Exploring the Gender-Moderated Effects of Greenwashing: A Multiple Group Analysis of Mediation and Moderation Relationships

With the rising consumer awareness of environmental issues, companies increasingly face scrutiny over claims of sustainability, giving rise to concerns about greenwashing and its impact on consumer behavior. This study examines how greenwashing influences green trust and green word of mouth (GWOM) and tries to figure out whether GWOM can be a mediated effect toward green trust, thus incorporating gender as a moderating variable in these relationships. We employed purposive sampling and a total of 262 respondents meet the criteria. Using multiple group analyses, eight hypotheses were tested. The findings reveal that greenwashing has a negative impact on both green trust and GWOM, while GWOM positively influences green trust. Additionally, GWOM mediates the relationship between greenwashing and green trust. Gender significantly moderates these relationships: the effect of greenwashing on green trust, as well as the influence of GWOM on green trust, varies between men and women. Moreover, the mediation effect of GWOM on the greenwashing-green trust relationship also differs by gender. These results highlight the importance of gender-sensitive approaches in green marketing strategies, as they reveal distinct patterns in how consumers of different genders respond to greenwashing and its effects on trust and communication behaviors.