A study on the influence of product environmental information transparency on online consumers’ purchasing behavior of green agricultural products

Abstract

IntroductionIn 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 has forced consumers to shift their consumption patterns online. However, the problem of online fraud in green agricultural products seriously undermines consumer trust and is detrimental to the sustainable consumption of green agricultural products. Therefore, it is particularly important to enhance consumers’ trust in online sellers. This study aims to investigate how the product environmental information transparency(soil information transparency and water information transparency) affects online consumers’ purchasing behavior of green agricultural products.MethodsThis study constructs a theoretical framework of “product environmental information transparency - online consumer trust - online purchase behavior”.We conducted an online randomized questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 512 consumers who had experience buying green agricultural products online fitted a structural equation model (SEM).ResultsThe results show that (1) the two dimensions of product environmental information transparency have different effects on different dimensions of online consumer trust. Among them, soil information transparency has a significant positive effect on competence trust, while it does not have a significant positive effect on benevolence trust. Water information transparency has a significant positive effect on both dimensions of online consumer trust, (2) online consumer trust has a significant positive effect on online consumer purchase behavior, and (3) competence trust has a significant positive effect on benevolence trust.DiscussionOur study shows that consumer trust in merchants is significantly enhanced by increasing the transparency of environmental information about green agricultural products. different dimensions of environmental information transparency have different effects on different dimensions of online consumer trust. Product information transparency is proposed as a tool for producers to use in the online marketing of green agricultural products. Consumers’ access to information can be improved through online public disclosure of environmental quality indicators in the production process of green agricultural products, and ultimately enhance online consumption of green agricultural products.

Is It Both Sufficient and Necessary to Disclose Environmental Information Regarding the Origin on Consumer Purchases?

“…Competence trust will enhance consumers' intentions to purchase, aligning with the findings of Zhao et al [33] and Lu et al [35]. In contrast to the research findings of Fu et al [16], it is observed that the disclosure of environmental information on a product's origin can enhance the benevolence trust among prospective consumers of green food. The disclosure of environmental information about the origins of green agricultural products is significant for consumers who have not yet purchased such products.…”

“…Similar to Ikhsan et al [52], the act of disclosing information can serve as an effective strategy in mitigating information asymmetry between buyers and sellers in transactions. This practice enables consumers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the production origins and quality of green agricultural products [16], reducing consumers' search costs and fostering an increase in their willingness to make purchases.…”

“…Consequently, this disclosure can bolster consumer trust in the merchant's competence. The revelation of environmental provenance information also suggests that in the eyes of the consumers, producers are committed to safeguarding the human habitat and prioritizing consumers' fundamental interests, thereby bolstering consumers' trust in merchants based on benevolence [16]. Moser [22] suggested that consumers should consider factors such as the product source, pesticide application, and production environment.…”

“…(1) Environmental information disclosure about origin (EI): Based on the findings of Fu et al [16] and Liu et al [17], three metrics were utilized for the assessment: "Merchants provide the environmental information regarding the origin of green agricultural products on the e-commerce platform", "merchants provide the authentic information of the origin environment of green agricultural products on the e-commerce platform", and "the origin environmental information of green agricultural products provided by merchants on different platforms is basically the same".…”

“…Duan et al [15] proposed that the disclosure of environmental information serves as a governance mechanism to mitigate the information asymmetry in green markets. Disclosing information regarding the sources of irrigation water, soil, and the production of green food can positively influence consumers' competence trust [16,17]. Moreover, competence trust and benevolence trust are found to consumers' purchasing behavior [18].…”