Research on the impact mechanism of Green Emotional Involvement on Consumer Engagement Behavior: the chain mediating roles of Perceived Authenticity and Perceived Value

Abstract

Throughout the 15th Five-Year Plan, China will enter a decisive phase of structural realignment and rapid growth-model transformation. At the nexus of the “dual-carbon” targets and high-quality development, green consumption—propelled by the “Two New” policy package—is set to scale up faster. Therefore, understanding how emotional factors shape consumers’ engagement with green products has become increasingly important. This study aims to explore how Green Emotional Involvement (GEI) influences Consumer Engagement Behavior (CEB), and to examine the mediating effects of Perceived Value (PV) and Perceived Authenticity (PA), as well as the moderating role of gender. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Involvement Theory, this study employed a questionnaire survey of 274 Chinese consumers. CB-SEM excels at disentangling the subtle, multilayered interplay among a multitude of variables. Therefore the data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Multi-group Analysis (MGA) to test the hypothesized relationships. The results show that GEI has a significant positive effect on CEB. PV mediates this relationship significantly, while the mediating effect of PA is not supported. Furthermore, gender moderates the relationship between GEI and PA, indicating that female consumers are more sensitive to authenticity cues. The study provides new empirical evidence that consumers’ emotional involvement can foster engagement through Perceived Value enhancement, while authenticity perceptions play a more limited role. The findings enrich the TPB framework by integrating emotional and cognitive factors and offer practical guidance for developing gender-differentiated green marketing strategies aimed at enhancing consumer engagement and loyalty.