Why does excessively exquisite packaging hinder consumers to buy circular products? a perspective of signaling theory

Since a series of policies adopted by the government still cannot effectively curb global warming and environmental pollution, circular products have been verified as an effective strategy to alleviate this problem (Yadav et al., 2022). [...]according to signaling theory, when consumers are confused about green, the confusing perception (signal) will start to make consumers not believe whether the product is circular, resulting in hesitation and negative attitudes (Wandira, 2020), thereby reducing willingness to accept circular products. [...]the qualitative analysis preliminarily supports the proposition of this paper. [...]to reduce consumers’ green confusion, manufacturers of round products should not only use simple packaging but also introduce the manufacturing process of round products in the packaging instructions, such as adding a QR code to introduce the website, which can reduce consumers’ green confusion. 5 Future Research and Limitations Although this paper employs excessively exquisite packaging as an antecedent of willingness to accept circular products, there may be other factors that may lead to similar behaviors, such as discounts and promotions