Search Results (170)

The rapid rise of the pre-loved luxury fashion market in China reflects a unique shift in consumer behaviour, shaped by growing concerns for sustainability, affordability, and personal expression. While global scholarship on circular fashion has expanded, studies remain predominantly focused on Western consumers, leaving Chinese market dynamics underexplored. This study addresses this gap by examining the motivations and channel engagement of Chinese consumers purchasing pre-loved luxury fashion, including pre-owned, vintage, and collectors’ items. A sequential mixed-methods design was employed, integrating quantitative data from a survey of 438 Chinese consumers with qualitative insights from 21 semi-structured interviews. Structural equation modelling revealed that economic, individual, and social motivations significantly influenced perceived value, which in turn enhanced engagement with resale channels. Functional motivations, though present, played a less prominent role. Furthermore, engagement with online and offline channels, including social media platforms, livestream commerce, and luxury consignment boutiques, was found to mediate the relationship between perceived value and purchase intention. The study contributes to theory by adapting established luxury value frameworks to the pre-loved context and by introducing channel engagement as a mediating construct in the consumption of second-hand luxury fashion. The main theoretical frameworks that underpin the study, such as the Brand Luxury Index and the Four Value Dimensions, are used to provide a clearer understanding of its conceptual foundation. In particular, some key quantitative indicators, such as β-values or R², would make the summary more specific and informative. Practically, the findings provide actionable insights for platform operators and luxury brands seeking to build consumer trust and enhance experiential value in China’s rapidly evolving resale market. By situating the research within a culturally specific and digitally advanced retail environment, the study broadens understanding of circular luxury fashion consumption in non-Western contexts. Full article

This study investigates how Australian Zennials (born 1993–1999) navigate slow fashion consumption in a market dominated by fast fashion and affordability challenges. Using semi-structured interviews with 20 participants, it explores their motivations, barriers, and adaptive strategies. Findings reveal that Zennials are driven by ethical values, environmental awareness, and a preference for quality design, yet face constraints such as cost, limited access to sustainable brands, and skepticism toward greenwashing. Rather than a simple value–action gap, participants demonstrate creative solutions, most notably, strategic engagement with the second-hand market. This enables them to practice slow fashion ideals of durability, longevity, and mindful consumption in a cost-effective way. The study reframes the attitude–behavior gap by identifying Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC) as a key enabler, supported by knowledge, repair skills, and peer norms. These insights offer practical implications for brands, designers, and policymakers, positioning the second-hand economy as the central mechanism that operationalizes Zennial engagement with sustainable fashion. Full article

As the fashion industry accelerates its digital and sustainable transformation, the European Union’s policy development on Digital Product Passports (DPPs) has attracted growing attention. However, there is still a lack of systematic research into whether consumers, particularly those outside Europe, are willing to adopt this emerging technology for greater transparency. To address this, this study develops an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by integrating three individual-level consumer variables, Ethical–Sustainability Orientation (ESO), Circular Value Orientation (CVO), and Technological Awareness (TA), to examine how these factors work in concert to shape consumers’ intentions to accept Digital Product Passports (DPPs). Data were collected from US consumers through an online survey, yielding 425 valid responses. Participants were recruited from a professional consumer panel managed by a market research firm. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the proposed research model and hypotheses. The results reveal that Perceived Usefulness (PU) emerges as the most influential determinant of consumers’ acceptance of Digital Product Passports. Both Ethical–Sustainability Orientation (ESO) and Circular Value Orientation (CVO) demonstrate significant direct effects on adoption intention and indirect impacts through PU. Technological Awareness (TA) exhibits only a modest direct effect, suggesting that its role in shaping adoption behavior is comparatively limited. This study broadens the geographic and cultural scope of existing research on Digital Product Passports (DPPs) by providing empirical evidence on consumer acceptance in a non-European context. The findings advance the theoretical understanding of DPP adoption while offering practical implications for fashion brands and policymakers seeking to facilitate the global implementation of DPP systems within the fashion industry. Full article

With the rapid advancement of social media and AI technologies, influencer marketing has evolved significantly. Virtual influencers have emerged as alternatives to traditional human influencers. Grounded in the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), this study examines how virtual influencers’ source credibility dimensions (expertise, attractiveness, and trustworthiness) affect consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. Using the case of virtual influencer Imma, this study collected 344 valid online survey responses. The empirical results show that, along the central route, perceived product value has a significant and positive effect on purchase intention. Along the peripheral route, the trustworthiness, attractiveness, and expertise of the virtual influencer all exert significant positive effects on purchase intention. However, product involvement moderates these effects differently: for high-involvement consumers, the effects of trustworthiness and attractiveness on purchase intention are significantly strengthened, while the moderating effects on expertise and perceived value remain non-significant. This study contributes to the emerging literature on virtual influencer marketing by demonstrating how source credibility dimensions and perceived value interact with product involvement to shape consumer responses. Additionally, virtual influencers offer sustainability benefits by minimizing carbon emissions from travel and physical production inherent in traditional influencer campaigns. The findings offer practical implications for marketers: virtual influencers can effectively enhance brand exposure, but their persuasive impact varies by product involvement requiring tailored content strategies for high- versus low-involvement products. Furthermore, future research could extend this work by examining the effects of different product categories and cultural contexts on the effectiveness of virtual influencer marketing. Full article

The rapid advancement of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has enhanced fashion design creativity by introducing aesthetics beyond conventional norms. With its unique and novel aesthetics, AI-generated clothing has sparked widespread discussion on social media. However, little is known about how consumers respond when these virtual designs are transformed into wearable physical products. This study examines factors influencing Chinese consumers’ acceptance of physicalized AI-generated clothing (PAGC), which is a sustainable fashion category that improves design efficiency and enables small-scale experimental production. Grounded in the Theory of Consumption Values (TCV), eight variables across four value dimensions—functional, social, emotional, and epistemic—were identified, along with demographic characteristics. Using a non-probability voluntary sampling method, 661 valid responses from Chinese consumers were collected and analyzed through a multinomial logistic regression model. The study found that perceived algorithmic creativity, perceived novelty, and social identity are the three most influential factors on acceptance. Consumers with higher education, lower income, or fashion- and technology-related backgrounds were more likely to accept PAGC. By situating PAGC within the context of sustainable fashion innovation, this study enhances understanding of Chinese consumers’ decision-making and offers managerial insights for fashion brands striving to balance creativity and social responsibility in the GenAI era. Full article

Food, specifically those with heritage attributes, stands as one of the distinctive forms of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). To promote and preserve such heritage, brands have increasingly focused on incorporating heritage elements into the packaging. This research employs three studies conducted in China to explore how different representation styles of heritage elements (verbal vs. non-verbal) shape consumer brand preferences in food packaging. Study 1 confirmed that food packaging featuring heritage elements effectively enhances consumer brand preference. Moreover, consumers exhibit stronger preference for the verbal elements over the non-verbal ones for heritage food due to construal level theory. Study 1 also demonstrated the mediating role of perceived value. Study 2 validated that such an effect remained significant within a tourism shopping context. In addition, Study 3 revealed the moderating effect of purchase motivation. When purchasing food as a gift, consumers tend to adopt a more abstract processing level (e.g., symbolic meaning, cultural connotation), which enhances the effect of verbal heritage elements on brand preference, whereas for self-use purchases, consumers shift to a concrete processing level (e.g., taste or price), thus enhancing the effect of non-verbal representation style. This research enriches the research on heritage element application in food marketing, and offers suggestions for packaging design for heritage food. Full article

The main objective of this paper is to investigate how the interest in the value of performing arts and the awareness of the value of performing arts among local youth in Dhofar can influence their inclinations towards performing arts. Moreover, we have incorporated the perceived brand equity of the Dhofar region as a moderator in the proposed model. A structured questionnaire was administered to a sample of young residents in the Dhofar region (N = 415). The measurement instrument was developed based on the established literature concerning youth behavior, territorial branding, and the perceived value of performing arts. All items were measured using five-point Likert scales. The main theoretical constructs were operationalized as arithmetic means (composite scores) of their corresponding items: VPA (Value of Performing Arts, 9 items), APA (Awareness of Performing Arts, 10 items), YI (Youth Inclination, 11 items), and DBE (destination brand equity). Data analysis proceeded in several stages using Stata 17. The paper concludes that there is a positive and statistically significant effect of VPA on YI. Furthermore, our results confirmed that there is a positive relationship between the awareness of performing arts and youth inclination towards performing arts. Moreover, the results indicated that destination brand equity is not a significant moderator in the relationship, which means that there is no moderating effect of DBE that was confirmed on either path. This study underscores the need of preserving intangible cultural heritage by stimulating interests and developing suitable practices to make the Dhofarian youth inclined towards performing traditional arts. The findings of this study offer some policy implications to policymakers to sustain creating an interest in valuing traditional arts performance and increasing the awareness of these types of events, which are influential factors in shaping youth inclination towards performing traditional arts. The study suggests that generating awareness is vital in creating the intention among local youth to perform traditional arts. These findings suggest that policymakers provide support for traditional art performances by devising an institutional policy that provides structural support to increase interest and awareness. The paper is an original contribution as it has provided insights into how the extent of the interest in the value of performing arts and the awareness of the value of performing arts could influence the inclination of local youth to perform art activities in the Dhofar region. Secondly, this study explores whether perceived brand equity moderates this relationship. Full article

In an era where digital ecosystems transcend national boundaries, TikTok has emerged as a globally influential platform, reshaping international marketing strategies. This study examines the factors influencing Thai consumers’ purchase intention on TikTok using the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework. Specifically, it explores how advertisement characteristics (interactivity, entertainment, informativeness) and customer brand engagement shape consumer perceptions of value and trust, which drive purchase intention. Data were collected from 400 Thai TikTok users and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that interactivity, informativeness, and brand engagement significantly affect perceived value, while brand engagement does not significantly influence brand trust. Moreover, perceived value contributes positively to trust, and brand trust significantly influences purchase intention. Notably, entertainment did not significantly influence perceived value, whereas brand engagement showed a meaningful positive effect. Additionally, customer brand engagement did not affect trust significantly in this context. This study focuses on a high-engagement digital platform within an emerging market and, thus, provides fresh insights into how digital advertising stimuli operate within international marketing ecosystems. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed for global marketers aiming to optimize content strategies on dynamic platforms such as TikTok. Full article

With the rapid advancement and widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), AI-powered personalized product recommendation (AI-PPR) has become a core tool for enhancing user experience and driving monetization on short-form video platforms, fundamentally reshaping consumer behavior. While prior research has largely focused on impulse buying intention (I-BI)—purchases triggered by emotional and sensory stimuli—there remains a lack of systematic exploration of spontaneous buying intention (S-BI), which emphasizes rational and cognitively driven decisions formed in unplanned contexts. Addressing this gap, this study integrates the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with a perceived evaluation perspective to propose and validate a dual-mediation framework: “AI-PPR → Perceived Usefulness/Perceived Trust → S-BI”. Using a large-scale survey of Generation Z users in mainland China (N = 754), data were analyzed via SPSS 26.0, including reliability and validity tests, regression analysis, and Bootstrap-based mediation analysis. The results indicate that AI-PPR not only has a significant positive direct effect on S-BI but also exerts strong indirect effects through perceived usefulness and perceived trust. Specifically, perceived usefulness accounts for 35.17% and perceived trust for 31.18% of the mediation, jointly constituting 66.35% of the total effect. The findings contribute theoretically by extending the boundary of purchase intention research, differentiating rational S-BI from emotion-driven impulse buying, and enriching the application of TAM in consumption contexts. Practically, the study highlights the importance for short-form video platforms and brand managers to enhance recommendation transparency, interpretability, and trust-building while pursuing algorithmic precision, thereby fostering rational spontaneous buying and achieving a balance between short-term conversions and long-term user value. Full article

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has evolved from philanthropy to a strategic capability, but its role in recovering economies remains underexplored. This study examines how CSR strategies affect consumer perceptions in the Greek retail sector, where firms face fragile trust and constrained resources. Using survey data from 322 consumers, the research tested three drivers of CSR effectiveness: strategic integration into core business and community engagement, emphasis on sustainability-oriented initiatives, and localization to cultural and stakeholder expectations. Data were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis to validate the constructs, followed by hierarchical multiple regression to assess their influence on perceived CSR performance. Results showed that CSR embedded transparently into strategy had strong effects on consumers’ overall evaluations of CSR effectiveness, sustainability-oriented actions emerged as the most powerful predictor of perceived CSR performance, and localized initiatives enhanced trust and authenticity by signaling responsiveness to community needs. Perceived CSR performance was conceptualized as an integrative construct, capturing outcomes such as brand equity, consumer engagement, and loyalty in a unified evaluative measure. These findings suggest that CSR is a credible driver of consumer value even during economic recovery and that its effectiveness depends on authenticity, environmental relevance, and cultural fit. The study offers theoretical contributions by contextualizing CSR in fragile markets and provides practical guidance for retailers seeking resilience through responsible, strategically aligned practices. Full article

The contribution of meal kits to the waste problem has become a significant concern, leading consumers to demand sustainable practices from meal-kit companies. This study proposes a framework to understand customer behavior toward sustainable meal-kit brands that promote practices such as recycling and waste reduction. This study applies warm glow theory to investigate how pure and impure altruism affect consumers’ perceptions of a meal-kit brand’s sustainability, perceived price fairness, and continuance intention. The findings confirmed that meal-kit brands’ sustainable practices significantly enhanced consumers’ perceptions of brand sustainability, which in turn influenced their perceived price fairness and continuance intention. Furthermore, warm glow and altruistic values were found to significantly moderate the relationship between consumers’ perceptions of brand sustainability and their continuance intention. However, no significant moderating effects were observed between consumers’ perceptions of brand sustainability and perceived price fairness. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying consumer attitudes and behaviors toward meal-kit brands’ sustainability efforts. Full article

Amid rising sustainability demands, the automotive industry must understand how its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management influences consumer purchase decisions for high-involvement products. This study investigates this relationship by examining the mediating roles of brand value, perceived quality, and corporate trust. To test the research model, we analyzed survey data from Korean automotive market consumers using partial least-squares structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that governance transparency and social responsibility significantly enhance corporate trust and brand value, which are the primary drivers of purchase intention. In contrast, environmental initiatives do not directly foster trust, and the effect of perceived quality is fully mediated by brand value and corporate trust. This study advances value-driven consumption theory by demonstrating that non-financial ESG dimensions—especially governance and social responsibility—can supersede functional quality in shaping purchase decisions in high-involvement contexts. These findings suggest that automakers should prioritize governance and social initiatives as strategic levers to build trust and strengthen long-term consumer loyalty. Full article

This study investigated how perceived authenticity influences consumers’ revisit intention to time-honored restaurants and explored the moderating role of place attachment in this relationship. Data were collected from 319 consumers with prior experience at time-honored restaurants using SK Telecom’s T Membership online survey platform. The results revealed that food authenticity, brand value, and nostalgia significantly influenced revisit intention, whereas historical and cultural values and environmental authenticity did not. Food authenticity exerted the strongest influence as an emotional driver. Moderation analysis revealed that environmental authenticity was more influential for consumers with low place attachment, while nostalgia was stronger among those with high attachment. These results demonstrate that authenticity dimensions exert distinct effects depending on emotional bonds with a place. This study contributes to the literature by clarifying the role of authenticity in shaping behavioral intentions. Furthermore, by repeatedly visiting time-honored restaurants and perceiving their authenticity, consumers experience positive emotions and enhance their life satisfaction, which are closely connected to their psychological and subjective wellbeing. Therefore, time-honored restaurants play an important role as sustainable cultural venues that foster life satisfaction and wellbeing. Full article

Sustainability-driven products rely heavily on market success and customer awareness to achieve their intended impact. While knowledge-based enterprises (KBEs) are committed to enhancing the sustainability of their products and services, they often face challenges in building brand equity and raising awareness of what makes their products sustainable, particularly within social media engagement. AI agents transfer social media and enable KBEs to promote sustainable products by enhancing brand equity. However, this requires an effective strategy to enhance brand equity among the new social media generation. This study highlights critical factors identified through a rigorous literature review that influence the enhancement of brand equity in KBEs, with a focus on sustainable development and brand innovation. This research employs a mixed-method approach using VOSviewer and NVivo software. A scientometric review of articles published in the Scopus database and a critical thematic analysis were conducted. Furthermore, Google Trends data were utilized to complement the analysis and propose a set of key factors and future directions. Out of 1552 articles extracted from scientific databases from 1994 until 2024, 33 articles were selected and thoroughly analyzed after a rigorous screening and evaluation process. The review demonstrates that social media enhances brand equity for KBEs by increasing brand awareness, improving their efforts in sustainable development, strengthening brand image, strengthening customer loyalty, and facilitating effective interactions. Moreover, leveraging brand innovation and focusing on sustainable development through social media amplifies these positive impacts, further influencing the brand’s perceived quality. This research uniquely identifies the value of sustainability in the brand equity model and the moderating roles of technological complexity and customer environmental sensitivity in this process. The research offers significant insights for managers of science and technology parks, guiding them to adopt effective social media strategies that create sustainable competitive differentiation and strengthen brand positioning in competitive markets. This study also establishes a strong foundation for future studies focusing on AI-powered tools for brand equity within the digital environment by proposing a set of factors that can be used by researchers to develop an initial model. Full article

This study investigates how the packaging image of agricultural products in livestreaming commerce influences consumers’ repurchase intentions and, on this basis, formulates effective packaging improvement strategies to enhance repurchase intention. Focusing on agricultural product packaging, we conducted an online survey of 392 consumers with livestream shopping experience and employed a combined approach of structural equation modeling (SEM) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) to analyze the effects of packaging image on repurchase intention. Starting from elements of packaging design—such as external appearance, cultural cues, imagery, and materials—we examined color schemes, typography, and illustration styles and further explored how these factors shape repurchase intention by elevating consumers’ perceived value. The findings indicate that the information-conveying functions of packaging—namely the communication of product culture, quality, and distinctive attributes—have a significant impact on repurchase intention. SEM results reveal that perceived value plays a pivotal mediating role between packaging image and repurchase intention. Complementarily, ANN analysis identifies visual appearance as the strongest predictor of repurchase intention among all packaging elements. Building on these insights, the study proposes concrete packaging design strategies, including optimizing visual appearance to highlight brand distinctiveness; distilling design symbols to narrate brand stories; and mining cultural connotations to strengthen cultural expression. This research not only verifies the importance of packaging design in boosting consumers’ repurchase intentions but also offers a practical strategic framework that can be extended to packaging design practices for other agricultural products. It provides new theoretical support and practical guidance for the field, offering a valuable reference for future research and practice. Full article