| dc.description.abstract | As society′s concern for environmental and ecological issues continues to grow, consumers and manufacturers are increasingly paying attention to the environmental impact of products. The objective of this study is to explore whether consumers are willing to pay a premium for environmentally friendly products, with a focus on sneakers due to their everyday and frequent use characteristics. From past research, we found that there are no environmental or green-related studies that combine the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with willingness to pay a premium to explain the behavioral motivations behind purchasing premium-priced eco-friendly products. Additionally, previous green field studies have not combined brand commitment with willingness to pay a premium, exploring the importance of brands to consumers and how they influence the willingness to pay a premium.
In this study, we integrated the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), cultural dimensions, and brand-related concepts such as brand commitment, brand trust, and brand affect to construct a comprehensive research model. This model includes twelve dimensions and thirteen hypotheses. The study subjects cover the general public, and we collected 332 valid questionnaires for verification. We used the Smart Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equation model to verify the relationships between the dimensions. The final research findings indicate that attitudes towards eco-friendly products, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and brand commitment all significantly influence whether consumers are willing to pay a premium for eco-friendly products. Moreover, collectivism and long-term orientation significantly affect subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, while brand trust and brand affect significantly influence brand commitment. Lastly, we analyzed control variables such as gender and sneaker purchasing frequency, finding that they do not significantly impact the willingness to pay a premium for eco-friendly sneakers.
The purpose of this study is not only to provide practical reference for brands in setting a premium for eco-friendly sneakers but also to explore the decision-making factors of the general public when choosing to purchase eco-friendly products at a premium. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior and brand-related theories, providing empirical support for research in the environmental field, and enriching the literature on consumer behavior in the green field. | en_US |