Fostering ethical consumption in food sector: Insights from the Italian Solidarity Purchasing Groups

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims at investigating antecedents and predictors of consumers' buying and consumption processes within the Italian Solidarity Purchasing Groups (SPGs) to enrich current debate about drivers and levers on which act for fostering ethical consumption in food sector.

Design/methodology/approach

Building upon the theory of planned behavior (TPB) a theoretical model is proposed for depicting possible antecedents and predictors of consumers' buying and consumption processes in food sector. The validity of the model has been tested via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS for analyzing primary data collected through a structured questionnaire from 354 consumers engaged in SPGs.

Findings

Within the domain of food buying and consumptions through SPGS, results show that consumers' behavior intention (BI) is influenced by consumers' attitude (ATT) and perceived behavioral control (PBC). Moreover, the research also demonstrates that consumers' ATT is influenced by consumers' ethical self-identity (ETH), consumers' willingness to support local economy (SLE), and food safety concern (FSC).

Originality/value

The study contributes to the ongoing debate on sustainable consumerism focusing the attention on SPGs as emerging social organizations inspired by ethical food consumption. Both theoretical development and empirical evidences enrich current knowledge about drivers and levers on which act for fostering ethical consumption in food sector.

Citation

Sciarelli, M., Tani, M., Prisco, A. and Caputo, F. (2021), "Fostering ethical consumption in food sector: Insights from the Italian Solidarity Purchasing Groups", British Food Journal, Vol. 123 No. 9, pp. 3100-3115. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-03-2021-0341