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The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence Japanese consumer purchase intention toward products bearing animal welfare (AW) certification labels.

A conceptual model was developed with the constructs of informativeness, trust, consumer perception, health consciousness, moral norms and purchase intention and tested using a sample of 513 Japanese consumers. Data were collected using an online panel with the direct effects analyzed using regression while the mediation analysis was performed using Hayes PROCESS macro.

The findings have confirmed that informativeness, consumer perception and trust contribute to consumer purchase intention of products with AW certification labels. Moral norm has a significant indirect effect on the relationship between consumer perception and intention to purchase. However, health consciousness did not demonstrate any indirect effect on the relationship between consumer perception and intention to purchase.

This study contributes significantly to our understanding of Japanese consumers' perception toward AW certification labels, especially considering the limited discussion surrounding this topic in Japan. By highlighting the importance of informativeness, it sheds light on how enhancing consumer knowledge can potentially boost the demand for AW foods. Moreover, it challenges the conventional belief in the impact of health consciousness and consumer behavioral intention, thereby expanding the discourse on the role of health consciousness in consumer choices. Through this exploration, the study not only enhances consistency in discussing consumer behavior but also strengthens the coherence and argumentation of the research findings.

The study aims to explore how young adults perceive cooking contents on social media and their interaction with it.

Qualitative study using semi structured interviews with Brazilian young adults who cook (19–24 years old, n = 31) was the method employed. Interview audio recordings were transcribed and submitted to inductive and reflexive thematic analysis.

Data analysis generated six different themes. Young adults valued the profiles’ aesthetics and quality in terms of straightforwardness, trustworthiness, novelty and authenticity of information; they also identified with the profiles’ authors. When pressed for time, aesthetics was less valued than straightforwardness. Participants felt overwhelmed by the excessive information on social media and developed coping strategies to deal with this issue.

The lack of cooking and food skills is a recognized barrier for healthy eating in the young adult population. Social media can play a prominent role in delivering cooking-related information to the younger generation, but research on people’s perceptions of the cooking content available online is scarce and does not focus on how actual engagement with the available content happens. This qualitative exploration revealed which features young adults prefer when using social media to access cooking content, which can inform future interventions to promote cooking and improve health.

This study explored how Brazilian young adults who cook interact with cooking-related content on social media and how such content fits their cooking routine.

Semi-structured interviews (n = 31) were transcribed, inductively and reflexively thematic analysed.

Interactions happened both in recreational and intentional ways, which coexisted and alternated depending on participants' motives and schedules. Recreational interactions such as browsing and saving happened more for self-entertainment and to some participants, to help meal planning and food shopping. Intentional interactions such as searching and sharing happened to fulfil specific needs which arised on cooking occasions, leading to agency development. Young adults who self-identified as being less experienced in cooking reported checking and comparing many recipes, as well as relying on video features to improve skills and develop self-efficacy. Despite showing agency in cooking-related matters, participants perceived lack of time to cook as an important barrier to cooking more. Intentional interactions with cooking content were linked to more established cooking routines, indicating the importance of social media to young adults' development of self-efficacy and improvement of skills.

The use of social media to search for cooking-related content is recommended by Brazilian dietary guidelines to develop cooking and food skills, but research on if and how the interaction occurs, and the resulting knowledge is put into practice, is scarce. This study addressed this gap and proposed practical implications to inform the development of interventions employing social media to improve young adults' cooking skills and health.

The escalating prevalence of non-communicable diseases has underscored the crucial role of Front-of-Pack-Labelling (FoPL) in shaping consumer decisions. However, the research in this field is still in its developing stage, leading to a fragmented and limited body of work. Given the critical importance of FoPL, it is imperative to conduct a comprehensive literature review of existing research to outline the academic aspect of FoPL research. This research paper aims to combine the available research to generate a systematic compilation of literature, thereby contributing to the advancement of knowledge in this vital area.

To achieve the objectives, a systematic literature review technique was followed. The database used for the extraction of documents was Scopus. Sixty-three articles were critically examined to extract the relevant information.

Based on the analysis types of a study conducted, data collection source, types of FoPL studied, key themes, theoretical model, antecedents, dependent/independent variables and outcome were identified. It also explained the underlying phenomenon of FoPL’s impact on the various outcomes. An integrative theoretical model was also proposed based on the underlying mechanism, antecedents, moderator, mediator and outcome. Towards the end of the paper, research gaps were also identified for future paths in unexplored areas.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first attempt in the field of FoPL to comprehensively include all the dependent and independent variables involved and propose a framework along with future research prospects. The findings will guide researchers and policymakers.

This study aimed to determine the factors affecting consumers’ perceptions and intention to purchase home meal kit services (HMK), a convenient home-cooked meal option, considering the moderating effects of monetary restriction, through the lens of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB).

This cross-sectional study used an online, self-administered survey to collect data from 374 US adults. Results were tested for variable associations via multiple linear regression and moderation analyses.

HMK adoption intention was positively associated with attitude and subjective norms but negatively associated with perceived behavioural control. Consumers’ HMK attitude demonstrated a significant positive relationship with food safety concerns and perceived time constraints. Income and financial constraints were significant moderators of the associations between TPB determinants and HMK intention. The findings emphasised the possibility of using HMK as a foodservice option for time-challenged consumers with food safety concerns.

This study addressed the limited research on HMK, a competitive meal option that foodservice businesses could implement to boost revenue. The study establishes the contribution in understanding the motivators and barriers that potentially affect consumers’ HMK behaviour through the lens of TPB. The results expand the scope of the TPB application in food-related research, providing a deeper understanding of antecedents and other factors on consumers’ HMK behavioural attitudes. Understanding this information will enable practitioners to develop strategies that meet consumers’ concerns when embracing this service to promote HMK.

Nutrition labels provide a cost-effective method of conveying nutrition information to consumers. This study aimed to assess the use of nutrition facts panels, knowledge of traffic light labelling (TLL) and perceived healthiness of food items using TLL among consumers.

A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adults in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (n = 1,322). TLL knowledge score was derived for each participant. Conjoint analysis was used to calculate the utilities and relative importance of the perceived healthiness scores for four attributes (fat, saturated fat, total sugar, salt) at the aggregate level.

Participants had a positive attitude towards TLL but were less familiar with TLL than the nutrition facts panel (47.4 vs 85.8%). The mean TLL knowledge score was 3.6 out of 7 (51.6%). Younger age, higher education, higher income, and health-related qualifications were associated with higher scores. Conjoint analysis showed that participants tend to choose products with greener labels, especially for sugars (80.1%) and avoid red labels for fats. Sugars had the highest percentage value of relative importance compared to the other attributes (27.1%).

The study outcomes offer valuable insights into the extent of consumer awareness, comprehension and utilization of nutrition facts panels in the UAE. These findings contribute essential knowledge for a deeper understanding of the impact of nutrition labels on consumer behaviour and decision-making in the region.

This study sought to understand which food allergen labeling systems (non-directive, semi-directive, and directive) were attended to and preferred by 34 participants with food hypersensitivity and their perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and behavioral intention towards a restaurant that identifies food allergens on menus.

This study used an online survey with open-ended and ranking questions, combined with eye-tracking technology, to explore participants' visual attention and design preferences regarding four menus. This study utilized one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) and heat maps to analyze participants' menu-reading behaviors. A content analysis of survey responses and a ranking analysis of menus were conducted to understand the reasons behind consumers' preferred menu designs.

The advisory statement was not much attended to. Participants identified food allergen information significantly quicker with the directive labeling system (icons) than the other two systems, implying they were eye-catching. Semi-directive labeling system (red text) has lower visit count and was more preferred than two other systems; each labeling system has its strengths and limitations. Participants viewed restaurants that disclosed food allergen information on menus as socially responsible, and they would revisit those restaurants in the future.

This study was one of the first to explore, through use of eye-tracking technology, which food allergen labeling systems were attended to by consumers with food hypersensitivity. The use of triangulation methods strengthened the credibility of the results. The study provided empirical data to restauranteurs in the US on the values of food allergen identification on restaurant menus, although it is voluntary.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of behavioural determinants, such as consumer attitude, subjective norm, behavioural control and sustainable buying behaviour, on organic food purchase behaviour in different EU countries.

A structured survey of more than 5000 individuals from Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Czech Republic was conducted to elicit consumer responses regarding behavioural determinants of organic food selection. Both a structural equation modelling approach and a multinomial logit model were employed to analyse the data.

Consumer attitudes, subjective norms and behavioural control were shown to significantly influence the frequency of organic food purchasing behaviour for the whole sample and to varying degrees across each of the countries. The effect of a sustainable buying behaviour was found to be more pronounced for Germany, Netherlands and Italy than for Czech Republic and Spain.

Analysis is based on self-reported data on frequency of organic food purchases, which might be subject to recall bias. Overestimation may arise as consumers tend to report increased purchasing due to the “desirable” qualities of organic food. We tried to ensure that the translations bore similar meanings cross country although some miscomprehension by survey respondents was a possibility.

To stimulate consumer demand for organic products, it is important to design policies and interventions that take into account the impact of both behavioural factors and demographic attributes on consumer decision-making across various locations. For example, market analysts and policymakers may find it useful to exploit the impact of consumer attitude towards the qualities of organics to induce sales of such food in their locations.

This paper combines unique survey data from five EU countries using a common model to explore and compare consumer behavioural preferences for multiple organic food products. In addition to a classic triad of behavioural factors believed to influence organic food purchases, sustainable buying behaviour as a determinant of organic purchasing behaviour was included in the analysis.

In the recent few decades, there has been a rampant increase in the demand of sustainable food products around the world because of high cognizance of consumers toward environment and health. Asian countries, especially India and China, are also expecting a tremendous boost in the domestic demand for organic food products in the upcoming few years. Therefore, it becomes pertinent to explore the factors affecting the purchase intention behavior of organic food items, especially in emerging economies, i.e. India. Hence, the paper aims to explore the factors driving the purchase decision of organic consumers by collecting data set from 603 organic food item consumers in India.

The study has applied advanced statistical tools, i.e. structural equation modeling, Harman’s single factor test and other statistical measures, to analyze the collected research data.

The results posit that consumers’ purchase intention has a favorable impact on health aspects; trustworthiness; social innovativeness; functional value; subjective norms and organic product knowledge. Moreover, the result explicates that health consciousness and trustworthiness are vital predictors of organic food purchase intention.

The findings may assist the producers, processors, marketers, policymakers and regulators in devising appropriate policies and strategies for comprehending the complex phenomenon of organic consumers’ purchase behavior.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the drivers of purchase intention of organic food items by collecting data from well-defined consumers of organic food items in India.

This study delves into how perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness impacts consumer attitude and intention to adopt digital technologies in Ghana.

We utilized covariance-based structural equation modeling with a dataset consisting of 204 respondents to evaluate the model. The analysis was conducted using R (version 0.6–12).

The results confirm that both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are key predictors of the intention to adopt technology. Additionally, factors such as attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control also play a significant role in influencing adoption intent. Notably, the research indicates that perceived ease of use not only impacts peer influence among consumers, but also shapes their confidence in effectively using the technology. Furthermore, in contrast to previous studies, this investigation suggests that while perceived behavioral control impacts behavioral intent, it does not predict attitude in the Ghanaian context. The study advocates for development of user-centric technologies, promotion of digital literacy and cultivation of a digital culture.

Our use of a single country data restricts generalizability of the study. For a more comprehensive and profound understanding, we recommend a broader study across multiple sub-Saharan African countries with a mixed method or qualitative approach.

The significance of this research lies in its original contribution to the field in providing crucial insights for governments and industry players. It sheds light on factors influencing user readiness to adopt technology and makes a substantial contribution to the ongoing discussion on digital technology adoption in literature.