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

Manh Hung Le,Phuong Mai Nguyen

doi:10.3390/su14020816

Abstract

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.

Highlights

Published: 12 January 2022Changing consumption patterns towards green consumption is a topic of widespread interest as it involves many actors at different levels, from local and national levels to regional and global ones
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
The validity of the measurements was evaluated based on the Variance Composite reliability (CR), Variance Inflation Factor (VIF), and Average Variance Extracted (AVE)

Summary

Introduction

Published: 12 January 2022Changing consumption patterns towards green consumption is a topic of widespread interest as it involves many actors (individuals, households, businesses, and the government) at different levels, from local and national levels to regional and global ones. Several aspects of green consumption are concerned with the economic perspective and refer to society and the environment as well. Along with the green economy concept, green consumption has become a central issue and an inevitable trend worldwide in a search for sustainable development. Buying organic food is a typical green consumption behavior. The production and consumption of organic food are increasingly raising more significant concerns in developed countries and developing countries like Vietnam when problems of environmental pollution, ecological imbalance, diseases, and the like are severely threatening the life of humanity and sustainable development of the planet. Consumers in many countries have been participating in organic food purchasing and consider this purchase part of their contribution to protecting the environment and saving our world

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