Greenwashing Awareness and Consumer Behavior among Economics Students

Abstract

In the context of increasing global concerns for sustainability and the proliferation of unfounded environmental claims in commercial communication, greenwashing represents an increasingly relevant challenge for consumers and regulatory institutions. This study analyzes the level of awareness of greenwashing practices in the agri-food sector among economics students in the Republic of Moldova, assessing the extent to which current economics education prepares them to identify deceptive commercial tactics and adopt responsible consumption behaviors. Through a structured questionnaire administered to a sample of 235 students aged 18-25 from economics faculties, the study measures greenwashing awareness, consumer confusion and purchase intention for organic products, using multiple regression techniques and mediation models. The results indicate that 92% of respondents correctly identify greenwashing practices, but the correlation between confidence in one's own abilities and actual performance is insignificant (r = 0.074), suggesting a Dunning-Kruger effect specific to this field. The perception of the benefits of organic products is the strongest predictor of purchase intention (r = 0.59), and awareness of greenwashing amplifies, not diminishes, the motivation to purchase authentic green products. Gender differences reveal significantly higher scores in women regarding the perception of ecological benefits, with no differences in detection ability. 63.8% of students support the introduction of courses dedicated to responsible marketing in the university curriculum. The study contributes to the specialized literature by highlighting a metacognitive paradox in economic education in emerging economies: the deficit of students is not cognitive, but resides in the lack of confidence in the skills already formed, providing empirical arguments for the curricular reform in economic education in the Republic of Moldova.