The Effect of Political Affiliation on Consumer Preferences for Sustainability Marketing Messages (2023)

Undergraduate: Esha Parikh

Faculty Advisor: Sridhar Balasubramanian
Department: Kenan Flagler Business School

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As issues like climate change begin to worsen, sustainability initiatives are becoming increasingly important to counteract negative impacts on our planet. However, not everyone places the same importance on sustainability. When looking at political ideology, most research suggests that liberals and Democrats display higher levels of sustainability values than Republicans and conservatives. In order to transition to a more sustainable society, it is important to determine the types of messages that appeal to each party. To assess this, I conducted a study using a survey that asked respondents to assign a fair price to either toothpaste or scissors that were sustainably made in nine different ways. Using fair price as the dependent variable, I found that Republicans consistently preferred environmental and local initiatives. The results are more mixed for Democrats and Independents, whose preferences vary based on product, but overall, Democrats assigned the highest price for every initiative.

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