Dilemmas in New‐Age Mobile Internet Advertising of Sustainability Luxury: How Moral Blackmail Influences Willingness to Consume Sustainable Luxury Goods

ABSTRACT Advertising, as a key element for sustainable luxury brands to convey brand value and build consumer connections, has drawn much attention to the impact mechanism of its content strategy on consumer decisions. This paper focuses on the advertising scenarios of sustainable luxury goods, constructs the research path from the degree of advertising moral blackmail and counterfactual thinking to willingness to consume, and introduces algorithmic transparency and anthropomorphism level as moderation variables to explore the interaction between the variables. Study 1 showed that the higher the degree of moral blackmail in sustainable luxury advertising, the lower the consumer's willingness to consume. Study 2 demonstrated that counterfactual thinking mediates between the degree of moral blackmail in sustainable luxury advertising and the willingness to consume. Study 3 exhibited that algorithmic transparency moderates the mediation effect of counterfactual thinking. Study 4 illustrated that anthropomorphism also moderates the mediation effect of counterfactual thinking. This research can provide theoretical basis for brands to balance value delivery and consumer acceptance and adapt to sustainable consumption trends.