Menu labeling influence on purchase behaviors: Applying the theory of planned behavior and health consciousness

Abstract

Mixed findings have been reported in the literature on the effectiveness of menu labeling in assisting consumers to make informed purchase decisions when eating out. Therefore, this study examined factors that influenced consumers’ intentions to use menu labeling and whether these intentions influenced caloric purchases relative to actual caloric needs. While other researchers have assessed impacts of menu labeling on total calories purchased, our study assessed the impact relative to caloric needs, therein recognizing that each consumer has different caloric needs. An extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) incorporating health consciousness served as the theoretical underpinning. The TPB addresses reasons why an individual takes action on a certain behavior; in the case of this research, that behavior was purchasing food. Food purchases were further operationalized using the calorie content of foods and comparing that number of calories to caloric needs. Two-step structural equation modeling was used to analyze 316 surveys from restaurant consumers. Results indicated that attitudes, subjective norms, and health consciousness positively influenced intentions to use menu labeling. Intentions to use menu labeling also significantly influenced actual purchase behaviors (measured as the difference between caloric purchases and caloric needs). Overall, the current research findings provide novel insights for researchers to further explore the role of menu labeling on purchase behavior by using the TPB model with integration of health consciousness.