The impact of sustainable consumption psychology on NEV repurchase intention: The moderating effect of gender differences

This study continues the dialogue around sustainable consumption psychology and its effects on New Energy Vehicle repurchase intentions, depending on moderating gender differences. To achieve this, we employed sustainable consumption theories, social identity theory, and gender schema theory to formulate our conceptual framework, which we corroborated with the data of 527 NEV owners across Chinese cities in varying tiers. The outcomes indicate a substantial direct effect of sustainable consumption psychology on repurchase intention (β = 0.467, p < 0.001) with value perception acting as a mediator. The literature on sustainable consumption psychology identifies two variables, environmental awareness and social responsibility, which have differing outcomes according to the gender of the consumer. For instance, female consumers are motivated more by environmental awareness as compared to male consumers who relate more social responsibility to the buying intention (β = 0.328). Conversely, male consumers are motivated stronger to buy on social responsibility in comparison to female consumers (β = 0.376). Multi-group analysis also depicts significant differences between these relationships in demographic slices, with the greatest impact being the high-income, middle-aged, first-tier city dwellers. This insight not only enhances theoretical perspectives on sustainable buying behavior but also assists manufacturers, marketers, and policymakers in effective promotion of sustainable transport means.The research adds value to existing literature in sustainable consumption while also providing value on the ground with regard to NEV market creation, particularly on sustainability consumption with respect to gender and other demographic variables.