E-Vocacy in motion: Unpacking social value and AI utility in electric bike and EV advocacy on WeChat and Douyin

With the stressors of climate change rising, brands are looking to social media to engage consumers with their sustainability initiatives. Inspired by green e-vocacy in Chinese electric bicycles and new energy vehicles, this study investigates how eco-promotional messages within the social networking sites - WeChat and Douyin - stimulate green e-vocacy. Based on the theory of planned behavior and UTAUT, we posit a two-mediator model of perceived e-social value and AI-enabled eco engagement moderated by AI-enabled decision utility. Survey data from 468 consumers in Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Xi'an were analyzed with the help of PLS-SEM. Results show that eco promotional communication directly increases green e-vocacy (b = 0.134, p < 0.001) and this increases more via perceived e-social value (indirect b = 0.176) and via AI-driven eco engagement (indirect b = 0.139). Furthermore, the engagement pathway is strengthened (moderated indirect b = 0.026, p = 0.023) but not the social-cognitive route by AI-enabled decision utility. These results will advance the theory of sustainable digital marketing by blending social cognitive and technological mechanisms and provide practical information for brands to design interactive and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled green marketing campaign that help consumer to become active eco-advocate.