Purpose : The primary objective of this research was to delve into the influence of green brand image (GBI), transparency (TR), and green advertising receptivity (GAR) on green brand trust (GBT) and their subsequent impact on consumers’ purchase intentions (PIs) within the realm of green marketing in India.

Design/Methodology/Approach : Data was collected via a structured survey from 277 Indian consumers and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 3.0. The research was conceptualized through the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework, examining how stimuli like GBI, TR, and GAR influenced GBI as the organism, ultimately impacting the response.

Findings : The results showed that GBT was positively influenced by GAR and GBI, which enhanced PI. TR and non-deception (ND) do not significantly impact GBI. ND strengthens the GAR–GBI link, while TR does not moderate GBI–GBT.

Practical Implications : This study advised Indian green market companies to focus on strengthening GBI and GAR to build consumer trust and boost PIs while maintaining TR and avoiding deceptive practices.

Originality/Value : This study added to the present literature by understanding the aspects inducing consumers’ trust in green brands in the Indian context. It also highlighted the importance of TR and ND in building consumer trust and emphasized the need for companies to align their green marketing strategies with consumer expectations.

1. Alam, M. Z., Silawi, A., Haque, M. I., & Fatima, Z. (2024). Impact of green marketing on brand image and eco-friendly environment of travel & tourism sector. Migration Letters, 21(3), 755-770. https://migrationletters.com/index.php/ml/article/view/6770
2. Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (2012). Specification, evaluation, and interpretation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40, 8-34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-011-0278-x
3. Bashir, S., Khwaja, M. G., Rashid, Y., Turi, J. A., & Waheed, T. (2020). Green brand benefits and brand outcomes: The mediating role of green brand image. Sage Open, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020953156
4. Bhatti, K. K., & Negi, A. (2018). Determinants of green marketing leading to sustainable competitive advantage for retailers within the Delhi region. Indian Journal of Marketing, 48(8), 53-64. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2018/v48/i8/130540
5. Bladt, D., van Capelleveen, G., & Yazan, D. M. (2024). The influence of greenwashing practices on brand attitude: A multidimensional consumer analysis in Germany. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(2), 597-625. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3496
6. Bothello, J., Ioannou, I., Porumb, V.-A., & Zengin-Karaibrahimoglu, Y. (2023). CSR decoupling within business groups and the risk of perceived greenwashing. Strategic Management Journal, 44(13), 3217-3251. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3532
7. Chen, Y.-S. (2010). The drivers of green brand equity: Green brand image, green satisfaction, and green trust. Journal of Business Ethics, 93, 307-319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0223-9
8. Cheung, M. F., & To, W. M. (2021). The effect of consumer perceptions of the ethics of retailers on purchase behavior and word-of-mouth: The moderating role of ethical beliefs. Journal of Business Ethics, 171(4), 771-788. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04431-6
9. Copeland, L., & Bhaduri, G. (2020). Consumer relationship with pro-environmental apparel brands: Effect of knowledge, skepticism and brand familiarity. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 29(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-03-2018-1794
10. Denyse, M., & Bhagat, D. (2018). Examining the role of intention and perceived behavioral control on purchase of ethical products in Rwanda. Indian Journal of Marketing, 48(5), 21-35. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2018/v48/i5/123442
11. Deshmukh, P., & Tare, H. (2024). Green marketing and corporate social responsibility: A review of business practices. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 7(3), Article ID 2024059. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2024059
12. Dixit, R. S., Choudhary, S. L., Biswal, B. K., Mishra, J., Dhar, S., & Naved, M. (2023). Influence of green advertising on the consumer view of green technology and sustainability. Journal of Informatics Education and Research, 3(2), 2016-2025. https://doi.org/10.52783/jier.v3i2.344
13. El Bordiny, R. (2024). Studying the moderating effect of consumers' demographics on the Relationship between green marketing strategies and perception of climate change: A field study on fast food restaurants in Egypt. MSA-Management Sciences Journal, 3(1), 41-93. https://doi.org/10.21608/MSAMSJ.2023.243790.1033
14. Esmaelnezhad, D., Lagzi, M. D., Antucheviciene, J., Hashemi, S. S., & Khorshidi, S. (2023). Evaluation of green marketing strategies by considering sustainability criteria. Sustainability, 15(10), 7874. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15107874
15. Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
16. Free, C., Jones, S., & Tremblay, M.-S. (2024). Greenwashing and sustainability assurance: A review and call for future research. Journal of Accounting Literature, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAL-11-2023-0201
17. Ha, M.-T. (2022). Greenwash and green brand equity: The mediating role of green brand image, green satisfaction, and green trust, and the moderating role of green concern. PloS One, 17(11), Article ID e0277421. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277421
18. Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 19(2), 139-152. https://doi.org/10.2753/MTP1069-6679190202
19. Hota, S. L. (2022). Customers perception on E-CRM technology: A comparative study. ECS Transactions, 107(1), 10171. https://doi.org/10.1149/10701.10171ecst
20. Huo, C., Hameed, J., Zhang, M., Ali, A. F., & Hashim, N. A. (2022). Modeling the impact of corporate social responsibility on sustainable purchase intentions: Insights into brand trust and brand loyalty. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 35(1), 4710-4739. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2021.2016465
21. Hwang, J., & Lyu, S. O. (2020). Relationships among green image, consumer attitudes, desire, and customer citizenship behavior in the airline industry. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 14(6), 437-447. https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2019.1573280
22. Jinliang, W., Chau, K. Y., Baei, F., Moslehpour, M., Nguyen, K.-L., & Nguyen, T. T. (2023). Integrated perspective of eco-innovation, green branding, and sustainable product: A case of an emerging economy. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja, 36(3), Article ID 2196690. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2023.2196690
23. Khan, I., & Fatma, M. (2023). Does perceived sustainability affect the customer responses toward the brands? Role of customer engagement as a mediator. Sustainability, 15(10), 8259. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108259
24. Khan, S. A., Sheikh, A. A., Ashraf, M., & Yu, Z. (2022). Improving consumer-based green brand equity: The role of healthy green practices, green brand attachment, and green skepticism. Sustainability, 14(19), 11829. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141911829
25. Kock, N. (2015). Common method bias in PLS-SEM: A full collinearity assessment approach. International Journal of e-Collaboration (IJeC), 11(4), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijec.2015100101
26. Konuk, F. A., Rahman, S. U., & Salo, J. (2015). Antecedents of green behavioral intentions: A cross-country study of Turkey, Finland and Pakistan. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(6), 586-596. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12209
27. Kumar, A., Bapat, G., Kumar, A., Hota, S. L., Abishek, G. D., & Vaz, S. (2023). Unlocking brand excellence: Harnessing AI tools for enhanced customer engagement and Innovation. Engineering Proceedings, 59(1), 204. https://doi.org/10.3390/engproc2023059204
28. Kumar, A., Syed, A. A., & Pandey, A. (2021). Adoption of online resources to improve the marketing performance of SMES. Asia-Pacific Journal of Health Management, 16(3), 137-144. https://doi.org/10.24083/apjhm.v16i3.1009
29. Lavuri, R., Jabbour, C. J., Grebinevych, O., & Roubaud, D. (2022). Green factors stimulating the purchase intention of innovative luxury organic beauty products: Implications for sustainable development. Journal of Environmental Management, 301, Article ID 113899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113899
30. Lin, J., Zhou, Z., & Leckie, C. (2021). Green brand communication, brand prominence and self-brand connection. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 30(8), 1148-1161. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-04-2020-2874
31. Lin, J., & Zhou, Z. (2022). The positioning of green brands in enhancing their image: The mediating roles of green brand innovativeness and green perceived value. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 17(6), 1404-1424. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-06-2020-0657
32. Majeed, M. U., Aslam, S., Murtaza, S. A., Attila, S., & Molnar, E. (2022). Green marketing approaches and their impact on green purchase intentions: Mediating role of green brand image and consumer beliefs towards the environment. Sustainability, 14(18), 11703. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811703
33. Mehraj, D., & Qureshi, I. H. (2022). Does green brand positioning translate into green purchase intention?: A mediation-moderation model. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(7), 3166-3181. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3069
34. Mogaji, E., Adeola, O., Adisa, I., Hinson, R. E., Mukonza, C., & Kirgiz, A. C. (2022). Green marketing in emerging economies: Communication and brand perspective: An introduction. In Green marketing in emerging economies: A communications perspective, Palgrave studies of marketing in emerging economies (pp. 1-16). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82572-0_1
35. Mohapatra, S., Kumar, A., Shirmila, T., Rroy, A. D., & Hota, S. L. (2024). The mediating role of customer satisfaction for a sustainable e-banking performance. Environment and Social Psychology, 9(6), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.54517/esp.v9i6.1986
36. Nagar, K. (2015). Modeling the effects of green advertising on brand image: Investigating the moderating effects of product involvement using structural equation. Journal of Global Marketing, 28(3-5), 152-171. https://doi.org/10.1080/08911762.2015.1114692
37. Nascimento, J., & Loureiro, S. M. (2024). Mapping the sustainability branding field: Emerging trends and future directions. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 33(2), 234-257. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-02-2023-4349
38. Nguyen, T.-P., & Dekhili, S. (2019). Sustainable development in Vietnam: An examination of consumers' perceptions of green products. Business Strategy and Development, 2(2), 127-136. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsd2.48
39. Nguyen-Viet, B., & Thanh Tran, C. (2024). Sustaining organizational customers' consumption through corporate social responsibility and green advertising receptivity: The mediating role of green trust. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), Article ID 2287775. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2287775
40. Oppong-Tawiah, D., & Webster, J. (2023). Corporate sustainability communication as 'Fake News': Firms' greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability, 15(8), 6683. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086683
41. Pancic, M., Serdarusic, H., & Cucic, D. (2023). Green marketing and repurchase intention: Stewardship of green advertisement, brand awareness, brand equity, green innovativeness, and brand innovativeness. Sustainability, 15(16), 12534. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612534
42. Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879-903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
43. Premi, H., Sharma, M., & Dangayach, G. S. (2021). Green marketing: A systematic literature review. Indian Journal of Marketing, 51(8), 39-57. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2021/v51/i8/165761
44. Qayyum, A., Jamil, R. A., & Sehar, A. (2023). Impact of green marketing, greenwashing and green confusion on green brand equity. Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC, 27(3), 286-305. https://doi.org/10.1108/SJME-03-2022-0032
45. Rahman, S. U., & Nguyen-Viet, B. (2023). Towards sustainable development: Coupling green marketing strategies and consumer perceptions in addressing greenwashing. Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(4), 2420-2433. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3256
46. Romani, S., Grappi, S., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2016). Corporate socially responsible initiatives and their effects on consumption of green products. Journal of Business Ethics, 135, 253-264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2485-0
47. Roy, V., Vijay, T. S., & Srivastava, A. (2022). The distinctive agenda of service failure recovery in e-tailing: Criticality of logistical/non-logistical service failure typologies and e-tailing ethics. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 64, Article ID 102837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102837
48. Santos, C., Coelho, A., & Marques, A. (2024). A systematic literature review on greenwashing and its relationship to stakeholders: State of art and future research agenda. Management Review Quarterly, 74, 1397-1421. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-023-00337-5
49. Sheth, J. N., & Parvatiyar, A. (2021). Sustainable marketing: Market-driving, not market-driven. Journal of Macromarketing, 41(1), 150-165. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146720961836
50. Shultz, C., Hoek, J., Lee, L., Leong, W. Y., Srinivasan, R., Viswanathan, M., & Wertenbroch, K. (2022). JPP&M's global perspective and impact: An agenda for research on marketing and public policy. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 41(1), 34-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/07439156211049216
51. Suhan, M., Nayak, S., Nayak, R., Spulbar, C., Vidya Bai, G., Birau, R., Anghel, L. C., & Stanciu, C. V. (2022). Exploring the sustainable effect of mediational role of brand commitment and brand trust on brand loyalty: An empirical study. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja, 35(1), 6422-6444. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2048202
52. Sun, Y., & Wang, S. (2020). Understanding consumers' intentions to purchase green products in the social media marketing context. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 32(4), 860-878. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-03-2019-0178
53. Szabo, S., & Webster, J. (2021). Perceived greenwashing: The effects of green marketing on environmental and product perceptions. Journal of Business Ethics, 171, 719-739. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04461-0
54. Tan, Z., Sadiq, B., Bashir, T., Mahmood, H., & Rasool, Y. (2022). Investigating the impact of green marketing components on purchase intention: The mediating role of brand image and brand trust. Sustainability, 14(10), 5939. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105939
55. Tara, K., Singh, S., & Kumar, R. (2015). Green marketing: The new strategic imperative by firms in India. Indian Journal of Marketing, 45(7), 19-34. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2015/v45/i7/79926
56. Tewari, N., Goel, S., Haldar, P., Mathur, V. P., & Srivastav, S. (2022). An effective method to summarise the outcomes of questionnaire-based studies in systematic reviews. Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, 80(8), 569-572. https://doi.org/10.1080/00016357.2022.2052957
57. Thogersen, J. (2021). Consumer behavior and climate change: Consumers need considerable assistance. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 42, 9-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.02.008
58. Tyupa, S. (2011). A theoretical framework for back-translation as a quality assessment tool. New Voices in Translation Studies, 7(1), 35-46. https://doi.org/10.14456/nvts.2011.4
59. Us, Y., Pimonenko, T., & Lyulyov, O. (2023). Corporate social responsibility and renewable energy development for the green brand within SDGs: A meta-analytic review. Energies, 16(5), 2335. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16052335
60. Vangeli, A., Matecka, A., Mitrega, M., & Pfajfar, G. (2023). From greenwashing to green B2B marketing: A systematic literature review. Industrial Marketing Management, 115, 281-299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2023.10.002
61. Venkatesan, M. (2022). Marketing sustainability: A critical consideration of environmental marketing strategies. In K. Ogunyemi, & V. Burgal (eds.), Products for conscious consumers (pp. 151-166). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-837-120221009
62. Volschenk, J., Gerber, C., & Santos, B. A. (2022). The (in)ability of consumers to perceive greenwashing and its influence on purchase intent and willingness to pay. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 25(1), Article ID a4553. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v25i1.4553
63. Vuong, Q.-H., La, V.-P., Nguyen, H.-K., Ho, M.-T., Vuong, T.-T., & Ho, M.-T. (2021). Identifying the moral-practical gaps in corporate social responsibility missions of Vietnamese firms: An event-based analysis of sustainability feasibility. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28(1), 30-41. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2029
64. Wang, Y. M., Zaman, H. M., & Alvi, A. K. (2022). Linkage of green brand positioning and green customer value with green purchase intention: The mediating and moderating role of attitude toward green brand and green trust. Sage Open, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221102441
65. Wiedmann, T., Lenzen, M., Keyler, L. T., & Steinberger, J. K. (2020). Scientists' warning on affluence. Nature Communications, 11(1), Article no. 3107. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16941-y
66. Wu, L., & Liu, Z. (2022). The influence of green marketing on brand trust: The mediation role of brand image and the moderation effect of greenwash. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/6392172
67. Yadav, M., Gupta, R., & Nair, K. (2024). Time for sustainable marketing to build a green conscience in consumers: Evidence from a hybrid review. Journal of Cleaner Production, Article ID 141188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141188
68. Yadav, P., Agarwal, B., & Mathew, J. (2023). Green marketing strategy adoption by Indian political party brands with special emphasis on marketing mix. Indian Journal of Marketing, 53(5), 57-69. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2023/v53/i5/172727
69. Zaid, E. S., & Ravi, A. (2022). An empirical study on green products and green marketing. The Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government, 28(4), 2037-2045. https://doi.org/10.47750/cibg.2022.28.04.158