Predicting intentions to purchase organic food: The role of affective and moral attitudes in the Theory of Planned Behaviour

Exploring the spatial mental associations of distinct food types

Previous research explored the spatial representations of healthy low-calorie and unhealthy high-calorie food items, revealing an association of healthy low-calorie food with left and top sides, and unhealthy/high-calorie food with right and top sides. This association, namely side bias, was limited to these specific categories leaving the representations of healthy high-calorie and unhealthy low-calorie food categories yet to be explored. Present study was designed to examine the spatial representation of four food categories (unhealthy low-calorie, unhealthy high-calorie, healthy low-calorie, healthy high-calorie) using a computerized food placement task. In Experiment 1, participants placed four food items from different categories into eight locations. In Experiment 2, identical task was used with the addition of centrally presented anchor food item to investigate the mental representation of food items in relation to each other. The frequency of placing food items in specific spatial locations were measured. The results of Experiment 1 provided partial support for side bias. However, the use of anchor items in Experiment 2 provided compelling evidence for vertical side bias, demonstrating consistent pattern of placing healthy foods on the upper sides and unhealthy foods on the lower sides. In both experiments, real-life food choices were examined to investigate whether the high-calorie bias would be observed in actual food choice behavior. The results from both experiments indicated strong preference to select high-calorie foods, supporting high-calorie bias. Overall, this study extends the evidence on the spatial representations of distinct food categories.

Applying the theory of behavioral choice to plant-based dietary intentions

Improving understanding of the intention to choose plant-based food is an important element of climate change mitigation. A cross-sectional survey of 454 North American adults was used to predict their dietary-change intentions from the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the more-recently proposed theory of behavioral choice (TBC). The TPB accounted for 65 percent of the variance in intentions and the TBC accounted for a significantly greater (80 percent) proportion of variance. The strongest predictors of intention were the TBC's sense of obligation, attitude-values-affect (AVA), and habit, and the TBP's social norms. Five interactions also contributed in small but significant ways toward the accounting of the participants' food-choice intentions. Policy implications are discussed.

Factors affecting purchase intention of organic food products: Evidence from a developing nation context

The organic food industry has experienced rapid growth in recent decades. The industry is relatively new to developing countries compared to developed countries. Since Iran has the potential to produce organic products, it is essential to study factors that influence consumers' intention to buy them. The present study was designed and implemented for this purpose. In this cross-sectional study, 520 adults were selected using multistage sampling. Path analysis was employed to test a hypothesized model of predictors of consumer purchase intention for organic food. Attitude, environmental concern, and sensory characteristics directly impacted the intention to purchase organic food (p < .01). Knowledge, perceived price, and household size indirectly affected purchase intention through attitude (p < .01). Age indirectly affected purchase intention through health consciousness, environmental concern, perceived price, and sensory characteristics (p < .01). Subjective norms, health consciousness, and the perceived convenience of purchase had a positive and significant effect on purchase intention, directly and indirectly, through the mediating influence of attitude (p = .000). The educational level also affects purchase intention directly and indirectly through knowledge, health consciousness, environmental concern, and subjective norm (p = .000). The most potent total effects belonged to health consciousness, subjective norms, and education, respectively. Overall, the model could explain 47% of the intention variance and 45% of the variance in attitude. Various factors influence Iranian consumers' decision to buy organic food. This information can help professionals make well-informed decisions in policymaking, production, marketing, tourism, and retailing.

Participatory intention and behavior towards riparian peri-urban forests management; an extended theory of planned behavior application

Introduction

Peri-urban forests play crucial role in quality of life and environment for citizens. To effectively utilize the services provided by these forests, it is essential to establish an integrated forest management system that aims to achieve a balance of all ecosystem services. This can be accomplished through a participatory approach that involves key citizen stakeholders. Mountaineers shape a specific group which have showed high pro-environmental behaviors to protect natural resources. This research aimed to examine the influencing factors on mountaineers' intention to participate and their actual behavior in the management of riparian peri-urban forests in this field using extended theory of planned behavior.

Methods

Environmental values and perceived barriers were added to original model as additional components to enhance its explanatory power. A sample size of 416 individuals was surveyed using a questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Smart-PLS.

Results

The findings of the analysis revealed that the developed model accounted for 75.2% of the variance in mountaineers' intention and 67.8% of behavior. The results demonstrated that three main components of model including attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control significantly influenced individuals' intentions to participate in peri-urban forests management. Furthermore, intentions were cleared to have a positive influence on actual behavior in this context. Additionally, environmental values were found to be positively correlated with individuals' intentions but not statistically significant behavior toward participate in urban forest management. Perceived barriers were found to have a negative impact on individuals' intentions toward participate in urban forest management. The perceived barriers and behavior had not statistically significant relationship.

Conclusion

The results of study provide valuable insights for the development of effective management strategies to promote mountaineers' participation in riparian PUFs management. The study emphasizes the importance of environmental education and awareness campaigns targeted at mountaineers.

Behavioral factors driving farmers' intentions to adopt spot spraying for sustainable weed control

Smart Farming Technologies enable plant-specific agrochemical applications which can increase the efficiency and reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture. However, the uptake of Smart Farming Technologies remains slow despite their potential to enhance sustainable transformation of food systems. The design of policies to promote sustainable agricultural technologies requires a holistic understanding of the complex set of factors driving the adoption of innovations at farm level. This study has a focus on behavioral factors, such as pro-environmental attitude, personal innovativeness and moral norms. Based on an online study conducted in Germany, structural equation modelling is applied to test the predictions of an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behavior, using spot spraying, a smart weeding technology, as an example. The results confirm theoretical predictions and show that indicators of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control have relevant effects on farmers' adoption intentions. The extended model revealed a medium-sized (small) direct effect of moral norms on the attitude towards spot spraying (adoption intention). Personal innovativeness had a small effect on adoption intention, whereas pro-environmental attitude did not exhibit a clear direction of impact. Methodological and policy implications derived from the results are discussed noting that the inclusion of indicators for moral norms can improve the predictive power of models used in future research in this field. Overall, initiatives aimed at facilitating the exchange of opinions and related moral norms as well as collaboration among peers may contribute to voluntary sustainable innovation as it enhances adoption intentions among farmers.

The role of digital transformation in supply chain efficiency and economic output

From the perspective of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), this research looks at the key elements influencing how small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) move toward a circular economy (CE). This research aims to understand the elements that influence SMEs to embrace CE principles and determine the real-world applications of SSCM practices. This research gathered and analyzed data from diverse European SMEs working inside CE networks using a mixed-method approach. We received answers from several of these firms using a survey form sent and emailed to them. The replies were then assessed using an independent t test to account for any biases. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for the validity assessment, compound consistency, and corrected-item-total association measures to validate the model's validity and reliability. According to our research, SMEs are influenced significantly by societal pressures, green economic incentives, and environmental dedication when deciding whether to adopt CE practices. Our study further emphasizes the importance of SSCM for SMEs' successful transition to a CE model, especially regarding resource and waste management efficiency. This work contributes to the corpus of research on the topic by providing empirical support for the function of SSCM in easing the transition towards CE in the setting of SMEs. The results might serve as a reference for managers and policymakers as they create plans to encourage SMEs to embrace CE practices and to emphasize the advantages of such a change on the economic, social, and environmental fronts. Putting a particular emphasis on the vital roles that public pressure, green financial incentives, and ecological dedication play, this research provides insights into the complex interactions between SSCM and CE transition in SMEs. Further study is needed to examine how these determinants could fluctuate across various industries and geographies.

Impact of circular economy information on sensory acceptability, purchase intention and perceived value of upcycled foods by young consumers

The acceptability of upcycled foods is influenced by individual, context and product-related factors. This study aimed at investigating the impact of circular economy (CE) information on consumers' sensory acceptability, purchase intention and perceived value of upcycled foods, taking into account eating behaviours and personality traits that could be related to the consumers' sustainable consumption habits. To this aim, a group of young subjects (n = 80, 18-35 years old) participated in a two-step study. Firstly, an online questionnaire was administered to participants to gather information about their individual characteristics. Then, participants were divided into two groups, one receiving CE information (CE+) and one not receiving it (CE-), and they were asked to indicate the sensory acceptability, purchase intention and the perceived value of three upcycled foods, such as biscuits with grape pomace flour, beer brewed with leftover bread and a dairy product made from recovered crushed cheese. Questionnaire results showed that high individual responsibility, interest in healthy foods and high awareness of the social impact of their behaviours could be linked to a positive purchase intention for upcycled foods, as opposed to individual disgust sensitivity. No significant effect of CE information (p > 0.05) on sensory acceptability and purchase intention of all three upcycled foods was observed. Moreover, application of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to the sensory data resulted in satisfactory classification of upcycled foods in terms of perceived values, explaining 86.83 % of data variability: the first principal component discriminated samples according to product category whereas the second principal component was able to clearly separate products according to CE information. Findings from this study provided valuable insights into the key individual characteristics that impact sustainable consumption habits, also highlighting the role of communication strategies in shaping consumer perceptions of upcycled foods so as to encourage a more sustainable consumption behaviour.

Investigating the dietary intentions of Iranian tourists regarding the consumption of local food

Introduction

Attention to local food among tourists is increasing day by day. However, studies on the behavior and intention of tourists towards consuming these foods are few. Limited studies in this field prompted us to help fill the research gap by doing this research.

Methods

This study aims to use the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) by adding risk perception (RP) to investigate the tourists' intentions towards local food (TILF) in Iran. The extended model tested 313 tourists visiting local food supplies.

Results

Results show that the extended TPB explains 87.8% of tourist intention variance. Three variables of the original TPB had positive impacts on tourists' intentions. A notable result of this study was the realization of a negative relationship between RP and TILF.

Discussion

This research has provided recommendations to strengthen tourists' intentions toward local foods by influencing their attitudes, mental beliefs, perceived behavioral control, and risk perception.

Impact of green factors on undergraduate students' green behavioral intentions: A hybrid two-stage modeling approach

Consumers' unsustainable behavior contributes to environmental degradation and impedes sustainability. Using green products is one way to reduce this effect and promote environmental growth. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the green factors that impact young customers' behavioral intentions regarding green products. For this purpose, the researcher designed a research model based on the expanded theory of planned behavior (TPB). The study adopted a two-stage, hybrid model using partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) to evaluate and validate the results. A sample of 382 undergraduate students was gathered using a convenience sampling approach. The results reveal that green TPB perception (GTP), green price sensitivity (GPS), green product trust (GPT), and green product value (GPV) are significantly and positively correlated with green behavioral intention (GBI). This study's main contribution is adding a brand-new higher-order construct, GTP, in the environmental and marketing literature and validating its effect on GBI. Again, environmental awareness moderates the association between GPS and GBI. Furthermore, the NCA's findings indicated that these variables are necessary to various degrees for students' GBI. Decision-makers may use the study's insights to create successful regulations to better understand young customers and develop appropriate green initiatives for sustainable development.

Factors Influencing Consumption Intention of Insect-Fed Fish among Italian Respondents

The rise in the world's demand for fish is increasingly met by aquaculture. However, this sector still shows various criticalities in terms of sustainability of practices, first and foremost, that of feed availability. Nowadays, the use of insect meal represents one of the potential sustainable solutions, but consumption intention of fish fed with insect meal and the factors affecting it have not yet been adequately understood. This study investigates 318 Italian consumers' intentions to buy fish fed with insect meal using an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behavior, including consumers' moral attitude and sustainability consciousness as additional constructs. The results of structural equation models show that consumers' high sustainability consciousness (6.16 on a scale from 1 to 7) does not influence their consumption intention of this product. Also, the two moderating variables involved in the model, i.e., the country of origin and price sensitivity, do not significantly affect consumers' intentions. Since the analysis demonstrates that, for consumers, insect meal-fed fish conforms to their moral principles and a significant positive attitude toward this practice it could be argued that fish fed with insect meal can match the demand from consumers who feel responsible for their consumer behavior. Although the limited area of investigations and the high education of interviewed do not allow for generalizing of the results, this paper provides pivotal food for thought for companies, policymakers, and academics responding to previous research calls on understanding the role of some constructs of consumption intention and highlighting the levers on which to act to foster the consumption intention of insect-fed fish.

The Scoop on SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast): Exploring Consumer Behaviours towards a Novel Ice Cream

With the growing demand for sustainable practises, the food industry is increasingly adopting circular economy approaches. One example is recycling the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) used in kombucha fermentation to create value-added products. However, consumer acceptance of such novel products remains unclear. To address this, the present study examined consumer attitudes towards ice cream made with SCOBY as an ingredient and how this affected their intention to consume it. Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and additional constructs such as emotions and food neophobia, an online survey was conducted with New Zealand consumers (N = 170). Results showed that the TPB constructs significantly predicted the intention to consume SCOBY ice cream. Moreover, by adding emotions to the constructs, the model's explanatory power was enhanced. Attitudes, subjective norms, and emotions were the main predictors of intention, which in turn was found to be the main predictor of behaviour. Participants' beliefs about the safety and taste of SCOBY ice cream were significantly correlated with their intention and behaviour, as were the opinions of nutritionists/dietitians, friends, and family. The model accounted for 21.7% of the variance in behaviour and 57.4% of the variance in intention. These findings can be used to plan marketing strategies related to waste-to-value-added products such as SCOBY ice cream.

Do information publicity and moral norms trigger waste-sorting intention among households? A sequential mediation analysis

Introduction

The quick pace of technological advancement and urbanization has led to a significant increase in waste production, severely damaging environmental quality and human health. The sorting of waste is a viable option to reduce environmental hazards and attain high recovery rates in the cities. This research extended the theory of planned behavior (TPB) by integrating information publicity (IP) and moral norms (MNs).

Methods

A conceptual model has been developed to explore the predictors of waste-sorting intention of households. The data from 361 Pakistani households have been collected using the purposive sampling method and analyzed via PLS-SEM.

Results and discussion

The study's results revealed that IP is important in creating awareness and establishing moral norms regarding waste sorting among households. The findings further confirm that MN, attitude (ATD), subjective norms (SNs), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) sequentially mediate between IP and WSI. The findings of the current study provides useful practical implications to the practitioners and academicians to combat environmental pollution.

A qualitative study among youth in Malaysia: What drives the purchase of roasted chicken products by young people seeking a better quality of life?

This study was aimed to assess internal and external factors related to youths' consumption behavior towards roasted chicken products. Qualitative interview was conducted with 30 selected respondents aged 15-20, 21-25 and 26 to 30 from a university and two high schools at Serdang, Selangor. An audio recorder was used to gather qualitative data over two months. A thematic content analysis was applied to identify the needed information, comprising of transcription, coding and theme development. Results disclosed that respondents in this study implied physiological attributes (delicious, tastiness, crispy texture, good flavour, brown colour, smoky aroma, own eating preference), personality attributes (availability, good hygiene, health concern), reference groups (friends, family members) and culture (family lifestyle, early life feeding behaviour) as significant factors that drive their purchase of roasted chicken products. This study's results also disclosed that the most prioritized factors were brown colour, health concern, friends and family lifestyle. The results of this study further identify physiological and personality attributes as internal factors, and reference groups and culture as external factors. Hence, this study concluded that internal factors (physiological, personality) and external factors (reference groups, culture) as essential factors in influencing youths' purchase of roasted chicken products. Thus, this study's outcome is beneficial for the vendors to boost their sales as well as promoting better ways of selecting foods to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases amongst the youth in Malaysia.

Leveraging Food-Related Values for Impact in Community Nutrition Education Programs (Interventions)

This study draws attention to the potential benefits of leveraging food values to amplify the impact of nutrition education programs. The study has collected data via a telephone survey from 417 randomly selected residents in Guilford County in the state of North Carolina. In our analysis, we have identified and used three underlying dimensions (ethical, social environmental and sensory) that summarize and capture the meaning of food-related values instead of a list of food values commonly used in the literature. Researchers have then used these dimensions as clustering variables to produce three segments from the data: value-positive, value-negative, and hedonic. Results show that residents in the value positive segment had positive perceptions of all values, those in value negative segment had negative perception of all values, and those in the hedonic segment had only positive perception of sensory values. A key finding is that value-positive residents have healthier food-related lifestyles and food-related behaviors than residents in the other segments. Interventions should focus on value-negative and hedonic residents and emphasize value-based education tailored to strengthening social/environmental and ethical food values. To ensure success, interventions should graft healthier lifestyle habits and behaviors on familiar behaviors and lifestyle.

Determinants of the willingness to buy products certified by omics technology: differences between regular and occasional consumers of organic food

Consumers' demand for organic food has increased in the last years, together with a growing request for food authentication and safety. Omics technologies represent a viable analytical strategy to respond to such needs, strengthen food safety information transmission between consumers and industry, and differentiate between organic and conventional products. However, little is known about consumers' perception of such a novel certification approach. The present research ought to provide insights into the perspectives of consumers, exploring the antecedents of their intention to purchase organic vegetables certified through omics technologies and differentiating between regular and occasional consumers of organic foods. Data were collected from a representative sample of 807 Italian respondents who completed a self-report questionnaire, and Structural Equation Modeling was performed to analyze the data. Results show that several factors influence consumers' approach to omics technology, among which trust in actors in the food industry, attitudes towards the technology and environmental food concerns. In addition, the study drew attention to the differential path impacting consumers with distinct eating habits. Indeed, the degree of importance attributed to food in one's life and the interest towards innovative food are significant predictors of the intention to adopt omics technology only for people consuming organic products with higher frequency. Also, trust in industry actors follows a different path for regular and occasional organic food consumers. The present study sheds light on consumers' perspective on omics technologies, a relatively unexplored topic. Moreover, it allowed to differentiate consumers based on their organic consumption habits, which has been rarely done in previous research. The evidence collected suggests the need for tailored communication programs to stimulate the adoption of omics technologies and foster consumers' confidence in novel food technologies.

Analysing the Influence of Green Marketing Communication in Consumers' Green Purchase Behaviour

This study aims to explore whether consumers' attention to companies' green marketing communication influences their green purchase behaviour. It also analyses the importance of consumers' characteristics, namely gender, education, and green attitudes, in their attention to companies' green marketing communication. An online survey was carried out on the population residing in Portugal over 18 years of age, allowing us to collect 690 valid responses. Data analysis techniques including descriptive analyses, parametric and non-parametric tests, linear correlation, and regression analysis were used. The achieved results allow us to conclude that consumers are attentive to companies' green marketing communication. A strong correlation between consumers' attention to companies' green marketing communication and green purchasing behaviour was identified. The results also confirm that individuals with higher educational levels and green attitudes and females are the most attentive to companies' green marketing communication.

Meat, myself, and I: The role of multiple identities in meat consumption

Excessive consumption of meat challenges global food security and environmental sustainability. In the mounting literature on identity as a motivator of behaviour, meat consumption has been associated with a handful of identities. Identity theory suggests that people hold multiple identities on different levels of abstraction, but how identities at different levels of abstraction interact and possibly co-determine intentions and behaviour remains largely unanswered. Inspired by research on attitudes and goal hierarchies, this study investigates a hierarchical model of meat-related identities and their relation to intentions to consume red meat. By means of a survey of Danish consumers (N = 1001), we identified identities related to the consumption of red meat (e.g., flexitarian identity), using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. We also controlled for the most important additional antecedents identified in prior research. Evidence was found that more abstract identities (e.g., national identity, environmental identity) mostly influence intentions to eat meat indirectly, meditated through more behaviour-specific identities (e.g., flexitarian identity). However, some higher-order identities also appear to have a direct impact on intentions to eat meat after controlling for more behaviour-specific identities, which suggests a less hierarchical structure manifesting itself, possibly due to the behaviour being instrumental at reaching different, functionally unrelated goals that are related to different identities. Policy recommendations towards reducing meat consumption are proposed.

Assessing psychological factors on farmers' intention to apply organic manure: an application of extended theory of planned behavior

Different from the previous studies on social and economic impacts, this study focused on the assessment of psychological factors on farmers' application of organic manure. We explored the psychological evaluation based on the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB), which consists of attitude (AT), perceived behavior control (PBC), subjective norm, moral norm (MN), environmental risk perception (ERP), and perceived policy effectiveness (PPE). Further, we explored the moderating effects of PPE. We studied 235 tea growers in China to verify the model and analyzed the psychological factors in their decisions regarding organic manure application. The results showed that by incorporating psychological factors, such as MN, ERP, and PPE, the extended TPB's ability to explain farmers' intention to apply organic manure increased by 6%. The results also confirmed that psychological factors (ERP, PPE, AT, PBC, and MN) positively influenced farmers' inclination to use organic manure. Finally, PPE was found to have a negative mediating effect on attitude and intention. Given the influence of these psychological factors (PBC, ERP, and PPE), we discovered that increasing the policy publicity, raising the policy subsidy, and promoting the popularization of sustainable agriculture and environmental awareness, are essential to encourage farmers' utilization of organic manure.

How Does NIMBYism Influence Residents' Behavioral Willingness to Dispose of Waste in Centralized Collection Points?-An Empirical Study of Nanjing, China

Residents' low behavioral willingness to dispose of waste in Centralized Collection Points (CCPs) seriously hinders the operational efficiency in waste collection of CCPs regarded as NIMBY ('not in my backyard') facilities. However, fewer researchers notice NIMBY facilities with low hazards. It has been ignored that the NIMBYism may influence behavioral willingness during the operation period persistently. Meanwhile, there is no consistent conclusions on internal factors of waste behavioral willingness, which deserves further study. Therefore, this study took CCPs as a research object and aimed to investigate how NIMBYism influences residents' behavioral willingness to dispose of waste in CCPs. The extended theory of planned behavior and structural equation modeling approach involving 550 respondents were adopted to conduct the analysis. The results revealed that attitude (β = 0.295, p < 0.001), government trust (β = 0.479, p < 0.001), and perceived behavioral control (β = 0.222, p < 0.001) have statistical positive impacts on behavioral willingness to dispose of waste in CCPs. Perceived risk (β = ‒0.047, p = 0.022 < 0.05) can influence behavioral willingness negatively. Additionally, government trust (β = 0.726, p < 0.001) exerts a positive impact on attitude. Furthermore, relevant strategies were proposed to enhance residents' behavioral willingness to dispose of waste in CCPs. This study is expected to inspire the government to formulate policies from the aspects of standards and regulations, resident participation, construction, and publicity. It will provide the government instructive suggestions for the smooth operation of CCPs, and ultimately building a healthy and environment friendly society.

Microplastics in personal care products: Exploring public intention of usage by extending the theory of planned behaviour

Microplastics, artificial plastic particles with a particle size of <5 mm, have attracted considerable attention due to their potential negative impacts on the social economy, ecological environment, and human health. An important direct source of microplastics (i.e., microbeads in cosmetics) is scrub particles from personal care products, such as cosmetics and toothpaste. Therefore, it is necessary to understand consumers' perceptions and behaviours regarding these products, which can help reduce the emission of microplastics at the source. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively analyse the impact factors and interaction mechanisms of the public behavioural intention of reducing the use of personal care and cosmetic products containing microplastics through the expanded theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model. We conducted random face-to-face interviews with 496 respondents in Shanghai, China. The results show that (1) attitude has the most powerful positive influence on behavioural intention, followed by perceived behavioural control and environmental concern, whereas there is no significant direct influence of subjective norms, environmental education, and behavioural experience; (2) subjective norms have an indirect influence on behavioural intention through attitude and perceived behavioural control; and (3) environmental education and behavioural experience both have an indirect impact on behavioural intention through attitude. Practical and effective policy implications are proposed for the government to reduce microplastic pollution based on the results of this article.

Predicting sustainable food consumption across borders based on the theory of planned behavior: A meta-analytic structural equation model

Interest in sustainable food consumption has gradually increased over the previous third decades. Despite substantial studies addressing various topics connected to sustainable food consumption, little research systematically evaluates which factors influence consumers’ purchase of sustainable food. We aim to integrate preliminary findings, compare four original and extended models of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in the context of sustainable food consumption, and identify measurement and situational moderators using a meta-analytic structural equation modeling approach. The results show that attitude (ATT), subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) were most strongly positively correlated with a purchase intention (PI) of sustainable food. Furthermore, the analysis of the moderating effects revealed significant differences in the relationship between PBC and purchase behavior (PB) and between SN and PI in developing and developed countries. In addition, by comparing four original and extended TPB models, this study proposes a theoretical framework to affect customers’ PI of sustainable food. The findings of this study can be used as a foundation for company marketing and government environmental protection promotion.

Consumer Attitudes and Purchase Intentions in Relation to Animal Welfare-Friendly Products: Evidence from Taiwan

Animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and food safety have become topics of international concern. With the rise of friendly rearing and green consumption consciousness, consumers can use animal welfare certification labels as references to make purchase decisions. This study adopts the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as its core and incorporates variables, such as moral affection, health consciousness, and trust in certification, to discuss the thoughts of Taiwanese consumers on buying animal welfare-friendly products and the factors that affect their purchase decisions. This study will be conducive in clarifying the consumption behavioral pattern of animal welfare-friendly products, which previous literature has mentioned but not tested, thereby filling this literature gap. This study collects 653 valid questionnaires and uses the partial least square-structural equation modeling to analyze the correlations between various variables. The research findings indicate the following. (1) Consumers' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control have significant and positive influences on the behavioral intention of purchasing fresh milk with animal welfare labels. (2) Moral affection positively influences customers' behavioral intention toward fresh milk with an animal welfare label through attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. (3) Trust in certifications will enhance moral cognition and positive attitudes toward fresh milk with animal welfare labels. According to the research findings of this study, we recommend that businesses strengthen the promotion of dairy products in line with friendly rearing, environmental sustainability, and other ethical consumption concepts to generate market segregation elements.

Sustainable Consumption: Will They Buy It Again? Factors Influencing the Intention to Repurchase Organic Food Grain

Global consumption trends point to rising demand for organic food as people become more health-conscious. The factors that people consider while making initial organic purchases have been discussed at length. However, the published research is scant about the factors that affect consumers’ propensity to repurchase organic goods. The present research fills this gap by focusing on what influences consumers’ decisions to repurchase organic grain. The Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour are the theoretical foundations of the present investigation. The consumer’s attitude toward organic grains and their desire to repurchase organic grains are influenced by health consciousness and previous experience. The repurchase intent was determined to be controlled by the buyer’s willingness to pay and their level of trust in the organic grain. This cross-sectional study collected the necessary data from five chosen urban centres in India. Smart PLS 3.2.9 was used to analyse the gathered data from 463 respondents. According to the findings, health consciousness and past experience favourably influence attitudes and repurchase intent. The trust that consumers have built up in organic grain as a result of past experiences is what drives their desire to make more purchases. Willingness to pay significantly controls and impacts the inclination to repurchase. The association between health consciousness and repurchase intention is partially mediated by attitude, as is the relationship between past experience and repurchase intention. The relationship between health consciousness and the desire to repurchase is partially mediated by the willingness to pay.

Factors influencing intention to apply spatial approaches to on-farm experimentation: insights from the Australian winegrape sector

Grape growers are often constrained by available time and labor to conduct trials that deliver informative results. Spatially distributed trial designs coupled with data collection using sensing technologies can introduce efficiencies and also account for the impact of land variability on trial results. Various spatial approaches have been proposed, yet how farmers perceive them is largely unknown. We collaborated with four wine businesses in Australia to explore how grape growers and viticultural consultants perceive a simplified spatial approach to experimentation involving one or more vineyard rows or "strips." In each case, the simplified strip approach was applied alongside growers' or consultants' own methods to compare the perceived value of different methods. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used as an analytical framework to identify factors influencing participants' intentions towards adopting the strip approach. Our findings show that growers and consultants perceived several advantages of the strip approach over their own methods. Key factors impeding uptake were resource constraints for collecting trial data and lack of skills and knowledge to use and analyze spatial data to position the trial and interpret results. These constraints highlight the need to support growers and consultants who see value in this approach by developing automated and affordable measurements for viticultural variables beyond yield, and by providing training on how to analyze and interpret spatial and response data. This study provides novel insights for private and public sectors on where to focus efforts to facilitate adoption of spatial approaches to On-Farm Experimentation by specific target audiences.

Consumers’ Purchase Intention of Suboptimal Food Using Behavioral Reasoning Theory: A Food Waste Reduction Strategy

Food waste has attained considerable attention globally during the last decade, owing to its environmental and social impacts. Consumers’ low preference to purchase edible fruits and vegetables with unusual appearance, discoloration, etc., technically referred to as suboptimal food, significantly contributes to food waste. Consumers are more likely to reject suboptimal food while purchasing food, resulting in unnecessary food waste. However, consumers’ perceptions of whether or not to purchase suboptimal food are still unidentified. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore the factors influencing as motivators (reason for) and barriers (reason against) in explaining the consumers’ purchase intention toward suboptimal food using Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT). This study conducts a questionnaire survey from 650 consumers using a purposive sampling method. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyze the data. The findings support the proposed theoretical framework and confirm its robustness in exploring the factors influencing the consumers’ purchase intention of suboptimal food. The findings suggest that the factors including values, reason for (environmental concern and price consciousness), reason against (quality inferior and unappealing appearance), and attitude have direct and indirect influence on consumers’ purchase intention of suboptimal food. Based on the results, the study highlights several insights for policymakers, marketers, business professionals, and practitioners to promote suboptimal food in order to reduce food waste.

Information disorder and organic food purchasing behavior: A moderated mediation model

On the one hand, fast social media and internet evolution has brought opportunities to the development of the organic food industry. On the other hand, the excessive utilization of social media and internet has also exerted some negative effects on consumers in terms of information disorder and hindered the industrial progression of organic foods. This study aimed to probe into the relationships between organic food information uncertainty, information search anxiety, information overload and purchase behavior under the mediating role of attitude and the moderating role of involvement, introducing the concept of information disorder in the context of this issue. The data (cross-sectional) of 620 organic food consumers in Jiangxi Province, China were subjected to SEM (structural equation modeling). The results showed that organic food information uncertainty and information search anxiety significantly affected attitude, and attitude had a positive impact on purchase behavior. In addition, attitude significantly mediated the effects of organic food information uncertainty and information search anxiety on purchase behavior. Moreover, the indirect relationship between organic food information uncertainty and purchase behavior was moderated by involvement.

Psychological Benefits of Purchasing Home Meal Replacement in the Context of Eco-Friendly TV Home Shopping Broadcast: The Moderating Role of Personal Norm

This study observed the relationship between psychological benefits and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in the context of an eco-friendly TV home shopping broadcasts. The theoretical framework was enhanced even further by examining the moderating role of personal norm on proenvironmental attitudes in the TV home shopping context. An online survey was conducted with Korean customers who had purchased home meal replacement (HMR) products from a TV home shopping broadcast within the past 6 months. A total of 305 samples were collected and used for the data analysis. All six of the hypotheses in the psychological benefits and TPB model were supported, meaning all constructs of psychological benefits, including warm glow, self-expressive benefits, and nature experiences, impacted TPB and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, personal norm had a moderating role in the relationship between warm glow and attitude. This research provides significant theoretical and managerial implications for the home shopping industry.

Purchase Behavior of Energy-Efficient Appliances Contribute to Sustainable Energy Consumption in Developing Country: Moral Norms Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Since energy consumption in developing countries has increased significantly, motivating energy-saving habits among citizens is an important issue both from the academic and industrial perspectives. Thus, this study aims to predict consumer purchase intention for energy-efficient household appliances based on an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). This study incorporated two additional constructs of moral norms and environmental concern in the model of the TPB. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 1155 Bangladeshi consumers, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) regression was used to test the hypotheses. Results show that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control significantly influence consumer purchase intention of energy-efficient appliances (EEAs). This study also proved that the extension of moral norms is a significant predictor of consumers’ purchase intention in the classic theory of planned behavior (TPB). However, environmental concerns had no significant influence in the Bangladesh context. As far as the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical survey in Bangladesh to predict energy-efficient household appliance (EEHA) purchasing intentions using an extended model of the TPB. Marketers and policymakers can use the findings of this study to design strategies for generating more value for green consumers. The study also provides insights into environmental marketing and sustainable energy consumption in developing countries from theoretical and practical perspectives.

Pull the Emotional Trigger or the Rational String? A Multi-Group Analysis of Organic Food Consumption

The organic food industry in China has been developing fast with the increasing consumer demand for healthier, safer, and more nutritious foods since the epidemic outbreak. It is of great significance to understand the psychological preference of consumers for organic food and adjust the marketing strategy accordingly. In this study, we adopted the multi-group structural equation model (SEM) to analyze 571 questionnaire data and explored the effects of consumers’ perception on the sensory appeal of organic food, perception on promotional stimulation, positive emotion, and perceived social value on the purchase intention of organic food. Based on the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) model, this study divides the route affecting organic consumption behavior into the rational route and emotional route. It was proved that the emotional route (positive emotion) has a greater impact on the purchase intention of organic food than the rational route (perceived social value). In addition, there are different purchase intentions among different product types. Specifically, compared with organic tea, positive emotion has a greater effect on the purchase intention for organic rice. This study provides an important reference for the organic food-marketing strategy of enterprises.

Me and Others Around: The Roles of Personal and Social Norms in Chinese Adolescent Bystanders' Responses Toward Cyberbullying

Researchers have expanded the aggressor-victim dyad by showing that bystanders play pivotal roles in the process of cyberbullying. Bystanders' responses entail moral engagement and are guided by personal and social norms. Most research on normative influences on bystanders' responses to cyberbullying has focused on personal or social norms but has ignored how they jointly affect bystanders' responses. Inspiring by the modified Theory of Planned Behavior, a cross-sectional study of Chinese high-school students (N = 333) examined how cyberbullying-related personal and social norms affect adolescent bystanders' responses to cyberbullying. We collected information on personal norms, social norms, and bystanders' responses to cyberbullying. Boys reported stronger intentions than girls to reinforce the bully, but intentions to help the victim were equivalent among boys and girls. Regression analysis revealed that pro-cyberbullying personal and social norms combined could negatively predict intentions to help the victim. However, personal and social norms interacted to influence behavioral intentions to reinforce the bully. Specifically, when pro-cyberbullying social norms were at a high level, a higher level of pro-cyberbullying personal norms was correlated with higher intentions to reinforce the bully. Conversely, when pro-cyberbullying social norms were at a low level, the effect of personal norms disappeared. The findings contribute to understanding the process by which adolescents adapt themselves to norms and provide guidance for educational advice on intervening in cyberbullying.

Assessing Repurchase Intention of Learning Apps during COVID-19

Learning apps are becoming increasingly popular, and consumers have widely recognized their benefits, particularly during COVID-19 and the resultant lockdowns. However, despite the growing popularity of learning apps, little is known about the consumer values that impact repurchase intent. Learning apps must increase client engagement by providing stronger value propositions to overcome this hurdle. The current study proposes the consumption values theory to find this gap, better explaining customer behavior toward learning apps. Data from 429 learning app users are used to test the suggested model. According to the research, all consumption values have a favorable and significant impact on the intention to repurchase learning apps. In addition, the moderating effect of Visibility on intent to use and trust’s mediating role are confirmed. The study’s findings add to our knowledge of consumer behavior and practice.

Drivers and Barriers Toward Healthy and Environmentally Sustainable Eating in Switzerland: Linking Impacts to Intentions and Practices

Food consumption is among the activities with the most significant environmental impacts, and furthermore contributes to rising health costs. We explored the factors that foster or hinder healthy and sustainable eating in Switzerland. Based on an online household survey with 620 respondents, we first determined the disability adjusted life years and greenhouse gas impacts associated with individuals' dietary habits to measure healthy and environmentally sustainable eating. We then relate the nutritional health and environmental impacts to individual's intentions, and explore what interpersonal and societal factors foster or hinder healthy and sustainable eating. Results suggest that intentions for healthy eating are stronger than intentions to eat environmentally sustainable and that intentions for healthy eating transmit better into behavior than intentions for environmentally sustainable eating. Males and females had similar intentions but males showed substantially higher dietary related health impacts with 12 min of healthy life lost per day and 14% higher carbon footprint than females. Furthermore, vegan and vegetarian diets yielded very high nutritional health benefits of &gt;23 min of healthy life gained per person and day, mostly realized through the reduced intake in processed and red meat and increased consumption of nuts, wholegrain, and to a lesser extent in fruits and vegetables. Meatless diets show concurrent high reductions in the carbon footprint of −42% for vegetarians and −67% for vegan. A key obstacle to healthier and more environmentally sustainable eating is that people do not recognize the high nutritional and environmental co benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets. This suggests that policies promoting healthy eating can target factors affecting intentions, while measures targeting environmentally sustainable eating should aim at overcoming the intention behavior gap, by informing on e.g. the importance of reducing meat consumption toward environmental sustainability.

Integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Norm Activation Model to Investigate Organic Food Purchase Intention: Evidence from Vietnam

Ample research has been conducted in the organic food market and researchers have investigated factors affecting the purchase behavior of consumers in many countries. However, the studies on organic food that integrate the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Norm Activation Model (NAM) in a transition country like Vietnam are limited. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate factors affecting the organic food purchase intention in the Vietnamese context. We combined the TPB and the NAM to propose an integrated research framework with attitude and personal norms as two mediators. Through a self-administered questionnaire survey, we collected 611 valid responses from the three biggest cities in Vietnam. Data were put into SPSS 22.0 and SmartPLS 3.0 for analysis. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed to test both direct and indirect relationships among factors of TPB and NAM in the research model. Our findings indicated that attitude plays the most critical role in explaining the organic food purchase intention of Vietnamese consumers, followed by social norms and personal norms. Notably, attitude also remarkably mediated the impact of environmental awareness and knowledge of organic food on purchase intention. Meanwhile, personal norms played the mediating role in the NAM that intervene the connection between social norms and purchase intention. Based on our analysis, we suggested policymakers, manufacturers, marketers, and sellers of organic food change their actions for the growth of the organic food market in Vietnam.

The impact of employees' pro-environmental behaviors on corporate green innovation performance: The mediating effect of green organizational identity

Employees' behaviors, as well as the employees' pro-environmental behaviors (PEB), affect the company in many dimensions. Although green innovation performance (GIP) has become an important measurement of a corporate's green development, research investigating PEB from the employees' perspective remains scarce, especially in emerging markets. Therefore, in this study, we developed an original framework to explore the effects of employees' PEB on corporate GIP and examined the underlying mechanism by conducting a survey in China. The results of the empirical analysis showed that employees' PEB increases corporate GIP by positively influencing green organizational identity (GOI). In addition, we also proved how leaders' PEB positively influences GIP, whereas innovation resistance (both technology resistance and resource resistance) has a negative effect on GIP. This study attempted to contribute to theoretical research and practical decision-making in the field of green organizational behavior.

Recent Advances in Consumer Behavior Theory: Shocks from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic has had an enormous impact on people's lives, particularly aspects of life such as consumption, and has therefore brought new elements to the expansion of Consumer behavior theory. Methods: This paper searches the literature on consumption research conducted from 1981 to 2021, including sources such as CNKI, Wanfang, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. Through the exploration of the existing relevant literature, this article found that the COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic has had a profound impact on consumption willingness, consumption patterns, and consumption objects, and, as such, has newly expanded the theoretical model of consumer behavior. Results: Through reviewing the literature, this paper found some results. For example with regard to consumption patterns, early studies and the impact of COVID-19 was focused on online consumption, however in the context of COVID-19, scholars proposed paying attention to the combination of online and offline development. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic has had a profound effect on consumer behavior worldwide. Under the current economic depression, the government should take adequate measures in order to respond to the new changes in consumer behavior and therefore promote economic growth. For example, the government should encourage the combination of online and offline business operation modes to break the boundaries of customer groups and supply chains, so that consumers can buy anytime and anywhere.

"Stay at Home": The Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Household Food Waste in Colombia

Household food waste represents one of the main challenges for sustainable development as this directly affects the economy of food consumers, the loss of natural resources and generates additional greenhouse gas emissions. The COVID-19 pandemic and its mitigation strategies caused one of the most serious economic crises in recent decades and could become the worst economic crisis that Latin America has had in its history. The objective of this study is to analyze changes in food waste behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown in Colombia in 2020, applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). For this purpose, we conducted a survey with 581 Colombian food consumers, which examined the influence of intentions to not waste food, subjective norms, some situational predictors, questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the control of perceived behavior on food waste. The results suggest that the TPB can predict the intention to not waste food and, through it, the actual household food waste behavior, considering the lockdown in Colombia as an external shock. We observe that regarding the intention to not waste food, the most relevant variables are attitudes, subjective norms, control of the perceived behavior, and concerns regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. These variables increase the probability on average by a 0.8 Odds Ratio that the intention not to waste food increases, too. Regarding food waste behavior, whether it is considered ordinal or nominal, we see that the most relevant variables are intention, financial attitudes, and control of perceived behavior, doubling the probability that food waste behavior will improve. Based on the results, we provide recommendations for interested stakeholders that can help in the design of instruments for household food waste reduction.

Similarity Effect and Purchase Behavior of Organic Food Under the Mediating Role of Perceived Values in the Context of COVID-19

Due to the influence of COVID-19, people pay more attention to the balance between human and nature and pursue more healthy, environmental and nutritional sustainable products (such as organic food). However, the mainstream consumption of organic food is far less, especially in developing countries like China. Therefore, it is urgent to take effective measures to promote the development of China's organic food market. This current study investigated the relationships between consumers' similarity (i.e., information anxiety, uncertainty, and sustainable consumption attitude), perceived values (i.e., functional value, health value, and environmental value) and organic purchasing behavior based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theoretical model and information similarity effect. And considering gender differences in consumers' similarity, perceived values and organic purchasing behavior. Meanwhile, the mediating effects of perceived values on the relationship between consumers' similarity and purchasing behavior were also discussed, considering the background of COVID-19. Data were collected using structured questionnaire survey in first-tier cities in China. A total of 344 consumers of organic foods participated in the study. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. The results indicated the significant association of information anxiety, uncertainty and sustainable consumption attitude with perceived values. And perceived values and sustainable consumption attitude had a positively significant influence on purchase behavior. In addition, environmental value played mediating effects in the relationships between organic purchasing behavior and information anxiety, uncertainty and sustainable consumption attitude. And the impact of sustainable consumption attitude and environmental value on organic purchasing behavior differed in gender. The research not only provides novel insights for understanding organic consumption, but also provides reference for organic sellers to develop sales strategies and policy makers to formulate policies to guide organic consumption, which are conducive to promoting China's organic food industry.

Behavioral intention model for green information technology adoption in Nigerian manufacturing industries

Purpose

Greenhouse effects and the need for cost savings necessitate that an organization's information technology (IT) managers design IT equipment acquisition and service provisioning policies to reduce carbon footprint and cost. Analyzing the influencing factors that influence stakeholders' attitudes toward adopting green information technology (Green-IT) is an important input in designing these policies. In essence, the research aims to investigate into the relationship between these factors and how they influence policy-makers' behavior in Nigerian manufacturing industries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study develops a model based on the norm activation model (NAM) and the theory of planned behavior (TBP) to investigate the factors that influence decision-makers' intention in adopting Green-IT. A quantitative approach using a survey method is carried out to gather opinions of IT decision-makers using a random sampling technique. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique is applied to test the structural model and measurement model.

Findings

The study's findings support the use of the behavior model for Green-IT adoption. The study's finding indicates that subjective norms, perceived behavior control (PBC), manager's attitude, personal norm (PN), awareness of adverse consequences and the ascription of responsibility (AR) positively influence intention to adopt Green-IT.

Research limitations/implications

The development and validation of the model are the study's theoretical contributions. The study reviewed the existing literature on the utilization of Green-IT to better understand the intention to adopt Green-IT in Nigeria. It added to the literature by identifying factors that can influence it as well as theoretical underpinnings that can fit the intentions of decision-makers. The scientific community and the industrial companies would have the chance to investigate how this integrated behavioral intention model promotes the use of Green-IT. The research predictors explained about 70.20% of the variance in the behavioral intention to adopt Green-IT.

Practical implications

Research offers practical implications and recommendations for top management practitioners of the manufacturing industries. Business leaders can use the results of this study to develop an effective strategic IT policy for the successful adoption of Green-IT practices for enhanced productivity. The study found that decision-makers' Green-IT attitudes had a substantial impact on their behavioral intention to adopt Green-IT. The study highlighted the importance of the top management attitude toward green products to facilitate the adoption of Green-IT practices in manufacturing industries in Nigeria. Thus, the positive and significant attitude of policy-makers is a necessary tool toward the successful adoption of Green-IT. Therefore, to foster an environmentally sustainability friendly atmosphere, Nigeria's manufacturing industries shall strive to strengthen the decision-makers' attitude toward practicing Green-IT in their respective domains. The findings showed that AR, AQ, environmental concern (EC), perceived behavior and perceived behavior are critical factors to be considered in an organization.

Social implications

According to the findings, an individual's Green-IT attitude has a substantial impact on the environment as social behavior. As a result, the positive and essential attitude of the social sector is a key tool for efficient Green-IT implementation. Nigeria's social activists must try to create awareness campaigns to boost decision-makers' attitudes toward implementing Green-IT in their various regions to develop a friendlier environment. Thus, the identified factors can be of great help to the social sector in designing and implementing successful environmental-friendly policies that could support the adoption of Green-IT practices.

Originality/value

The current research look at Green-IT adoption in manufacturing industries of West African countries. The study offers practical implications and recommendations for top management practitioners of the manufacturing industries, government policy-makers and organizations to enhance the use of Green-IT for mitigating environmental degradation. Recommendations for future research are stated as concluding remarks.

Green Supply Chain Management and Its Impact on Consumer Purchase Decision as a Marketing Strategy: Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior

This study examines the impact of green supply chain management (GSCM) on consumers environmentally friendly purchase behavior. We surveyed 283 consumers and analyzed the data using SPSS 18.0, AMOS 18.0, and verified them with structural equation modeling. To support the primary data analysis results, we conducted focus group interviews (FGIs) of 16 consumers. According to the primary data analysis, consumers’ subjective norms and perceived behavioral control positively influence GSCM. However, attitude did not have a significant influence. In the FGI, consumers show a highly positive attitude and purchase intention toward the GSCM of companies. However, they exhibit mistrust and lower purchase intentions toward advertising or marketing campaigns promoting GSCM to consumers. In contrast, the influence of subjective norms was found to be different for different products. In addition, a high price—regarded as the biggest barrier among perceived control factors—raises purchase intentions if consumers are provided with good and transparent information about green products. Thus, this study buttresses the fact that if a company uses GSCM practices as an eco-friendly marketing strategy that reduces consumer distrust and considers product characteristics, it can have a positive effect on consumers’ decision to purchase eco-friendly products.

From Words to Deeds: The Impact of Pro-Environmental Self-Identity on Green Energy Purchase Intention

This study examines the mechanism by which pro-environmental self-identity (PESI) affects green energy purchase intention (GEPI) through different dimensions of consumption values. The concept of pro-environmental self-identity is rarely discussed in the context of green energy purchase intention. Additionally, the amount of research concerning consumers’ attitudes and behaviours towards photovoltaic panels is limited. We fill this cognitive gap by testing a relation between pro-environmental self-identity and green energy purchase intention. The data collection was carried out based on an indirect method of gathering information—using an online survey. Research was conducted among 250 Polish customers. The partial least squares structural equation modelling technique was applied. The research results show that the relations between PESI and GEPI is mediated totally by social and partially by emotional values. The mediating impact of functional values was not confirmed. The results of this study illustrate the importance of intangible—social and emotional—values and its impact on the consumer behaviour toward green energy. This study can help marketers more efficiently promote the installation of photovoltaic panels in European countries.

Looking behind the choice of organic: A cross-country analysis applying Integrated Choice and Latent Variable Models

This cross-country study investigates the relative role of organic labelling in consumers' purchase decisions for apples and the extent to which behavioral constructs, derived from an extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior, influence consumers' choices. We apply an Integrated Choice and Latent Variable Model, combining a discrete choice experiment with structural equation modelling. Empirical validation draws on data from an online survey conducted in three European countries (N_Germany=404; N_Norway=407; N_UK=401). In all countries, price is by far the most important attribute in consumers' purchase decision of apples, followed by country-of-origin and production method. The results show considerable consistency across the investigated countries regarding the importance of behavioral constructs - attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, trust, and personal moral norms - in explaining consumers' intentions to buy, and purchase choices for, organic apples, confirming the derived theoretical framework.

Entrepreneurial Intention and Perceived Social Support From Academics-Scientists at Chilean Universities

Within Ajzen's Planned Behavior Theory framework, this article tests a model to estimate the predictors of entrepreneurial intention in academic scientists working in Chile. We adapted into Spanish the entrepreneurship intention questionnaire. We tested the entrepreneurship intention model on a sample of 1,027 scientists leading research projects funded by the Chilean Scientific and Technological Development Fund (FONDECYT), the country's primary scientific research grant. The results show strong empirical support for the entrepreneurship intention model proposed while highlighting some critical issues specific to entrepreneurial intention in scientists. In particular, we found an indirect effect of perceived subjective social support on entrepreneurial intention, which is mediated by entrepreneurial attitude and perceived behavioral control toward entrepreneurship. These results suggest that policies orientated toward promoting academic entrepreneurship should include developing a healthy social environment toward it, meaning that entrepreneurial intention is not only an individual but an organizational challenge. These policies should analyze the social norms guiding the scientists' reference groups to increase their effectiveness.

Effects of Emotions and Ethics on Pro-Environmental Behavior of University Employees: A Model Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior

Over the last few years, many activities conducted by university employees have contributed greatly to the global rise of greenhouse gases responsible for the warming of the planet. This phenomenon can be attributed primarily to altering lifestyle, consumption, and portability patterns. Even though there is a significant applicability, understanding the factors determining the pro-environmental behavior (PEB) of university employees is lacking. Thus, this study extended the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explain PEB among university employees. Ten hypotheses were suggested regarding the relations between the initial TPB constructs, environmental ethics, and emotional intelligence. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data from a randomly selected sample of 302 university employees from six Malaysian higher educational institutions listed in the UI Green Matrix 2016. The findings revealed that environmental ethics significantly affected attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms. Furthermore, pro-environmental behavioral intentions (PEIs) were directly influenced by attitude and perceived behavioral control, while emotional intelligence mediated the relationship between PEIs and PEB. Moving forward, this study will provide new insights into the literature of university employees’ PEB using an expanded TPB model.

How can socio-psychological factors be related to water-efficiency intention and behaviors among Iranian residential water consumers?

Water security while facing a growing water demand and decreasing supply has become a vital issue in urban areas, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Considering households' potential for significant water saving, residential water conservation has become the main component of the future sustainable water supply. To encourage households to engage in water conservation behaviors voluntarily, it is crucial to recognize and consider the socio-psychological factors influencing acceptance of such behaviors, including intention, normative aspects, and so on, because it can lead to the implementation of effective policies in urban water demand management. The main goal of the current research was to investigate the prerequisites and determinants of household water-efficiency intention and behaviors among Iranian citizens. To that end, the current research was based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and extended TPB by adding three new variables: moral norm, perceived risk, and familiarity to the theoretical framework. A questionnaire survey method (N = 820) was used to collect data from Tehran citizens. Structural equation modeling revealed that intention to adopt water-efficiency behaviors was predicted by attitude, perceived behavioral control (the most potent predictor), moral norm, perceived risk, and familiarity. Water-efficiency behaviors were predicted by intention, perceived behavioral control, and familiarity (the strongest determinant). Perceived risk was also a substantial determinant for attitude and moral norm. The findings indicated that both TPB and extended TPB frameworks are useful and practical tools for explaining the relationship between socio-psychological factors and water-efficiency intention and behaviors. Moreover, after the inclusion of the three new variables of moral norm, perceived risk, and familiarity in the original TPB, its predictive power for intention and behaviors increased up to 9% and 21%, respectively. According to the results, implications for improving and promoting water-efficiency intention and behaviors among households and suggestions for relevant future studies are proposed.

Factors affecting consumer purchase intentions of organic food through fuzzy AHP

Purpose

Organic food market has grown rapidly on a global level and so is the interest of customers. The present paper ranks the factors and sub-criteria which are taken into consideration while making organic purchase decisions resulting in understanding the behaviour of consumers.

Design/methodology/approach

The present paper considered a sample of 550 respondents in the area of Punjab. Fuzzy AHP technique was applied to understand the key factors and sub-criteria which play a major role in organic food purchase decisions. The paper is empirical and descriptive in nature. The factors considered for the study include price, consumer knowledge, trust, attitude, behavioural intentions, subjective norms, perceived personal relevance and perceived consumer effectiveness.

Findings

The three major influential factors include price, trust and attitude ranked in the same order of preference which majorly affects the purchase decisions and talking about sub-criteria the three major criteria to purchase organic food include: “Price plays a significant role in purchase decisions (P2)”, “Organic food keeps me fit and healthy (A1)” and “Organic food intake makes me feel energetic (A2)”.

Research limitations/implications

The present paper is limited to the area of Punjab and majorly eight factors have been taken into consideration. Further research can be explored on broader geographical and cultural areas with new dimensions in criteria and sub-criteria.

Practical implications

The findings of this paper will surely help the marketers to understand the behavioural intentions and preferences of the customers. Accordingly, they will strategize the policies to convert organic food market into a niche market with a high growth rate.

Originality/value

The existing literature explored various key factors. However, the present study comes up with ranking to the factors according to their priority in purchase decisions. This will definitely help marketers, business houses, practitioners and academicians about the key factors which affect purchase decisions, and it will surely add incredible knowledge into the existing database.

The Deviation of the Behaviors of Rice Farmers from Their Stated Willingness to Apply Biopesticides-A Study Carried Out in Jilin Province of China

The substitution of chemical pesticides by biopesticides is crucial to ensure the quality of agricultural products and to foster environmental sustainability. This study takes the willingness and the behaviors of rice farmers on the application of biopesticides as the research object. The survey questionnaire was designed based on the theory of rational small-scale farmers from three aspects: "individual and family characteristics of farmers", "cognition of farmers" and "external factors". The survey was then conducted on 163 rice farmers in seven prefecture-level cities in Jilin Province of China. The logistic model was used to analyze the influencing factors resulting in the deviation of the behaviors of the rice farmers from their initial willingness on the application of biopesticides. The explanatory structure model (ISM) was used to analyze the logical hierarchical relationship among various influencing factors. The results show that: (1) For 45% of the farmers surveyed, there's a deviation between their willingness and behaviors regarding the application of biopesticides; (2) Among the significant factors leading to the deviation between farmers' willingness and behaviors concerning the application of biopesticides, the surface-level direct factor is biopesticide awareness. The mid-level indirect factors are agricultural product quality and safety awareness and the deep-level root cause is farmers' education level. (3) The primary reason for the deviation of the farmers' behaviors from their willingness is their lack of knowledge about biopesticides and the biopesticides' incomplete market structure. Based on the comprehensive analysis, it is recommended to improve the professionalization of the farmers, to strengthen the publicity of green production and to accelerate the formulation of the biopesticides market to further promote the usage of biopesticides.