How SNS Usage Motivations Influence Participation in Fashion Brands’ Eco-Friendly Activities : The Differential Mediating Roles of Perceived Social Support and Collective Efficacy

With sustainability becoming increasingly important in the fashion industry, understanding consumer participation in eco-friendly activities has gained growing attention. This study, therefore, examines how SNS usage motivations influence participation intentions in fashion brands’ eco-friendly activities through distinct psychological mechanisms. In terms of expectation, information-seeking motivation was anticipated to operate through collective efficacy, whereas ideology-oriented motivation was predicted to influence participation through perceived social support and subsequent collective efficacy. Using a stimulus-based survey design, data were collected from consumers with previous exposure to SNS posts featuring eco-friendly initiatives, with structural equation modeling and PROCESS macro analyses conducted to test the proposed relationships. The results showed that information-seeking motivation increased participation intention through collective efficacy, whereas ideology-oriented motivation influenced participation intention through perceived social support and collective efficacy, revealing differentiated cognitive–functional and relational–emotional pathways underlying consumer engagement. Although the moderated mediation effects of SNS type were not statistically significant, the indirect effects revealed the pathways to be stronger in open SNS environments. This study contributes to the literature by identifying differentiated psychological mechanisms underlying SNS-driven eco-friendly participation and provides practical implications for sustainability communication strategies for fashion brands.