The Moderating Effects of Brand Familiarity in the Relationship between Perceived Value of Eco-friendly Apparel Products and Purchase Intention

Abstract

This study aims to explore the moderating effects of brand familiarity in the relationship between perceived value of eco-friendly apparel products and purchase intention. We formulated a survey that targeted shoppers between twenty and thirty-nine years of age who had purchased apparel products online within the past six months. The survey was administered to a web panel through a company specialized in market research. Online consumer panels were randomly recruited via an email introducing the survey, and those who were interested in taking it could do so by accessing it through a provided URL. A total of 190 questionnaires were collected. A possible moderating effect of brand familiarity on the influence that functional value, hedonic value, and social value exert over purchase intentions was tested via the inclusion of interaction terms between brand familiarity and independent constructs. To control for the effects of socio-demographic variables on purchase intentions, we also included covariates such as age, education, household income, and shopping experiencein the regression model. The results showed that perceived values (i.e., functional value, hedonic value, and social value) of eco-friendly apparel products had significant effects on purchase intention, Brand familiarity was shown to moderate the influences of perceived hedonic and social value on purchase intention. However, there was no significant moderating effect of brand familiarity on the relationship between perceived functional value and purchase intention.