Behavioral mechanisms uncovered: the causal effects of service experience design on green consumption via...

With the rise of eco-friendly purchasing trends, understanding the mechanisms that drive consumers' sustainable behaviors has become increasingly important. This study investigates how service design influences sustainable consumption through two psychological pathways: ecological consciousness and affective bonding.

Using survey data from 582 Chinese urban customers in eco-retail and food service contexts, a multi-component experience framework was developed. Mediation regression analysis was employed to examine how different dimensions of service design affect consumers' green consumption tendencies.

The empirical results indicate that three service experience dimensions-environmental perception, process facilitation, and interactive responsiveness-significantly enhance consumers' green consumption tendencies. Furthermore, environmental awareness and emotional connection exert stable partial mediating effects along the influence pathways, jointly forming a dual psychological mechanism characterized by parallel cognitive and affective drivers.

These findings demonstrate that experiential service frameworks can shape sustainable consumption decisions by simultaneously activating cognitive recognition and emotional attachment, providing strategic implications for enterprises seeking to promote sustainability-oriented consumer engagement.