Political Entrepreneurs, Indeterminate Goods and the Dynamic of Green Markets

Abstract

This paper sheds new lights on the green consumption phenomenon, and more generally on the determinants of the dynamic of green markets. We argue that some green goods such as carbon labeling products are indeterminate goods (Lupton, 2005). Using Kuran and Sunstein (1999)’s analysis that extends Lupton’s framework, we develop the idea that the dynamic of indeterminate markets depends on a random selection process within which political entrepreneurs may use strategically collective beliefs about product characteristics. Our innovative framework, which is based on the impact of socially constructed information and that of social sanctions, gives challenging insights to study green consumerism.