Resource Gain and Resource Depletion in Circular Economy Platforms: How Perceived Value and Platform Fatigue Shape Usage Intention

Second-hand trading platforms have become an important channel for advancing circular economy practices in China. Yet prior research has paid more attention to the benefits of platform use than to the burdens that may undermine continued participation. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study examines how transaction reliability (TR), economic benefits (EB), community interactivity (CI), and reverse logistics convenience (RLC) shape perceived value (PV), and how platform fatigue (PF) weakens the relationship between PV and usage intention (IU). Using survey data from 297 users of major Chinese second-hand trading platforms, we test the proposed model with PLS-SEM. The results show that TR, EB, and RLC significantly enhance PV, whereas CI does not have a significant effect. PV, in turn, showed a substantial positive association with IU. PF attenuates the conversion of PV into IU. In addition, multi-group analysis based on circular economy identity (CEI) shows that the positive effect of PV on IU is stronger among users with higher CEI, whereas the negative moderating effect of PF is weaker in this group. These findings suggest that usage intention toward circular economy platforms is shaped by the joint operation of resource gain and resource depletion, and that this process varies across users with different levels of CE identity.