Research article Special Issues

The moderating effect of pro-environmental self-identity in the relationship between abnormally-shaped foods and purchase intention

  • Received: 30 December 2019 Accepted: 18 May 2020 Published: 01 June 2020
  • The assumption that consumers reject food that deviates physically from the norm contributes to global food waste because food retailers generally do not offer abnormally shaped food. This study empirically examines how food shape abnormality affects purchase intentions and how pro-environmental self-identity might moderate the food shape abnormality-purchase intention relationship for consumers in Taiwan. A representative sample of 400 Taiwanese consumers indicated their purchase intentions for two fruits and two vegetables with varying levels of food shape abnormality (normal, moderately abnormal, and extremely abnormal). The results demonstrate that food shape influences purchase intentions; consumers are more likely to purchase normally shaped fruits and vegetables than moderately or extremely abnormally shaped food. Pro-environmental self-identity also drive purchase intentions, such that participants with high levels of pro-environmental self-identity express higher purchase intentions toward abnormally shaped food. Results show that pro-environmental self-identity has a higher and positive impact on purchase intention for extremely abnormal food compared to moderately abnormal and normal food. Government entities and food industry actors should take these findings into account to develop effective communication strategies.

    Citation: Kufen Su, Yen-Lun Su, Yao-Ming Kuo. The moderating effect of pro-environmental self-identity in the relationship between abnormally-shaped foods and purchase intention[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2020, 7(3): 247-257. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2020015

    Related Papers:

  • The assumption that consumers reject food that deviates physically from the norm contributes to global food waste because food retailers generally do not offer abnormally shaped food. This study empirically examines how food shape abnormality affects purchase intentions and how pro-environmental self-identity might moderate the food shape abnormality-purchase intention relationship for consumers in Taiwan. A representative sample of 400 Taiwanese consumers indicated their purchase intentions for two fruits and two vegetables with varying levels of food shape abnormality (normal, moderately abnormal, and extremely abnormal). The results demonstrate that food shape influences purchase intentions; consumers are more likely to purchase normally shaped fruits and vegetables than moderately or extremely abnormally shaped food. Pro-environmental self-identity also drive purchase intentions, such that participants with high levels of pro-environmental self-identity express higher purchase intentions toward abnormally shaped food. Results show that pro-environmental self-identity has a higher and positive impact on purchase intention for extremely abnormal food compared to moderately abnormal and normal food. Government entities and food industry actors should take these findings into account to develop effective communication strategies.


    加载中


    [1] Gustavsson J, Cederberg C, Sonesson U, et al. (2011) Global food losses and food waste: Extent causes and prevention. Available from: https://reurl.cc/AqXNk3.
    [2] Smithers R (2013) Almost half of the world's food thrown away, report finds. The Guardian. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com.
    [3] Loebnitz N, Grunert KG (2015) The effect of food shape abnormality on purchase intentions in China. Food Qual Prefer 40: 24-30. doi: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2014.08.005
    [4] Grunert KG, Bredahl L, Brunso K (2004) Consumer perception of meat quality and implications for product development in the meat sector-A review. Meat Sci 66: 259-272. doi: 10.1016/S0309-1740(03)00130-X
    [5] Hurling R, Shepherd R (2003) Eating with your eyes: Effect of appearance on expectations of liking. Appet 41: 167-174. doi: 10.1016/S0195-6663(03)00058-8
    [6] Sobal J, Wansink B (2007) Kitchenscapes, tablescapes, platescapes, and foodscapes: Influences of microscale built environments on food intake. Environ Behav 39: 124-142. doi: 10.1177/0013916506295574
    [7] Loebnitz N, Schuitema G, Grunert KG (2015) Who buys oddly shaped food and why? Impacts of food shape abnormality and organic labeling on purchase intentions. Psychol Market 32: 408-421.
    [8] Allen MW, Wilson M, Ng SH, et al. (2000) Values and beliefs of vegetarians and omnivores. J Soci Psychol 140: 405-422. doi: 10.1080/00224540009600481
    [9] Bisogni CA, Connors M, Devine CM, et al. (2002) Who we are and how we eat: A qualitative study of identities in food choice. J Nutri Edu Behav 34: 128-139. doi: 10.1016/S1499-4046(06)60082-1
    [10] Cook AJ, Kerr GN, Moore K (2002) Attitudes and intentions towards purchasing GM food. J Eco Psychol 23: 557-572. doi: 10.1016/S0167-4870(02)00117-4
    [11] Sparks P, Shepherd R (1992) Self-identity and the theory of planned behavior: Assessing the role of identification with "green consumerism". Soc Psychol Quarter 55: 388-399. doi: 10.2307/2786955
    [12] Fielding KS, McDonald R, Louis WR (2008) Theory of planned behaviour, identity and intentions to engage in environmental activism. J Environ Psychol 28: 318-326. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2008.03.003
    [13] Terry DJ, Hogg MA, White KM (1999) The theory of planned behaviour: Self-identity, social identity and group norms. Brit J of Soci Psychol 38: 225-244. doi: 10.1348/014466699164149
    [14] Whitmarsh L, O'Neill S (2010) Green identity, green living? The role of pro-environmental self-identity in determining consistency across diverse pro-environmental behaviours. J Environ Psychol 30: 305-314.
    [15] Wang MW (2016) Research on poster creation for Taichung tangerine popularization and advocating-A case study on inglorious fruits and vegetables (Master's thesis). Available from: http://www.airitilibrary.com.
    [16] Chen WH (2018) Business model innovation of unselected organic fruits and vegetables transaction (Master's thesis). Available from: http://www.airitilibrary.com.
    [17] Su KF, Su YL, Kuo YM (2019) The mediating effect of genetic modification belief in the relationship between abnormally shaped foods and consumers' risk perception. Sustain Commun Tour Studies 3: 27-36.
  • Reader Comments
  • © 2020 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com
  • 1. 

    沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院 沈阳 110142

  1. 本站搜索
  2. 百度学术搜索
  3. 万方数据库搜索
  4. CNKI搜索

Metrics

Article views(3605) PDF downloads(347) Cited by(5)

Article outline

Figures and Tables

Figures(2)  /  Tables(2)

Other Articles By Authors

/

DownLoad:  Full-Size Img  PowerPoint
Return
Return

Catalog