Understanding Chinese Consumers’ Intention to Purchase Sustainable Fashion Products: The Moderating Role of Face-Saving Orientation

Abstract

In a culture where collectivism is pervasive such as China, social norms can be one of the most powerful tools to influence consumers’ behavior. Individuals are driven to meet social expectations and fulfill social roles in collectivist cultures. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate how Chinese consumers’ concern with saving face affects sustainable fashion product purchase intention and how it also moderates consumers’ commitment to sustainable fashion. An empirical data set of 469 undergraduate students in Beijing and Shanghai was used to test our hypotheses. Results confirmed that face-saving is an important motivation for Chinese consumers’ purchase of sustainable fashion items, and it also attenuated the effect of general product value while enhancing the effect of products’ green value in predicting purchasing trends. The findings contribute to the knowledge of sustainable consumption in Confucian culture, and thus their managerial implications were also discussed.