Understanding the Influence of Consumers’ Perceived Value on Energy-Saving
Products Purchase Intention
Javier Ramirez
Liberty University
BUSI 520: Strategic Marketing Management
Muriel Wilson
January 19, 2022
Understanding the Influence of Consumers’ Perceived Value on Energy-Saving
Products Purchase Intention
Since rapid economic growth has led to the overuse of natural resources and
environmental degradation, increasing attention has been paid to environmental problems.
This study aims to explore the relationship between consumers’ perceived value and
satisfaction, and energy-saving products purchase intention was investigated using
appraisal-emotional response-coping theory. Moreover, this study further investigates these
relationships in different consumer groups. In total, 399 questionnaires were collected
online and offline, and results though structural equation modeling analysis show that
functional, emotional, conditional, and green value have a positive effect on consumer
satisfaction and thereby promote the intention to purchase energy-saving products.
However, social value is not significant for consumer satisfaction. Perceived value influences
consumer satisfaction and varies among different consumers according to the results of
multigroup structural equation modeling analysis.
These results have practical significance for the design and marketing of energy-
saving products. The existing literature on energy-saving consumption behavior research
perspectives are mainly divided into three categories: economic-oriented perspective,
technological-oriented perspective, and psychological-oriented perspective (Loock et al.,
2013; Wang et al., 2018d). Economic-oriented scholars believe that rational energy-saving
consumption is to obtain the greatest benefits at the lowest cost (Zhou and Yang, 2016).
Then, economic measures such as price or fiscal incentives can promote energy-saving
consumption behavior (Wang et al., 2018c). However, many studies have shown that the
effects of these measures are not as good as imagined, because social factors such as habits
and emotions will affect the assumption of rational people (Loock et al., 2013). Technology-
oriented scholars believe that through the research and development of energy-saving
technologies, the energy and environmental pressure brought by household energy use can
be significantly alleviated (Zhou and Yang, 2016).
However, Nilsson et al. (2014) found that after significant improvements in energy-
saving technologies and energy-efficiency technologies, household electricity consumption
not only did not decrease compared with the same period, but increased. Psychological
behavior-oriented scholars believe that energy consumption behavior is affected by
psychological factors such as attitudes, emotions, and environmental awareness (Zhou and
Yang, 2016; Ding et al., 2017). The psychological-oriented perspective aims to achieve the
goal of green environmental protection by emphasizing some psychological factors (such as
attitudes, social norms, and environmental concern to promote the purchase of energy-
saving products) (Fornara et al., 2016; Ruangkanjanases et al., 2020). Considering that
residents’ energy consumption is caused by individual’s daily behavior, this study believes
that it seems more reasonable to study energy-saving behavior from the perspective of
psychological behavior (Wang et al., 2018c).
In the field of psychological-oriented perspective, we focus on perceived value
because perceived value is the main driving force for consumers to generate purchase
intention. We assume that environmentally friendly consumer behavior should be reflected
in a more realistic selection context, and consumers must weigh their preferences for the
benefits and costs of different products when evaluating energy-saving products (Papista
and Krystallis, 2013). This article uses the customer value to try to identify the various
factors that motivate or hinder consumers from adopting energy-saving products.
The Theory of Perceived Value
We highlight the definition of perceived value by Zeithaml (1988), the most
universally accepted definition. He proposed that perceived value is “the consumer’s overall
assessment of the utility which is based on perceptions between gain and loss.” Woodruff
(1997) further extended the definition of perceived value, arguing that customer value is
customers’ preference and evaluation of the product attributes and its utility that contribute
to or hinder their achievement of the target in specific contexts; this extension has been
accepted by many scholars.
As perceived value has received growing attention, a multidimensional construct to
conceptualize perceived value was unanimously approved (Sheth et al., 1991; Sweeney and
Soutar, 2001). Referred to the research methods of Reyes-Menendez et al. (2018, 2020),
this study reviews the previous research on perceived value, as shown in Table 1. The
multidimensional structure of perceived value has attracted the attention of scholars, but no
consensus has been reached in the literature about the number of relevant dimensions
(Gallarza, 2011). In the current research, Sheth et al. (1991) put forward the theory of
perceived value, which classify perceived value into five categories including functional,
emotional, social, epistemic, and conditional value. Perceived value theory is widely used
because these categories are comprehensive and align with the consumer perspective
(Biswas and Roy, 2015). Among them, epistemic value is defined as “the perceived utility
derived from a product or service to arouse curiosity” (Sheth et al., 1991). Since consumers
are very familiar with household appliances and the products cannot inspire their curiosity,
epistemic value is not considered in this study.
Meanwhile, previous studies have shown that other dimensions could be added or
substituted depending on the actual condition (Koller et al., 2011; Hur et al., 2013; Wang et
al., 2018a). Energy-saving, unlike ordinary products, have the special feature of
environmental protection. In the green field, the most prominent feature of green products
is green, but the green value dimension is rarely paid attention to. Given the unique
attributes of household appliances (e.g., power consumption and environmental impact),
green value is incorporated into the theory of perceived value. Therefore, this study uses
the theory of perceived value and studies five dimensions of functional value, emotional
value, social value, conditional value, and green value
lthough the appraisal-emotional response-coping theory is widely used in the
service industry (Zourrig et al., 2009), this article intends to test this relationship in the
green field. This theory explains the behavior process, that is, specific emotions are
generated based on different evaluations and subsequently lead to a variety of coping
responses. Bagozzi (1992) proposed that the appraisal is an evaluation of outcome desire.
When an individual’s requirements are not met, there will be an outcome desire conflict;
when the requirements are met, the outcome desire will be content. These outcome desires
will produce positive or negative emotional responses. The positive reaction will have the
behavioral intention to enhance this result, while the negative reaction will have the
behavioral intention to weaken the conflict.
Scholars have found that perceived value is closely related to cognitive appraisals
according to theory (Bagozzi, 1992). Therefore, it leads to the emotive state of satisfaction
(emotional response), which ultimately leads to behavioral intention (coping response) (Kim
et al., 2013). Customers are more easily satisfied when they perceive more value in a
product (Jiang et al., 2016), and satisfied consumers tend to buy the product (Yang and
Peterson, 2004).
Hypothesis Development
Perceived Value and Satisfaction
The definition of satisfaction in the existing literature is different. However,
customer satisfaction can be described according to two perspectives, that is, transaction
and cumulative perspectives (Yang and Peterson, 2004). From the transaction perspective,
customer satisfaction is defined as an emotional response after a specific purchase (Oliver,
1993). From the cumulative perspective, customer satisfaction is evaluated after a period of
consumption associated with specific products or firms (Ram and Wu, 2016). Compared to
transactional customer satisfaction, overall satisfaction can illustrate consumers’ stable
sentiment. In this study, satisfaction is a judgment of the products and services or the extent
to which the consumers’ expectations are fulfilled (Oliver, 2014). The role of perceived value
has been demonstrated as an antecedent of customer satisfaction in different contexts in
previous research (Woodruff, 1997; Hur et al., 2013; Jiang et al., 2019). Different value
dimensions have different roles in user decisions (Deng et al., 2010). Based on the first part
of appraisal-emotional response-coping theory, satisfactions (specific emotions) are
generated based on different perceived values (evaluations).
Functional value is considered as the main antecedent of consumer choice (Wang
et al., 2018). The functional value of energy-saving products is the perceived utility derived
from the specific attributes of products such as service life, price, and quality. When
deciding whether to purchase energy-saving products, consumers evaluate price and quality
closely (Bei and Simpson, 1995). Quality and price are deemed to be the main drivers of
consumer choice behavior in energy-saving product purchase (Sheth et al., 1991; Bei and
Simpson, 1995) decisions. Although the selling price of energy-saving products is more
expensive than ordinary products, these products are more energy-saving in the use
process. In the long run, they are cost-effective and economical, and also of good quality. If
consumers perceive that energy-saving appliances are high quality and the price is
acceptable (i.e., cost-effective), they will be satisfied with the appliances and have higher
intention to purchase them. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed and tested:
H1a: Functional value is positively related to satisfaction with energy-saving
products.
Sheth et al. (1991) defined emotional value as “the perceived utility derived from a
product arousing feeling or affective states.” Emotional value for energy-saving products is
the perceived utility acquired from the product’s ability to bring a pleasant and comfortable
feeling. Although consumers may not deliberately pursue emotional interests in the
consumption process, the positive feelings generated in the consumption process will play a
key role on the subconscious level of decision-making (Hur et al., 2013). Consumers who buy
energy-saving products may think that they make their own contribution to environmental
protection, save energy, and enhance their green beliefs (Lin and Huang, 2012). Consumers
with positive emotional value for energy-saving products will have a good impression of
such products and feel satisfied. Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:
H1b: Emotional value is positively related to satisfaction with energy-saving
products.
Sheth et al. (1991) defined social value as “the perceived utility acquired from an
alternative’s association with one or more specific social groups.” Social value for energy-
saving products is the perceived utility acquired from enhancing a customer’s self-image and
obtaining social acceptance. Consumers consider the opinions of people around them when
purchasing products (Suki, 2016). Energy-saving products are capable of slowing resource
consumption. Consumers may gain social value from energy-saving products, as they may
be considered to be environmentalists and socially responsible. Social responsibility can also
stimulate people’s environmental behavior (Biswas and Roy, 2015). When purchasing
energy-saving products, consumers will obtain not only social recognition but also the
respect of others. As a result, consumers will easily feel satisfied because of extra social
respect when they purchase energy-saving products. Therefore, we propose the following
hypothesis and test:
H1c: Social value is positively related to satisfaction with energy-saving products.
Sheth et al. (1991) defined conditional value as “the perceived utility derived from a
specific situation or circumstances.” Conditional value for energy-saving products is the
perceived utility derived from discounts or promotions. Previous studies (Laaksonen,
1993; Lin and Huang, 2012) have shown that consumers’ choice behavior is related to their
personal situation. In China, due to the government’s policy of vigorously promoting
environmental protection, the purchase of energy-saving household appliances will provide
consumers with government subsidies, that is, consumers will be given a discount for the
purchase of energy-saving household appliances. Meanwhile, there is barely a discount for
ordinary household appliances. Consumers always tend to buy promotional products (Aydin
and Ziya, 2008). Thus, consumers will feel satisfied because of the discounts when they
select energy-saving products. Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:
H1d: Conditional value is positively related to satisfaction with energy-saving
products.
Green value is the perceived utility derived from consumers’ environmental
desires, sustainable expectations, and green needs, such as reducing environmental
pollution and saving power (Patterson and Spreng, 1997; Jiang et al., 2019). Research shows
that the products’ degree of greenness may affect the behavior of different types of
consumers (Wang et al., 2018e). When consumers purchase energy-saving products, they
may consider how much the product impacts the environment and whether the product
harms their health. Consumers who understand environmental problems and the green
value of energy-saving products will easily have a better impression of energy-saving
products and thus form a better satisfaction of them. Therefore, we propose the following
hypothesis:
H1e: Green value is positively related to satisfaction with energy-saving products.
Satisfaction, Purchase Intention
Customers usually make a purchase decision after evaluating whether their
previous experience of using a product is satisfactory (Kim et al., 2013; Prebensen et al.,
2014; Ali et al., 2016). Therefore, satisfaction is the source of the company’s competitive
advantage (Oliver, 1999). Meanwhile, it is also significant to comprehend customers’
purchase intention because their intention is usually reflected in their actions (Bai et al.,
2008). Most scholars who investigate the satisfaction and behavioral intention link have
shown that satisfaction is a strong antecedent of behavioral intention to purchase various
types of green products, such as green detergent brands (Papista et al., 2018), hybrid cars
(Hur et al., 2013), and eco-friendly cruises (Han et al., 2018). When consumers are satisfied
with a product, their desire to buy and experience that product usually increases. In
contrast, when consumers are dissatisfied with a product, their positive intentions and
desires to buy and experience that product will be reduced (Han and Ryu, 2012). Drawing on
the second part of appraisal-emotional response-coping theory, if consumers are satisfied
with energy-saving products, they will be motivated to purchase such products. Therefore,
we propose the following hypothesis:
H2: Purchase intention is positively influenced by consumer satisfaction.
The Moderating Effect of Green Experience, Gender, and Income
Green experience is the experience of consumers’ past purchase of green products.
The relationship between perceived value and purchase behavior has different results in the
study of energy-saving products (Lin and Huang, 2012; Khan and Mohsin, 2017). Consumer
purchasing behavior is largely influenced by historical behavior (Schwabe et al., 2018), which
may be the main reason for the inconsistent results. When consumers perceived same value
of energy-saving products, consumers who have purchased energy-saving products will be
more convinced of the utility because of their previous purchase experience, and they are
more likely to get higher satisfaction (Zhou and Zhang, 2019). Conversely, consumers who
have never purchased similar products have more worries, such as worrying about the
quality of the products and doubt about them, which will reduce satisfaction. Thus, we
propose the following hypothesis:
H3: The effect of the perceived value of energy-saving products on satisfaction is
moderated by the consumer’s green experience; this influence is significantly greater among
potential customers than experienced customers.
Gender differences in decision-making and information processing lead to a variety
of buying behaviors (Sun and Wang, 2019). Scholars have proved that women and men have
significant differences in their physiological and social needs. For example, compared with
men, women are more social, emotional, and caring about others (altruism). When
perceiving the same perceived value, women are more tolerant of energy-saving products
and more likely to have higher satisfaction. Also, individuals’ income significantly affects
their perception of perceived value (Shen et al., 2021). The income will affect individual
price sensitivity and makes low-income groups have more product search behavior, thereby
reducing the risk of purchase. Thus, consumers are more likely to perceive the value of the
product, which will also produce higher satisfaction. Therefore, the income significantly
moderates the relationship between perceived value and consumer satisfaction. Thus, we
propose the following hypotheses:
H4: The effect of the perceived value of energy-saving products on satisfaction is
moderated by gender; this influence is significantly greater among female group.
H5: The effect of the perceived value of energy-saving products on satisfaction is
moderated by income; this influence is significantly greater among low-income group.
