The COVID-19 Lockdown Effect on the Intention to Purchase Sustainable Brands

Ethnocentrism and place identity in the consumption of local products

Research on the consumption of local products is essential to promote sustainability, boost local economies, and preserve cultural identity. Although a positive relationship has been demonstrated between attitude towards local products and consumption determinants, the role of the former as a mediator has not been sufficiently explored. This study examines how the attitude towards local products mediates between consumer ethnocentrism and consumption intention, as well as between place identity and consumption intention. A total of 1325 wine and cheese consumers in the Canary Islands were surveyed using a moderated mediation model, applying PLS-SEM. The results indicate that attitude towards local products mediates the aforementioned relationships but does not moderate them according to the type of local product. Consequently, marketing strategies should focus on the emotional and cultural connection that consumers establish with local products, highlighting their value in terms of identity and belonging.

Influence of environmental awareness on the willingness to pay for green products: an analysis under the application of the theory of planned behavior in the Peruvian market

Introduction

This paper aimed to build a predictive model through an empirical study to examine the influence of environmental awareness (EA) on attitude (ATT) and perceived behavioral control (PBC), as well as to determine the influence of the three variables of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on willingness to pay (WP) for green products in the Peruvian market.

Methods

A total of 405 Peruvian consumers were surveyed. Most of them were between the ages of 18 and 30 and single. To test the hypotheses, partial least squares (PLS-SEM) were used using the SamrtPls4 software. The results show the significant positive effect of EA on ATT and PBC. The positive and significant effect of ATT, SN, and PBC on WP was also tested A total of 405 Peruvian consumers were surveyed. Most of them were between 18 and 30 years old and single. To test the hypotheses, partial least squares (PLS-SEM) was used using SamrtPls4 software.

Results

The results show the positive and significant effect of AD on ATT and PBC. The positive and significant effect of ATT, SN and PBC on WP was also tested.

Discussion

The research provides antecedents that allow evaluation of the possibility that companies and governments adjust the dissemination strategies and related public policies regarding the impact of environmentally responsible behavior in order to contribute to the development of environmental awareness as a variable that promotes the disposition of consumers to pay for environmentally friendly products.

Intention to purchase halal health supplement online: Lessons learned from the health crisis

Consuming health supplements is essential to strengthen the immune systems and protect against illness, especially during health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the increasing number of Muslim populations worldwide and the necessity of online applications during health crises, this research aims to study the consumer's purchase intention of halal health supplement products online by examining variables influencing consumer's purchase intention. The Theory of Planned Behaviour has been applied as an underlying theory for this study, including religiosity and COVID-19 as an extension to the theory. 214 respondents participated in this study by completing the survey questionnaire via an online platform. Analysis was performed using SmartPLS4. The findings illustrate that perceived benefit is the most important indicator for Indonesian respondents, while attitude, subjective norms, and the COVID-19 pandemic are the factors that contribute to purchase intention among Malaysian respondents. The study enhances current literature, specifically in the context of halal health supplement products. Additionally, investigating the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of halal health supplements with a unique set of variables leads to a new path of study. Examining consumer behavior such as perceived benefit, attitude, subjective norms, and the COVID-19 pandemic that influence online purchase intention will provide consumer insights to marketers involved in halal health supplement products. The perspective on consumer beliefs gives directions for strategy development to businesses.

Factors Influencing Consumers' Organic Food Continuous Purchase Intentions during the Post-Pandemic Era: An Empirical Investigation in China

During the evolutionary phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers' eating habits and spending behaviours have progressively shifted to the pursuit of the safer and healthier food products, such as organic food. Therefore, this study investigated the factors affecting Chinese buyers' organic food continuous purchase intentions (CPI) during the post-pandemic era. To better adapt to the current consumption context in China, this study proposed a modified TPB framework (M-TPB), by replacing subjective norms with Chinese cultural variables, such as face consciousness and group conformity, and adding constructs of perceived value of organic food (PVOF), health consciousness, and the impact of COVID-19 (IOC). Convincingly, experimental results from a structural equation model analysis of 460 usable responses indicate that M-TPB has superior explanatory power (R² = 65%) compared with the TPB model (R² = 40%) for explaining organic food CPI during the post-pandemic period. The path analysis demonstrated that perceived behavioural control, attitude, face consciousness, group conformity, health consciousness, IOC, and PVOF had substantial positive effects on CPI, while subjective norms were not significantly related. Moreover, IOC exhibited a positive and significant relationship with health consciousness and PVOF. These findings can be useful for stakeholders in the Chinese organic food industry to generate timely promoting strategies during the post-pandemic period.

COVID-19 Effects on Environmentally Responsible Behavior: A Social Impact Perspective from Latin American Countries

The aim of the research is to examine the relationships between the following variables (a) Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), composed of Attitudes (ATT), Subjective Norms (SN), and Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC); and (b) Consciousness (EC) on the dependent variable Environmentally Responsible Purchase Intention (ERPI) from the perspective of the Latin American consumer in a pandemic. Currently, the literature on the relationships proposed in the explanatory model is still scarce at a theoretical and practical level, without empirical evidence in Latin America. The data collection is from 1624 voluntary responses from consumers in Chile (n = 400), Colombia (n = 421), Mexico (n = 401), and Peru (n = 402) collected through online surveys. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) and multi-group to test invariance analysis and the moderating effects, we can determine the relationship between the variables in the proposed model, generating evidence from Latin American countries. The empirical analysis verified that Attitude (ATT), Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC), and Environmental Consciousness (CE) have a positive and significant effect on Environmentally Responsible Purchase Intention (ERPI). The results also show that the generation variable presents invariance. Therefore, the groups are not different at the model level for the generation variable, becoming relevant to the difference at the path level. Therefore, the results of this study become a relevant contribution, indicating a moderating effect on the generation variable. This research provides insights for understanding Latin American consumers, and managerial implications are also provided for developing strategies to promote sustainable consumption.

Sustainable Behavior with Respect to Managing E-Wastes: Factors Influencing E-Waste Management among Young Consumers

With the proliferation of technological tools and the advancement in electronic devices and accessories, consumers across the world are changing and upgrading their electronic devices at an alarming rate. However, these developments have raised concerns related to electronic waste (E-waste). E-wastes contain toxic substances which may have a negative impact on both humans and the environment. This issue needs to be addressed by the research community, i.e., what would be the best way to get rid of existing devices? It is clear that countries need to work towards a more sustainable consumption pattern and consumers need to change their behaviour. The present study focuses on sustainable behaviour of consumers in terms of e-waste management. In this context, the study attempts to explore the factors influencing e-waste management among young consumers. In the present study, the Theory of Planned Behavior is extended by including the additional factors Government Policy, Environmental Concern, Financial Benefits and Awareness. A researcher-controlled sampling was employed to collect data from 524 respondents. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to validate the questionnaire constructs and confirm the relationships among the variables. The findings of the study suggest a significant role for government policy, financial benefits, environmental concerns, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control in determining young consumers' behavioural intentions toward the management of e-waste. The study findings have implications for both researchers and marketing practitioners.

Enablers of post-COVID-19 customer demand resilience: evidence for fast-fashion MSMEs

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the resilience of customer demand management post-coronavirus disease 2019, using fast fashion as an example. The paper provides insights for potential applications to micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the qualitative analysis and an integrated Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)-decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)-fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) methodology of fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making, we explored and prioritised the enablers of resilience management for fast-fashion MSMEs.

Findings

The results reveal that the highest priority enabler is maintaining customer loyalty. Other enablers are associated with e-commerce endorsement, a customer-focussed assortment of items and flexible store operations.

Research limitations/implications

The study findings will enable fast-fashion MSMEs to develop effective actions and priorities in operations efforts to promote post-pandemic recovery.

Originality/value

Despite the importance of the resilience project and the changing fast-fashion customer patterns, only a handful of studies have explored how resilience can be managed in this field. Thus, the findings can contribute to closing this gap in the context of operations resilience research as well as MSME operations.

The Effect of Fear of COVID-19 on Green Purchase Behavior in Pakistan: A Multi-Group Analysis Between Infected and Non-infected

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its effects on an individual's life have altered the consumer behavior. In the context of purchase and consumption, a shift from conventional to green purchase has been noticed. Although the factors underlying this shift were relatively unexplored, the study aimed to identify the factors that influenced a significant role in the green purchases during the outbreak and the relationship of these factors with green purchase behavior (GPB). Subsequently, this study investigates and interprets the role of fear of COVID-19 (FCV), psychological distress (PD), and mortality salience (MS) in predicting consumer's GPB. This research adopted a quantitative methodology using data collected from 432 respondents in various cities across Pakistan. Smart-PLS 3 was used to evaluate the measurement model, structural model, and multi-group analysis (MGA). Despite having the negative psychological and physical impact of the pandemic, a significant proportion of customers have switched to healthier and sustainable products. This research revealed that the FCV, PD, and MS plays a substantial role in adopting GPB. All the direct relationships were positive and significant. In addition, MS and PD partially mediate the effect of FCV on GPB. Furthermore, the MGA revealed that the infected respondents were interested in purchasing green products than uninfected respondents due to their FCV; conversely, the PD and MS were higher in uninfected individuals than infected ones. However, there is a vast literature on GPB, but little has investigated the cumulative impact of FCV, PD, and MS on GPB.

Exploring Key Factors Determining US Consumer Preferences for Growing over Buying Fruit in Pre-Covidian and Covidian Times

This study provides insights for managers in the food retail sector, the horticultural industry, actors involved in community gardening and farmers’ markets. It proposes a model that investigates key factors determining US consumer preferences for growing fruit over buying it in pre-Covidian and Covidian times. For this purpose, an online survey with a sample of 383 US residents was conducted. Partial least squares structural equation modelling shows that subjective knowledge about fruit and the perceived impact of COVID-19 are the most important drivers of preferences for growing over buying in Covidian times. The impact of COVID-19 had no relevance for the pre-Covidian times. For both scenarios, only age and gender as socio-demographic factors were found to influence subjective knowledge and the perceived impact of COVID-19. Other sociodemographic factors were not found to have any impact.

Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Make Consumers Shop Alone? The Role of Emotions and Interdependent Self-Construal

The paper aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and possible future global epidemic events on shopping behavioral patterns. Specifically, the paper investigates consumer pandemic-related isolation behavior (which manifests itself via preference for shopping without leaving home, and avoiding contact with other people while shopping offline) as a consequence of consumer interdependent self-construal, with the mediating role of consumer pandemic-related emotions of disgust, fear for oneself, fear for others, and sadness. The results of two surveys conducted in different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland (October 2020, and January 2021, respectively) suggest two opposing indirect effects of interdependent self-construal on isolation behavior: a positive effect through disgust, and a negative effect through sadness. Additionally, a positive indirect effect through fear was visible in the second study. Moreover, two dimensions of interdependent self-construal (i.e., vertical and horizontal) are demonstrated to have opposing effects (a positive effect and a negative one, respectively) on pandemic-related disgust, and in turn on isolation behavior. The above results indicate that, in the context of the pandemic, consumer self-construal influences pandemic-related emotions, and in turn consumers’ tendency to isolate themselves. Implications for marketers and society were discussed from the perspective of economic and sustainability goals.