Brand Credibility and Consumer Behaviour in the Sustainability Transition: Mediating Effects of Health and Environmental Motivation

Abstract

This study emphasizes the role of brand credibility as a key pathway through which product specification shapes consumer purchase intention, alongside sustainability and health motivations, and examines the moderating influence of green brand knowledge. Drawing on signalling theory and the theory of planned behaviour, the research develops a framework to explain how product-level attributes build brand trust and activate motivational pathways leading to purchase decisions. Data from an online survey (n = 306) were analyzed using SmartPLS, employing a partial least squares structural equation modelling approach. The results show that product specifications significantly influence brand credibility. Health motivation emerged as a more significant predictor of purchase intention, underscoring consumers’ growing focus on well-being. Mediation analysis verifies that both motivations serve as conduits through which brand credibility affects purchase intention, with health motivation playing a more significant role. The moderating effect of green brand knowledge on the relationship between product specification and brand credibility was negative but insignificant, indicating that greater awareness of green attributes does not inherently enhance perceptions of brand credibility. This finding suggests that knowledge alone may be insufficient to foster trust and that emotional or experiential cues may exert a greater influence. Thus, this study provides information to help marketers develop sustainability-based consumer models.