Trust green, pay more: Decoding green brand loyalty and willingness to pay more for electric vehicles through green transparency and green perceived value

The Stimulus–Organism–Response framework is applied in this study to explore the impact of Green Transparency (stimuli) and Green Perceived Value (stimuli) on Green Brand Trust (organism) and, subsequently, on Green Brand Loyalty (response) and Willingness to Pay More (response). Self-Brand Connection is examined as a moderator. An online survey was distributed to 557 EV consumers. We employed both PLS-SEM (SmartPLS 4) and CB-SEM (AMOS 29) to test the direct, mediating, and moderating effects, with CB-SEM used as a robustness check for model stability. The results show that both Green Transparency and Green Perceived Value are positive antecedents of Green Brand Trust. Green Brand Trust, in turn, positively influences Green Brand Loyalty and Willingness to Pay More and mediates the effects of the two stimuli. The results also confirm that Self-Brand Connection significantly and positively strengthens the Green Brand Trust→Green Brand Loyalty and Green Brand Trust→Willingness to Pay More relationships. This study establishes Green Brand Trust as a core green consumer behavior mechanism and identity alignment as a catalyst for Green Brand Loyalty and Willingness to Pay More, offering actionable guidance to EV brands for credibility building, customer retention, and sustainable consumption. • Green transparency and green perceived value elevate green brand trust. • Green brand trust mediates effects on loyalty and willingness to pay more. • Self-brand connection strengthens trust's impact on loyalty and premium pay. • Findings replicated across PLS-SEM and CB-SEM. • EV brands should pair transparent claims with identity-based messaging.