Trust to Go Green: An Exploration of Consumer Intentions for Eco-friendly Convenience Food

Abstract

Interest in food products with eco-friendly characteristics and certifications has grown in recent decades. Consumers are also increasingly demanding ready-to-eat products, especially in urban environs, where modern lifestyles tend to limit their available time. Understanding the proenvironmental behaviour of convenience food consumers is particularly challenging because there is often a contradiction between eco-friendly behavioural intent and time constraints imposed by modern lifestyles in large cities. It is not clear to what extent information labels on such products are trusted by consumers and considered when making food choices. This study aims at contributing to the debate investigating the determinants influencing consumer purchase intention, focusing on minimally processed vegetables labelled with integrated-pest-management standards. More specifically, the analysis investigates the role consumer trust plays in consumer intention to buy such products. The conceptual framework builds on and extends the theory of planned behaviour. The analyses are based on face-to-face interviews in a large European city (Milan, Italy). Data were analysed by means of structural equation modelling. Results confirm the important role of consumer trust, which positively affects attitudes towards the purchase of convenience food with eco-friendly attributes, and negatively affects consumer concerns around agricultural practices in relation to environmental and health impacts.

Recent Contributions of Agricultural Economics Research in the Field of Sustainable Development

“…For example, Nuttavuthisit and Thogersen [118] highlight how trust is essential in the case of green products with credence attributes [104]. A paper by Ricci et al [119] confirms such results in the particular case of convenience food with environmentally sustainable attributes. This is particularly interesting because convenience food is gaining more and more importance among consumers, especially in urban areas, due to their time-saving services [120], but such products are often considered unsustainable [121].…”

Research on Food Behavior in Romania from the Perspective of Supporting Healthy Eating Habits

“…Regarding the food products with eco-friendly characteristics and certifications, many studies have proven a high interest of consumers, the main reason being the fact that they provide a high amount of nutrients with positive impact over health, first contributing to the fortification of the immune system and to the reducing of risk for food allergies or NCDRDs [46][47][48][49]. The consumers' awareness of the nutritional and sanogenetic benefits of the ecological foods lead to the consolidation of their favorable image and to the expanding of the eco trend [50].…”

A quantitative study of financing efficiency of low‐carbon companies: A three‐stage data envelopment analysis

“…For example, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, governmental obligations to meet emission reduction targets have become an objective of a national development plan. The public are beginning to consider low‐carbon and energy‐efficient products as part of their consumption decisions (Ricci, Banterle, & Stranieri, ; Shewmake, Okrent, Thabrew, & Vandenbergh, ). Meanwhile, financial markets are mounting their pressure on companies to disclose their carbon emissions via several initiatives including the Carbon Disclosure Project.…”