Healthy consciousness and consumer trust: A study on theory of planned behavior in the purchase of organic foods

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to analyze the factors that influence organic food consumption, and their relationship with the purchase intention, applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Specifically, we analyzed the influence of adding two new variables to the TPB: consumer trust and healthy consciousness. Thus, we applied 251 questionnaires with consumers of organic fruits and vegetables, and used Structural Equation Modeling for data analysis. The results showed that subjective norms, attitude and perceived control directly influence purchase intention. On the other hand, trust was not significant in the prediction model. Finally, healthy consciousness directly influenced the purchase intention, but in a poor way. Thus, the results reinforce the stability of the original structure of the TPB, as the addition of trust and healthy consciousness did not increase the model explanation. Nevertheless, this research contributes to the reduction of the lack of Brazilian studies about the topic, deepening the understanding of the organic food market, and identifying the importance of social subjective norms and on the consumer purchase intention attitude. Further implications are discussed.