| With the country’s strong advocacy of ecological civilization and green consumption,green development is expected to become a new driving force for sustainable economic growth.However,compared to general products,green products use natural or recyclable materials in the production stage and have lower energy consumption in the use stage.In addition,the purchase of green processing equipment required to produce green products and obtaining green product certification increase costs,resulting in higher prices for green products than regular products.Therefore,consumers need to pay extra for green products to reflect the difference in cost required to produce green products,also known as the "green premium.The difference in consumers’ perception of the utility and enjoyment attributes of green products affects their willingness to pay for the green product premium.Therefore,we combine questionnaires and event-related potential measures to explore the influence of product utility and enjoyment attributes on the willingness to pay for green product premiums and their neural basis.Based on perceived value theory,Study 1 investigates the psychological perceived value factors that influence consumers’ willingness to pay premium for green products from two perspectives,perceived value and product attributes,through a questionnaire survey method.The results found that the price value,emotional value and social value of green products have significant positive effects on consumers’ willingness to pay premiums.Price value,emotional value,and social value play a fully mediating role in the relationship between hedonic and practical attributes of green products that affect consumers’ willingness to pay premiums,i.e.,in green consumption,commodity attributes affect consumers’ willingness to pay premiums through the mediating path of price value,emotional value,and social value.Study 2 uses a scenario simulation study to measure consumers’ acceptable premium payment levels for hedonic and practical green products using conditional value estimation methods to verify the application of the findings of Study 1 to specific green product consumption scenarios.The hedonic and practical attributes of green products significantly affect the acceptable level of premium payment for green products,with most consumers being more willing to accept low levels of premiums for hedonic green products and higher levels of premiums for practical green products.This proves that consumers have different psychological expectations and willingness to pay for different types of green products.Based on dual processing theory and using neuromarketing methods,Study 3 explored the differences in consumers’ premium expectations for hedonic and practical attributes of green products at the neurological level through an EEG experiment to peek into consumers’ mental activities when choosing between different types of green products at different levels of premiums.The experiment was a 2(product attribute: enjoyment,utility)x 3(premium level: no premium,low premium,high premium)within-subjects experimental design with 360 trials.The results of the behavioral study found that consumers were more willing to purchase practical green products and the public rationally recognized the benefits of practical green products for environmental development.The results of the EEG study found that there were significant differences in participants’ perceptions and attention to the willingness to pay a premium for practical versus hedonic attributes of green products in the early cognitive stage.The P2 component evoked in central brain regions was more significant than in frontal brain regions when the green product was utilitarian.The amplitude of the P2 component was greater for hedonic green products than for hedonic green products,and consumers devoted more attention to hedonic green products.The P2 components induced by high level premiums were larger than those induced by low level premiums,demonstrating that high level premiums are effective in mobilizing consumers’ attentional resources and that consumers show more attention to higher prices.Consumers perceive that the high level premium conditions do not match with hedonic green products and have difficulty accepting high premiums for hedonic green products.In the late cognitive stage,consumers are more likely to accept the high level of premium for hedonic products,and the N4 amplitude induced by utility green products is significantly higher than that induced by hedonic green products in the high premium condition.The intrinsic reason why it is difficult for people to give up practical products in favor of hedonic products is that it is more difficult for people to find a reasonable reason for consuming hedonic products than practical products.In the late cognitive stage consumers use the concept of green consumption and environmental protection as a reason to reduce the negative emotions generated by choosing hedonic products,making consumers more willing to accept the green premium of hedonic products.In this study,Study 1 explores the factors influencing the perceived value of hedonic and practical attributes of green products on the willingness to pay green premium based on perceived value theory;Study 2 uses conditional value estimation method to verify the results of Study 1 and further analyzes the influence of hedonic and practical attributes of green products on the acceptable level of green product premium payment by consumers;Study 3 is based on dual processing theory and uses event Study 3 explores the neural basis of hedonic and practical attributes on green premium payment willingness based on the dual processing theory,reveals the mechanism of different stages in the dual processing theory on green product purchase decision,provides theoretical support for green product pricing,offers a new perspective for the study of premium payment willingness,expands a new field for the application of decision neuroscience,and provides innovative ideas for green branding and green product promotion. |
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