Consumers’ motivation to donate second-hand clothing: concurrent mixed-methods belief elicitation and norms validation using the Theory of Planned Behavior

Purpose The goal of this research is twofold. First, this research aims to identify the salient beliefs that motivate consumers to donate second-hand clothing (SHC). Second, this research establishes an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) model of SHC donation and examines whether past donation experience differentiates the model relationships across donors and non-donors. Design/methodology/approach This research applies a concurrent mixed-methods approach, comprising a qualitative open-ended survey with 39 consumers and a quantitative closed-ended survey with 401 consumers analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings The qualitative study identifies a set of salient behavioral beliefs, injunctive normative beliefs, descriptive normative beliefs, and control beliefs toward SHC donation. The quantitative study shows that attitudes, moral norms, and perceived behavioral control significantly predict intentions to donate SHC, whereas injunctive and descriptive norms do not. The multigroup analysis shows that the influence of attitudes on intentions toward SHC donation is stronger for donors than for non-donors. Originality/value This research contributes to an integrated understanding of SHC donation through a concurrent mixed-methods design that elicits context-specific beliefs and examines an extended TPB model that contrasts donors with non-donors, thereby offering more in-depth insight into why consumers choose to donate or choose not to donate SHC.