The Impact of Sustainable Business Practices on Consumer Purchase Decisions: The Mediating Role of Brand Image
Indian Consumer Context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53273/b3re7b82Abstract
Sustainability has become an increasingly important dimension of contemporary business strategy, yet the pathway through which business sustainability is translated into consumer purchase decisions remains insufficiently explained. This study develops and proposes an empirical model examining the effect of sustainable business practices on consumer purchase decisions and the mediating role of brand image. Sustainable business practices are conceptualized as a multi-dimensional construct encompassing environmental, social, and ethical/responsible business practices. Drawing on Stakeholder Theory and the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) perspective, the study proposes that sustainable business practices operate as external signals, brand image represents consumers’ internal evaluation of the brand, and purchase decision represents the resulting behavioral response. The proposed research adopts a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design targeting adult consumers in India. Data will be collected using a structured five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) or an equivalent SEM procedure, including reliability and validity assessment and bootstrapped mediation analysis. Recent evidence indicates that sustainable marketing can strengthen brand image and downstream customer outcomes, while India-focused studies demonstrate that sustainability-related attitudes, brand-related factors, and environmental considerations are relevant to green purchasing. The study therefore addresses a mechanism gap by examining brand image as the central explanatory bridge between sustainable business practices and purchase-related responses. Because primary survey data have not yet been supplied, this manuscript does not fabricate coefficients, significance levels, or hypothesis outcomes; the Results and Discussion sections are structured for completion after data collection. The proposed research contributes a context-specific framework for understanding how credible sustainability can create consumer value through brand image.
Keywords:
Sustainable Business Practices, Sustainability; Brand Image, Consumer Purchase Decisions, Purchase Intention, Sustainable Marketing, Stakeholder Theory, Stimulus–Organism–Response, IndiaReferences
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