Stakeholders' purchase intention of products with recycled content: a combination of SEM and BPNN approach

Abstract

The rapid urban renewal progress has generated a large amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste in China. According to the concept of circular economy (CE), producing products with recycled content (PwRC) is an effective solution to achieve sustainable C&D waste management. However, the low market acceptance of PwRC affects stakeholders' purchase intention, which hinders the development of the PwRC industry. In order to clarify the stakeholders' purchase intention and investigate the influencing mechanism of stakeholders' purchase intention, a novel method which combines structural equation modeling (SEM) with a back-propagation neural network (BPNN) is proposed. The method makes full use of the causal analysis ability of SEM and the nonlinear characteristics of BPNN to simulate and to verify the path of product cues, perceived value, and behavioral intention of stakeholders. The results reveal that the brand and materials of PwRC can affect stakeholders' perceived value, and in turn, affect their purchase intention. Focus on the brand and materials of PwRC will help recycled product manufacturers and governments to promote stakeholders' purchase intention and the development of the C&D waste recycled products market.

Keywords: Back-propagation neural network; Construction and demolition waste; Purchase intention; Recycled products; Structural equation modeling.