From innovation resistance to responsible consumption: Sustainability signals shaping trust and preference in luxury metaverse marketing

This multi-study investigation explores the influence of Social Mobility Beliefs (SMB) on consumer preference for genetically-modified (GM) foods. Study 1 (N=500) involved a survey, while Studies 2 (N=261) and 3 (N=300) employed experimental manipulations of SMB. Results demonstrate that higher SMB correlate with less favorable preferences for GM foods due to a heightened importance of adhering to social norms, which include those against GM food consumption. Experimental manipulations of SMB confirmed the causal effect of SMB on lower GM food preferences, while alterations in social norms moderate the effect. These findings underscore the significant role of SMB in shaping preferences toward GM foods. Implications extend to policy-making and communication strategies aimed at fostering sustainable food consumption practices. This research contributes novel insights to the understanding of consumer behavior and its implications for sustainable production.

Of the various attributes and regulatory tools related to nursing home service provision—such as ownership, transparency, oversight, and sanctions—which are seen as preferable and are most trusted? To address this question, we conducted a conjoint survey experiment on nursing home services with 1009 direct relatives of nursing home residents in Spain. Participants evaluated hypothetical nursing home profiles that varied across core service characteristics and regulatory tools: ownership, transparency, oversight body, and control and sanction mechanisms. The article shows that individuals prefer public and nonprofit providers, five‐star quality ratings, disclosure of inspection results, and strict sanctions. However, when examining which models are most trusted, our results indicate that trust is shaped by overlapping but distinct factors. As with preferences, respondents place greater trust in public and nonprofit providers, but trust is also shaped by participatory mechanisms, suggesting that opportunities for involvement and having one's voice heard have a core role in shaping confidence in care provision.

This study examines the impact of product price, public awareness, and social media on changes in consumption patterns of fashion products. Employing a quantitative approach, data were collected from 70 respondents using a structured questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS version 26. The findings reveal that all three variables significantly influence consumption patterns, with social media emerging as the strongest predictor. Product price affects consumers' purchasing decisions through affordability and perceived value, while public awareness drives ethical and sustainable consumption behaviors. Social media plays a pivotal role in shaping trends and preferences through influencer marketing and user-generated content. The study underscores the interconnected nature of these variables and offers actionable insights for fashion brands to adapt to evolving consumer behaviors.

Purpose This research examines consumer reluctance to purchase organic food using the theory of innovation resistance and also extends the theory by investigating the moderating influence of eco-literacy. In addition, the authors used a multigroup analysis to identify differences between consumer segments.Design/methodology/approach Data collection used computer-assisted web interviewing and a prior screening process to confirm engagement. Through stratified quota sampling, 1,000 useable responses were obtained from 2,887 recipients.Findings The findings reveal barriers are significant inhibitors to adopting organic food. Among these barriers, usage, risk tradition and image barriers have a significant adverse influence on purchase intention. In contrast, the value barrier has a nonsignificant influence on the purchase intention of organic food. However, the study found that eco-literacy significantly reduces the negative influence of risk and tradition barriers on consumers' intentions. In addition, a multigroup analysis examines notable differences between consumer groups based on education, age and income.Social implications This research has significant social implications for boosting sustainable consumption in Lithuania. It identifies key barriers to organic food adoption, emphasizing the need for strategic interventions. The study highlights eco-literacy as an essential tool in diminishing resistance to organic food, advocating for targeted educational initiatives. Additionally, it reveals the importance of tailored marketing strategies based on different consumer demographics. Overall, this study provides important insights to promote environmentally conscious consumer behavior and overcome resistance to innovation in the organic food sector.Originality/value This study expressively advances the understanding of intentional behavior by exploring organic food within Lithuania's Baltic economy. It authenticates the innovation resistance theory's applicability to organic food behavior in the region while emphasizing the moderating impact of eco-literacy in the link between barriers and purchase intention concerning organic food. Furthermore, using advanced methods such as partial least squares statistical modeling and multi-group analysis, the research reveals how barriers affect the purchase intention of organic food among different groups of consumers.

Introduction The financing of media by ads is a well-known basic – and is now changing substantially. Advertising most powerful by television but is gaining momentum in the internet – Social media" like Facebook, or Google even aggravate this phenomenon as "area of greatest concern". Advertising is an important link between big media and big business handled usually by political economy and political ecology framework One increasing approach to this topic is socio-ecological which can be handled by an political ecology framework: Since long there has been a fundamental discussion about sustainable consumption, about its relevance and limitations. In a broader context the discussion on consumer sovereignty (Scitovsky 1962) versus the shaping of preferences by marketing and the ad industry basically is an old issue. Currently Mander (2012) pinpointed a "privatization of consciousness" and the imprinting of the individual beginning with children and various power relations in respect to media and advertising. Although this basically is not new, it is worthwhile to combine it with some political ecology. A general framework is given for the relevance of advertisement in a socio-ecologic transformation by combining knowledge from different fields of management science, psychology, media studies, regulation economics and of political economy. Advertisement is essential in the globalisation of unsustainable consumer styles / life styles. The methodological approach is the selection and reinterpretation of useful concepts of political economyWhen consumer sovereignty meets good old "monopolistic competition":What often seems to be forgotten: advertising as an important feature of good old "monopolistic competition" (J. Robinson, E. H. Chamberlin) commercial advertising on the one side is a result of oligopolisation with unessential product differentiation) and oligopolisation: commercial advertising is cause AND consequence of oligopolisation with unessential product differentiation in saturated markets and constructing brand images, successfully in protection and extension of market shares and oligopolistic profits with relentless consequences against SME by establishing "entry barriers" resulting in lock-in effects The consequence it the reduction of the role of consumer demands for paradigm shifting towards sustainability:Whereas in neoliberal times the "antimonopolistic" fight has been reinterpreted as privatisation anyway it could be useful to redefine the antimonopolistic" agenda in a real step in the context of in a socio-ecologic transformation. To achieve foundations for new regulation concepts (ad taxes) there have to be analysed some theoretical problems: WHERE in the internet sphere values added is produced? Where in the context of Amazon, Facebook or Google "labour is happening? At locations of the company? At which locations? Or at the location of the user and consumer? Anyway central is the notion of attention of users and consumers.Conclusion: Plea for a global ad taxPractical proposals to reduce unsustainable choices are discussed: The ban of commercial advertisement could be "optimal" in many relations, e.g. also to clear market distortions. But anyway initiating steps can regulate advertisement more strictly: In the neoliberal era taxes on advertising had been abolished or reduced in many European countries. But they are or could be relevant in times of tight budgets. As a new measure – analogously to financial transaction taxes (Tobin) - the design of taxes on advertising increasingly could be supranational or on the global level. There should be tax exemption limits and there could be exceptions for disseminating fundamental innovations and especially on the local levels, and there should be some provision against substitution effects to indirect advertisement.There have been well-known real significant measures of regulations of advertisement: The limitation of advertisements for cigarettes. There is also some ad limitation in Vermont. In China one element of the Bo Xilai policy for some time in Chongqing was the ban of advertisement in media. Stopovers can be e. g. the ban of advertising in public spaces, the control of advertising on the internet, the end the commercialization of childhood (Gannon-Lawson).

PurposeDespite increasing awareness among fashion consumers about the positive environmental and societal impacts of sustainable fashion as a viable alternative to fast fashion, their actual adoption behavior often diverges. This study aims to empirically investigate consumers’ resistance barriers to sustainable fashion clothing.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes innovation resistance theory to examine the barriers to consumer intention to buy sustainable clothing. The study collected a large sample (N = 745) of fashion consumers from the USA and India to test a research model.FindingsThe study finds that value, social risk, tradition and image barriers significantly reduce consumers’ intentions to buy sustainable fashion clothing. Additionally, the findings highlight that environmental concern moderates the relationship between social risk barriers and buying intentions.Originality/valueThe study findings contribute to the existing sustainable fashion literature by highlighting the main barriers for sustainable clothing consumption and emphasizing the crucial role of social elements, economic values and the image of sustainable fashion products in shaping consumer behavior within the fashion landscape.

Autonomous robot delivery systems promote sustainable urban development and consumption. To study users’ intentions to switch over or resist autonomous robot delivery systems, this study has applied the integrated user resistance model and innovation resistance theory to develop a model. Surveys were distributed to 637 residents residing in Singapore and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings support all nine hypotheses and confirm the proposed relationships between the variables in the proposed model. Therefore, this study enriches understanding of consumers’ decision-making processes pertaining to switching costs and switching benefits and allows for a more in-depth understanding of switching and resistance behaviors. Furthermore, the total effect analysis indicates that switching costs have the highest total effect on resistance while switching benefits have the highest total effect on intentions to switch to autonomous robot delivery systems. This information can be used in businesses’ marketing strategies to reach a bigger audience.

In recent years, research on green purchase behaviour has made tremendous progress. But still, several significant elements in diverse contexts require additional investigation, and it is also crucial to address the effect of the global pandemic COVID-19 on green purchase behaviour. This study is the outcome of a thorough literature review and aims to fill the gap of an integrated model that spells out the current state of green purchase behaviour. Apart from the previous models, this framework strives to lay out a complete illustration of factors influencing green purchase behaviour by assimilating relevant constructs from various theories such as Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), Theory of Consumption Values (TCV), Innovation Resistance Theory (IRT), Theory of Green Purchase Behaviour (TGPB) and Health Belief Model (HBM). The article adds to the current research by proposing a conceptual framework that binds the value, threat, risk, habitual and psychological aspects of green purchase behaviour. Moreover, this suggested model can effectively offer several implications to policymakers and marketers for improving sustainable consumption.

The study aimed to identify and explain perceived barriers to green consumption at different stages of behaviour change by integrating the Innovation Resistance Theory (IRT) and Stages of Behavioural Change (SOC) model. Through 20 in-depth interviews with consumers transitioning to green consumption at various stages, several barriers were identified. The knowledge barrier played a crucial role in shaping the adaptation process at every stage of change and was recognized as an independent construct within the IRT framework. Moreover, the research revealed that barriers such as tradition, value, usage, and risk exerted a stronger inhibitory effect in the early stages of green consumption, while knowledge and image barriers evolved and had a distinct impact as consumers progressed through the stages. The study also highlighted triggers that positively stimulated green consumption. These findings have implications for green marketing and can guide targeted interventions to promote sustainable consumption more effectively.

Generative AI (GenAI) holds considerable promise for fostering sustainable consumer behavior, yet the mechanisms of trust‐building and adoption remain underexplored. This study investigates how cognitive and motivational factors shape trust in GenAI‐driven sustainability recommendations. Using fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on data from 577 participants in Indonesia, the findings show that high adoption arises from configurations of perceived information quality, relevance to sustainability, ease of implementation, and interaction quality. In contrast, low adoption is associated with a lack of trust and delicate perceptions of complexity and risk. The influence of perceived complexity varies across pathways, highlighting its contextual nature. Trust consistently stands out as a crucial condition for high adoption, underscoring its role in sustaining GenAI use. The study offers practical guidance for developers and policymakers, emphasizing the need to foster trust, streamline user interactions, and align GenAI solutions with broader sustainability goals. By addressing trust gaps and reducing complexity, GenAI can evolve into a transformative tool for advancing consumer‐driven sustainable practices.