Banken auf dem Holzweg? : Eine empirische Untersuchung der Bewertung von Kreditkarten aus Holz

Some banks in Germany and Switzerland have recently started offering credit cards made of wood to their customers in order to underline their focus on sustainability. This paper aims to research the question: How do customers perceive these cards in terms of the sustainability of the card and the bank? Based on the cue-consistency theory, a survey using a sample of 85 students is employed. Factor analysis is used to condense the statements on sustainability attitudes and expectations towards the bank. The regression analyses show that wood credit cards are predominantly evaluated positively, and the more positive the attitude towards sustainability, the stronger the evaluation. The analysis also confirms: a positive evaluation of wood credit cards leads to a higher expectation regarding sustainable management of the bank. Banks that offer wood credit cards must be able to meet these increased expectations. Otherwise, they run the risk of being confronted with accusations of greenwashing, because credit cards do not represent a significant contribution to waste prevention.