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Products that espouse environmental ethical principles have received increasing attention in recent years. However, one key barrier against sustainable consumption is that green attributes could result in consumer’s expectation of decreased product physical performance. This study aims to investigate how green attributes existing in different product categories affect consumer purchase intention.

Two experimental studies were conducted to test the hypotheses. Study 1 provides initial evidence of the interaction effects between green attributes and product category on consumer purchase intention. Study 2 replicates the findings of Study 1 and further tests a benefits-based mechanism in the relationship between green attributes and consumer purchase intention.

The findings show that in the utilitarian product category, products with green peripheral attributes result in a higher purchase intention than those with green core attributes, whereas, in the hedonic product category, products with green core attributes result in a higher purchase intention than those with green peripheral attributes. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate that green attributes, as universal sustainability cues predominantly affect consumers’ perceptions of utilitarian environmental benefits and self-expression benefits, which further enhance their purchase intention towards utilitarian products and hedonic products, respectively.

This study responds to the calls for more empirical studies into discussing the role of green attributes in consumer purchase intention. Furthermore, it uncovers a benefits-based mechanism that explains how green attributes existing in utilitarian product categories and hedonic product categories trigger consumers’ analysis of benefits, leading to positive consumer purchase intention.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how green brand positioning facilitated by utilitarian environmental benefits and nature connectedness may influence green brand image, as mediated by green perceived value (GPV) and brand innovativeness and how brand type moderates these relationships.

Data were collected using an online survey method, and structural equation modeling was employed to test the research hypotheses with a sample of 826 Chinese respondents.

The results demonstrate that utilitarian environmental benefits directly enhance green brand image. Both utilitarian environmental benefits and nature connectedness indirectly influence green brand image through GPV and brand innovativeness. Subsequently, green brand innovativeness positively affects GPV. The moderating effects of brand type on the relationships in the model are also established.

Organisations should enhance green value and brand innovativeness when adopting green brand positioning tools to strengthen green brand image and implement diverse green branding strategies between brands of physical goods and services.

Although previous studies have investigated how perceived benefits affect the development of brand image, the issue has not been examined based on the human associative memory framework from a green branding perspective. No empirical study has simultaneously included both green brand innovativeness and GPV in this formation process. Additionally, the moderating role of brand type in the model has not been explored previously.

This study aims to apply legitimacy theory and self-identity theory to the online food delivery (OFD) app service and then to investigate the impact of green brand legitimacy and biospheric value orientation perceived by customers on eco-friendly behavior.

This study focuses on the mediating role of trust in green brands and its perceived benefits (including psychological and environmental benefits). This study involved an online survey of 445 customers who had experienced using OFD services in the past six months.

The platform's green brand legitimacy and consumer perceived biospheric value orientation positively impact trust in green brands. Trust in green products and services significantly affects customers' perceived benefits and has a positive impact on eco-friendly service using behavior. Mediating effect analysis indicated that brand legitimacy and biospheric value have a positive indirect influence on the psychological benefits of supporting green activities and utilitarian environmental benefits.

The convenience sampling method is used, and its purely quantitative nature may limit the generalization of the research results.

The OFD platform should encourage online catering retailers to use more eco-friendly packages for packaging food and minimize the provision of disposable tableware. The platform manager can provide consumers with knowledge and information on lowering related environmental pollution sources when ordering food.

This study innovatively introduces brand legitimacy into the green consumption literature. This is an essential expansion of the content of brand legitimacy and a supplement for the research field of eco-friendly behavior.

This study examines the relationship between green psychological benefits and green apparel purchase behavior using stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) theory and a serial multiple mediation model.

Data were collected from 250 Lithuanians using a standardized questionnaire. Convergent and discriminant validity analyses were performed to ensure validity and reliability, and variable relationships were assessed using structural equation modeling.

The findings revealed utilitarian environmental benefits and warm glow benefits positively impacted Generation Z's (Gen Z's) attitudes toward green apparel. In contrast, the self-expressive benefits had no effect. In addition, attitude and purchase intention significantly predict green apparel purchase behavior. Attitudes and purchase intentions are crucial as serial mediators between green psychological benefits and green apparel purchase behavior.

These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers in Lithuania and highlight the importance of emphasizing the psychological benefits to encourage the purchase of green apparel. Moreover, policymakers and marketers should design apparel products that appeal to Gen Z, promoting green apparel adoption. By leveraging the stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) theory, this research contributes to understanding pro-environmental behavior. It bridges the gap between attitudes, intentions and actual behavior in sustainable fashion research.

This study aims to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework to investigate how green brand positioning strategies positively impact consumer response. It focusses on uncovering the causal mechanism in which such effect is mediated by brand stereotypes. Additionally, it outlines the moderating role of construal level in this formation process.

Three experimental studies were conducted to examine the hypotheses. Study 1 tests the positive influence of green brand positioning on consumer response. Study 2 tests the dual mediating effect of warmth and competence in the relationship between green brand positioning and consumer response. Study 3 further examines the moderating role of construal level in the effects of green brand positioning on brand stereotypes.

The findings reveal that green emotional positioning strategies are predominantly stereotyped as warm while green functional positioning strategies are predominantly stereotyped as competent. Both warm and competent mediate the effects of green brand positioning on consumer response. Furthermore, a congruency between green emotional positioning and high-level construal, as well as the match between green functional positioning and low-level construal, leads to more warmth and competence perception.

This study contributes to green brand management literature by proposing a brand stereotype-based mechanism to explain how green brand positioning strategies trigger consumers’ stereotyping process, leading to positive consumer response. This study also identifies the construal level as a moderating variable that impacts consumers’ warmth and competence perceptions towards two kinds of green brand positioning strategies. Managerially, the findings of this study provide managerial ideas for developing green branding strategies.

This study aims to identify the dominant brand attributes based on the survey conducted among 100 young consumers to know their perceptions toward sustainable brands, using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques, arithmetic hierarchical process (AHP) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS).

In total, 100 young consumers (18 to 24 age group) were asked to provide the pairwise comparisons for the 10 brands. MCDM methods were applied on triple bottom line dimensions to identify the best alternative. AHP is applied to compute weights for the brands’ attributes necessary for brand’s sustainability, further analyzed by TOPSIS method to rank Forbes’ top 10 brands as per young consumers’ intentions to buy.

Apple is the most sustainable brand perceived by young consumers followed by Google and Samsung. Being the top brand in Forbes list Apple also fulfills its responsibility toward the environment and recognizes young consumers’ perception accurately. Google is also contending with the same strategy and succeed in achieving a sustainable brand image. Samsung despite at number seven and second-highest revenues after Apple has managed excellently in building sustainable brand image.

Findings have shown that the top global brands do not show the same order as they exhibit in their top ranking (Forbes, 2019), and thus, create a research gap to be fulfilled by identifying the causes for the same. The results show that brand consistency and performance can be achieved through implementing sustainable and green practices such as acting social responsibility, high-quality green products, environment protection, etc., and transforming these into capabilities.

The study is an attempt to further validate Forbes’s top brands based on their perception among young customers. The study may help practitioners and policymakers to understand and get familiar with a new methodology to evaluate brands and also how to develop a positioning strategy for targeting young consumers. The paper will be a useful source of information for marketers to know how young consumers from developing countries perceive top brands on the basis of sustainability.

The social benefits of brand sustainability are related to improvements in the quality of environment, health and well-being. To link these, an enabling environment must be created that optimizes resource use, allocation and distribution.

The study is a unique attempt to use AHP and TOPSIS to evaluate the best – performing green brand from the perception of young customers in developing counties. Besides, the study provides brands attributes’ framework for sustainability and is significant for developing a model as per the choices of the young consumers.

In the channel-mix era, the customer journey involves combining channels during all the stages of the decision-making process, such that creating and maintaining relationships with consumers poses a challenge to retailers. This work aims to explore what role brands play in this issue by analyzing what impact the perceived benefits of brand channel-mix have on consumer self–brand connection (SBC) and what their effect is in enduring consumer–brand relationships (i.e. future channel-mix use and word of mouth [WOM]). This paper also explores the moderating role of product involvement in these relations.

The authors carried out a personal questionnaire with a sample of 288 consumers who were recruited after leaving one of the stores of a clothing brand that is a successful example of distribution channel management.

Insofar as consumers perceive channel-mix benefits, SBC will be higher and (or as a result) their future intentions with the brand will be more intense. In addition, the results show that product involvement moderates the relationship between SBC and channel-mix use intention and WOM.

This work contributes to channel-mix, relationship marketing, brand and product involvement literature by analyzing how customers may be retained in the channel-mix era through brand management and by considering product category involvement. This study merges brand and product variables to explore their impact on relationship marketing within channel-mix behaviors.

This study aims to examine the young Malaysian consumers’ switching intention from synthetic to biodegradable plastics. This research shows the factors affecting young Malaysian consumers’ switching intention towards biodegradable plastic rather than traditional plastic (synthetic plastics). In this study, there are three factors to be considered whether they influence the young consumers in Malaysia to change their intention towards biodegradable plastic. The three factors are environmental concern, knowledge and the perceived value of biodegradable plastic. However, biodegradable plastic’s switching intention is also affected by biodegradable plastic’s attitude, where the three factors influence this attitude. Thus, all variables are considered in this research to investigate the reasons for switching intention from synthetic to biodegradable plastics among young Malaysian consumers.

In line with the recent economic growth, especially in developing countries, human concern for the environment has increased over time. This paradigm shift has influenced Malaysians to pay more attention to the issues related to synthetic plastics, especially in Malaysia itself. To reduce the use of synthetic plastic in Malaysia, this research is conducted to identify the young consumer’s behaviour in Malaysia towards the use of biodegradable plastics. In this study, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) is broadened into three additional factors that potentially enhance the young consumer’s attitude and increase switching intention towards biodegradable plastics: environmental concern, knowledge and perceived value. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire via an online survey method. The structural equation modelling with SmartPLS 3 was used to analyse the data from a total of 162 respondents. The study’s key findings confirmed that switching intention towards biodegradable plastics is significantly influenced by environmental concern, perceived value, and attitude. This study also provided empirical evidence that the attitude acts as a mediator for the relationship between environmental concern and perceived value towards the switching intention. These results could help the government establish a new policy to encourage citizens to use biodegradable plastics while reducing environmental pollution.

The study’s key findings confirmed that switching intention towards biodegradable plastics is significantly influenced by environmental concern, perceived value and attitude. Furthermore, this study extends the TPB to include the intention to switch from synthetic to biodegradable plastics, where attitudes towards the environment, environmental concern and perceived value all have an impact on the intention to switch from synthetic to biodegradable plastics in the first place. As an additional contribution to the existing body of knowledge, this study provides empirical data about the variables influencing decision-makers’ intentions towards the transition from synthetic to biodegradable plastics. The findings of this study may also be useful for future research by academic institutions, the Department of Research and Development and the government. As a result, this research is important for future academics who want to better understand the intentions of young Malaysian consumers when it comes to biodegradable plastics.

This research might provide direction to a firm considering implementing a new business strategy to develop creative and sustainable products that will contribute to the protection of the environment. More importantly, this research contributes to improving government policy and regulation in environmental preservation by integrating environmental knowledge and attitude into Malaysian cultural practices. Also possible are even greater levels of environmental awareness and environmentally friendly activities on the part of the government and the commercial sector, such as various initiatives and events to encourage green and environmentally friendly purchasing habits. As a result, given that sustainability has emerged as one of the most pressing issues facing society today, this research is important in that it provides insights for stakeholders (policymakers, marketers and others) to strategise the government’s plan to reduce the use of synthetic plastics and promote the use of biodegradable plastics. As the analysis of consumer behaviour is one of the most important aspects of improving the profitability of businesses, the collaboration between marketing and the research and development department to examine consumer behaviour is extremely important to meet the needs of consumers. This research could serve as a reference for them during the decision-making process, particularly in the plastics industry, which is highly recommended. Aside from that, the findings of the study may be used as a guide for the government in developing new policies to attain the objective of sustainable development in the future. As a result, it can aid in introducing environmentally friendly products and raising public knowledge about them.

This paper aims to expand the emerging field of symbolic green consumer behavior (GCB) by investigating the impact of anticipated conspicuousness of the consumption situation on consumers’ choice of organic products. In addition, the paper also explores whether self-monitoring ability and attention to social comparison information (ATSCI) influence GCB in situations of anticipated high conspicuousness.

Two experiments test the study’s hypotheses.

The results of both experiments show that the anticipation of conspicuousness has a significant effect on GCB. Moreover, in Experiment 2, this effect is moderated by consumers’ level of ATSCI but not by their self-monitoring ability.

Because ATSCI significantly interacts with green consumption because of the anticipation of a conspicuous setting, although self-monitoring ability does not, we conclude that social identification is an important determinant of green consumption.

Marketers who focus on building green brands could consider designing conspicuous consumption situations to increase GCB.

Policymakers could enact change by making the environmental unfriendliness of non-eco-friendly products visible to the public and thus increase the potential for GCB.

The results validate the emerging understanding that green products are consumed for self-enhancement, but also expand the literature by highlighting that a key motivating factor of GCB is the desire to fit in.

The paper examines the role of green knowledge and green attitude in purchasing behavior of the youth in Ghana. This study focuses on investigating how green value and green trust mediates the relationship between green knowledge and green attitude and purchase behavior of the youth in Ghana.

A quantitative approach was used. A total of 417 respondents were selected using convenient sampling method. Respondents were selected at leading shopping malls (grocery stores) in Accra the national capital of Ghana. Data was analyzed using the partial least square (PLS). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to investigate the relationship among the variables.

The findings indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between green knowledge and purchasing behavior and also that there is a positive and significant relationship between green attitude and purchasing behavior. The findings revealed further that green trust do not mediate the relationship between green knowledge and purchasing behavior but green value does. The findings suggest that green value is more important in purchasing decision of the youth in Ghana than trust.

Research is essentially cross-sectional and longitudinal studies and can validate findings in the long term. The researchers admit that this research work which is carried out only in Ghana cannot be used to generalize an assumption for the entire youth in Africa and beyond. The sample size could be improved and the study could be conducted in other African countries for the purposes of comparison.

Business managers who are interested in sustainability of their firms and society at large can be guided by this insight that green knowledge and attitude influence purchase decisions of the youth. The findings that green trust do not mediate the relationship between green knowledge and purchasing behavior but green value does will guide managers on marketing and communication strategies especially toward the youth.

The model argues that the youth purchasing behavior is influenced by green knowledge and attitude. The model suggests that that green value is more important in purchasing decision of the youth in Ghana than trust. The model further points out that green trust do not mediate the relationship between green knowledge and purchasing behavior.