Moral obligation or personal benefit? Explaining consumers' regular use intentions for digital product passports

Abstract Digital product passports (DPPs) are a product-service innovation designed to increase transparency on product sustainability and support circular economy practices by providing consumers with lifecycle-wide information on materials, repairability, and end-of-life options. However, empirical evidence on which factors drive not only initial uptake but also regular use of DPPs is scarce. Building on the norm activation model (NAM) and UTAUT2, this paper investigates antecedents of consumers’ regular use intentions for DPPs and examines differences between pre-purchase and post-purchase scenarios. We conducted two scenario-based online surveys with German ( n = 344) and Spanish ( n = 195) consumers and analyzed the data using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), necessary condition analysis (NCA), and a qualitative analysis of open-ended responses. Personal norms, performance expectancy, and anticipated habit emerge as main drivers of regular use intentions, with performance expectancy particularly relevant in the post-purchase phase. The NCA identifies anticipated habit as a necessary condition for regular use across scenarios and samples, whereas the necessity of effort expectancy and performance expectancy is scenario-specific; qualitative responses likewise highlight usability as a key prerequisite. Overall, regular use intentions are stronger in the post-purchase context. This study contributes to research by (1) providing the first theoretically grounded examination of consumers’ regular use intentions for DPPs across pre- and post-purchase stages, (2) showing that normative beliefs explain regular use intentions alongside technology acceptance constructs, and (3) identifying both sufficient and necessary conditions for regular DPP use. Our findings offer actionable implications for policymakers and practitioners advancing DPP implementation.