Consumers’ Trait Curiosity as a Driver of Green Packaging Message Favorability and Engagement: The Moderating Effect of Message In(Congruence)

In today’s sustainability-driven market, green packaging has emerged as a prominent strategy for promoting environmental responsibility. However, despite significant corporate investments, consumer responses to such initiatives remain mixed, underscoring the need to understand how message delivery affects engagement. This article aims to investigate the role of consumer trait curiosity in shaping responses to green packaging messages and its impact on message favorability and engagement. Results reveal that (1) consumers with high trait curiosity show greater message favorability and engagement than those with low curiosity; (2) message congruency interacts with trait curiosity, such that low-curiosity consumers respond more favorably to congruent messages, whereas high-curiosity consumers prefer incongruent ones; and (3) message favorability mediates the relationship between trait curiosity and engagement. Our findings provide novel insights into the psychological mechanisms of green message processing and offer strategic guidance for firms seeking to enhance the effectiveness of sustainability communication through packaging.