The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between social responsibility visibility and trust in a new seafood product while evaluating the influence of consumer attitudes on purchase intentions. To test the effects of visibility on trust and subsequent purchase intentions, an experimental procedure was implemented on a consumer panel of 706 participants. A structural equation model was used to analyze the proposed relationships. Results showed that trust fully mediated the relationship between visibility and purchase intention for the group with the 'High Visibility' socially responsible material. In addition, concern for the environment and age were significant predictors of purchase intentions. This study was the first to empirically assess the direct and indirect impact of social responsibility visibility initiatives on purchase intentions toward a new seafood product. Findings from this study help marketers frame social responsibility messaging to highlight and promote the purchase and consumption of sustainable fish.
This study aimed to explore the relationships among authenticity of halal certificate, halal food availability, halal food trust, attitude, halal food skepticism, halal food knowledge, and intention within the halal food sector, with PLS-SEM and fsQCAs. The quantitative method included a survey questionnaire to gather customers' perception. A simple random technique was employed to gather data, and 378 questionnaires were analyzed. The measurement and structural model were developed using PLS-4 and fsQCA. The study findings showed that authenticity of halal certificate and halal food availability positively influence intention, while halal food trust and attitude partially mediate relationships. Conversely, halal food skepticism has a significant negative effect, whereas halal food knowledge has a significant positive influence on intention. This study is innovative in that it uniquely integrates the authenticity of halal certificates and halal food availability into a new model of intention, employing both PLS-SEM and fsQCA to validate the findings.
This study uses a 2 & times; 2 & times; 2 experimental design to explore how meat alternative line extensions impact brand image and consumer behavior in the U.S. fast-food sector. Key factors examined include initial brand image, brand-extension fit, advertising focus (health vs. environment), and extension type (plant-based vs. vegetarian). The study analyzed responses from 455 participants evaluating McDonald's and Wendy's meat alternative offerings. Outcomes measured were purchase intention, word-of-mouth, and post-extension brand image. Results show that a favorable initial brand image and strong brand-extension fit positively influence attitudes toward meat alternatives. Plant-based options outperformed vegetarian ones across all outcomes, especially when paired with health-focused messaging. These products drove higher purchase intentions, stronger willingness to try, and more positive word-of-mouth. The findings suggest fast-food brands should align new products with their core image and emphasize health benefits to enhance consumer perceptions, increase behavioral intention, and build brand equity.
This study examines the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements in the Indian premium food sector by analyzing the impact of trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness on consumer attitudes, repurchase intentions, and willingness to pay premium prices. The findings demonstrate that celebrity endorsements significantly enhance brand trust and positively influence consumer decision-making in premium markets. The study extends endorsement effectiveness literature by contextualizing source credibility dimensions within the emerging Indian premium food industry. By integrating Source Credibility Theory with elements of Match-Up Theory, it offers a deeper understanding of how celebrity endorsements shape consumer behavior in high-involvement purchase contexts. The research highlights the role of celebrity endorsers in strengthening brand-consumer relationships and encouraging repeat purchases. Practically, the findings provide valuable guidance for brand managers in selecting effective endorsers and developing marketing communication strategies that enhance consumer engagement, foster brand loyalty, and support sustained brand value and competitive advantage.
This study examines how governance and institutional support, infrastructure, human capital, technology and innovation, market access, community collective involvement, and sustainable environment contribute to agribusiness village performance in Tual City, Indonesia. Using PLS-SEM on survey data from 430 respondents across 30 villages, the analysis shows that governance functions as an indirect enabler rather than a direct driver of performance. Governance significantly strengthens market access, sustainable environment, technology adaptation, and community collective involvement, but its direct impact on performance is not significant. Market access emerges as the strongest determinant of performance, as value-chain connectivity allows producers to secure better prices and stabilize income. These findings align with global evidence that governance improvements initially enhance markets and coordination, thereby supporting sustainable livelihoods. Results are context-specific to small-island rural settings; further research should explore other socio-economic contexts. This study is the first to model the performance of fishery agribusiness villages in a small-island region.
Food waste is a major sustainability challenge, yet consumer acceptance of upcycled foods, made from surplus or by-products, varies widely. This study investigates consumer heterogeneity using a lifestyle-based segmentation approach grounded in an extended Food-Related Lifestyle framework. Data were collected from an online survey of 379 U.S. grocery shoppers from Amazon Mechanical Turk was analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis and cluster analysis. Four key dimensions were identified: shopping-related barriers, health and nutrition perceptions, innovativeness and hedonic value, and sustainability and social responsibility orientation. Based on these dimensions, four consumer clusters emerged; skeptical and unfamiliar, skeptical but novelty-aware, health and eco advocates, and pragmatic neutrals. The extended FRL framework retains its core structure while incorporating sustainability, waste-reduction values, and trust- and familiarity-related factors specific to upcycled foods. The findings highlight how lifestyle orientations shape acceptance and offer insights for targeted communication, labeling, and education strategies.
This study examines how regional food clusters balance cooperation and competition, using the Hardanger cider industry in Norway as a case. Regulatory changes in 2016 that legalized on-farm cider sales accelerated Hardanger's emergence as the country's leading cider region, supported by a producers' association and a cluster initiative. A qualitative single-case design was employed, combining semi-structured interviews with producers and cluster representatives and secondary data. Findings reveal that intra-cluster competition is perceived as weak, with rivalry directed toward external beverage markets. Collaboration dominates, particularly through joint branding, quality initiatives, and shared resources, underpinned by trust and strong social ties. The study contributes to coopetition and cluster theory by showing how semi-formal governance, relational capital, and collective identity sustain collaboration in small-scale agri-food clusters. Practical implications include strategies for policymakers, associations, and producers seeking to foster sustainable regional branding, strengthen innovation, and leverage coopetition as a means of collective value creation.
Sustainable food choices, efficient use, and proper disposal help to reduce healthcare costs, enhance economic profitability, and contribute to accelerating climate action. While most existing research focuses primarily on the acquisition stage, this study examines consumer behavior across the entire food consumption cycle, encompassing acquisition, usage, and disposal. Results show positive influence of consumer values on 'reasons for' and negative influence on 'reasons against' organic food consumption. In addition, consumer attitude and 'reasons for' increase sustainable intention, whereas 'reasons against' significantly reduce it. The results also reveal that sustainable intention is a strong predictor of actual behavior with locus of control moderating these effects at all stages. Additionally, the study identifies partial mediation effects of both consumer attitude and reasons (for and against). Finally, the study offers valuable insights to policymakers, social activists, food producers, academics, marketers and the government to achieve sustainability across the entire food consumption cycle.
Research on how consumption values and environmental cognitions influence purchasing behavior toward eco-friendly packaged agri-food products remains limited, particularly in developing countries where these products play a vital role in domestic consumption, trade, and tourism. Therefore, data from 384 domestic tourists in Bohol, Philippines, who had previously purchased eco-friendly packaged agri-food products were analyzed in this study using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that functional and emotional values as well as environmental concern significantly influence attitudes and, subsequently, purchase intentions. Meanwhile, social value and environmental knowledge showed no significant effects. This study extends the value-attitude-behavior model and enriches the sustainable consumption literature by revealing key dimensions of consumption value as well as the environmental cognitions that drive eco-friendly packaging choices in the agri-food sector. Insights from this research offer guidance to industry players and policymakers in promoting the adoption of eco-friendly packaging materials for agri-food products.
Online food purchasing lacks the direct sensory experience of physical stores, making it difficult for consumers to assess food quality and value. This study investigated how visual sensory cues and mental imagery elicited by food photographs on major Malaysian delivery platforms influence perceptions of food quality, value, satisfaction, and purchasing behavior. Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, a quantitative survey was administered to 354 Klang Valley residents with online food ordering experience, using Google Forms and QR code distribution. They selected a non-probability convenience sampling technique. Structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the proposed relationships. Findings revealed that sensory cues, especially vivid food images, significantly stimulated mental imagery, enabling consumers to virtually evaluate product attributes and compensating for the lack of physical interaction. Mental imagery positively affected perceived quality, value, and satisfaction. This study also found that satisfaction was a strong predictor of purchase behavior. These results underlined the critical role of high-quality visuals and imagery in digital food marketing strategies. The study offered theoretical and practical insights for food brands and platform operators, demonstrating how enhancing visual content can foster favorable consumer perceptions and drive purchase decisions in online food delivery contexts.
The research objective of this study revolves around selection of marketing channels by fruit and vegetable farmers in India. Supermarkets represent a revolution in this arena and based on a structured survey of 350 Haryana farmers, this study explores how farmers choose between supermarkets and traditional markets locally known as mandis. Binary logistic regression was employed given the dichotomous dependent variable. The results show that supermarkets are preferred due to lower marketing costs, better price offer, structured payments, and efficient buyer-seller relationships. However, older, less educated, and more experienced farmers still prefer traditional channels. The study offers practical implications for supermarket managers, including reducing transaction costs, simplifying procurement, and improving payment systems to enhance farmer participation. By incorporating socio-demographic and farm-level factors, the study contributes to Transaction Cost Economics and presents empirical evidence on how contextual realities shape farmer decisions, with relevance for inclusive market development in emerging economies.
Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study examines the factors influencing consumers' intention to purchase organic food in Hanoi, Vietnam. Heightened health consciousness, reinforced by recent societal changes and the COVID-19 pandemic, has increased consumer interest in organic food due to perceived health and environmental benefits. Using survey data from 287 respondents, the results indicate that attitude toward organic food exerts the strongest influence on purchase intention, while perceived behavioral control and subjective norms play comparatively smaller roles. Price, product availability, and health consciousness positively affect perceived behavioral control, whereas perceived product quality and environmental concern enhance attitudes toward organic food. Mass media and reference groups significantly shape subjective norms, while the origin of organic food does not have a significant effect. These findings offer policy and practical implications, including the need to improve organic food certification, strengthen consumer information, and enhance market accessibility to promote sustainable consumption.
We explore the multifaceted meanings people associate with food in the United States, China, and India to examine how these meanings vary across different environments. Grounded on past literature framework the research examines self-identity, social, and cultural dimensions of food and measures them using the FOODSCAPE scale. An online survey was used to gather data and MANCOVA analysis found that meanings associated with food vary between countries but many patterns emerged. The theoretical implications of this study suggest the persistent shaping of food meanings on a country level despite globalization. For marketers, these insights might help to effectively engage target audiences by aligning campaigns with country resonant messaging. The study also indicates that some meanings of food are strong across countries, even if differences between them exist. These exploratory findings highlight the importance of country specific strategies in global marketing, point to the opportunities for globalization, and underscore that the meaning of food goes beyond sustenance.
This work presents a framework for developing targeted marketing and communication strategies to increase millet consumption. Based on a stated preference analysis, this work utilizes non-parametric tests to identify the targeted demographic factor-specific strategies. These factors include age, gender, household size, annual family income, education qualification, and occupation. Application of the framework in the Indian context reports the stated preferences of occasional and frequent consumers. The case study results indicate that the availability of products, cooking recipes, targeted awareness initiatives, and improved shelf life can increase consumption. This work estimates market sizes and offers actionable recommendations for industry and government.
This study examines farmers' usage and recommendation intentions toward agricultural e-market platforms by integrating motivated consumer innovativeness (MCI) and technological self-efficacy (TSE). MCI captures farmers' intrinsic motivation, while TSE reflects behavioral capability. Together, these constructs form a coherent framework to analyse e-market acceptance. Data from 280 farmers were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results indicate that functional, cognitive, and social innovativeness significantly enhance usage intention, while hedonic innovativeness negatively influences usage intention, suggesting a predominantly utilitarian perception of e-markets. TSE further strengthens the moderating relationship in digital engagement. This study advances understanding of technology use in agriculture and provides implications for promoting e-market usage among farmers.
The complex network structure of an organic food value chain necessitates cooperation and collaboration among its various partners. Organic food value chains rely on keystone firms to build social capital across complex networks for stakeholder value creation. Through MAXQDA-coded analysis of interviews with three Indian organic firms, this study clarifies social capital dimensions by classifying relationship activities (structural: frequent meetings; relational: trust/reciprocity; cognitive: shared narratives), while demonstrating how firm age and nature shape adaptive strategies. Older firms prioritize maintaining central network positions, while welfare-focused firms emphasize reciprocity to enable knowledge exchange and performance gains. Unlike prior research, it reveals dimensional overlap rather than mutual exclusivity, providing a practical framework for holistic social capital building amid rising sustainability demands. These insights extend theory by illuminating firm-contingent dynamics in emerging markets and guide managers: new entrants should pursue interdependent approaches, while established firms reinforce entrenched networks, ultimately fostering resilient organic chains.
The study extends the Theory of Planned Behaviour to explore the determinants of organic food consumption in the emerging urban market in India. It employs partial least-square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to study the direct and indirect effect of behavioural factors on the Indian consumer intention to buy (ITB) and actual buying behavior (ABB). The study shows that Perceived Behavioural Control, Environmental Concern and Consumer awareness are significant factors. Moderation analysis reveals that age and employment status are pivotal factors. These findings highlight that awareness campaigns, transparent labeling, and improved accessibility enhance organic food consumption in India.
Pasture-grazing has positive effects on animal welfare and grassland biodiversity. Expanding this form of cattle husbandry needs consumer acceptance of its products. This study explores whether using video communication in supermarkets, could induce consumers to adapt their purchasing behavior. Sales tests in nine German supermarkets were accompanied by a consumer survey. The videos had no observable effects on sales numbers of pasture-raised milk. The results of multinomial regression analysis based on the survey data indicate that the decisive factors determining the study participants' choice of milk were prices, animal welfare, and local production. Unlike earlier research, these findings are based on observed behavior in a real supermarket settings.
We have investigated the crucial antecedents of low-involvement (food and grocery) brand loyalty (repurchase behavior) in emerging markets. Relationships and patterns were explored through mixed method approach to measure the determinants of repurchase behavior. Responses were gathered from food and grocery shoppers. Brand trust and customer involvement were found to partially mediate the image, satisfaction to loyalty path. Results indicate that consumers' consumption experience dominates is the repurchase decision along with brand image and habitual shopping. Findings can assist brand managers in understanding the motivational and attitudinal drivers of the food and grocery shoppers and help them design promotional programs to boost repurchase behavior.
Metaverse creates a shared virtual space, blending physical and digital environments. In Agri-Food Supply Chains (AFSC), it enables digital visualisation of supply chain to enhance sustainability. As its adoption is emerging, recognising risks is vital. This study uses Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) with a hybrid Spherical Fuzzy-SWARA-CoCoSo approach. Results highlight severity as the most important criterion. Key risks include Physical and Psychological Health concerns, Echo Chambers and Wrong Influences, and Lack of Legal Personalization for avatars. Sensitivity analysis confirms risk ranking stability, offering guidance for marketers and policymakers to mitigate risks and enable successful Metaverse implementation in AFSC.
