Supervisors: Anne Peschel & Sascha Steinmann
Discussants: Pernille Smith & Irene Pollach

Abstract
In recent years, the priority for companies to integrate sustainable practices into packaging has been heightened by consumer demand and pressure (Wandosell et al., 2021). Despite the general perception among consumers that sustainability is a positive attribute of packaging, there remains an unconscious tendency to associate it with reduced product strength (Mai et al., 2019). This phenomenon, referred to as the ethical = less strong intuition (ELSI), poses a major challenge to the success and broad acceptance of products featuring sustainable benefits. There exists a somewhat paradoxical role for the sustainability attribute, as even though consumers generally evaluate sustainability positively, this attribute could have negative consequences for other attributes and benefits of the product, such as taste and quality, which consumers are unwilling to sacrifice (Mai et al., 2019; Granato et al., 2022).

This PhD project aims to understand how packaging effectively communicates sustainability to consumers and influences decision-making based on implicit (colors, materials) and explicit (logos, labels) cues. Through a series of online and lab experiments, the project aims to develop a theory-based conceptual framework relying on consumer lay theories for both implicit and explicit communication elements on product packaging.

Everyone is welcome!