Antecedents of Willingness to Pay for Sustainability: A Literature Review on Luxury Versus Mass-Market Products

This thesis investigates the antecedents of willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainability through a systematic literature review, with a focus on the fashion industry across luxury and mass-market segments. WTP for sustainability reflects the extent to which consumers are prepared to bear higher costs for products that embody environmental and social responsibility. The study highlights that antecedents of WTP are multidimensional, encompassing psychological, emotional, socio-cultural, and demographic factors, which operate differently in distinct market contexts. In luxury fashion, sustainability is increasingly associated with ethical sophistication and moralized conspicuous consumption, where factors such as moral identity, status signaling, and emotional attachment enhance WTP. In contrast, in mass-market fashion, economic constraints, price sensitivity, trust in labels, and the persistence of the attitude–behavior gap moderate consumer willingness to support sustainable alternatives. By synthesizing insights from theories such as the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Value–Belief–Norm (VBN), and moral identity frameworks, this review maps universal drivers of sustainable consumption while distinguishing segment-specific mechanisms. The findings contribute to both academic knowledge and managerial practice by offering a comparative framework that clarifies how WTP for sustainability emerges, varies, and can be fostered across different consumer markets