Psychological distance from environmental pollution and willingness to participate in second-hand online transactions: An experimental survey in China

Second-hand online trading platforms support the transaction of previously used but still serviceable goods. Consequently, they provide an economically efficient alternative to consumers and help reduce the excessive consumption of resources. This study conducts two experimental surveys to investigate whether consumers’ psychological distance (PD) from environmental pollution influences their willingness to participate in second-hand online transactions and whether the former can be influenced by a stimulus with different construal levels. Moreover, we examine the moderating effect of outcome framing on the relationship between consumers’ PD from environmental pollution and willingness to participate in second-hand online transactions. The results obtained from 261 valid participants in Study 1 indicate that consumers’ PD from environmental pollution is negatively related to their willingness to participate in second-hand online transactions. That is, individuals who are psychologically proximate to environmental pollution have high awareness of the environment and are more willing to participate in second-hand online transactions. Furthermore, a stimulus with different construal levels leads to different PDs from environmental pollution and varying degrees of second-hand online transaction intention. Specifically, pictures with low construal level cause psychological proximity to environmental pollution, whereas words with high construal level results in relatively further PD. The results obtained from another 272 valid participants show that the effect of consumers’ PD from environmental pollution on their willingness to participate in second-hand online transactions is more significant within a gain framing than within a loss framing. This indicates that the expected positive result of participating in second-hand online transactions leads to higher adoption intention than the expected negative result of not participating in such transactions. • Psychological distance (PD) from environmental pollution affects consumers’ second-hand online transaction participation. • Construal level affects consumers’ willingness to participate in second-hand online transaction indirectly via their PD. • Low construal level is an effective way to raise the exposure of environmental pollution issues and reduce consumers’ PD. • PD from environmental pollution affects second-hand online transaction participation more significantly under gain framing. • Perceived achievement from eco-friendly behavior increases consumers’ intention to participate in second-hand transactions.