How past identity shapes consumer attitudes toward upcycled product advertisements: The mediating role of outcome efficacy

Upcycling refers to transforming discarded materials into higher value products. Thus, upcycled products have two identities: past (original materials) and present identities (the upcycled product's present value). This study examines the effects of the upcycled products’ past identity on consumer attitudes toward the company. Through four studies (N=1080), we reveal how past identity enhances these consumer attitudes and reveal the mediating role of outcome efficacy. Furthermore, these effects weaken when the upcycling process is performed step-by-step or the temporal framing is future-oriented. Overall, this study not only offers novel insights, and expands the literature on product aesthetics and products with a past identity but also provides significant practical implications for the advertising design of upcycled products.