Determinants of consumer intention to purchase food with safety certifications in emerging markets: evidence from Vietnam
22/12/21 08:59AM
Hai Minh Ngo, Ran Liu, Masahiro Moritaka, et al. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, ahead-of-print, 2021.
Abstract:
Purpose Research on the determinants of consumer behavior toward food
with safety certifications in Vietnam remains little. The primary
objective of this study is to identify the factors affecting Vietnamese
consumer intention to purchase safely certified vegetables (safe
vegetables) based on an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB).
Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 361 urban consumers in
Hanoi city based on a stratified sampling technique, we applied
structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the model. Findings The
results revealed that the extended TPB succeeded to predict 62% of the
variance of intention to purchase safe vegetables. Attitude played the
most important role in consumer intention. Notably, the attitude of
consumers was the most largely influenced by subjective norms (social
effects). Also, subjective norms had a direct effect on intention.
Furthermore, consumer trust motivated a favorable attitude to increase
purchase intention. The effects of past behavior on intention were
verified as direct and indirect through subjective norm and trust
combined with attitude. Few socio-demographic variables (e.g. age and
education) were found to affect intention indirectly through attitude
and subjective norm. Research limitations/implications Further research
on the relationship between intention and the actual purchase of safe
food is needed. Originality/value This extends the application of the
TPB to predict consumer intention to purchase safely certified food in a
developing country like Vietnam by examining both direct and indirect
effects of socio-demographic variables, trust and past behavior on
intention.
