Linking digital platform transparency with circular consumption: The interplay of awareness, perception, and value co-creation

The shift to a circular economy revolves around how businesses operate and how people utilize digital platforms to learn, engage, and make sustainable choices. However, little is known about how digital platform information transparency (DPIT) and digital omnichannel experiences (DOE) jointly drive sustainable consumer choices, which represents an important knowledge gap in the circular economy. In this study, we investigate how transparency on digital platforms and a seamless omnichannel experience jointly encourage circular consumption behavior (CCB) through the mediating roles of value co-creation (VCC), circular awareness (CA), and circular economic perception (CEP). Therefore, this study proposes and assesses a framework based on levels that tests a conceptual framework proposing that the digital omnichannel experience and digital platform information transparency are the key drivers of consumer sustainability outcomes. The model is evaluated and validated using PLS-SEM on data from 328 US consumers, an approach suited for our exploratory, theory-building framework. The study demonstrates that the greater DPIT and DOE drive more sustainable consumption by significantly enhancing consumers' circular awareness, circular economy perception, and co-creation engagement. Drawing on the Knowledge-Based View (KBV) and signalling theory (ST), value co-creation theory, and principles of the circular economy, our study integrates these perspectives to explain consumer circular behavior. The model introduced in the paper is a valuable contribution to the literature on digital omnichannel services and platforms, as well as circular consumption. Along with its utility for managers, this study contributes to our knowledge of digital sustainability and presents, for the first time, a connection between consumer cognition and transparency in actual circular behaviors. Thus, it offers a fresh perspective on how digital technologies can enable sustainability and resilience in a challenging VUCA environment.