The Impact Mechanism of Retailers' Sustainable Behaviors on Consumer Advocacy:An Affective Perspective

doi:10.13438/j.cnki.jdxb.2026.02.014

Abstract

Abstract: As enterprises that interact directly with consumers retailers' sustainable behaviors play a crucial role not only in advancing the global sustainability agenda but also in profoundly influencing consumer decision-making,albeit through complex mechanisms.However,extant research has predominantly examined the impact of such behaviors from a rational-cognitive perspective,largely neglecting the critical role of non-rational affective factors.Drawing on data from 685 consumer respondents,this study proposes and tests a serial mediation model in which retailers' sustainable behaviors influence consumer advocacy through two affective constructs—consumer admiration and consumer affective commitment—and further examines the moderating role of consumer ecological literacy.The results show that retailers'' sustainable behaviors significantly enhance consumer advocacy.This effect operates primarily through the individual and sequential mediating roles of consumer admiration and consumer affective commitment.Moreover,consumer ecological literacy positively and significantly moderates the serial mediation process.By uncovering this affective pathway through which sustainable behaviors foster consumer advocacy,this study not only enriches the literature on how retailers' sustainable behaviors shapes consumer responses but also offers practical insights for retailers to design effective sustainable marketing strategies.

Key words:

retailers, sustainable behaviors, consumer, consumer advocacy, consumer admiration, consumer affective commitment, consumer ecological literacy

WANG Xingxin. The Impact Mechanism of Retailers' Sustainable Behaviors on Consumer Advocacy:An Affective Perspective[J]. Journal of Jishou University(Social Sciences Edition), 2026, 47(2): 128-142.

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