When sustainability sells: Fostering buyer-perceived value in business-to-business markets

Sustainable selling in business-to-business (B2B) markets increasingly depends on suppliers' ability to convey the value of emission-reducing offerings, yet research on how to foster buyers' value perceptions of such offerings remains limited. Using a survey of 304 B2B buyers and a scenario-based experiment with 381 buyers, this research examines how suppliers foster buyers' value perceptions from a signaling perspective. In Study 1, the results show that salesperson sustainability expertise and Scope 3 emission disclosure enhance buyers' perceived financial and non-financial sustainability value, which in turn drive customer satisfaction and willingness to pay a premium. These effects are contingent on environmental regulation and buyer sustainability expertise. In Study 2, the results demonstrate that the signaling effectiveness of emission disclosure depends on the fit between value framing and emission contexts: opportunity framing is more effective for Scope 1 emissions, whereas risk framing is more effective for Scope 3 emissions. The findings advance understanding of sustainability value-based selling and provide guidance for suppliers on how to communicate sustainability value effectively.