Key determinants of product value for business sustainability in glove industry: A moderating impact of technological competency

Abstract

With the technological progress of market globalization and post COVID-19 pandemic, protective gloves made from latex have been required to have significant upgrades by using antimicrobial technology to coat the glove layer so that it can effectively prevent users’ hands from getting infected by cross-transmissions of microorganisms and viruses. As the glove industry aims to maintain its business sustainability, understanding users’ perceived glove value merits closer attention because perceived value has direct associations with user trust, loyalty, and retention allowing producers to estimate and produce sufficient supply responding to the current market needs. This research aims to investigate how product attributes (convenience and risk) influence glove quality and glove value. Furthermore, this research also examines how technological competency moderates an association between glove quality and glove value. Researchers collected data from 720 Thai glove users via survey questionnaires. Furthermore, a path analysis technique was used to analyze the data. Findings indicated that product convenience (β=0.32, p<0.001) and product risk (β=-0.51, p>0.001) significantly influenced glove quality. Next, product convenience (β=0.49, p<0.001) and glove quality (β=0.74, p<0.001), except product risk (β=-0.03, p>0.05), significantly influenced glove value. Meanwhile, glove quality mediated the relationship between product risk and glove value. Finally, technological competency moderated the association between glove quality and glove value.