Consumers’ decision-making mechanism differs under the presence of risk, habits, and past behavior for organic fisheries foods

Abstract

The intention-behavior gap exposes the pressing demand for more studies to investigate consumers' behavior toward organic fisheries foods in developing contexts owing to the growing demand for these foods. Additionally, while most research exploits heavily the beneficial effects of organic foods, very few probe the potential risk counterpart. The present study, thus, aims to contribute to the existing gap by examining how risk plays out in the provided context. Besides core factors borrowed from the seminal Theory of Planned Behavior, consumers' intention and stated behavior can be explained through the influence of perceived risk, past behavior, and their habits. The Structural Equation Modeling method was utilized to analyze the data of 202 participants from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Findings revealed that, for consumers with prior organic shopping experience and repetitive buying habits, perceived risk is less likely to render an impact on their intentions to buy. In the absence of habits and past experience, consumers' attitudes and intentions are barricaded by the potential risks perceived. Further details and multiple implications were also discussed.