2.1. Theoretical Framework
This current study employs the integrative framework of the RM paradigm of brand management and consumer behavior to support the proposed conceptual model. Consumers and brands can establish relationships similar to personal human relationships [
24,
38]. This notion of a strong and intimate consumer–brand relationship is supported by Belk [
39], who noticed that the relationship between individuals and their possessions contributes to their sense of self, identity and social relationships. In addition, consumers play an active role in co-creating brand meaning and value through collaboration in the exchange relationship with admired brands [
40]. Previous studies through the RM lens conceptualized consumer–brand relationships as being particularly interactive, experiential, and co-creative [
11].
Viewed from consumer behavior concepts (i.e., the self-concept and self-image), actual self-identity and desired self-identity are often studied together. The actual self represents the reality of how an individual perceives his/herself, while the ideal self relates to the ideal version of what an individual aspires to become [
41]. Consumers tend to maintain consistency among various self-representations. When discrepancies among self-concepts occur, individuals are motivated to change in the direction of the desired self [
42]. As such, this current study focuses on desired self-identity. In the context of a corporate brand and its relationship with employees, Helm et al. [
43] found that when employees feel the congruity between the corporate brand and their ideal self, they tend to display brand pride and self-esteem. This current study further argues that the self-expressive nature of green consumption allows customers to build and strengthen their self-identity. Green brands reflect a symbolic image instrumental to customer identity construction and preservation [
44].
In addition to desired self-identity, perceived value is also found to be an essential ingredient in consumer–brand relationships [
27]. In the context of green consumption, researchers have substantiated that green perceived value drives self-brand connection, green satisfaction and green trust [
28,
45]. When customers feel that green brands offer value by allowing them to address their green needs, while providing a favorable customer experience, they tend to display high CEB with green brands [
5]. Furthermore, personal values (e.g., altruistic values) have been identified as guiding principles in an individual’s life in forming beliefs, attitudes and behaviors across a wide range of contexts [
46]. Allen and Ng [
47] argued that personal values directly influence consumer product choices when they attend to the symbolic meaning of products. As suggested by the findings of Policarpo and Aguiar [
4], customers purchase hybrid cars because self-expressive benefits of hybrid cars as green products allow them to address their environmental concern.
Based on the above theoretical grounding, this current study posits that desired self-identity, green perceived value and altruistic values potentially drive CEB, which subsequently influence brand outcomes, such as brand loyalty. The current study’s proposed conceptual model is shown in
Figure 1 below.
2.3. Hypotheses Development
Desired self-identity denotes a sense of self that assists consumers to present themselves to others as the person they want to be and makes consumers look and feel the way they want to look and feel [
25]. It is similar to the ideal self-image, reflecting a set of characteristics that an individual ideally would like to possess [
53]. Self-identity can enable a movement towards or away from conforming according to how individuals perceive themselves and want to be perceived [
54]. Often, consumers utilize emblematic consumption to graciously craft their desired self-image [
55]. One way to do so is to consume products with symbolic value and social meanings, assisting individuals in addressing personal and social needs such as self-expression and outer-directed self-esteem [
55,
56]. Prior studies [
25] have substantiated that customers are more likely to identify with brands that have an image congruent with their own actual and desired identities. To outwardly express their desired self-identity, customers will actively engage in word-of-mouth communication about the brands as a means of enhancing this image [
57]. According to Aaker [
58], consumers often use brands as a means of self-expression. Therefore, the more consumers do so, the higher likelihood it is for them to partake in engagement behaviors such as advocating on behalf of the brand [
59,
60].
Furthermore, in consumer–brand relationships, the integration of actual self-identity, desired self-identity and life meaning, and intrinsic rewards represents the self-brand integration [
25] concept. Drawn from self-expansion theory [
61], self-brand integration indicates that consumers call upon brands as a resource to build their identity to help achieve their intrinsic goals [
62,
63]. Nyadzayo et al. [
48] found that when customers believe that their mobile phone brands have images, personalities, and meanings congruent with their inner and social selves, they tend to display high customer brand engagement.
In addition, previous studies have identified a link between self-identity and environmental interest [
64,
65]. The relationship between self-identity and consumer engagement in a pro-environmental context is evidenced by Kadic-Maglajlic et al. [
23], who found that young consumers that identify as pro-environmental are more willing to engage in pro-environmental behavior. In the context of green corporate social responsibility (CSR) action, Chuah et al. [
62] found that environmentally conscious customers are more likely to integrate a particular CSR cause into their self-schema, thereby displaying higher CEB.
Based on Sirgy’s [
41] congruity theory and previous empirical studies above, this current study argues that customers purchase and use focal green brands as a tool to signal their identities when they feel that the brand image is congruent with their desired self-schemas. Thus, focal green brands are integrated into their desired self-identity, leading to thoughts about and actions towards these brands, such as purchasing from the brand or engaging in brand advocacy [
25,
62]. Therefore, it is proposed that:
Hypothesis 1 (H1). Desired self-identity is positively related to customer engagement behavior.
Perceived value is a fundamental element in enduring consumer–brand relationships [
27]. For consumers, value derived from interaction with a brand is ubiquitous throughout their decision-making process [
65]. That is, customers must feel they are receiving a sense of value for them to continue along the decision-making process. The consequences of a perceived lack of value can often result in customers reassessing their needs or switching to a competitor’s offering. To counteract these potentially negative outcomes, brands attempt to shape customer perceptions of value by providing various market offerings [
65]. This is also because perceived value is seen as a key antecedent to post-purchase behavior such as word-of-mouth referral [
66].
The service-based literature provides empirical evidence for a link between perceived value and customer advocacy engagement. For example, in a recent study, Jones et al. [
67] found evidence that consumers who perceived value from the service tend to spread word-of-mouth referrals for service brands. Furthermore, in the context of service innovation, Leckie et al. [
52] found that perceived value of innovative services leads to CEB.
In the green consumption literature, the concept of green perceived value is receiving increasing academic attention [
65]. Green perceived value is “a consumer’s overall appraisal of the net benefits of a product or service between what is received and what is given based on the consumer’s environmental desires, sustainable expectations, and green needs” [
7] (p. 505). It represents a set of attributes associated with the environmental value of green products [
68]. Consumers subjectively evaluate the green perceived value of a green product based on their green desires, expectations, and needs [
45]. Prior research has shown that such an evaluation can manifest into affective and behavioral responses towards the brand, including purchase intentions and behavioral loyalty such as spreading positive word-of-mouth [
28]. For example, extant research has shown that perceived green value has led to customer satisfaction, trust, loyalty and repurchase intention [
28]. Further, Policarpo and Aguiar [
4] found that consumers with environmental concerns tend to purchase hybrid cars since consumers can obtain self-expressive benefits and express a higher perception of value from buying green products.
In their study, Koller et al. [
65] further highlighted the perceived value to loyalty link in a green context where consumers who view focal brands as providing green value are more likely to engage in advocacy behaviors. Given the relationship found in previous studies concerned with perceived green value and consumer-led outcomes, this study posits that green perceived value can affect CEB with the focal green brands. This aligns with Lin et al. [
45], who found that customers that derive value from their green purchase are more likely to demonstrate favorable outcomes resulting from such perceived value, including advocacy, influencing and feedback behaviors. The findings of previous sustainability research also demonstrate that perceived value of waste sorting leads to partaking in engagement activities [
69]. Thus, the following is proposed:
Hypothesis 2 (H2). Green perceived value is positively related to customer engagement behavior.
Altruistic values can be defined as “…the intention to benefit others as an expression of internal values, regardless of social or motivational reinforcement” [
70] (p. 257). Individuals with strong altruistic values tend to be selfless, often portraying empathy and helping behavior [
71]. As such, when it comes to prosocial activities, altruism is considered a strong driver of engagement with organizations that support social causes [
72].
In the context of sustainable consumption, altruistic values reflect prosocial motives that guide consumer pro-environmental behavior [
46]. As a result, consumers with altruistic values tend to display high environmental consciousness and put effort into addressing environmental problems through purchasing green brands [
73]. From moral norm activation theory [
74], such pro-environmental behavior occurs due to moral norms that are actuated in those who believe that poor environmental conditions threaten others [
75]. Subsequently, those with strong altruistic values believe that their actions can assist others or prevent harm caused by environmental damage [
75].
Empirically, altruistic values have been shown to influence prosocial brand engagement. Specifically, de Morais et al. [
76] found altruism to be the primary motive of customer engagement in the circular economy. Further research has shown that altruism can play a role in influencing customers to advocate on digital media channels for brands that push for societal betterment [
77]. In a consumer behavior context, Hollebeek et al. [
78] found that virtual consumer engagement with a FMCG brand is influenced by various altruistic sub-processes, including empathizing, assisting and mingling. More specific to green brand engagement, Panda et al. [
79] found that altruism influences consumer green brand evangelism through green purchase intention. Finally, both conceptually and empirically, research has shown that altruism manifests in people spreading word-of-mouth to inform others of their experience and provide feedback as a means of engaging in helping behavior [
80,
81,
82]. Therefore, the following is hypothesized:
Hypothesis 3 (H3). Altruistic values are positively related to customer engagement behavior.
Brand loyalty can be defined as “the degree to which the consumer is committed to repurchase of the brand” [
83] (p. 82). From Oliver [
84], consumer loyalty comprises four components, cognitive, affective, conative, and action. This current study focuses on conative (behavioral intention), where consumers indicate the willingness to repurchase the brand in the future, despite the influence of both situational factors and competitor efforts to cause brand switching [
84]. Brand/organization loyalty is considered one of the most critical marketing outcomes from both a practitioner and academic point of view. Consequently, brands adopt various marketing tools in an effort to achieve brand loyalty, including attempts to stimulate customer brand engagement [
85]. CE is considered a distinct construct from loyalty as CE is more concerned with behavioral outcomes developed from a connection with a brand [
86].
Researchers have shown the positive effect between customer brand engagement and loyalty, e.g., [
52,
87]. That is, customers who are engaged with a firm will be likely to commit to particular actions that demonstrate support for the firm [
87], such as repurchase intent [
62]. Once formed, CEB developed from a firm’s prosocial activities often leads to customer loyalty [
87]. In recent sustainability literature, Chuah et al. [
62] demonstrate that sustainable CEB mediates the relationship between self-brand integration and customer loyalty.
Evidence of the mediating role of CEB has been found in existing consumer behavior research. Specifically, Nyadzayo et al. [
48], employed customer-based brand equity as a theoretical lens to investigate the mediating role of customer brand engagement on the relationships between brand trust, brand satisfaction and self-expressive brand and brand evangelism. The authors contended that brand trust, brand satisfaction and self-expressive brand represent the meaning, feeling, and evaluation customers have with the focal brands. Thus, strong customer-brand relationships promote customer active engagement or resonance with the focal brands, resulting in brand loyalty and equity [
88].
CEB as a mediating variable on purchase behavior and loyalty extends to brands who are considered socially or environmentally conscious [
87]. For example, in recent sustainability literature, Chuah et al. [
62] demonstrated that green CEB mediates the relationship between self-brand integration, as a multi-dimensional construct consisting of desired-self-identity and customer loyalty. de Morias et al. [
76] found a similar relationship where CEB mediated the role between altruistic values and green brand buying. Whilst the mediating effect of CEB between green perceived value and loyalty is yet to be empirically examined, one can theorize this outcome. This is based on previous consumer behavior literature demonstrating that CEB mediates the role of perceived value and brand loyalty [
52]. From the above research findings, the following hypothesis is proposed:
Hypothesis 4 (H4). Customer engagement behavior mediates the relationship between (a) desired self-brand integration, (b) green perceived value and (c) altruistic values and customer loyalty.
Greenwashing is considered an organizational malpractice where firms are dishonest about their green marketing practices in making unconfirmed and fallacious claims about the green functionality of their products [
45,
89]. For example, a firm may make a claim that their product serves the environment when in actuality, it harms the environment, or may adopt counterintuitive CSR activities that move away from their core business, such as a fuel company investing in environmental measures [
90]. Consumers may find it challenging to evaluate brand greenness since some green brands can make dubious claims concerning their environmental impacts. When consumers view brands as disingenuous in their environment functionality, greenwashing perception occurs. As such, perceptions consumers hold of the authenticity of a brand’s green claims can be influential in their decision making. Prior research has substantiated that the impact of greenwashing can be far-reaching, with long-term market effects. For example, greenwashing can cause customer confusion and create doubt, distrust and cynicism about purchasing green products [
91].
Addressing a gap in existing research, this current study posits that greenwashing perception potentially moderates the impact of desired self-identity, green perceived value and altruistic values on brand loyalty via CEB of the focal green brands. A few studies have empirically investigated the moderating role of greenwashing perception in the context of environmental purchase behavior. For example, Bulut et al. [
92] found greenwashing perception to moderate the relationship between environmental concern and green behavior. Jog and Sinhal [
93] reinforce the moderating role of greenwashing on green purchase behavior and its antecedents—receptiveness to green advertising, personal norms and environmental consciousness. In a similar vein, Lin et al. [
45] discovered that when consumers feel high perceived risks generated from uncertainties surrounding the green claims of those green offerings, they report weaker influences of functional and affective product benefits on green brand image.
Based on these findings in previous studies concerned with the role of greenwashing, this current study proposes that customers are more likely to move away from focal green brands as part of their desired self-identity if they perceive the brand to be making false claims regarding environmental impacts. Similarly, customers may also feel that green perceived value generated from focal green brands diminishes if such brands are engaging in greenwashing practices. Finally, consumers with strong altruistic values are likely to feel that greenwashing practices of focal green brands are in sharp contrast to their personal values, and thus are less likely to commit to these brands by disengaging with them. In other words, when customers perceive the focal green brands to be actively practicing greenwashing, they are more likely to develop negative feelings towards such brands [
30], subsequently diminishing the effects of desired self-identity, perceived green value, and altruistic values on brand loyalty via CEB. Based on this, the following is hypothesized:
Hypothesis 5 (H5). Greenwashing perception moderates the indirect effects of (a) desired self-identity, (b) green perceived value and (c) altruistic values on brand loyalty via customer engagement behavior, such that the indirect effects are stronger at lower levels of greenwashing perception than at higher levels.