Young consumers’ responsibility for sustainable consumption and the preference of local brands

Abstract

This paper aims to assess how young consumers’ sense of responsibility for sustainable consumption affects the likelihood of purchasing local brands. We consider the mediating factors of local brand experience, image, and quality, along with ethnocentrism as a precursor to quality and local brand purchase likelihood, while controlling for gender and age. Drawing on the Theory of Reasoned Action and Norm Activation Model, we propose ten hypotheses to be examined through a quantitative research design. The findings indicate a positive correlation between consumer responsibility for sustainable consumption and the likelihood of purchasing local brands, both directly and indirectly through the experience and image of local brands. The influence of local brand quality is mediated by image, and there is no substantial evidence regarding the role of ethnocentrism.