سودمندی محیطی و وفاداری مشتری: نقش ارزش سبز ادراک شده، اطمینان خاطر سبز و رفتار نمایشی سبز در یک مدل ترکیبی

Abstract

Purpose - Today, the environment has become an increasingly vital and important issue for all segments of society, both as consumers and producers. There is also an awareness that there is a predictable relationship between local environmental damage and global environmental changes. Iran, like many countries in the world, suffers from high levels of air pollution, poor water quality, high levels of noise pollution from traffic, large amounts of non-disposable waste, and rapid depletion of energy resources. Environmental problems are mainly caused by unhealthy consumerism and unsustainable activities. Organizations and manufacturing, service, and commercial companies are forced to choose strategies that cause the least possible damage to the environment during their activities, and due to the impact of corporate strategies on the quality of life of people around the world, environmental regulations have grown due to these concerns. One of the most important and vital strategies that has been presented in this regard is green marketing.This study investigates how environmental benefit, perceived green value, and green trust influence customer loyalty for plant-based disposable containers, and tests whether green trust and perceived green value mediate those relationships while green conspicuous behavior moderates them.

Design/methodology/approach- A cross-sectional survey of customers of plant-based disposable containers was analyzed using structural equation modeling to test direct, indirect (mediated), and moderated relationships among the constructs.

Findings- Environmental benefit exerts a positive and significant direct effect on customer loyalty and also increases loyalty indirectly through two separate mediators: perceived green value and green trust. Green conspicuous behavior strengthens the positive effect of green trust on customer loyalty, while it does not significantly moderate the paths from environmental benefit or perceived green value to loyalty.

Research limitations/implications- The study relies on self-reported, cross-sectional data from a single product category, limiting causal inference and generalizability; future research should use longitudinal or experimental designs and examine other green product contexts and cultural settings.

Practical implications- Managers should communicate concrete environmental benefits and emphasize both functional and symbolic green value to build green trust and loyalty; promoting visible, socially valued green behaviors amplifies the loyalty returns of trust-building efforts.

Social implications- Highlighting environmental benefits and enabling conspicuous green behaviors can accelerate wider adoption of sustainable consumption by aligning personal identity, social recognition, and purchase choices toward environmentally friendly products.

Originality/value- The paper integrates environmental benefit, perceived green value, green trust, and green conspicuous behavior in a single mixed model, demonstrating dual mediation paths and identifying a conditional loyalty effect of conspicuous green behavior on trust-driven loyalty, thereby advancing theory on how observable green behavior interacts with cognitive and affective drivers of long-term customer loyalty.In conclusion, given the severe environmental challenges in Iran and the global imperative for sustainable practices, organizations are compelled to adopt eco-friendly strategies like green marketing. This study posits that for products such as plant-based disposable containers, customer loyalty is not a direct outcome but is instead cultivated through a specific psychological process. Specifically, the environmental benefit of a product is expected to foster loyalty by first building a customer's perception of its green value and establishing trust in the brand's environmental claims. Furthermore, the influence of these factors on loyalty is likely amplified by the customer's desire to be seen as environmentally conscious, highlighting the role of social visibility in green purchasing behavior. Therefore, the success of green marketing hinges on a holistic strategy that effectively communicates tangible environmental benefits to build perceived value and trust, while also appealing to the social motivations of consumers.