Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Department of Textiles, Apparel Design, and Merchandising

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) framework, this study examines the evaluation mechanisms through which consumers make purchase decisions between new and secondhand apparel. Specifically, it investigates how three external stimuli (i.e., price, product condition, and sustainability education) influence this decision-making process through internal evaluations (i.e., perceived benefits, perceived costs, perceived environmental friendliness, perceived price magnitude, and hygiene concerns). A 2 (high price vs. low price) × 2 (new apparel vs. secondhand apparel) × 2 (sustainability education treatment vs. control) between-subjects experimental design was adopted and conducted online with U.S. consumers. This study included a pretest and a main study. The pretest yielded 184 usable responses, which were used to assess the effectiveness of the experimental manipulations and provide insights for refining the main study. The main study yielded 468 usable responses, which were used to test the proposed hypotheses. The analysis results showed mixed support for the hypotheses. Overall, the results showed that price and product condition were the main drivers of consumer evaluations and purchase decision outcomes, but through different mediating mechanisms across the control and treatment groups. For example, perceived benefits and hygiene concerns consistently predicted product preference across the treatment and control groups, while perceived costs, environmental friendliness, and price magnitude showed more group-specific effects. Sustainability education selectively moderated these paths and showed group-specific moderating effects. In terms of contribution, this study showed that consumers’ decision-making between new and secondhand apparel is complex and dynamic, involving multidimensional evaluations. One of the most novel insights of this study is that consumers’ purchase decisions may be shifted from new to secondhand through sustainability education stimuli. This finding is promising for stakeholders seeking to develop consumer interventions that promote more sustainable consumption. However, the effects revealed by this study were limited, which may be due to the poster-based treatment and short exposure. This study suggests that sustainability communication should be combined with a broader set of deliver strategies to create a more meaningful outcome. Theoretical and practical contributions are provided, and limitations and related future research directions are also discussed.

Date

6-22-2026

Committee Chair

Chunmin Lang

LSU Acknowledgement

1

LSU Accessibility Acknowledgment

1

Download

Available for download on Thursday, June 21, 2029

Share

COinS