Investigating consumers' behavioral intentions toward suboptimal produce: an extended theory of planned behavior – a cross-cultural study

Abstract

PurposeThis study extends the theory of planned behavior (TPB) through the inclusion of motivating variables for suboptimal produce preference (i.e. environmental concern, food waste awareness, and familiarity), and demotivating variables (i.e. health consciousness and risk perception) to investigate behavioral intentions toward suboptimal produce.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative research methodology using the online survey technique is employed to collect cross-cultural data from respondents from China (n = 430) and Egypt (n = 441). Structural equation modeling (SEM) via SmartPLS v.3.2.9 is used to analyze data.FindingsThe proposed extended TPB model could enhance predicting consumers' behavioral intentions toward suboptimal produce except for “environmental concern” since it has been found that environmental concern has a nonsignificant effect on consumers' attitudes and behavioral intentions toward suboptimal produce in both countries. The results also reveal that the proposed extended TPB constructs could predict 79.9% of intentions to purchase suboptimal produce and 65.3% of the variance in intentions to recommend such produce for others.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few attempts that investigates the suboptimal food consumption based on a theoretical lens by extending the TPB model. Previous studies on suboptimal food do not pay attention to the demotivating variables such as health consciousness and risk perception, and thus, this thesis represents the first effort that sheds light on such variables. Moreover, prior investigation on such issues in Egypt and China as a cross-cultural research has not existed.

Take it or leave it? Investigating the ambivalence and willingness to pay for suboptimal fruits and vegetables among organic consumers in Germany

“…This suggests that it is rather the meta-cognitive awareness about the conflicting evaluations of suboptimal food that affects people's purchases than their attitudes. While this is in line with the idea that ambivalence-induced discomfort might affect people's actions beyond their attitudes, it extends previous theorising on the acceptance of suboptimal food (Adel et al, 2021). Taken together, we see this study as one piece of the puzzle to better understand the determinants of purchase decisions for or against suboptimal food.…”

“…The association between consumers' positive attitudes and reported purchase intentions has been confirmed by numerous studies (e.g., Barbe et al, 2017;Adel et al, 2021;Stöckli and Dorn, 2021). Research has also identified environmental concerns and food waste awareness as the most important drivers for consumers to purchase suboptimal food (de Hooge et al, 2017;Stöckli and Dorn, 2021).…”

Effects of abnormally shaped fruits and vegetables on consumer’s willingness to buy: a meta-analytic study

“…A considerable amount of literature has been dedicated to investigate different perspectives aiming at the commercialization of abnormally shaped food (de Moraes et al , 2020; Makhal et al , 2021; Adel et al , 2021; Debucquet et al , 2021; Giménez et al , 2021; Mookerjee et al (2021); Xu et al , 2021; Qi et al , 2022), denoting the importance of this research theme. A review of 40 articles conducted by Hartmann et al (2021) on the commercialization of suboptimal products confirmed that many consumers infer a lower quality of foods with an abnormal shape.…”

“…Therefore, consumers end up judging the quality of food by its appearance (Garrone et al , 2014). In this vein, it is possible to argue that retailers avoid selling abnormally shaped FaVs motivated by profit and perceived financial risk (Adel et al , 2021). More recently, literature has emerged that offers contradictory findings of this mindset, suggesting that lowering prices and applying discounts to suboptimal products can decrease sales (Xu et al , 2021; Qi et al , 2022).…”

Wasted pumpkins: a real Halloween horror story

“…The NAM articulates that awareness is necessary for pro-environmental behaviour (Schwartz, 1973), meaning individuals should know about environmental issues to engage in environmental behaviours. Furthermore, the NAM infers that individuals will be encouraged to engage in an environmental dilemma if they believe that significant problems require immediate solutions and that such solutions are heavily reliant on their cooperative behaviours and decisions (Adel et al. , 2021).…”