What Drives Purchase Intention Toward Fourth-Generation Residences? An Attribute–Value–Intention Framework with the Mediating Role of Perceived Value

Abstract Fourth-generation residences, often described as “gardens on every floor and courtyards in every home”, have rapidly emerged as a new housing product category, yet evidence on what drives consumer adoption remains limited. This study develops and tests an attribute–value–intention framework to explain purchase intention toward fourth-generation residences. Environmental sustainability, space utilization, intelligence degree, and residential comfort, are modeled as antecedents of perceived value, which in turn predicts purchase intention, with perceived value specified as a mediating mechanism. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire refined via a pilot test and then administered in a main study (N = 651). Structural equation modeling with bootstrapped indirect effects indicates that perceived value is a strong predictor of purchase intention. Environmental sustainability and residential comfort exert significant positive effects on perceived value and also show significant direct effects on purchase intention, highlighting them as primary value-differentiating attributes. In contrast, space utilization and intelligence degree exhibit weaker impacts: their direct effects on perceived value are non-significant (with intelligence degree marginal), while their indirect effects through perceived value are positive but small. The findings advance understanding of consumer decision-making for emerging housing innovations and provide actionable guidance for positioning and communicating fourth-generation residences around comfort- and sustainability-based value.