天美传媒

Imperial researchers have found that, if a business is transparent and open, consumers are more likely to behave ethically and responsibly

Does it pay in business to be transparent? Does it make sense for companies to come clean about the bad news as much as it does to share the good? And do consumers care whether businesses are bothered about the future; about making the world a more ethical and greener place?

These questions aren鈥檛 straightforward. We live in a cynical age: the public no longer believes businesses when they talk about being 鈥渆co-friendly鈥�, we鈥檝e seen too many false claims and we dismiss them as greenwashing. When it was discovered that the information from over 87 million Facebook users might have been used in聽 an attempt to influence voter opinions , there was a public outcry. It emerged the people affected were unaware that for-profit companies were selling their data and politicians were buying their personal information. If Facebook had been open about how it used such data in the first place, could it have salvaged its reputation? Would we be less cynical?

We鈥檝e uncovered some surprising results in our research, which will interest anyone who鈥檚 trying to stir the public social conscience.

The truth will set you free

We鈥檝e discovered that, if a business is transparent and open, it鈥檚 more likely consumers will in turn behave ethically and responsibly. By transparent, we don鈥檛 just mean, say, publishing a list of ingredients 鈥� we mean being up front about any negative company news or poor consumer reviews (for instance) and making that information easily accessible. It means owning up if working conditions or supply chains aren鈥檛 what they should be.

When consumers are interested in a purchasing decision and care about it, we find that transparency always pays off 鈥� regardless of whether a company scores high or low in social responsibility

Even more surprisingly, we found that, if a company is obviously open and concerned about the future 鈥� and how its actions will have an impact on our lives in the years to come 鈥� then we鈥檙e even more likely to become 鈥渂etter鈥� consumers: more concerned about the future of the planet and generations to come than, say, getting the best price regardless of the human or environmental cost. Google, Tencent, and Elon Musk鈥檚 Tesla Motors and SpaceX are prime examples of such future-facing businesses.

By being transparent and also keeping an eye on the future, companies amplify these beneficial qualities within consumers. This is certainly surprising at a time when suspicions of business are high.

Happy cows

Fast food giant McDonald鈥檚 has launched two pilot programmes in North America, focused on sustainability in its beef supply. According to聽听:

鈥淥ne will attempt to measure beef sustainability through the entire supply chain in a research initiative conducted by the Noble Foundation. The other is a $4.5 million matching grant program [sic] run by a group of researchers to test grazing [sic] practices that can lead to a negative carbon impact.鈥�

McDonald鈥檚 is conducting a very transparent campaign, openly sharing the pros and cons of its products and manufacturing processes. It wants to signal that it has nothing to hide.

Over-the-top claims about being socially responsible, saving the planet and the rest have run their course

In the current context of rapid technological change, transparency is relevant not only to business but policymakers, NGOs and other organisations. It鈥檚 no secret, for example, that more companies and government agencies want to use聽 聽technology to increase trust in their activities: it may allow local residents to track their medical prescriptions, or increase citizens鈥� trust in electoral systems.

To be clear, this work isn鈥檛 about selling more goods or doing more business. In our research, we鈥檝e only asked how people might make buying decisions as consumers more generally, not whether they鈥檇 buy more goods from a certain company. We haven鈥檛 looked at how these issues affect companies鈥� bottom line, and we haven鈥檛 tracked people to see if they practise what they preach 鈥� we鈥檝e taken their behaviour at their word.

Death to the greenwash!

There are exceptions. We鈥檝e looked at two different types of buying decisions: products with which the consumer feels involved (and for this we looked specifically at mobile phones, so prominent in people鈥檚 lives), and products that inspire less emotional attachment (and for this we went for takeaway coffee, though doubtless some consumers feel a great deal of love for their morning mocha).

If not backed up with action, overemphasising corporate social responsibility activities, or highlighting how wonderful one is in being ethical, is likely to backfire

Interestingly, if a company is seen as low in social responsibility and consumers are not very involved in the consumption of its product, transparency backfires. Specifically, consumers are less likely to engage in sustainable and responsible consumption.

On the flip side, when consumers are interested in a purchasing decision and care about it, we find that transparency always pays off 鈥� regardless of whether a company scores high or low in social responsibility. We find this result intriguing: it shows that transparency is potentially more powerful than we expected.

This research is particularly timely because, on the one hand, consumers want to behave ethically; they want to be responsible citizens concerned for the future. But, at the same time, they no longer trust business blindly. Over-the-top claims about being socially responsible, saving the planet and the rest have run their course. Too many companies have tried to pull the wool over our eyes with false environmental credentials and we鈥檙e wise to it. If not backed up with action (i.e. if there is a lack of transparency), overemphasising corporate social responsibility activities, or highlighting how wonderful one is in being ethical, is likely to backfire.

McDonald鈥檚 wants to signal that it has nothing to hide

If you look at companies such as Amazon or Apple, they don鈥檛 disguise the fact they don鈥檛 have wonderful working conditions for many staff. But they are also perceived as companies that are focused on the future. Could this account for their enduring consumer success? That鈥檚 another avenue of research.

With all this in mind, it seems Facebook might have been better off not trying to shirk responsibility for its actions (or lack thereof). Consumers may well have been more accepting if the company had been more transparent about how it used their data.

All this shows what an important role business commands in society: we are not just influenced by parents or friends. And it pays for companies to be open, transparent and to operate with all our futures in mind. In the right conditions, companies can actually serve as positive role models. We find this terribly encouraging.

This article draws on finding from聽, published as the lead article in a special issue of the聽European Journal of Marketing聽on 鈥渋n search of sustainable and responsible consumption鈥�.