Speak to their hearts! Enhancing consumer social responsibility through emotional appeals

Purpose This study aims to explore how different promotional appeals – functional, emotional or symbolic - affect consumer perceived value and purchase intentions in the context of sustainable consumption, using the theory of consumer value (TCV) as the core theoretical framework. Design/methodology/approach An experimental study was conducted with 913 French participants, evaluating responses to promotional messages for two sustainable web applications. The study measured the impact of different appeal types on perceived value dimensions and purchase intentions, considering product category and brand familiarity as moderating factors. Findings The results indicate that emotional value is the strongest predictor of purchase intentions. Emotional appeals significantly enhance perceived emotional value, even with functional appeals contributing effectively. The influence of consumer value dimensions on purchase intentions does not significantly vary across product categories, while emotional value has a stronger impact on novice consumers. Originality/value This research contributes to the literature on sustainable consumption by empirically demonstrating the importance of emotional value in shaping consumer intentions and by integrating TCV to assess the effectiveness of various promotional appeals.