When sustainability feels fair: how social and altruistic value drive justice and advocacy in specialty coffee

This study investigates how brand sustainable management practices (BSMPs) influence customer perceptions of interactional justice in the U.S. specialty coffee context, guided by the value-attitude-behavior framework. Results show that BSMPs significantly enhance perceptions of interactional justice, both directly and indirectly via perceived social value (SPV) and perceived altruistic value (APV). Interactional justice strongly predicts brand advocacy. While product knowledge did not moderate the SPV – justice link, it amplified the positive effect of APV on justice perceptions. These findings underscore the dual pathway through which BSMPs foster fairness perceptions and highlight the boundary condition of product knowledge in interpreting altruistic brand value.