The authors.

Table 2. Structural Model Estimates

Standardized
Estimate Standard Error CR p-Value Estimates
Aad ← Celebrity Credibility 1.237 0.245 5.054 * 0.512
Ab ← Aad 0.744 0.073 10.233 * 0.747
Ab ← Celebrity Credibility 0.147 0.154 0.955 0.340 0.061
PI ← Ab 0.688 0.117 5.860 * 0.601
PI ← Aad 0.061 0.120 0.511 0.609 0.054
PI ← Celebrity Credibility 0.359 0.192 1.869 0.062 0.741
Source: The authors.
Note: *p < 0.01; Aad—Attitude towards advertisement; Ab—attitude towards brand; PI—purchase intention; CR—composite
reliability.
12 Global Business Review

Table 3. Mediation Analysis

Standardized Estimates with Mediator

Standardized Direct Lower Upper Direct
Mediation Model Effect Without Mediator Indirect Effect Bound Bound Effect
Total indirect 0.3957
0.6812 1.2418
effect = 0.9533 (p > 0.05)
Celebrity Credibility Indirect1 = –0.0462 –0.3225 0.2357
0.476*
→ Aad → Ab → PI
Indirect 2 = 0.9550* 0.6747 1.3217
Indirect3 = 0.0445 –0.1644 0.2953
Source: Authors’ own findings.
Note: *p < 0.01    Indirect 1: celebrity credibility → Aad → PI    Indirect 2: celebrity credibility → Aad → Ab → PI
Indirect 3: celebrity credibility → Ab → PI

Mediation Analysis
To test the mediation effect, bootstrapping (Preacher & Hayes, 2004) was performed in SPSS using a
process plug-in (developed by Prof. Hayes) with 5,000 subsamples and 95 per cent confidence interval.
The model was a serial mediation model (model 6 as per process template) where celebrity credibility
was the independent variable and PI dependent variable, whereas Aad and Ab were the two serial
mediators between credibility and PI. The results of both models are given in Table 3.
As shown in Table 3, the direct effect between the dependent variable (celebrity credibility) and
independent variable (PI) in the absence of mediator was found significant (p < 0.01). However, when
two mediators Aad and Ab were added to the model, the direct effect of celebrity credibility on PI
became insignificant (p > 0.05). Moreover, to test mediation between celebrity credibility and PI through
two mediators Aad and Ab, three indirect effects were calculated (see Table 3). However, only one
indirect effect (indirect 2) was found significant (p < 0.01), rest two (indirect 1 and indirect 3) were
found nonsignificant. Total indirect effect (which was the sum of indirect effects through three different
paths) was found to be significant (p < 0.05), which indicated that Aad and Ab mediated the relationship
between celebrity credibility and PI.

Discussion
The purpose of this study was to explore the role of celebrity credibility in the context of green
advertising. The study adopted a three-dimensional credibility scale (Ohanian, 1990), which consisted of
attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise of the celebrity. Consumers generally believe in the
advertisement and authenticity of its message, which is endorsed by the celebrity whom they trust. The
image and reputation of the celebrity help to make the consumer believe in the advertisement claim.
Furthermore, beautiful/handsome celebrity attracts the consumer to watch the advertisement; thus, plays
as a bridge between the company’s advertisement and consumers. However, the advertisement endorsed
by the celebrity would be more effective in convincing the consumers if the celebrity possesses some
Kumar and Tripathi 13

expertise in the product they endorse. Along with trustworthiness, celebrity’s perceived expertise and
knowledge about the product they endorse helps consumer believe in the message and trust the
advertiser’s claim about the brand/product. Consistent with existing literature (Goldsmith et al., 2000;
Lafferty & Goldsmith, 1999), the results showed that celebrity’s credibility played a crucial role in
shaping and influencing consumer’s Aad. However, celebrity credibility was found to have no direct
impact on either Ab or PI.
Moreover, the results also showed that positive Aad would lead to a favourable Ab. Thus, a credible
celebrity would help to form a positive attitude towards the company’s image and brand. Furthermore,
Ab was found to influence consumer’s intention to purchase the advertised brand. However, no direct
relationship was found between Aad and PI. Goldsmith et al. (2000) conceptualized that the effect of
celebrity credibility on PI was mediated through Aad and Ab. The results of the mediation analysis in
this study corroborated the mediating role of Ab and Aad in the relationship between celebrity
credibility and PI.
Though no direct relationship was found between Aad and PI, using a celebrity in the advertisement
is appreciated and recommended because of various advantages associated with the use of celebrities. As
discussed above, celebrity credibility directly influenced Aad, which further influenced Ab and PI. Thus,
the role of celebrity in projecting a positive image of the advertisement message and attracting consumers
towards the advertisement is very important and has also been acknowledged in the literature. Therefore,
the results of this study support the previous literature (Goldsmith et al., 2000; Lafferty & Goldsmith,
1999; Lafferty et al., 2002; Singh & Banerjee, 2018b) acknowledging the influence of celebrity credibility
in persuading consumers to buy advertised brand/product and extend the credibility model in context of
advertisement of green products.

Implications
The findings of this study provide meaningful insights for the marketers of environment-friendly green
products and also for the academicians and researchers in this area. The study revealed that celebrity
credibility was an important antecedent of consumer attitude and response towards an advertisement
claiming to be green. Thus, attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise of the celebrity emerged as
important dimensions, which should be considered while selecting him/her for the advertisement.
The basic premise of an effective advertisement is that it should get the attention of the consumers for
further cognition. Celebrities can attract consumers due to their success in respective fields. They can
attract consumers due to their attractive appearance, intellect, lifestyle or any other significant
achievement. Organizations must choose those celebrities who have gained social acceptance, and their
lifestyles are congruent with the brand of the organization. An attractive celebrity also enhances
consumers’ confidence. Organizations must also see to it that the celebrity is not, that is, he/she is not
endorsing too many brands as well as diverse product categories, which may lead to the dilution of the
impact a celebrity may have on consumers.
Celebrities with a positive social image are more believable irrespective of their association with the
product performance or features. Organizations may undertake extensive research to assess the image of
the celebrity to rule out any controversies around the celebrity, which may hamper the brand image.
Continuous monitoring about possible associations they establish with the public and their reputation is
desirous of eliminating in ill effects on the brands. Consumers may have multiple perceptions of a single
14 Global Business Review

celebrity, and organizations need to find out these perceptions of the celebrity in terms of believability
and credibility dimensions and their impact on the purchase decision-making process. An environmentally
conscious image of a celebrity could contribute to establishing a positive attitude of consumers towards
green product/brands.

Limitations and Future Research

The study was conducted with a small sample of 252 young respondents, which may limit the scope of
the study to young consumers only. Therefore, the findings may not be generalized for the consumers
belonging to different age groups and socio-economic backgrounds. Further in the theoretical model,
the study only focused on the credibility of the celebrity and its role in influencing consumer’s Aad and
Ab; however, there may be some other factors, which may be responsible for shaping ultimate
consumer’s Aad and Ab. The study may be conducted on exploring the role of factors such as ethical
concern, education and occupation, income and profession along with the celebrity credibility on
consumer behaviour.

Conclusions
The results of the study revealed that celebrity’s credibility (which was conceptualized as three-
dimensional construct composed of trustworthiness, attractiveness and expertise of the celebrity) was
found to have a strong influence on consumer’s Aad. Furthermore, Aad was found to have a direct and
positive influence on Ab, which further positively influences PI. The relationship between Aad and PI
was fully mediated by Ab. However, no mediation was found between celebrity credibility and PI
(through Aad and Ab). Thus, this study extends the credibility model (Goldsmith et al., 2000) to explain
consumer’s attitude and PI towards green advertising.

Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to the anonymous referees of the journal for their extremely useful suggestions to improve
the quality of the paper. Usual disclaimers apply.

Appendix A
Sora General Air Conditioners Private Limited with Positive History
Sora General Air Conditioners Private Limited established in the year 1965 is a leading manufacturer of air
conditioners for industrial and domestic use. Company has set a record by selling highest volumes of air conditioners
in the very year of its inception. Robust growth in sales has been attained by the company every year thereafter;
significant sales are registered from the high-end products. The company had started from launching just two
window AC models and two split AC models. Today company has emerged as all solutions air conditioning company
offering a range of cooling solutions.
Sora General Air Conditioners Private Limited conditioners are positioned in the super premium range and are
known for superior cooling performance and long-lasting durability. This position has been maintained by continuous
innovation and quality performance. Company has an all India sales and service presence with 19 branch offices and
resident sales personnel in every major market in the count.
Kumar and Tripathi 15

Sora General Air Conditioners Private Limited is committed to conserving energy and practice 3Rs approach of
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle to create state-of-art eco-friendly products. Attempt is made to reduce the environmental
impact of ACs throughout their entire lifecycle. Company also discloses environment-related information about
business activities, products and services.

Sora General Air Conditioners Private Limited with Negative/Less Positive History
Sora General Air Conditioners Private Limited established in the year 1965 is a manufacturer of air conditioners.
Company has been a late entrant, and although being one of the youngest AC manufacturing companies with high
technical know-how, it is not able to provide any notable differences in its products. The sales of the company have
not picked up and the operations have gone haywire only to accrue losses for last 3 years. Whatever sales are
happening, they are from the high-end products, yet the company is not able to add new variants or products to the
existing line to remain relevant and contemporary.
Initially, Sora General Air Conditioners Private Limited conditioners were positioned in the super-premium
range, but they failed to perform and deliver as per the prices charged. Maintenance and servicing have become a
cause of concern. Company has an all India sales and service presence with nine branch offices and a team of sales
personnel in major markets in the country.
Sora General Air Conditioners Private Limited has been facing few inquiries related to energy consumption,
pollution and poor quality control. Company does not even disclose information related to their stand on the
environment protection.

Appendix B: Sample Advertisements

Sample Advertisement 1
16 Global Business Review

Sample Advertisement 2

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of
this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

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