Task-Based Engagement Incentives in Sustainability: Monetary vs. Non-Monetary in Fostering Psychological Ownership

<p dir="ltr">Although many consumers report a willingness to pay for more sustainably sourced products, these intentions often fail to translate into actual purchases or lasting behaviour change. To address this gap, brands have begun adopting task-based initiatives within sustainability contexts. Such initiatives typically require consumers to exert effort, either cognitive (e.g., generating brand-related content) or physical (e.g., participating in recycling programs). To encourage participation, brands offer self-oriented incentives, including community badges (nonmonetary) or gift vouchers (monetary) to foster sustainable consumer behaviours. This experimental study examines how such incentives strengthen customer engagement and shape purchase intent and brand advocacy in sustainability contexts. The conceptual model positions customer effort as a moderator and psychological ownership, the sense that a brand or initiative is ‘mine’, as a central mechanism. Findings reveal a significant main effect of incentive type on brand advocacy, with higher advocacy scores for monetary than non-monetary incentives. Although incentive type did not significantly affect purchase intent, the impact of incentives on psychological ownership became both positive and significant under conditions of perceived high customer effort. By addressing the gap between consumer intentions and actual behaviours, this study informs strategies to enhance customer engagement in sustainability.</p>