ESG as a Market Signal in the New Energy Vehicle Era: Effects on Consumers’ Green Perceived Value and Purchase Intention

Purpose – This study explores how corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management in the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry influences consumers’ green perceived value across functional, emotional, and social dimensions and how such perceptions subsequently shape their purchase intentions. It also seeks to clarify the mediating role of green perceived value within the integrated framework of signaling theory and the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study develops a research model and tests it using an online survey of Chinese consumers interested in NEVs (N = 232). Hypotheses are evaluated via structural modeling with bootstrap mediation to estimate indirect effects. Findings – Results show that the environmental and governance dimensions of ESG directly and positively affect purchase intention, whereas the social dimension does not. All three ESG dimensions positively influence green perceived value. Among the dimensions of green perceived value, emotional and social values increase purchase intention while functional value does not. Bootstrap mediation tests indicate that ESG exerts significant indirect effects on purchase intention via emotional and social values but not via functional value. Research Implications – The study shifts ESG inquiry to the consumer side, integrating signaling theory and the SOR framework to clarify the pathway whereby ESG influences purchase intention through green perceived value. Managerially, firms should treat ESG as a communication asset by transparently disclosing environmental and governance performance and translating it into emotionally and socially resonant messages while tightly linking ESG claims to product functionality to avoid credibility gaps.