Influence of Variables to Reduce the Intention and Behaviour Purchase Gaps in Eco-Label Food Products

Abstract

Academic researchers have sought to examine the variables that affect purchasing behaviour and the development of models for ethical consumer behaviour due to the fact that consumers are increasingly aware of the impact that daily food products can have on the environment. As a result, the demand for environmentally friendly food has increased rapidly and the companies have created different eco-labels to encourage consumers to buy their products. However, there is still a large gap between the intent to purchase eco-labeled products and the actual purchasing behaviour. Thus, this paper explains and assesses the extrinsic and intrinsic variables that could reduce the gap between eco-label purchase intention and the actual purchase behaviour for eco-labelled food products based on the TRA theory. The qualitative findings show that product benefits consumer environmental knowledge, consumer environmental awareness and demographic aspects, all which influence or affect the purchase intention for ecolabelled food, while the eco-label type I has no relationship with the intention of purchase for food with eco-label attributes. This paper is very useful for Latin American food companies given that most of the current research has been focused on European countries.