Understanding Consumer Perception towards Sustainable Apparel: A Parallel Mediation Analysis on Satisfaction and Trust

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study investigates the purchase intention of sustainable Apparel by Korean Consumers.

The study requires a set of modifications and clarifications before being considered for publication:

- In the introduction, please clarify the research questions and why this study is needed. How would it benefit the current state of knowledge.

- In the literature review, please clarify the theoretical background of your model and how it has been developed. For example, we have several theories that have been previously used to understand purchase intentions, such as:

- UTAUT in Al-Kfairy, M., Shuhaiber, A., Al-Khatib, A.W. and Alrabaee, S., 2023. Social commerce adoption model based on usability, perceived risks, and institutional-based trust. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

- TAM and SUS model in Rani, I., Nagadeepa, C., Jaheer Mukthar, K.P., Rurush-Asencio, R., Sifuentes-Stratti, J. and Espinoza-Rodríguez, H., 2024. Innovative and Sustainable Consumer Intention Towards Smart Garden Gadgets—An Integrated TAM and SUS Model. Intelligent Systems, Business, and Innovation Research, pp.413-424.

- In the abstract, you claim that you are investigating the purchase intention, but your model measures loyalty; you have to clarify that better for the readers.

- Make the discussion a separate section instead of part of the conclusion.

- Elaborate on the practical and theoretical implications of the study.

 

Good Luck

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions/corrections highlighted/in track changes in the re-submitted files.

 

Comments 1: [In the introduction, please clarify the research questions and why this study is needed. How would it benefit the current state of knowledge.]

Respons 1: [We designated the research questions and identified the need for this study based on the changing society and the Korean market environment.]

 

Comments 2: [In the literature review, please clarify the theoretical background of your model and how it has been developed. For example, we have several theories that have been previously used to understand purchase intentions]

Response 2: [The theoretical background of our model is the value-satisfaction-loyalty chain. From this fundamental model, we aim to expand the model in the context of sustainable apparel.

We explain each factor of this framework in the literature review (2.2 - 2.5). Furthermore, we have added a subsection titled “2.6. Value-Satisfaction-Loyalty Framework”. In this section, we elucidate the linkage between each factor.]

 

Comments 3: [In the abstract, you claim that you are investigating the purchase intention, but your model measures loyalty; you have to clarify that better for the readers.]

Response 3: [We clarify the term in the abstract and describe that repurchase intention is one of the sub-dimensions used to measure loyalty in "2.5. Loyalty section".]

 

Comments 4: [Make the discussion a separate section instead of part of the conclusion.]

Response 4: [We separate the discussions from the conclusions section. In the discussion section, we interpret the results of the statistical analysis, while in the conclusion section, we present the study’s conclusions, including its implications.]

 

Comments 5: [Elaborate on the practical and theoretical implications of the study.]

Response 5: [We divide the implications into two parts: theoretical implications and practical implications, to further elaborate on the contributions of our study.]

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Manuscript ID sustainability-3118993 Review reports

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

n   Summary: Your study on the purchase decision-making process of Korean consumers with experience in buying sustainable apparel is well-executed and provides valuable insights. The focus on perceived value's impact on loyalty, mediated by satisfaction and trust, is particularly significant. The findings that functional, emotional, and green values significantly influence loyalty contribute to the existing literature and provide practical insights for sustainable apparel manufacturers.

n   General Comments: The manuscript is clear and well-structured, making it easy to follow. The research hypothesis is clearly defined and testable, with the methodology accurately described and appropriately applied. There are no apparent methodological inaccuracies or missing controls that would undermine the validity of the study. Overall, the manuscript demonstrates good research design and execution, ensuring the reliability and strong support of the study's findings.

n   Specific Comments:

1. Clarity and Relevance:
• The manuscript is relevant to the field and presented in a well-structured manner. The clarity of the writing ensures that the content is easily understandable, while its relevance to the field highlights its importance and contribution to current research.
2. Cited References:
• The references cited in this study are mostly recent publications (within the last 5 years), indicating that the literature is up-to-date and relevant. Additionally, this study does not include an excessive number of self-citations, ensuring the credibility and impartiality of the referenced sources.
3. Scientific Soundness:
• The manuscript is scientifically sound, and the experimental design is appropriate for testing the hypothesis. The research methods are well-defined and systematically applied, ensuring that the study's findings are robust and reliable.
4. Reproducibility:
• Based on the details provided in the methods section, the results of this manuscript are reproducible. The methodology is described with sufficient clarity and precision, allowing other researchers to replicate the study under similar conditions.
5. Figures and Tables:
• The figures, tables, images, and schemes in this manuscript are appropriate and correctly display the data, making them easy to interpret and understand. The data interpretation is appropriate and consistent throughout the manuscript.
6. Conclusions:
• The conclusions presented in this manuscript are consistent with the evidence and arguments provided. The data and analyses support the conclusions drawn, ensuring that the findings are logically derived from the research conducted.

n   Questions and Suggestions:

1. Data Collection and Sample:
• In the internal lines 297-301 of the research manuscript: To analyze the impact of satisfaction and trust on loyalty towards sustainable apparel, a survey was conducted targeting consumers who have purchased sustainable apparel. A total of 291 valid responses were included in the sample after excluding unreliable responses. How is the sample size of n=291 determined to be representative for inferring the results of this study's population?
• Please specify the period during which the research samples were collected.
• Please provide a brief description of the research process.
2. Ethics and Data Availability:
• It appears that the ethics statements and data availability statements are not included in the manuscript, making it impossible to ensure their adequacy at this time. Please provide a brief summary of the ethics statements and data availability statements to address this concern.

n   Overall: The manuscript demonstrates good scientific rigor and clarity, contributing valuable insights to the field of sustainable apparel. Addressing the questions and suggestions above will further enhance the manuscript's quality and comprehensiveness.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions/corrections highlighted/in track changes in the re-submitted files.

 

Comments 1: [Data Collection and Sample: In the internal lines 297-301 of the research manuscript: To analyze the impact of satisfaction and trust on loyalty towards sustainable apparel, a survey was conducted targeting consumers who have purchased sustainable apparel. A total of 291 valid responses were included in the sample after excluding unreliable responses. How is the sample size of n=291 determined to be representative for inferring the results of this study's population?

Please specify the period during which the research samples were collected.

Please provide a brief description of the research process.]

Response 1: [In the draft manuscript, we did not sufficiently mention the survey responses. We describe more details about the survey process, including the dates, targeting, and distribution methods.]

 

Comments 2: [Ethics and Data Availability: It appears that the ethics statements and data availability statements are not included in the manuscript, making it impossible to ensure their adequacy at this time. Please provide a brief summary of the ethics statements and data availability statements to address this concern.]

Response 2: [We omitted the patents section in the draft manuscript. To address this, we have added the patents resulting from the work reported in this manuscript.]

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Following are some recommendations.

1. As far as I know, there have been a number of studies that have discussed the mechanisms influencing consumers' willingness to purchase sustainable clothing based on analytical theories such as potency theory and from analytical dimensions such as perceived value and purchase risk. The paper is innovative in that it focuses on the purchase decision mechanism of Korean consumers, but it is recommended to fully read the relevant literature from the world and to be innovative in the research theory and methodology.

2. The paper collected and analysed 291 questionnaires in order to analyse the effects of satisfaction and trust on sustainable clothing loyalty, and some characteristics of the analysed samples were also presented. However, I have not seen the content of the questionnaires, I don't know when they were distributed and the range of the target group, and I didn't find out what the authors did with the questionnaires. The quality of the data determines the overall quality of this paper. If the relevant data is quite long, it is suggested to put it into the supply materials.

3. The paper lists 97 references, but there are very few papers written by Chinese authors and none of the papers published in Chinese journals. China plays an irreplaceable role in international textile material development, garment design, garment production and sales. Authors are advised to search more international literature databases such as Scopus for the latest research results published in Chinese journals. Nowadays, many journals provide long English abstracts of the papers, so that readers from non-Chinese speaking countries can quickly understand the research content of the papers.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions/corrections highlighted/in track changes in the re-submitted files.

Comments 1: [As far as I know, there have been a number of studies that have discussed the mechanisms influencing consumers' willingness to purchase sustainable clothing based on analytical theories such as potency theory and from analytical dimensions such as perceived value and purchase risk. The paper is innovative in that it focuses on the purchase decision mechanism of Korean consumers, but it is recommended to fully read the relevant literature from the world and to be innovative in the research theory and methodology.]

Response 1: [This paper can be considered innovative in that it focuses on the purchase decision mechanism of Korean consumers regarding sustainable apparel. Additionally, we aim to extend the value-satisfaction-loyalty chain in the context of sustainable purchasing practices. We concentrated on visibility and traceability for consumers by considering information sharing that covers the entire supply chain process, including reverse logistics (collection) and production processes (processing). Furthermore, we compared the scale of the indirect effects of satisfaction and trust to identify the factors that enhance loyalty to sustainable products. In this regard, this paper is different from the previous research related to studies.]

Comments 2: [The paper collected and analysed 291 questionnaires in order to analyse the effects of satisfaction and trust on sustainable clothing loyalty, and some characteristics of the analysed samples were also presented. However, I have not seen the content of the questionnaires, I don't know when they were distributed and the range of the target group, and I didn't find out what the authors did with the questionnaires. The quality of the data determines the overall quality of this paper. If the relevant data is quite long, it is suggested to put it into the supply materials.]

Response 2: [We omitted the patents section in the draft manuscript. To address this, we have added the patents resulting from the work reported in this manuscript. Additionally, we inserted the questionnaires items table in the Appendix A.]

Comments 3: [The paper lists 97 references, but there are very few papers written by Chinese authors and none of the papers published in Chinese journals. China plays an irreplaceable role in international textile material development, garment design, garment production and sales. Authors are advised to search more international literature databases such as Scopus for the latest research results published in Chinese journals. Nowadays, many journals provide long English abstracts of the papers, so that readers from non-Chinese speaking countries can quickly understand the research content of the papers.]

Response 3: [To gain valuable insights from the Chinese apparel industry and research, we reviewed several Chinese journals, including those indexed in Scopus, SCI, and others. As a result, we obtained more insightful viewpoints and were able to enhance our conclusions.]

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. The author's literature review is problematic as most references are outdated (one reference from 2023 and all the other are from 2020 or mostly older). I suggest that the authors should look to most recent scholar papers such as the following:

- Al-Kfairy, M., Shuhaiber, A., Al-Khatib, A.W., Alrabaee, S. and Khaddaj, S., 2024. Understanding trust drivers of S-commerce. Heliyon, 10(1).

- Al-Kfairy, M., Shuhaiber, A., Al-Khatib, A.W. and Alrabaee, S., 2023. Social commerce adoption model based on usability, perceived risks, and institutional-based trust. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

and many more

2. The author needs to clearly state the research limitations

Author Response

Comments 1: The author's literature review is problematic as most references are outdated (one reference from 2023 and all the other are from 2020 or mostly older). I suggest that the authors should look to most recent scholar papers such as the following:

- Al-Kfairy, M., Shuhaiber, A., Al-Khatib, A.W., Alrabaee, S. and Khaddaj, S., 2024. Understanding trust drivers of S-commerce. Heliyon, 10(1).

- Al-Kfairy, M., Shuhaiber, A., Al-Khatib, A.W. and Alrabaee, S., 2023. Social commerce adoption model based on usability, perceived risks, and institutional-based trust. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

Response 1: We reviewed relatively recent studies that verified the relationships between constructs, excluding the papers that first proposed and defined the constructs.

 

Comments 2: The author needs to clearly state the research limitations.

Response 2: The limitations of this study include the generalization issue of the results derived from the data used in this research, and the connection between consumer loyalty and the actual performance of companies. Suggestions for future research have been added.

Round 3

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I am fine with the revision.

Well done